Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and the Browns' defense hope to replicate their 2021 games against the Baltimore Ravens starting Sunday in Baltimore. (Akron Beacon-Journal)
Could the Ravens’ offense be the perfect tonic for the Browns’ struggling defense? Heresy or wishful thinking?
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from Browns practice and interviews …
The idea of the Baltimore Ravens’ offense as a lifeline to the Browns’ beleaguered defense seems counter-intuitive, if not downright preposterous.
Who in their right mind could possibly look forward to opposing the incomparable run-pass playmaking quarterback Lamar Jackson and his indefatigable No. 1 receiving target, tight end Mark Andrews?
Well, for a team needing every morsel of positive reinforcement it can find, rehashing last year’s back-to-back games against the Ravens might help.
The Browns played the Ravens twice in 14 days sandwiched around their bye week in 2021. In the first game, they intercepted Jackson four times – each pass intended for Andrews – but lost, 16-10, because the offense netted only three points off the turnovers. In the second game, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah took out Jackson on the first play of the second quarter with a low hit to his left ankle as the quarterback rolled out of the pocket on a pass for Andrews. The Browns won the second game, 24-22.
Jackson never recovered from the injury and the Ravens wound up losing their last six games in a row to fall from first place at 8-3 to last place and out of the playoffs.
Now the Browns face the Ravens Sunday in M&T Bank Stadium with both teams sputtering, but the Ravens (3-3) holding a one-game lead on the Browns (2-4). After three losses in a row, the Browns’ playoff hopes are teetering on the hope of their defense replicating what it did against Jackson and Andrews a year ago.
“We see what we did well,” Owusu-Koramoah said. “Want to key on the things they didn’t do as well, see if we can replicate those things, and have another re-occurring of those two games. As we know, the division’s on the line. This is definitely a great opportunity [to seize the moment].”
Fact is, the leaner, faster Browns’ defense was built with Jackson and the Ravens in mind. JOK said “eighty percent of their offense runs around Lamar.” Smash-mouth running – which has killed the Browns of late -- isn’t the Ravens’ forte.
It hasn’t mattered which style of offense the Browns have faced this year, of course. The defense has plummeted to 31st in the most relevant ranking system recognized by the Browns.
All of which has left defensive coordinator Joe Woods scramblng for answers that haven’t come in six games.
In his most glum press briefing of the season thus far, Woods lamented, “I thought we’d be further along, obviously. There’s a lot of things we need to clean up. We just have to clean them up in a hurry.”
“It’s really hard to explain,” Woods continued. “We had a really good offseason, really good training camp. Just with our walk-throughs, we did a lot more. To me, it was the best we ever did since I’ve been here. But, it didn’t translate into the regular season. To me, when that happens, then you have to look at what you’re asking them to do and pull things back until you get things corrected. And then once you get them corrected, then you start adding on things that you think will help against a particular team.
"It's a little surprising to me, just the issues that we're having."
Delpit safe
Safety Grant Delpit, who had miscues on two 31-yard scoring plays by the Patriots, called it the worst game he’s ever played. But it doesn’t sound like he’ll lose play time because of it.
“Just trying to get him better,” Woods said. “He’s a real good football player. You guys see him make plays. He’s smart. I think he sees the field well.
“But you have to make a tackle. And for him, if he had that same opportunity 10 times, he’d probably make it. The third-and-1 [pass play to Hunter Henry], you just have to stay on your feet and keep your eyes on your coverage. He learned from it. It's just those things in a game, those little situations where you just have to be good. It’s something like that, every game, we have issues.”
Are the coaches getting closer to giving Delpit some time off?
“I wouldn’t say that right now,” Woods said. “You see the good things he does on the field. The other things, you try to correct. Those things are fundamentals.”
Unhappy returns
Because he was down to his last elevation from the practice squad, Chester Rogers could have nailed down a permanent spot on the 53 with a good day of punt returns against the Patriots. So his muff was doubly costly – to the team on Sunday and to him.
Now what happens at punt returner?
“That remains to be seen,” special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said. “We are going to work some guys today.”
Priefer cited the same names as before – Donovan Peoples-Jones and Demetric Felton. He said Rogers is still in the mix, but would have to be signed to the 53 for that to happen.
Priefer said he was “shocked” at the Rogers fumble because “he is a sure-handed guy.”
“He was trying to make a play. I felt bad for the kid because obviously it is extremely important to him.”
The Browns thought they had solved this seven-year problem at punt returner with the signing of Jakeem Grant in free agency, but his Achilles tendon injury in training camp put them back to square one.
“It is my job to make sure that we go out there and do the best we can, next-man-up mentality, and put the guys in position to be successful,” Priefer said. “I will never, ever use that as an excuse. There are injuries across the league every day.”
Brownie bits
Priefer, on Cade York bouncing back to make 3 of 3 field goals against New England, including ones of 48 and 51 yards into the closed end of FirstEnergy Stadium, from which York missed twice the previous game: “He is starting to figure out that stadium. The more we obviously get him down there and the more experience he gets, the better he is going to be.” …
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt confirmed that Hjalte Froholdt will replace Wyatt Teller (calf) at right guard against the Ravens. Teller told reporters Wednesday he didn’t expect to play …
Defensive ends Jadeveon Clowney (ankle) and Myles Garrett (shoulder) returned for limited work at practice. Cornerback Denzel Ward (concussion), lineman Joe Haeg (concussion) and Teller (calf) were out.
