The Cleveland Browns will host the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in a game that is not exactly primetime material.
Tennessee enters the game riding a seven-game losing streak, which has them in the running for the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL Draft for a second consecutive year.
Cleveland is right behind them, having lost seven of their past nine games, and is now in the evaluation process for the rest of the season.
On Thursday, Cleveland’s coordinators held their weekly meeting with the media,
and here are the key takeaways from what they had to say about the upcoming game against the Titans.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz
Cleveland’s defensive line has been a strength this season, but it lost defensive tackle Maliek Collins to a season-ending injury against the 49ers. Schwartz said he is looking for a collective effort to help fill in the gap:
“Maliek was playing great football for us, probably the best football of his career. He was an inside presence for us and was the guy who could win one-on-ones. So, it just really falls to everybody. I don’t know that anybody has to do more; they all just have to be themselves, and they’ll get more opportunities. And I think that’s probably the biggest thing, you have to make the most of those opportunities. You know, whether you’re Mason (Graham), whether you’re Shelby (Harris), whether you’re Sam (Kamara), whether you’re Mike (Hall Jr.). Maybe Adin (Huntington), when Adin’s able to come back. It just provides opportunity for those guys, and they have to do something with that opportunity.”
Tennessee quarterback Cam Ward has 12 turnovers this season (six interceptions and six lost fumbles) and has taken a league-high 48 sacks. Pressuring Ward up the middle will be a key to Cleveland’s success on defense, according to Schwartz:
“It’s hard to evaluate them without 100% knowing exactly what their scheme is and things like that, but he has taken a bunch of sacks. And probably one of the biggest things for us is we really got to be disruptive in the middle of the pocket because he’s given up a lot of fumbles this year. And you know, it’s one thing to take sacks, but you turn a sack into a fumble … I mean, sacks are game-changing plays, forced fumbles in the pocket, huge plays. So, we’ll need stuff like that also.”
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees
Even though the offense only put up eight points and was ineffective again on third down against San Francisco, Rees was able to see some good things from quarterback Shedeur Sanders in his second start:
“(He) took care of the football there throughout the game, which is a positive, and something that, with young players, you stress. I thought, operationally, (it) was cleaner, as he gets more comfortable, more reps, more opportunities in and out of the huddle, communicating at the line of scrimmage.
“I felt like we had more time at the line of scrimmage to get some things called up front. So, I think ownership of the system, ownership of what we’re asking him to do, making good decisions, thought there was some progression there for sure.”
While it is nice not to turn the ball over on offense, it is equally nice to actually make plays that matter. But it is important to remember that the opposing defense plays a role in what happens on the field as well, according to Rees:
“It all predicates on what is the look that the defense is giving us, right? Are they giving us a look where we want to take that throw, where we are designing this to expose this coverage, and get this play called and get this route thrown? If a defense predicates the look, let it rip. You know, if they do something different, they take it away, you’ve got to find your next read or your next solution.
“I’ve told a lot of angry receivers, ‘Look, man, I don’t dictate where the ball goes, the defense does.’ Like, if they play this coverage, it’s going to end up here. It is what it is. It’s the same thing for the quarterbacks. When it’s not there, let’s be smart and find a solution, and we’ll call it again. You know, the other plays in between, it’s like, ‘hey, when we have the look, and we have the play, that’s when it’s time to let it rip’. And that’s where we want to make sure we’re maximizing our opportunities.”
Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone
The Browns had another horrible afternoon on special teams against San Francisco, with kick returners Malachi Corley and Gage Larvadain both having costly mistakes. So it was back to fundamentals this week in practice, according to Ventrone:
“We pretty much said, like, we’re going to get back on track, right? Get back to the fundamentals. Like, we always do. We always harp on that. The thing that I do love about our group, and I’ve done this since I’ve been a coordinator in the league, is I’ve done the work shirt thing. Like, and I want everyone to, like, buy into, like, it’s all about the work. It’s all about the work you put in during the week. It’s all about the work that your group has done together. And, like, having those guys being able to do that together and just understanding, like, if we’re gonna do this, like, it’s gotta be together, like, whether it’s a good play, bad play, indifferent, whatever it ends up being. But we’re working, and we’re working together to do so.”
With the continued issues on special teams, calls have come for the Browns to make a change at the coordinator position. But Ventrone is not focusing on that right now:
“I truly believe that I have the support. I mean, it feels like I have the support of the head coach, the GM, and ownership. I mean, AB (Andrew Berry), Kev (Kevin), Jimmy (Haslam), and JW (Johnson), like, those guys have been very supportive. I think they definitely understand that we’ve lost guys in training camp. Winston (Reid), Bookie (Nathaniel Watson), you know, you lose D.C. (DeAndre Carter) early in the year, so then you have to piece the unit together. You’re adding guys late, guys that haven’t had as many reps to your unit.
“So, it’s like, yeah, I have no concerns about whether they understand. Yeah, I think they understand.”
The Browns and the Titans kick off on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland. Stay tuned to Dawgs By Nature for coverage throughout the weekend and all day on Sunday.
