Previewing Week 6: Browns vs Cardinals
October 15, 2021Beaten and Battered: Takeaways from the Browns’ 37-14 loss to Arizona.
October 17, 2021Coming off a devastating loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Browns return home for a few weeks, starting with an AFC/NFC matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. This is the wonky 17th game that came from the schedule mess around, the opponent that we normally wouldn’t be seeing quite yet. But it’s a matchup of former No. 1 overall picks in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, offensive juggernauts facing off against one another. The Cardinals boast a robust group of skill players on offense that is a mix of cast-offs like A.J. Green, James Conner, and Maxx Williams going along with homegrown players like Christian Kirk, Rondale Moore, and Chase Edmonds. On defense, the Cards have brand-name players like Budda Baker, J.J. Watt, and Isaiah Simmons. Chandler Jones looks to be missing from this defense with COVID, which is a big help to Cleveland if that would be the case.
1) Jadeveon Clowney missed the game against the Chargers due to a knee twinge in warmups, and Denzel Ward went out early in the first quarter and missed the rest of the game. Which player did the Browns miss most on defense?
Andrew: I would definitely say Denzel was missed more. I thought Takk played pretty well in Clowney’s place, whereas there seemed to be constant mistakes in the secondary. I think having Denzel there would have alleviated some of those problems.
Gilbert: Jadeveon Clowney was sorely missed. His run defense is truly elite and a huge aspect of this defense. But, also the depth took a huge hit last week, leaving just Myles Garrett and Takk McKinley as the only productive edge rushers on the roster.
Poloha: This is a tough one, honestly. Would it be fair to say that they were both missed equally? Takk stepped up in place of Clowney but the latter is much better and A.J. Green and Greedy Williams stepped up in place of Denzel but both Ward and Clowney were missed, even for depth purposes in what was a very high-scoring game.
Gerbs: To me, it’s Denzel. Needing to use A.J. Green1 against the likes of Mike Williams and Keenan Allen was less than ideal. The pass rush wasn’t able to get home like it did the last two weeks, which compounded the problem on the outside, but with the other injuries in the secondary,2 Ward’s absence was more impactful. Luckily everyone seems to be on track to be back, which is nice.
Taylor: Overall, I think I would value not making those crucial secondary breakdowns that the Browns did against the Chargers over what Clowney brings. Not to disparage the pass rush and run support he has provided, but I feel like being down to your backup’s backups in the secondary had more of an effect in why the Browns lost that game than the pass rush did.
2) Baker Mayfield has been much maligned this season for his lack of completions on deep throws (15 yards or more through the air), despite throwing them with the highest frequency in the NFL. What is causing the lack of production on those 15+ yard bombs? Is this actually a problem?
Andrew: I don’t know if it’s really been a problem when the offense has been mostly effective this season. The Browns’ identity is a running team, and that aspect of the offense has been great. I mean, sure, I would love Baker to be able to throw downfield more, but as Jake Burns pointed out on the podcast with Josh this week, the Browns run so many plays with just one WR on the field. I think it’s probably a mix of Baker’s performance, the offense the Browns are running, and the play calling.
Gilbert: He has simply not thrown the deep ball well this season. That is weird due to his career success in this area. He is missing open receivers. It is a problem if we want to expand the offense vertically. This is one of the areas he must work on if he wants to reach a higher level of play.
Poloha: OBJ returning from an ACL tear and not having Jarvis Landry on the field certainly hasn’t helped, but it’s clear that Baker hasn’t been his usual self when throwing the deep ball lately. Whether it’s just not being as accurate or being out of sync with his receivers, hopefully, that will improve as the season goes on. If Baker and the boys can get that deep ball going again, that would open up the running game even more.
Gerbs: Not having the full array of weapons at his disposal, Mayfield has been making due with what is available and that’s been (mostly) enough to win thus far. I don’t think it’s a huge issue, as this offense has been able to run against even the toughest teams, but it would be a nice compliment to have if and/or when the running game just isn’t there. It’s possible the shoulder is an issue with the accuracy on those passes, it’s possible that Landry missing and not occupying the middle of the field with the attention he brings has been a problem as well, but as Andrew mentioned, they can and have been winning games without that card in the deck.
Taylor: There’s a lot of factors here, I think. First, as Joe said, Baker’s just not been that good throwing deep this year, which is hard to grasp because that was a strength of his at one point. Otherwise, I think his injury has definitely played a role. After he popped his shoulder out, he was not himself for a game and a half. He looked better against Los Angeles, but it was pretty clear that they didn’t want to push it any further than they had to. But as far as it actually being a problem? I don’t think it’s quite at that level yet. No one has been able to stop the Browns on the ground so far, so the need for plays like that to loosen up the defense simply hasn’t existed. It will become a problem if teams begin to slow down Chubb/Hunt and the Browns have no answers.
3) David Njoku had the best game of his career against the Chargers, hauling in seven catches on seven targets for 149 yards and a touchdown. What did you see in his big game that impressed you and is this a sign of more to come?
Andrew: As I’ve mentioned in previous roundtables, I never see a good performance and think “Oh, this guy is now going to do this every week!”. It’s just not how the Browns’ offense works. Every week it will be someone different to step up and make an impact. Last week it was Njoku’s turn, but it will probably be someone else this week.
Gilbert: He was targeted a lot more. And, he also received the ball in space, so he could make plays after the catch. That was the difference. Give him more opportunities and he will show his true talent.
Poloha: We’ve seen this potential from Njoku for quite a while and it was really nice to see all of it finally come to fruition. He can be a weapon both in the passing game and as a run blocker due to his size, so hopefully, this is just the beginning and Njoku can carry this momentum into the rest of the season.
Gerbs: Again, I gotta agree with Andrew: every week is something new and predicting when and who will go off in a given week3 is folly. But it is nice to see this from Njoku, and it’s obvious the coaching staff saw something in Chargers film that made this performance happen. Will he be a weekly threat to break 100 yards? Probably not, but he has been having his best year so far and that’s always enjoyable.
Taylor: Njoku has come a long way since being seldom used in the early and middle parts of last season. And, I’ll be honest, I didn’t really expect his resurgence, but it’s a welcome surprise. As Andrew said, I don’t think this offense really lends itself to having the same guy go off every week, but Njoku being a legitimate weapon only makes the offense better.
4) No one has rushed for more yards, more touchdowns, or had a better yards-per-carry average than the Browns over the first five weeks. What is helping the running game take off this season?
Andrew: Talent and coaching. When you have the best OL coach in the game, really good/great veteran guards who excel at pulling, a phenomenal leader at center, and then two top-five running backs in the league, that’s a system set up for success. The league is a passing league, but the Browns have decided to lean into the running game and perhaps view it as a market inefficiency they can take advantage of. So far it’s working for them.
Gilbert: There are a few factors. First off, the talented duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt is the best running back duo in the league and both are playing at a high level. The offensive line is really good in run blocking. Every blocker is a strong run blocker and the scheme fits them well. Lastly, the Browns have faced some truly awful run defenses, elevating their success even more.
Poloha: When you have the best one-two punch in the backfield, it makes things pretty easy. Add in one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, and well, it adds up to being able to dominate the running game. This Chubb-Hunt duo is something special and we’ll learn that even more as the season goes on and the pair continues to remain fresh as opposing defenses get tired.
Gerbs: The Chunt combo is devastating, which is really the key cog in the running game watch, but even if you took one or both of them away, you’d still get some decent run with what was left. Like a Swiss pocket watch, the genuine beauty is in the exquisite craftsmanship of the pulling guards and the play-action fakes and the brutality of Wyatt Teller and the grace of Joel Bitonio. We are lucky to be able to watch such a thing.
Taylor: This offense revolves around the immense talent that exists in that running back room. I still think the offense would be able to run the ball if they had league-average guys, but Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are the kind of difference-makers you hope to have just one of. I think being in the second season of this offensive system is definitely a factor here too. The linemen all know where they’re supposed to be and the runners all know where the linemen are supposed to be. The Browns running game is just the perfect marriage of everything you want to see in a ground game.
5) Kyler Murray is realizing his potential this season, becoming the passer he was touted as being, while still maintaining his ability to scramble and be dangerous on the move. What can Cleveland do to keep him in check this week and handle his talented wide receiver corps?
Andrew: They can pray Clowney is back this week. They can pray that the secondary is a lot healthier for this game. Clowney is just so good at taking up space that his presence will help a lot with at least potentially slowing down Kyler’s scrambling ability a bit. The defensive line will have to be disciplined in how they rush this game to not give Kyler escape lanes. And having the secondary a little healthier will obviously help slow down the passing game and give Myles and crew time to get to Kyler.
Gilbert: They have to keep him in the pocket and not let him make plays out of the pocket. The pass rush lanes will be so important so that the defense does not give gaps for Murray to scramble through. While doing that, the Browns have to pressure him and actually bring him down. His time to throw is one of the tops in the league this year. He can be a bit wild and inaccurate when rushing to throw.
Poloha: Contain the edge on the defensive line and keep a guy like JOK as the spy. It’ll be tough to try and stop Arizona’s offense, but Cleveland has the playmakers on all levels of the defense to try and do so.
Gerbs: Hoping for injury is bad, but Kyler showed up on the injury report and has been limited with it all week, so the old line of “the only way to stop him is a rain out” might be a little accurate here. I don’t think he will miss the game, but similar to last year, he might have gotten dinged up, which could affect his ability to get the ball out properly. As for how to stop him proper, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah needs to be leading in snaps again and playing spy, with Clowney and Myles Garrett keeping him contained. Benjamin Solak had a great piece on The Ringer this week about how few blitzes Patrick Mahomes has seen this season and how it’s affected him; the gameplan should be similar: don’t blitz, but get effective pressure.
Taylor: One of the things the Browns have struggled with in their first five games has been maintaining their rush lane integrity and letting QBs gett outside the pocket too easily. They absolutely cannot do that against Murray…but I’m sure they know that. As far as the receiving corp goes, they need as many of their DBs healthy as possible. I can’t imagine it will go well for the Browns if a few of those guys end up not playing on Sunday.
6) The Cardinals are allowing the 5th most rushing yards while being the 8th best team in passing yardage and having the 3rd best TO%. We know the Browns can rush (see question No. 4), but what can Mayfield and the passing game do to move the ball against this opportunistic defense?
Andrew: I personally think they should stick to the things they do well. Don’t fret so much about downfield plays. Utilize play action and bootlegs, take what the defense is giving underneath, and limit mistakes. The Browns don’t need to be fancy in this game. This is a game I would try to smash the Cardinals in the face. Make them play the Browns game, don’t try to beat Arizona at their own game.
Gilbert: Establish the run early and then use some play action to take shots downfield. The Browns have to get back to threatening defenses vertically. That starts with Baker and OBJ.
Poloha: Take what’s open (whether the deep ball or short passes), be accurate, and use the running game to open up the passing game. Here’s to hoping it’s that easy.
Gerbs: Don’t try and take from the counter when you have good food at your table. Run the ball and play off that. Get Baker in rollouts and play-action and utilize those tight-end screens that Stefanski has been so good at calling this season. You can go vertical when needed, but establish the run first and play off that.
Taylor: I think you have to go in with a similar mentality to what they did against the Chargers. With the Cardinals not being able to stop the run, I feel like the blueprint to move the ball is pretty easy, and while I respect their ability to turn teams over, they’ve also already faced two rookie QBs, so the numbers could be a little bit inflated. So far, the Browns have done a fairly good job of not beating themselves with turnovers on offense, only having turned the ball over four times in 5 games, a number that is among the best in the league to this point.