Dawgs By Nature
This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns take on the Green Bay Packers. Below, we analyze a few advantages, disadvantages, or general thoughts about the two teams before getting to our predictions for the game.
I will be clear about this up front: no one is picking Cleveland to win this game, and deservedly so. Nonetheless, to keep our sanity this early in the season, we need to come up with a blueprint for the Browns to pull off an upset. The Browns already have have the recipe with their defense, Cleveland ranks first on defense after two weeks, allowing a league-low 191.5 yards per game. Their run defense (45.5 yards per game) is absurd, and passing-wise, they’re only allowing 146 yards through the air per game.
What I have seen through these two weeks with the Browns has been…different. Last year, and even the year before that (when Cleveland was a top unit), I criticized the team for not adapting to opposing offenses playing off of their aggressiveness. I get the sense that the Bengals and Ravens could already see how good Cleveland’s defensive front was, to the point where Lamar Jackson didn’t even try to run for most of that game, even when the offense was stagnant. Now, unfortunately, after multiple short field opportunities, Jackson eventually found the one mismatch that Cleveland couldn’t patch up: with Denzel Ward out with cramps, Cameron Mitchell struggled. Hopefully, Ward won’t have issues this week.
The issues are all on the offensive side of the ball, as well as special teams. The number of egregious mistakes by these units is killing the spirit of the team, when in reality, virtually “doing nothing” would at least allow the defense to keep them in a game. Now, of course, I’m not saying the Browns should strive to be a boring, ball control offense only. They need to find an identity that fuels them. The best way to quickly get there might rely heavily on one guy: RB Quinshon Judkins. It might seem crazy to pin everything on a rookie running back, but there was clearly a different element to when he touched the ball last week vs. the team’s other running backs.
The Browns will also hopefully get Jack Conklin back this week. Prior to the season, we were all excited about the offensive line getting back to the zone blocking scheme and Kevin Stefanski’s offense. The problem is, the group has been making way too many mistakes. One guy misses something, and the whole play gets blown up. The backup running backs aren’t delivering the best blocks. Teams aren’t respecting the run, and therefore, the playaction game isn’t working.
Cleveland can have a domino effect of success on offense if they can get the ground game going with Judkins. It opens everything up and will help this receiving group that isn’t as talented as most groups in the league. The problem is, I don’t know “when” it will click....
