Tag Archives: Malik Jackson

Browns defensive failure not surprising

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The Cleveland Browns defense has been a complete failure this season and it should not be a surprise to anyone.

Five weeks into the 2022 season and the defense of the Cleveland Browns has been a complete disaster. A unit that some (wrongly) expected to carry the team until Deshaun Watson makes his team debut has been one of the worst in the league. Considering the construction and utilization of this defense this is far from a surprise.

The elephant in the room

Yes, Joe Woods. Three years in and the defense of Woods is worse than ever. Cleveland has given up 440 yards on the ground in the last two games, including over 200 to one of the worst rushing attacks in the league (Chargers). Time and time again there are missed assignments resulting in big plays and teammates blaming each other. Missed tackles are also an issue as they are one of the worst in this department currently.

In addition to the defense being needlessly complicated, the scheme is antiquated and archaic. Versions of this scheme have been successful in Seattle and San Francisco, but the talent level was far better than what the Browns currently possess.

Cleveland’s defense has some quality pieces, but they are not at the same level of what Seattle featured in their Legion of Boom era or what San Francisco did later. This is a failure on Woods to adjust his scheme to the talent on the roster and also a failure from the front office to provide quality players.

Botched process from front office

The front office of the Cleveland Browns has not addressed the defensive side of the ball in an adequate manner. Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney were neutralized in Sunday’s loss and the expectation should be for that to continue. Cleveland has nobody that can pull their weight at the defensive tackle position and that appears by design. The Browns have essentially actively downgraded this part of the defense by not bringing in adequate players.

Cleveland’s defense in 2020 had Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi anchoring the middle with Garrett and Olivier Vernon on the outside. This version of the defense was so much more impactful than the next two iterations. Attempting to swap out the middle for Malik Jackson and Malik McDowell was not a fruitful endeavor. Both are now gone (for good reason) and at this juncture feature who are below replacement level. Jordan Elliott, Tommy Togiai, Taven Bryan, and Perrion Winfrey are Cleveland’s defensive tackles this year and this is far from acceptable. The result from all of this? A defensive interior which cannot create pressure or even hold their ground.

While freeze-frames can be incredibly deceiving this is not the case here. This has not been a rare occurrence and has happened repeatedly through the first five weeks. Expect more teams to expose this very obvious weakness in the Browns defensive front until something major changes. Adding Deion Jones from Atlanta is a good start, but it is merely scratching the surface in terms of fixing the defense.

What can be done?

The only in season changes that can be made are adding help at defensive tackle or firing Woods. Both are absolutely necessary, but adding a defensive tackle or two seems more likely at this point. Despite the struggles of this side of the ball it does not appear that they will move on from Woods any time soon.

The only real band-aid that can be applied at this time appears to be Woods tailoring his scheme to match the talent and skillset of his players. Unfortunately that does not appear likely as the team has struggled into year three of his system with familiar struggles on a weekly basis. Expect more of the same unless a change of heart happens from Woods or those above him.

What about after the season?

The hope is to find a defensive coordinator who knows how to coach his players and not just a scheme. In addition to getting a new coordinator, Cleveland must address the center of their defense. As long as the Browns do not have a defensive interior they do not have a defense. That means utilizing sizable capital on middle linebackers and defensive tackles, something that this front office has shied away from for some bizarre reason. Adding NFL caliber players in these areas is absolutely mandatory if they want to become at least an average unit.

Browns: DPJ, Ward out, OBJ, Clowney questionable

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The Cleveland Browns have listed three players as out and five others as questionable ahead of Sunday’s matchup with Pittsburgh.

While the Cleveland Browns will have Baker Mayfield back in their lineup, three others have been listed as out for this Sunday. Cleveland will be without Denzel Ward, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Richard LeCounte. Additionally, Odell Beckham Jr., Jadeveon Clowney, A.J. Green, Malik Jackson, and Take McKinley are questionable.

Ward has been dealing with injuries all season and his status week-to-week is more up in the air than previous seasons. Peoples-Jones was scratched just before Thursday’s win over Denver and it appears his injury will keep him sidelined for another game.

As far as Beckham is concerned, he is beat up pretty bad at the current moment. It was reported earlier that OBJ had sustained a Grade 3 AC Joint sprain, definitely the type of injury that would impact the performance of a receiver.

The trio of defensive lineman listed as questionable could pose some problems for the Browns defense. It is not necessarily that Clowney, McKinley, or Jackson are elite players, in fact they are far from it, but the depth at those positions is not great and that leads to defensive issues stemming from the front.

This Is Believeland – Real Browns Fans Podcast Ep. 5

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This Is Believeland – Real Browns Fans Podcast Episode 5: Discussing the changes and season outlook of the Philadelphia Eagles with Conor Myles of Sports Illustrated’s Eagle Maven.

Eagles With Conor Myles by This Is Believeland

Browns defense gets the help they need

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The defense for the Cleveland Browns was a major issue last season and the front office has made an effort to address that side of the ball.

Last season the front office of the Cleveland Browns focused on improving the offensive side of the ball while making short-term buy-low type moves on the defense. Most of the moves on defense did not work out, but the good news is that they are using a similar approach on defense that they used on offense last season.

The Browns have already made two multi-year deals with John Johnson and Troy Hill. Cleveland also signed Takkarist McKinley, Anthony Walker, and Malik Jackson to one-year deals. These signings provide Cleveland with some options beyond next season on defense while keeping their flexibility to make future long-term investments.

Johnson and Hill should help solidify the Browns secondary and compliment what players the Browns already have. Adding the former Rams duo to Denzel Ward and Ronnie Harrison gives Cleveland a much better defensive backfield than last season. Grant Delpit and Greedy Williams both missed all of last season and they could contribute. The thing is that due to their injuries Cleveland must act if they are not on the roster. Make additions as if they do not exist and if they do contribute that is just a huge bonus.

The Browns defensive line got a huge boost with the additions of McKinley and Jackson. One of the signings by itself would not have done much, but both together allows each player to fill a role. It also takes pressure off of either player to perform as a starter and put together solid rotation to play alongside Myles Garrett.

Cleveland did re-sign Malcolm Smith, but that move is not as important as adding Walker from the Colts. Smith is a fine rotational/sub linebacker, the issue is that he is not a starter. Walker has played 66% or more defensive snaps over the past three seasons and that is exactly what the Browns need. Someone to come in, play the majority of snaps and make a ton of tackles. Check, check, and check.

Another defensive signing or two and a mostly defensive draft and this offseason for the Browns would go from good to great. Considering the way Cleveland has handled things so far shows that this could be how things are handled moving forward.

Browns agree to deal with Malik Jackson

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It’s another addition to the defensive side of the ball for the Cleveland Browns.

The Cleveland Browns are not done improving their defense through free agency. After making deals with John Johnson, Troy Hill, Takk McKinley, and Anthony Walker, Cleveland has signed Malik Jackson to a one-year deal.

Malik Jackson will join a Browns defensive line which includes Myles Garrett, McKinley, Sheldon Richardson, Jordan Elliott, Andrew Billings, and Porter Gustin. This is quite the impressive group that now has a bit more versatility with the addition of Jackson. Jackson has the ability to play in multiple spots on the defensive front which should allow Joe Woods to be a bit more creative with his looks.

The 31-year old veteran appeared in 15 games for the Eagles last season resisting 2.5 sacks and 28 tackles in addition to 2 pass defenses and 1 fumble recovery. Malik Jackson only appeared in just under 50% of defensive snaps for Philadelphia in 2020 and he could fill a similar role with the Browns this season.