The Cleveland Browns dropped their second consecutive game last week in a close loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Browns turned to rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and while he put up a decent showing in his first NFL start, he was not able to break the team’s streak of games scoring 17 or fewer points, which has now reached a league-high 10 games.
Things will not get any easier this week as the Browns take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, where the Browns have not won a regular-season
game since 2003.
The Steelers currently lead the AFC North Division, but their three wins have come against teams that enter the weekend with a combined record of 6-9, so it is not as if they are a juggernaut.
On Thursday, Cleveland’s coordinators held their weekly meeting with the press, and here are the key takeaways from what they had to say about the upcoming game against the Steelers.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz
The Browns made a trade this week with the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire cornerback Tyson Campbell in exchange for cornerback Greg Newsome II. Campbell just arrived in Cleveland on Thursday, and while Schwartz is optimistic that the veteran could play on Sunday, there is a contingency plan in place:
“(Tyson’s) a veteran player (and) we’ve got players ready in less time than that. We have our intricacies, and we have a few things that we do uniquely, but we also do a lot of things that he’s done in the past. Late last night, (I) watched some film of him, and it’s just a matter of him getting terminology down, and he’ll lean on the safeties and the nickels to communicate to him.
“And then if we need to, we’re excited about Dom Jones also. You know, Dom is sort of, he’s leaped every hurdle we put in front of him since he was an undrafted player. He played well in practice, he played well against Carolina in the practices, played well in the preseason games. He’s big, he’s strong, he plays square, and he plays physical – all things that we like. So, we’ll see where it is and have a good plan for Sunday, whoever it is. But it’d be one of those two guys.”
The Browns will have to be aware of Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his ability to get the ball to his receivers and allow them to make a play after the catch:
“He’s putting the ball in positions that his guys can make plays, right? So, you’re a point guard and you’re getting the guys the ball, and they’re open, and they’re hitting layups, and they’re wide-open jumpers and things like that. Well, that’s the way he’s playing quarterback. I think it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 70% of their passing yards is run after the catch. And it’s like, that’s a ridiculously high number, but that’s a tribute to him.
“Number one, he’s throwing accurate passes that allow them to run after the catch and just knowing where to go and just put the ball in your playmaker’s hands. Anytime the ball is in a playmaker’s hands, it’s a good play, and he uses all the guys. He’s got a running back, (Jaylen) Warren, that’s averaging almost 13 yards a catch. I mean, there’s a lot of wide receivers that will be really, really happy with 13 yards. That’s a running back. And he also has some play extension ability, and he’s always made some big plays down the field and play extension. So, we’re going to have to cover the whole field, and we’re going to have to play really well, we’re going to have to be able to pressure up front. We’re going to have to cover it in the back end. It’s going to take our best effort.”
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel will be making his second NFL start on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the coaching staff looking to build off what he did well last week against the Vikings:
“Pittsburgh defense has been who they’ve been for quite a while now, and starts with their front. You know, they have an excellent front across the board, usually got five covers. It’s a lot of one-on-one matchups, the linebackers are aggressive, (and their) retooled secondary has a lot of talent. So, certainly you might know where they line up, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy task. They have really good players, and do a nice job of playing hard, physical and creating pressure on the quarterback. They do a nice job with batted balls and creating, again, the ability to push the pocket inside with who they’ve got.
“For Dillon, I think operationally we look to the biggest areas to improve. I mean, after one start, there’s going to be things that he’s more comfortable doing, there’s going to be rhythm there that he can get on the same page with the offensive line and the rest of the skill players, and you just look to build the continuity with the rest of the group. I think every time he steps out there with those guys, you’ll see that continue to improve, whether it’s communication or physical, just connecting on things. I think that continuity will continue to improve.”
The Browns have struggled to get any consistent production out of the wide receivers, and fixing the problem will take effort from everyone:
“It’s a total group effort there. We got to put them in good positions to have success. We got to be on time, we got to be accurate when we have opportunities, we got to make contested plays – that’s part of the NFL.
“But, as a staff we want to make sure that we’re putting them in the right spot and giving them the best opportunities to have success based on what they do best. And whether it’s use of motion, or use of variations in formations, we got to be on it, to make sure that we allow those guys to go out there and play to their full potential.”
Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone
Kicker Andre Szymt will be kicking for the first time in Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium, which has historically been a difficult place to kick. But they will figure it out come Sunday, according to Ventrone:
“I mean, we’ll get a feel for the wind and stuff when we get there. The stadium’s changed a good bit. I know that the stands on this, on the open side have kind of like closed in a little bit relative to what it used to look like. But we’ll figure it out once we get there.”
Speaking of rookies, the Browns currently have 14 on the roster, with some seeing time on special teams. Ventrone has liked the improvement the new guys have shown since the start of the season:
“It’ll be nice in a few years when all those rookies develop and you have a nice core unit. But no, those guys are improving each week. I think we’ve seen significant improvements in all those areas with the guys we’re using on teams and hopefully continue to do that.”
The Browns and the Steelers kick off on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. Stay tuned to Dawgs By Nature for coverage throughout the weekend and all day on Sunday.
