Blitz Pickup And Special Teams Among Concerns Heading Into Week 1
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns have officially finished their preseason schedule and will now turn their focus to having their 53-man roster set by Tuesday afternoon. In years past teams have worked their roster down throughout the preseason, but now there is just a single date for having the roster cut down.
While the preseason record of 1-2-1 is slightly disappointing, there were plenty of positives. The starting offense (minus Joel Bitonio) played a full three series on Saturday afternoon vs. the Chiefs and looked extremely sharp.
The defense also looked vastly improved. They’ve generated terrific pressure, and the corners already look more comfortable in Jim Schwartz’s man-to-man scheme.
However, there are still a few areas this team needs to work on before the first regular season game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.
Blitz Pickup and Pass Protection
For the fourth-straight preseason game, it felt like Deshaun Watson was under heavy pressure that and if it wasn’t for his elite athleticism the day would have gone quite differently.
Jedrick Wills still didn’t look the sharpest and was consistently bullrushed into Watson, making him flee the pocket before he was ready. The Chiefs also dialed up a few blitzes and games up front that the Browns really struggled with.
We haven't gotten to see much of FAU against starters, but here he is working CLE starting LT Jedrick Wills. pic.twitter.com/SEvS1kMetw
— Tony Sommer (@Tony_Sommer) August 26, 2023
Right now, the Browns have the same issue at offensive tackle that they had at defensive tackle last season. They have four guys who are all capable players in Wills, Jack Conklin, James Hudson, and the rookie Dawand Jones, but each is missing something.
Wills and Hudson have been inconsistent but have shown flashes of greatness. Conklin has struggled with injuries, and Jones is still just a rookie. It appears that Wills is not in jeopardy of losing his starting spot for Week 1, but don’t be shocked to see that position get some rotation if there is a lot of pressure early from the Bengals.
Running Back Depth
One of my biggest takeaways from the game Saturday was that the Browns are still not set at the running back position. It feels like Jerome Ford will miss at least a few games at the beginning of the season, and Jordan Wilkins, who was brought in last week, really struggled with two fumbles.
Demetric Felton and John Kelly have both looked okay this preseason, but both have pretty big flaws that make it necessary to house both on the roster vs. just one. Kelly is a great runner with tremendous vision but is basically nonexistent in the passing game.
Felton is a tremendous receiving back and is a huge plus on third down, but he is small and struggles to fight for the short yardage. Additionally, it’s very difficult to utilize him in blitz pickup because of his size.
While I expect Andrew Berry to likely hang on to Felton because he was drafted just a few years ago, I do look for the general manager to bring in another running back before the season starts. There will very likely be a surprise veteran cut at the position somewhere across the league, and the Browns should be able to slot someone in pretty easily.
I’m fine with Chubb getting a few extra carries in Weeks 1 and 2, but the Browns have done a great job of preserving him the last few years with Kareem Hunt, and the team needs to be careful not to work him too hard and risk an injury.
Special Teams
While the kicking game has been atrocious this offseason, Cleveland also took a big hit on Saturday when Jakeem Grant went down with what looked like a serious injury on the opening kickoff.
The kick-return game has been a struggle for the Browns the last few seasons, so Berry finally brought in a specialist, which is tough to do as it takes up a roster spot. Grant not only looked great returning kicks in camp, he was also a big part of the offense on some gadget plays.
We don’t know how serious the injury is yet, but at this point it looks like he is likely heading to injured reserve, which means he will miss at least six weeks. Berry must decide if he wants to bring in another return man or lean on Felton and Donovan Peoples-Jones to fill the void and likely keep a receiver who may have been cut before the injury.
The biggest hole on the roster continues to be the kicker. After another instance of him missing a go-ahead kick, I’m not sure I can defend Cade York anymore. I only care how good you are in practice for so long, and at some point, it must carry onto the field.
The nine kickers the #Browns are most likely to replace Cade York with from my article after the Commanders game:
Robbie Gould
Dustin Hopkins
Rodrigo Blankenship
Ryan Succop
Matthew Wright
Mason Crosby
Randy Bullock
Nick Folk
Zane Gonzalezhttps://t.co/Dl1R0GOPZ0— Jack Duffin (@JackDuffin) August 27, 2023
What’s more concerning about York is that even the ones he makes just look ugly. I know he is claiming the 43-yarder at the end of the game was blocked, but at that distance, the only reason it was likely blocked is because the kick was miss-hit.
As Berry makes all these moves because the team is in a “win now” mentality, the final move will be releasing York and bringing in a veteran kicker.
Up Next