The Browns' defense is real, and it's spectacular
Take it from Jim Schwartz. It’s way too early to consider the Cleveland Browns' defense as one of the best in NFL history.
That’s no kind of knock on the amazing pace the NFL’s stingiest defense has established through five games this season. The Browns – leading the league for fewest yards, passing yards, points, first downs and third-down conversions allowed – have some of the best numbers ever produced at this point in a campaign. If this holds up, the comparisons to great defenses of yesteryear will be validated.
Yet it’s still early.
“Well, they don’t give out any trophies for five weeks,” Schwartz, Cleveland’s defensive coordinator, said during a news conference this week. “I think we all know that. It’s a long season, and we’re going to have to survive a lot of highs and lows throughout the season.
“We have some experienced players. We have some experienced coaches that have been there, that know that. And I think that’s one of the things that keeps us grounded. So let me know when the five-week stats are part of the tiebreaker. When they are, we’ll really concentrate on that.”
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Schwartz – whose perspective includes landing his only NFL head-coaching shot with the task of taking over a Detroit Lions squad that finished 0-16 the season before – has long been established as one of the league’s premier defensive strategists.
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That’s being proven again already during his first year with the Browns, as he has employed a wide-nine front and other wrinkles and surprises (see Myles Garrett’s feigned “crossover dribble” while lined up as a stand-up middle linebacker against the Bengals) to help a talented unit reach new heights.
Getting a glimpse of Schwartz fielding questions as he prepared for Sunday’s game at Indianapolis, though, showed that in addition to pushing the right buttons when it involves the X’s and O’s, he also set the proper tone against the landscape of the what-have-you-done-lately NFL.
Someone asked Schwartz to assess how defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo is faring. The response was classic, given that for all of the defensive superlatives, the Browns (3-2) are in third place in the A-North.
“He’s playing 3-2, right?” Schwartz said. “I mean, we’re all playing 3-2. Our defensive stats are 3-2, everything else, and he’s doing his job within – I don’t want to downplay it. I just don’t want to get into the whole rate of everybody’s play. It’s not about individuals. We talked about that last week. It’s about the group. It’s about all 11.”
He praised Okoronkwo’s effort and physicality, then finished by stating, “We’ll leave PFF (Pro Football Focus) to grading the players and where they rank in the league and all those things.”
In any event, the “all 11” and additional role players on Schwartz’s unit can certainly take a bow for how they handled one of the hottest offenses in the league in the 19-17 upset of the previously unbeaten San Francisco 49ers last Sunday. The 49ers, who scored at least 30 points in their first five games, were limited to 215 total yards.
For the season, Cleveland has allowed just 1,002 yards – third-fewest in the NFL through five games since 1970, after the 1971 Colts (836) and 1970 Vikings (945). This is connected to the league’s best rate on third downs, with just 15 conversions on 65 attempts (23.1%).
So many of the numbers are staggering. The Browns have allowed just 52 first downs, even more impressive when considering the team with the next-fewest, Tampa Bay, has allowed 94 first downs.
While the sack total (15) is average and the takeaways (four) way on the low end, that’s covered by the minimal yards (220.4 per game) and points allowed (77).
So maybe it’s a bit early to rank the Browns' defense among the best ever. But even Schwartz doesn’t mind his talented unit rolling with a fair amount of swagger.
“That would look foolish if we’re out there giving up 42 points,” Schwartz said. “If we’re last in the league on third-down percentage and things like that, then it just becomes clownish behavior. But I think a lot’s being said with if you’re going to have some personality and some swagger, then you better back it up on the field. And I like our guys’ ability to do that.”
Saints' Derek Carr blows gasket, pressure rises in NOLA
The scrutiny on new quarterback Derek Carr was intense enough when considering the disastrous results the New Orleans Saints have produced when getting near the goal line this season.
Now the heat has gone up a few notches – by Carr’s own actions during the 31-24 loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.
Carr was shown blowing a gasket after an ugly incompletion – receiver Chris Olave stopped while apparently running a third-down go route – during the nationally televised game on Amazon. It was not a good look, and not the only example of questionable body language to express frustration.
“I’ve been showing my emotion a little bit too much on my sleeve,” Carr told reporters during his postgame news conference. “You know, like, I kind of got to kind of chill out, and that’s me holding myself accountable. Because that’s not going to help anything.
“I can do a better job as a leader to calm everybody down.”
He can also help the Saints reverse their red-zone patterns. New Orleans entered Week 7 ranked 28th in the NFL for TD rate after reaching the red zone (36.8%, seven TDs on 19 possessions), then scored just two TDs on five red-zone trips against the Jaguars.
Carr, though, couldn’t be blamed for the result of a perfect pass that slipped through the fingers of tight end Foster Moreau in the end zone in the final seconds. And what he said afterward, when it was mentioned that teammates rallied around a distraught Moreau, suggests that he gets it when considering how his response can make a difference.
“I’ve been in that moment, when you miss a throw or you throw a bad pick or something like that, you feel like everybody hates you,” Carr said. “Our job as teammates is no matter what the situation, good or bad, is that you put your arm around him and keep ‘em going.”
In other words, pointing fingers is not the ticket.
Chiefs need Mecole Hardman to flow back into offense
The trade that brought Mecole Hardman back to Kansas City from the New York Jets could be huge for a Chiefs offense that has struggled to get consistent production from its wide receivers. Hardman, a second-round pick by the Chiefs in 2019, left in March on a one-year, $4 million free-agent deal. But he was lost in the wash, so to speak, with a Jets offense trying to recover from Aaron Rodgers’ torn Achilles tendon. In five games with the Jets, Hardman caught one pass for six yards. Now he’s back, essentially for the price of a sixth-round pick.
Hardman certainly won’t be lost in reuniting with Patrick Mahomes for at least two reasons: 1) opportunity and need. 2) familiarity.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy likened the expectation of Hardman flowing in KC’s offense to “riding a bike.”
“It’s not always just super simple,” Nagy said during a Thursday news conference, “but it is certainly easier for somebody like him that’s been here to come back in and go.”
Especially with Kansas City wideouts Marques Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore combining for 35 catches and two TDs, behind second-round rookie Rashee Rice’s 21 receptions and two TDs.
The Chiefs found multiple ways of using Hardman’s top-end speed in recent years, including as a weapon in running jet sweeps and as a returner. His 2022 season, though, was cut short after eight games due to a pelvic/abdominal injury that had him hospitalized for 10 days.
“Scary as hell,” is how Hardman described his injury last year.
If he regains his groove in the Chiefs' offense, Hardman could reflect a different type of fear factor for opposing defenses.
Commanders-Giants may be sack-fest
For all the woes that have struck the New York Giants' offensive line – four linemen this week were added to the roster from various practice squads, while the G-men scramble to settle on a left tackle with Joshua Ezeudu placed on IR due to a toe injury – it’s notable the unit still hasn’t allowed the most sacks in the NFL. That dubious distinction belongs to Washington, which heads into the matchup against the Giants on Sunday having allowed 34 sacks. New York has yielded 33 sacks. Considering that the league average is 15 ½ sacks allowed, it’s reasonable to project a sackfest for MetLife Stadium this weekend.
As of Friday, Giants coach Brian Daboll wasn’t ready to declare a starting left tackle, with the candidates including Justin Pugh, Josh Myles and Tyre Phillips. Pugh re-joined the team two weeks ago, while Myles and Phillips were signed this week off practice squads for Atlanta and Philadelphia, respectively, with New York losing seven of its original nine offensive linemen this season to injuries.
“Yeah, we have four new players on the offensive line that have been here for some less than a week, some less than two weeks, and we’re working tirelessly with them in terms of meetings, getting them up to speed on calls, practicing them at different spots,” Daboll told reporters. “You have to have plans, too. If one guy gets hurt, then here’s the next guy, they’re not playing that spot. There’s been a lot of shuffling. We’re trying our best to have as best continuity as we can, but those are the circumstances we are faced with.”
Eagles proceed with caution on Julio Jones
The Eagles signing of veteran wide receiver Julio Jones offers the promise of a playmaker with seven Pro Bowl selections on his resume … and caution. Jones, 34, is with his fourth team in as many seasons, and has missed seven games in each of the past three seasons with Tampa Bay, Tennessee and Atlanta, due to assorted injuries.
Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni, whose offense could use a jolt as receiver DeVonta Smith nurses a hamstring injury, liked what he saw from Jones on the practice field this week. But he must weigh that against the notion of expecting too much, too soon.
“You’re going to be tempted to want to put him in because he’s a phenomenal player that’s done a lot in this league,” Sirianni said. “We are going to have to make sure that we’re not putting him in danger.”
