Browns defensive coordinator is unfazed by the perception that he'll be on the hot seat in 2021 after all the defensive players added to the team. (Cleveland Browns)
Browns coordinator Joe Woods is excited to be on the ‘hot seat’ with so many new defensive pieces
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from the third day of Browns minicamp and interviews …
Joe Woods gets it. The Browns defensive coordinator knows the focus is on him.
“I will be honest with you, it is the NFL,” Woods said. “I have been on the hot seat for 30 years.”
After Woods’ first defensive team gave up 419 points -- ranking 13th among the 14 teams to reach the playoffs last year – GM Andrew Berry dutifully blew it up.
Berry signed nine new defensive players in free agency and added five with draft picks or undrafted free agent signings. And when you sprinkle in three more veterans who opted out or were injured in 2020, Woods could have eight players in the starting lineup in the season opener in Kansas City who were not there in the division playoff loss to the Chiefs on Jan. 17.
Berry knew the defense was short-changed in 2020 because the offense was his top priority. Woods’ unit proceeded to give up 30 or more points in eight games.
Funny thing was, the Browns won five of those games, including the franchise’s first post-season game on the road since 1969 and first victory in Heinz Field in 18 years.
The 48-37 wild-card win in Pittsburgh was typical of the defense’s roller-coaster season. Five defensive turnovers fueled a big lead, and the defense hung on for dear life, allowing 501 passing yards.
And then in the division playoff game in Kansas City, the Browns knocked Patrick Mahomes out of the game, only to let journeyman Chad Henne beat them in the end.
“I was very excited of what we were able to accomplish,” Woods said. “It has not been done around here for a long time, but this is a ‘show me’ game. That is the NFL, and I have to produce. I am in charge of the defense, and I am excited about it. The players we acquired, I am excited to get going and really, hopefully, play better defense than we did last year.”
There’s plenty of time before the Sept. 12 opener in Kansas City, but based on three days of minicamp, projected new starters include end Jadeveon Clowney, tackles Andrew Billings and Malik Jackson, linebacker Anthony Walker, safeties John Johnson and Grant Delpit, and cornerbacks Greg Newsome and Troy Hill.
The heat is on Woods to get them ready for Mahomes and the NFL’s No. 1 offense in Game 1.
“It is my job to go in there and our job as coaches to teach these guys the scheme, the techniques that we are using and to rep it,” Woods said. “That is what the offseason is for and that is what training camp is for. You are going to have things that you are going come across and adversity throughout the season, but as long as we can establish our defensive scheme and guys can execute, I feel like it will not be as much of a problem as people may think it will be. Again, there may be six or more starters [added to the roster], but I am excited about that just in terms of what we were able to bring in.”
Woods was one of Kevin Stefanski’s first hires to his staff in 2020 when Woods was finishing his time with the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. They worked together for eight years with the Minnesota Vikings.
Don’t think for a second that Stefanski believes Woods is on the hot seat.
“We are all on the hot seat,” Stefanski said. “The second we are in this building, we have to fight for everything we get. We are earning it every day. That is no different for myself or all of our players. That is my mentality.
“Joe and I were talking about that on the field [Wednesday]. We have a lot of work to do. Training camp is on the horizon. We are going to make sure that we focus on the work. We are excited to add these guys to all levels of the defense. Now, it is a matter of getting to work and seeing who can do what.”
The Odell factor
Like everyone else, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was impressed with Odell Beckham Jr.’s recovery from ACL surgery in November. Beckham took the third day off after working in individual drills the first two days. It’s probable that Beckham’s early work in training camp will be monitored similarly.
Van Pelt was asked if he viewed Beckham as the deep-ball threat to take the Browns’ offense to a higher level.
“Yeah, I certainly hope so,” Van Pelt said. “Any time you can add a dominant athlete back on the field in your offense, it is only going to help us. He is an elite player. Not having him out there, we had to fight and claw to continue to have offensive success. I know it is a lot easier when you have great players.”
Naturally, Van Pelt is not buying the theory that Baker Mayfield flourished over the second half of the season because the pressure to get the ball to Beckham was removed by his absence.
“I think Baker was better as the season went on, whether there had been Odell or not still out there,” he said. “He started to understand the offense more and understand what we were asking him, got his footwork right. He got better, regardless of who was on the field. As I said earlier, you are always better with great players. Anytime you take a great player off the field, you are going to have to find ways to generate more offense. We will be better with Odell, no doubt.”
Brownie bits
* Nobody was keeping score over the three days of minicamp, but Van Pelt said that tight end Austin Hooper “had more catches than anyone else in camp” …
* Finding a spark in the kick and punt return teams is an ongoing project for special teams coordinator Mike Priefer. Candidates in training camp should be D’Ernest Johnson, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and rookies Anthony Schwartz and Demetric Felton …
* The inexorable effort to develop a package with backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the backfield together will proceed in training camp. “Absolutely,” Van Pelt said. “You want to put your most-talented players on the field, and Kareem is definitely deserving of getting playing time, along with Nick in certain packages. Those are things we have looked at in the offseason and will continue to grow.” The team has never had the chance to fully implement a Chubb-Hunt package because Hunt opened the 2019 season on an eight-game NFL suspension and the 2020 OTA season and preseason were eliminated by the coronavirus pandemic. Now there should be no excuse.
