Monday leftovers

The next-man-up mantra in football arrived early for Dawand Jones Sunday as the rookie offensive tackle  watched the Browns' offense struggle against the Cincinnati Bengals in the season opener.

On the club's fourth series early in the second quarter, Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson inadvertently rolled into offensive tackle Jack Conklin's left knee and tore his ACL and MCL, ending his season.

Without question a huge loss. Conklin is the club's second-best offensive lineman. Twenty-two snaps into the 2023 season and the oft-injured veteran was through. Head coach Kevin Stefanski without hesitation tapped Jones over third-year tackle James Hudson III to replace him.

Why not Hudson? Because he was strictly a defensive linemen until he switched to the other side of the football in his final year at the University of Cincinnati. He is still learning the position.

Jones was not only the right choice, he was the only choice. He has played offensive right tackle since he was in high school. And at 6-8 and 375 pounds, he is the perfect fit (roadblock?) to anchor the strong side of the formation.

Dominating for a couple of seasons with the exceptionally talented Ohio State offensive line prepared Jones for the National Football League wars. He booked 52 snaps against the Bengals and looked like he belonged.

He was perfect in pass protection, utilizing a strong anchoring drop step that enabled him to properly engage whoever was assigned to get up close and personal with Deshaun Watson. No one got even close to the quarterback's area code.

The former high school basketball player's nimble feet allow him, in spite of his extraordinary size, to change directions easily and keep himself squared up. It's something that can't be taught. His athleticism comes naturally.

Where he might encounter trouble initially is in the ground game, where he will be asked to pull and lead sweeps to his side or advance beyond the line of scrimmage and pick off a linebacker or defensive back at the second level.

His first big test is Monday night on national television in Pittsburgh against the Steelers, who are nursing a 30-9 bruising by San Francisco in their home opener Sunday. Conklin and position coach Bill Callahan can give Jones a lot of advice in dealing with superstar linebacker T. J. Watt.

The former NFL defensive player of the year got off to a spectacular start against the 49ers with five solo tackles, five quarterback hits on Brock Purdy, all three of the Steelers' sacks and a fumble recovery as his team was blown away. He has recorded 80.5 sacks in six seasons and one game despite missing seven games last season with a torn pectoral muscle.

The guess here is Jones will receive plenty of help with the five-time Pro Bowler from either a blocking tight end and occasional assistance from a running back other than Nick Chubb. 

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While the defense was sending a message to the rest of the NFL with their amazing performance against the Bengals, the final outcome revealed there's still a lot of work to be done with the other side of the football.

Maybe rain was the causal factor, but that's an easy excuse. This offense was on and off all day. Short periods where it looked as though it was ready to explode, it fizzled due to a mistake. First it was losing a double fumble, first by Watson and then running back Jerome Ford. Then it was an interception of a tipped pass by Watson.

They basically stopped themselves. They marched up and down the field in the first half spinning their  wheels, cashing in only on the first of Dustin Hopkins three field goals before stringing together a nine-play, 67-yard drive in the final minute to reach the end zone,

The struggle continued in the second half and only a generous gift from Bengals head coach Zac Taylor,  fed up with his offense, decided to gamble on fourth down deep in Cincy territory and lost. Three plays and 18 yards later, the Cleveland offense wrapped up the game.

The big problem is the passing game, where timing is vitally important toward achieving success. Watson's timing with his receivers was spotty at best. He twice missed Marquise Goodwin deep as the speedy wide receiver broke into the clear.

Granted it's only one game and it won't rain every Sunday. It becomes a big concern if that timing and rhythm do not mesh by the time the bye week rolls around. Right now, it appears as though all the fireworks Watson promised from this revamped offense are nothing more than firecrackers with moist wicks. 

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Enough cannot be said about the terrific showing of the Browns' secondary, playing almost joyously in Jim Schwartz's aggressive approach. Rarely was the passive zone defense fans have been saddled with the last three season deployed.

No, it was mostly man and occasional press coverage against a pretty good set of Bengals receivers that neutralized them. A combination of a strong effort from the defensive line, causing Cincy quarterback Joe Burrow to throw early and disrupt the timing, and some aggressive coverage made it look easy.

The top four tacklers were Grant Delpit, Greg Newsome II, Denzel Ward and Ray McLeod, who accounted for 21 tackles of which 13 were solo. McLeod, Delpit and Newsome played all 55 snaps. Martin Emerson Jr., the fifth member of that productive unit, had only one solo tackle, but hounded Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins all afternoon and shut him out.

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The Browns' defense did not produce a takeaway, but was outstanding after each turnover by the offense. They forced a punt after the double fumble by Watson and Ford, and limited the Cincinnati offense to just a long field goal after the Watson pick near midfield.

Sometimes, it's the little things like that that quietly play a major role in victories. You don't often see teams with two giveaways and no takeaways winning games. In this case, solid transition defense saved the offense's butt.

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Ya gotta love how much fun the defensive line is having. On a few occasions Sunday, Myles Garrett stood ramrod straight a yard or so behind the line in the middle of the formation before the snap, looking more like a middle linebacker to further confuse the Bengals' blocking. Another time or two, Garrett and fellow defensive end Za'Darius Smith lined up side by side. That's double trouble. 

Confusion seems to be the key so far. Make it difficult for opposing offensive lines to figure out what the Browns are doing and who to block. And then there are the numerous blitz packages Schwartz likes to employ, throwing in a linebacker here, a safety there. It really is fun to watch as opposing offensive linemen frantically gesticulate in an effort to make certain everyone knows his assignment.

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Finally . . . The Browns hit Burrow 10 times. Garrett and Smith had four each. . . . Watson targeted nine different receivers against the Bengals. Elijah Moore and Amari Cooper each had seven. . . . Sure looks as though Chubb is going to be a big part of the passing game. He caught all four passes for 21 yards mostly on swing passes and checkdowns. . . . Those of you who suggested Corey Bojorquez was the reason Cade York had so much trouble kicking, the punter was the holder for all three of Dustin Hopkins' field goals Sunday -- all right down the middle.