Vambo Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2022/7/1/23191982/cleveland-browns-pff-ranks-secondary-among-nfl-elite Browns check in at No. 3 in the rankings, which is good given the offenses they will face this season. The Cleveland Browns defense in 2021 was a tale of two halves. In the first half of the season, the unit struggled more often than not in giving up 30 or more points four times through the first 10 weeks of the season. But once the Browns hit mid-November, the defense settled down and started playing like a unit that can make a difference on game day. There are still some questions that will need to be answered during training camp and the preseason, most notably how the defensive tackle rotation will work itself out, but one area that is not a concern is the secondary. Led by Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward, veteran safety John Johnson III, second-year starters Greg Newsome II (cornerback) and Grant Delpit (safety), and rookie cornerback Martin Emerson, the unit is ranked as the third-best in the NFL, achieving Tier 1 status in Pro Football Focus’ secondary rankings: This unit not only has proven studs in Ward and Johnson, but also three ascending top-50 draft picks who have all played two or fewer NFL seasons. What this unit could be is scary to think about, as we already saw quality play from Newsome, (Greedy) Williams and Delpit down the stretch in 2021. Pro Football Focus is big on valuing defending the pass over rushing the passer as “nothing on the defensive side of the football translates better to points allowed than a secondary’s performance in coverage. That means if a team expects to field a top-three defense in the NFL, it better at least end up as a Tier 1 unit on this list when we revisit after the season,” according to PFF’s Michael Renner. If true, that bodes well for the Browns this fall, especially when you flip over to PFF’s rankings of the league’s top wide receiving groups. A run through that list shows the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 1, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 2, Miami Dolphins at No. 3, Buffalo Bills at No. 8 and the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 9 - all teams that are on Cleveland’s schedule this fall. Having another year in defensive coordinator Joe Woods’ system should also help eliminate the blown coverages that were a common sight last season, Johnson said during minicamp (quote via clevelandbrowns.com😞 “Absolutely. Just like the stuff we wanted to do last year, we had mistakes and blown coverages. The harder stuff to master, that is what we are working on. The simple stuff is easy. We have been doing that since Day 1 last year. Well, at least I have. Guys before me, they have been doing it for three years now. Just the stuff we had trouble with last year, we are trying to master the more complex stuff.” Woods may have his hands full this season dealing with some issues at defensive tackle, but if things play out as expected, he won’t be losing any sleep over the performance of the defensive secondary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjp28 Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 Sounds about right, and like any team great when not injured. Led by Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward, veteran safety John Johnson III, second-year starters Greg Newsome II (cornerback) and Grant Delpit (safety), and rookie cornerback Martin Emerson, the unit is ranked as the third-best in the NFL, achieving Tier 1 status in Pro Football Focus’ secondary rankings: This unit not only has proven studs in Ward and Johnson, but also three ascending top-50 draft picks who have all played two or fewer NFL seasons. What this unit could be is scary to think about, as we already saw quality play from Newsome, (Greedy) Williams and Delpit down the stretch in 2021. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 If we don't have Watson, we're gonna have to play some darned good D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted July 4, 2022 Report Share Posted July 4, 2022 On 7/1/2022 at 9:40 PM, Orion said: If we don't have Watson, we're gonna have to play some darned good D. We were going to have to do that with Baker as well. Hell, just do it with anybody we play at QB. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch Oven Posted July 15, 2022 Report Share Posted July 15, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flugel Posted July 15, 2022 Report Share Posted July 15, 2022 On 7/1/2022 at 9:33 PM, mjp28 said: Sounds about right, and like any team great when not injured. There's the key right there. What's on paper before the season doesn't always make it to the field during the season. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickers Posted July 17, 2022 Report Share Posted July 17, 2022 On 7/15/2022 at 7:11 AM, Flugel said: There's the key right there. What's on paper before the season doesn't always make it to the field during the season. Well like I keep telling these idiots who are printing SB tickets with DW on the team now... Remember how Philys dream team worked out?... It's a TEAM game!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch Oven Posted July 17, 2022 Report Share Posted July 17, 2022 1 hour ago, nickers said: Well like I keep telling these idiots who are printing SB tickets with DW on the team now... Remember how Philys dream team worked out?... It's a TEAM game!! Name us the posters on here who are printing SB tickets because Watson is the QB. You keep saying this. Name the posters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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