Cleveland Browns defensive improvements start in fourth quarter
BEREA — Joe Woods knows a little bit about hearing criticism from outside the team facility. The Browns defensive coordinator has been a target for fans the last two seasons due to the way his unit has performed for stretches.
So Woods no doubt could relate to the criticism directed at Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman after the Browns’ win last Saturday. Ravens fans have be loud in their displeasure with the way Roman seemed to go away from the running game in the second half of that game despite finishing the game with 198 net yards and averaging 7.1 yards a carry.
Then again, Woods was the last person to be complaining about the change.
“I felt like they ran it 50 to be honest with you,” Woods said Wednesday. “No, I think they were mixing it up a little bit. They had some success with some of the stuff that they game planned against us, and we were trying to adjust. I think after one of the big runs and the series we had some big runs, they went back and threw the one pass, and that is when we got the takeaway with (safety) John (Johnson III).
“Like I said, I felt like they were running a lot. We just had I think about five plays where we gave up 100 yards.”
Baltimore did not have a called running play over their final 11 offensive plays, not counting a blocked field goals. Their last running play was a 4-yard run by Gus Edwards on the second play of the fourth quarter.
Those 11 plays netted 20 yards and one first downs for the Ravens. Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley was 4-of-9 passing, while being sacked twice in that span.
“We just came together,” safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. told the Beacon Journal after the Ravens game. “We played hard all game, but the second half we knew it was kind of going to be on our shoulders, so we came together on the defensive side of the ball and everybody brought energy and it just spread it throughout the defense.”
That’s been part of a steady improvement by the Browns defense over the last four games entering Saturday’s final home game of the season against the New Orleans Saints. Three of those have been wins, despite the fact the Browns have scored just 18.3 points a game and have just two offensive touchdowns in the last three games.
Why that defense has improved in that span, despite a litany of injuries, especially at linebacker, can be traced to multiple things. One of the biggest is the way they’ve closed out games.
Going back to the overtime win over Tampa Bay in Week 12, opponents have had 15 possessions — not counting an end-of-game possession by Cincinnati in Week 14 — in the fourth quarter or overtime. The Browns have only allowed nine points in those 15 possessions, six on a late touchdown by the Houston Texans in Week 13 and one field goal by the Bengals.
