Excellent job Earl i saw the same thing you did and guess who agrees with you besides many of us? The Browns offensive line themselves and some of the writers in Cleveland as well. IMHO I'd say the most important component of this Oline on the right side is Floyd Womack and they must learn how to employ a strategic blocking method for this 4-3 stunting Dline. It's gonna be a long game tomorrow! Read on ladies and gents...
Offensive line falls flat for the Browns
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 10:32 p.m. EST, Nov 21, 2010
JACKSONVILLE, FLA.: How could this happen?
How could the Browns' defense get six takeaways against the Jacksonville Jaguars and lose?
One player held himself accountable for Sunday's 24-20 setback at EverBank Field. Actually, left guard Eric Steinbach held his unit accountable after the Browns converted those turnovers into a mere 10 points, three points by the offense.
''We just didn't get it done,'' Steinbach said. ''It's production in this business, and here's a week where we didn't produce. As an offensive line, we've got to take this one, because I don't think in the history of the NFL you get plus-five in turnovers and you still lose.
''If the defense is going to give us a gift with a turnover or interception, we've got to produce.''
Researching the history of the NFL, the Elias Sports Bureau didn't have to go back far. On Oct. 8, 2007, the Buffalo Bills had six takeaways at home against just one giveaway and lost 25-24 to the Dallas Cowboys.
Steinbach didn't just stand up and accept blame; he understood what went wrong. The reason was simple: The Browns couldn't run the ball against the Jaguars' 4-3 defense coordinated by Mel Tucker, the former Ohio State assistant and Cleveland native who got his first chance in the NFL from ex-Browns coach Romeo Crennel. That defense allowed the Browns to run for 214 yards in the 2009 season finale.
Steinbach said there were too many negative runs — too many second- and third-and-longs that limited offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's play-calling. Eight of the Browns' 26 carries went for 1 yard or less.
''They did a good job of generating some negative plays, which is what they do through different pressures and stunts, and we didn't handle it very well offensively,'' Browns coach Eric Mangini said. ''They have three good linebackers who were consistently flowing to the ball that we didn't handle very well.''
Mangini said the Browns' 3.4 yards per carry was ''a huge thing.''
The Browns needed running back Peyton Hillis to produce like a Pro Bowl candidate, especially when rookie quarterback Colt McCoy played nearly the entire second half with a left ankle injury. McCoy left the stadium in a walking boot, preferred footwear for Browns quarterbacks this season.
At this point in the Browns' 3-7 season and at this point in the franchise's rebuilding, they have discovered what they must be on offense. With the talent they have, they know what they must do to win. They must play smashmouth football with Hillis. And when the offensive line struggles and fullback Lawrence Vickers isn't blowing up defenders and the simple formula fails as it did against the Jaguars, even four interceptions and two fumble recoveries can't save them.
With Hillis gaining 48 yards on 21 carries (2.3 average), the Browns rushed for only 88 yards, their fourth-lowest total of the season. Thirty-nine yards came from McCoy on four carries. They've run for 107 yards or fewer in six of their seven losses.
Steinbach likened this effort to a 20-10 setback against the Atlanta Falcons last month, when Hillis was banged up and the running game produced a mere 48 net yards.
''Exactly. It's a 4-3 defense that slants and moves,'' Steinbach said of the Falcons. ''We're facing all these 3-4 teams all the time, when we get to a 4-3 team — not a basic 4-3 team like Cincinnati — a team that prides themselves on slanting and moving and creating all that stuff that maybe you're not used to. . . .We didn't produce against Atlanta, so maybe there's a comparison there.''
Compounding the problem was the fact that the line was down two starters from last weekend.
Steinbach played with a calf injury that sidelined him from practice two days last week. The Browns' best right tackle, Floyd Womack, sat out with a knee injury, forcing John St. Clair to take over. Right guard Billy Yates (biceps) was placed on injured reserve after the New York Jets' game, so rookie Shaun Lauvao made his first career start against the Jaguars. When three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas didn't speak to beat writers afterward, that might have been a hint he didn't play to his usual standards. Center Alex Mack had his hands full.
McCoy spent the afternoon under siege, especially in the second half, when the Jaguars had four of their six sacks. McCoy was hurt on the first of those four, when defensive lineman Jeremy Mincy came rushing in unblocked on the Browns' second play of the third quarter.
Steinbach said the Browns did not come out flat against the Jaguars, who have won three in a row. They knew the Jags would remember what the Browns did to them last season, when Jerome Harrison ran 33 times for 127 yards in a 23-17 victory.
''We weren't flat, trust me,'' Steinbach said. ''We knew what we had to do. But as the game went on, we didn't produce.
''We were going out there yelling and screaming, rah-rah and fighting. We call a play, then all of a sudden one guy blitzes or one guy is free and makes a play behind the line. If it was second-and-8 and then it's third-and-10, we're behind the eight ball.''
While Hillis spent his day running into a wall of Jaguars, the Browns kept calling on their battering ram. Hillis ran his season total to 774 yards (4.5 average) and 11 touchdowns, eight rushing.
''We were talking about it on the sidelines, trying to figure out why it wasn't there for us, why it wasn't working as much,'' McCoy said.
Apparently on the sideline in the throes of the moment, the offensive linemen weren't as forthcoming as Steinbach was afterward. Or if they were, they didn't have the manpower or the muscle to fix it. To the eight-year veteran guard, there was no mystery why the unusual frenzy of takeaways went for naught.
ANOTHER STORY ON THE OLINE
The Browns' offensive line is supposed to be one of the strengths of the team, but its Achilles' heel has certainly been exposed this season.
The O-line has been embarrassed by 4-3 defenses with active fronts. That's why the Carolina Panthers (1-9) could pose a serious threat today. Their defense fits the description of those that have wreaked havoc against the Browns (3-7).
Panthers coach John Fox had his poker face on when he said he didn't view the Browns' blocking against 4-3 fronts as a deficiency. But you can bet he studied how the Atlanta Falcons and the Jacksonville Jaguars used stunts and slants to dominate the Browns in the trenches.
''The communication is huge,'' Browns left tackle Joe Thomas said. ''It's everything really, especially against the 4-3, because you need to be on the same page with the guys next to you in order to be able to pick up the stuff. A lot of times it is switching assignments, you're switching gaps, so it's all about communication. It's all about pre-snap reads.''
Throughout the season, the majority of the Browns' opponents have employed 3-4 defenses. Blocking against a 4-3 isn't rocket science, but apparently it presents enough challenges.
In Week 5, the Falcons held the Browns to 48 yards on 20 carries (2.4 average). Without a viable rushing attack, the Browns put themselves in a tough spot.
The Falcons' pass rushers teed off, recording three sacks and five quarterback hits. As a result, Seneca Wallace suffered a high ankle sprain and fellow quarterback Jake Delhomme reinjured his mangled ankle.
Last week, the Jaguars' defensive line followed the Falcons' recipe for success. The Jaguars limited the Browns to 88 yards on 26 carries (3.4 average). Keep in mind, 39 of the 88 yards were a result of rookie quarterback Colt McCoy avoiding pressure and gaining ground.
Speaking of McCoy, he was sacked six times, hit at least twice more and left hobbling away from EverBank Field with a walking boot on his left foot and a cowboy boot on his right foot. Yes, another tenacious defensive line in a 4-3 system left another Browns quarterback with a high ankle sprain.
Now with Delhomme back in the fold, what can the O-line do better to protect him against his former team?
''You can't let them penetrate into the gaps,'' Browns coach Eric Mangini said. ''You've got to be able to blunt it before they get into the seam between the offensive linemen. When you blunt them and they're moving, a lot of times what happens is you just use their momentum to wash them down the line of scrimmage and you can create some big plays.''
The Browns' offensive linemen could have used an excuse along these lines after their loss to the Jaguars: ''We had rookie Shawn Lauvao making his first career start at right guard, and John St. Clair was coming off an injury to play right tackle because Floyd Womack was sidelined. That's why we weren't on the same page.''
To their credit, they didn't play that card. Making excuses won't help them execute a turnaround against the Panthers. Instead, they must focus on solving the great mystery of the 4-3.
''If you're sound fundamentally in the pass game, it's a little bit easier [to block against them] 'cause you're not attacking, you're backing off in the pass game,'' Thomas said. ''So when they're twisting, they're kind of passing themselves off. In the run game, you're trying to attack them. If you're not good with your eyes and your feet and your communication, you can get picked off before you get a chance.
''In Jacksonville, we had the opportunity to keep running it because the score was close. That was frustrating, 'cause we had a lot of runs, and we weren't able to make it work. This week we're gonna try to make sure it's different.''
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@
thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at
http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at
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