DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Williams defense a full go..? no excuses interesting lil article

After not having the right personnel on his defense in 2017, Williams was forced to change his defensive scheme. But after the Browns revamped their secondary this offseason, he will be able to call his old defense in 2018.


Cleveland Browns will no longer have to suffer watching the Browns defense play a safety 25 yards off the line of scrimmage.

During the Sashi Brown era, one of the positions that suffered a loss of talent was the secondary. Heading into the 2017 season, the Browns no longer had Joe Haden, Tramon Williams, and Jordan Poyer. They opted to play young and inexperienced players, not including Jamar Taylor and Jason McCourty.


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With players that did not have much playing time in the NFL, it forced Williams to play a different defense than he was used to. Williams told 92.3 The Fan’s Daryl Ruiter what he was doing different in 2017:


Daryl Ruiter
✔
@RuiterWrongFAN
Gregg Williams mentions that he's been forced to play zone this year more than ever - "you can figure out the reasons for that." #Browns

10:53 AM - Dec 15, 2017
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The “you can figure out the reasons for that” was likely a shot at the past regime filling a roster with cheap players.

Williams mostly played zone coverage in 2017, with his cornerbacks usually playing 7-10 yards off the ball. This let offenses consistently attack the Browns defense with short throws that would pick up chunks of yardage at a time.

Not only could the Browns not stop these throws, but it also let the offense dominate possession of the ball, which wore out the Browns defense. And with an inefficient Browns offense in 2017, the exhausted defense would be quickly thrown back out on the field.

But in 2018, Williams will be able to call the defense that he prefers to play. Aggressive, press-man coverage with blitzing linebackers or safeties will be utilized often. The emphasis on getting Williams the talent he needed to run his defense was evident this offseason.

Denzel Ward was drafted top-five by Cleveland because he can press the receiver and he excels while in man coverage. He has quick-twitch abilities that lets him break on routes and make plays on the ball. He also has the speed to regain ground if he is beat on a route.

T.J. Carrie is coming off his best season in the NFL and has experience playing in the slot and on the outside. E.J. Gaines has played in Williams’ defense for three years, so he understands what Williams wants from his cornerbacks and how he needs to play in order to be successful in the scheme.

With the addition of Damarious Randall playing the ball hawking deep safety, it allows Jabrill Peppers to move to a position that he is more comfortable playing, and that is hybrid linebacker. Williams will be able to do creative things with Peppers, including using him as a blitzer. But Peppers can drop into coverage in the intermediate level or in man against tight ends.

With a better secondary and putting players in positions where they are more comfortable, Williams can do more than just play zone. The talent difference on this year’s defense compared to last year’s defense should make Williams’ job easier, and it will help prevent long drives that killed the entire team last season.

https://dawgpounddaily.com/2018/05/06/cl...efense-in-2018/

we shall see...I am hopeful tho

Agreed. The media seems real high on this defense this coming year.

I'm not sure how to feel. I'm excited to see what we can do, but I hope that Williams schemes it to our players and the passing NFL of today


I just get nervous when they mention Peppers in a "Hybrid LB Role".

I never bought into that one. I do think he clearly needs to be closer to the LOS of course. He needs to be closer, so that he can follow the ball.


I just wonder what hybrid LB entails

Denzel Ward misses Saturday session with hip flexor injury

By: Jeff Risdon | May 6, 2018 5:54 am ET

A day after leaving practice early with an undisclosed injury, Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward sat out Saturday’s session as well. Numerous sources, including 247 Sports, have reported the injury is a hip flexor strain.

The injury is not considered serious and Ward’s absence is simply a precautionary measure. Even so, it’s discouraging to see the No. 4 overall pick already missing the second full day of practices in Browns rookie camp.
L

I really hope this isn't a trend. I hate hearing stuff about hamstrings, hip flexors, calf tweaks, etc

This is without contact, neh? Toes and flexors and strains, oh my! Hope this is something we get over. Our injury bug works overtime; we have seen it. Get healthy guys. Time to get after it hard is coming soon.

The kinda things that follow a period of reduced activity.

I get it if I watch an hour long show in a recliner...

Pretty sure there is a stat floating around showing that the 2016 Rams ran a ton of zone coverage as well.

Who will step up in Browns new-look secondary?


The Cleveland Browns General Manager John Dorsey has taken an assertive approach to improving the team’s roster. One of the greatest positions of emphasis has been the team’s secondary. The secondary had already been thoroughly reworked even before he selected defensive back Denzel Ward with the fourth pick in the NFL draft. With the addition of Ward, the newly acquired free agent personnel along with incumbent members of the secondary now correspond with the roles they will be asked to fill.

Until the Ward selection, there was no legitimate number one among the cornerbacks. The addition of Ward and his ability to fill that role, allows everyone else to slide into a position of much better fit in regards to match-up.

Aligning with the same theme, Demarius Randall serves the same purpose at the safety position. This front office is made up of Green Bay Packer alums and they are very high on Randall moving back to his natural position at free safety. So much so that they elected to pick up Randall’s option for 2019 before he even has had a chance to set foot on the field. Randall’s presence allows Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams to move Jabrill Peppers up to strong safety, where he should have been playing from day one.

The question now becomes which of the multiple, capable defensive backs will fill in opposite Ward on the outside, and who will man the inside corner position in sub packages?

E.J. Gaines and T.J. Carrie are both coming off of the best seasons of their career but Gaines would be the leader heading into camp competition. The one interesting factor here is that the Browns paid Carrie like a starter, signing him to a four year, $31 million deal while only signing Gaines to a one year, $4 million dollar deal. The competition between these two should be one of the more interesting positions to watch as the team starts it’s off-season workouts.

The other names to watch at corner are Terrence Mitchell who signed a two year, $10 million deal in free agency, coming over from the Kansas City Chiefs. The Browns have three corners currently on the roster that could compete for playing time. Jamar Taylor could be on the trade block though and more than likely will be moved at some point this off-season or potentially even released. Briean Body-Calhoun is a talented young corner who certainly will be a part of Williams plan, whether it be as the inside corner or even potentially in competition with Gaines and Carrie opposite Ward.

Lastly, Howard Wilson was drafted in the fourth round of the Browns 2017 draft, from Houston. He was expected to compete for reps until he broke his kneecap during workouts last spring and has been rehabbing from the subsequent surgery. Wilson could come on strong and compete for playing time in 2018, however, he is now in the mix with a much deeper, more talented group of players.

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2018/05/07/who-will-step-up-in-browns-new-look-secondary/

I would expect to see improvements, but I would be wary of expecting to think that it is a finished product or "fixed". I would view the entire defense that way as well. I think that we've merely gotten the talent level across the board to the point of being on par with much of the NFL and we can now finally start to evaluate it. Prior to this, it was so bad it wasn't even college-level.

Not college level? I think they would have done well in the Mountain West Division.

Mountain West must be a heck of a conference. The 3rd best QB in that conference last year was a top 10 pick in the NFL draft.

They started developing an identity toward the end if last year. I'd expect to see them build on that. Be even more agressive, see more pressure up the middle, and tight coverages within 10-15 yards, more man, less zone. Those two thing combined, with the ability to cover tight ends, should make it more difficult to dink and dunk us to death. That should make our pass rush more effective. If the corners are good, this should be a very good D, IMHO.

Yes, sums up my thoughts too.

" I just wonder what Hybrid Linebacker entails?"

... At home watching on T.V. eating nacho's?

I mean, Jabril Peppers was a 1st round pick just last year,
There is no way they waive him at the last round of roster cut downs right?

Right?

Right?

Zero chance. He has far too much athletic talent to give up.

Dorsey is in no way tied to him and as such would have no qualms about dropping him like a hot rock if he didn't think he could contribute, but I'm betting that they will look at him and see a whole lot of possibilities.

So now we are giving the rookie a starting job, before one snap has ever been taken?

Didn't want to start a new thread but who would be your top 3 CBs (including nickel) and why?

Where do you play Denzel Ward? CB or NB?

Yeah, 100% zero chance. He'll beat out any other special team player plus he can return if needed. He may get benched for Kindred though... or become depth/a package player. IDK, it's hard to pass judgement on him when you know straight up he played fully out of position last year at FS. He didn't and doesn't belong there whatsoever.

I still don't fully buy the whole "out of position at FS" thing that everyone keeps touting.

One thing is certain.... he played as deep as he did because of how bad our CB's were. He was the only one fast enough to set up crazy deep and still be able to close on a WR that might get behind the coverage.


It is FAR too early to give up on him at FS or SS.... or the mythical "Hybrid LB" spot.

Well, the deep deep deep FS spot is in a universe of it's own, but I wouldn't have drafted Pep to play FS, period. I'd play him at SS, Hybrid LB, and Nickle Corner before I'd play him at FS. We did so because it got our best 11 on the field. The good thing about him playing FS last year is that he can add that job to the other three that I mentioned and GW a better chess piece to move around this year to confuse offenses.

If we play our FS more close to the line/traditional, I'd be willing to see Peppers in action there again. If no and he's deep in the backfield alone there again, then I don't want to see/rely on Peppers. We gotta have, especially now, faster people to close in/roam the back there... like Randall whom IMO is already a virtual lock for FS.

j/c

IMO, a good FS will make Peppers much better. He's in more of a natural role then. Last year he was both BAD and out of position.

I don't think we drafted him to play FS. It just sort of worked out he had to play there.

Gregg Williams leaves strong impression on Browns rookies: 'I love that style of coaching'

Browns rookies got their first taste of NFL life last weekend in a three-day minicamp. For those on defense, it also served as an introduction to Gregg Williams.

“I gave him a nickname when he first started talking, G-Will,” said defensive end Chad Thomas, a third-round pick from Miami.

“He’s a gangster. His style of coaching, his demanding style, being on top of us, trying to make us excel as young men, it’s just good. I love it. I love that style of coaching.”

Indeed, Williams, Cleveland’s fiery, ultra-intense defensive coordinator, has already made an impression on the team’s rookie class, which includes draft picks in Thomas, cornerback Denzel Ward (the No. 4 overall pick), linebacker Genard Avery and cornerback Simeon Thomas.

To a man, they’ve heard stories about Williams’ tough-love approach, his attacking defenses and track record of success.

“He definitely seems like a very passionate coach,” said Ward, the former Ohio State star. “He reminds me a little bit of (former Ohio State cornerbacks coach and current Titans assistant) coach (Kerry) Coombs. I’m definitely excited to be working with him.”

“A great guy, very intense,” Avery (a fifth-round pick from Memphis) said, laughing. “He’s a good person. He means a lot. He just wants the best for this organization.”

“He's a very interesting guy. He ain't gonna sugarcoat it,” said Simeon Thomas, a sixth-round pick from Louisiana-Lafayette. “He’ll tell you how it is … when I left this place, I just remembered coach Williams. We hit it off real good.”

Williams, who joined Cleveland’s staff shortly after the 2016 season, helped transform both the Browns' culture and run defense in 2017 and will look to do the same with the secondary moving forward. This year’s class of defenders join a young and promising crew that includes Myles Garrett, Christian Kirksey, Joe Schobert, Emmanuel Ogbah, Jabrill Peppers and Damarious Randall, the talented free safety whom the team acquired in a trade with Green Bay two months ago.

Ward, Cleveland’s third first-round pick on defense in two years, is expected to compete for a starting spot while Chad Thomas could quickly join the team’s defensive line rotation. Avery and Simeon Thomas hope to first earn their keep on special teams.

Over the coming weeks and months, the newest Browns will continue to develop those relationships with Williams and Cleveland’s defensive staff.

So far, they know what the veteran coordinator expects.

“If coach tells me to do it,” Chad Thomas said. “I’m gonna do it.”

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/arti...46-8a276def36b7

We have an OC and DC that are tough on players and a HC that gives them the sugar to make it all go down. I think it's a recipe for greatness personally =)

Working in a Mary Poppins reference in a football post ... Nice ... never thought i’d see that one .. *L* ...

Kudos sir ...

Although if that song is in my head all day i’m Not going to be happy with u ... *LOL* ...

My 9-7 prediction hinges on Myles Garrett's health, d line is our strength. It's why we passed on Chubb.

Give me mg, collins, Jobi for 12 games, I can show you 9 wins.

I think/hope this is going to be a very solid football team this year, it may be real tough sledding to start the season but if we can come out of the gates strong and build on some of the limited successes we had last season we could be much better then anyone has a right to hope, IMO.

I assume will continue to be next to impossible to run on and with a new and improved secondary that very well may include tough to throw on especially as the season wears on.

The offense was so bad last year I can't see how it can't be better with the exception of LT of course, will have to be creative here, but we should be able to scheme to cover for at least some of our deficiencies here.

With Gordon getting a full off season, with the addition of Chubb and Taylor turnovers should be less of a concern.

The one big drawback I see is the same drawback I have seen for years. Our competition experiences personnel turnover, but because the core remains the transition for them is much more seamless. We never have settled on anything long enough for it to bear fruit and because the core shifts so much year over year it simply takes time playing together on Sundays to begin to see it all come together.

Its for that reason I think will start slow (not just schedule) and gain momentum as the season builds. Keeping guys working hard together and defining who the starters will be early on could make a huge difference, but as unsettled as the roster is I think it will be hard for us to win early. The more time spent playing together the better will be, God I live for the days where we are filling a roll or 2, not half the defense and half the offense year over year.

The good news is we are getting there I believe that, where I didn't in the past. Come out of this season 8-8 would be a best case situation, and building from there.

Agreed.

I'm very happy with our coordinators. Hue's job will be to help smooth over the rough stuff the players might have with them. The politician. Which is a role I think he'll do well.

Cause Haley and Williams are tough. But Haley is an A-Rated coach IMO, and Williams isn't too shabby either.


Todd Haley, for this coming season, is probably our biggest addition IMO. I've got a lot of confidence in the guy. He's had a lot of success wherever he's been, and just recently he's had a ton of success in Pitt


EDIT: I think we're going to surprise Pitt to start the season. I hope the defense is ready to roll, because Todd Haley took his departure from Pukesburg personally, and he's planing on winning

We have seen what the DC and the HC are worth, IMHO the only hope is the OC.

https://twitter.com/MikeClayNFL/status/1003983449408106496

In a so-called "passing league", this is what we went with.... no wonder we were so "good" at stopping the run.

reason was we had no DBs last year.... just read something about this.

What does signing linebacker Mychal Kendricks mean?

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There was one position noticeably absent from the mass additions of veteran players John Dorsey made this offseason: linebacker.

The Browns added cornerbacks. They added a safety. They brought in running backs and linemen on both sides of the ball. They signed wide receivers. They even traded for a veteran quarterback and signed another.

Through all of this, the trio of Christian Kirksey, Joe Schobert and Jamie Collins at linebacker went relatively undisturbed. That is no longer the case with the addition of linebacker Mychal Kendricks. The Browns agreed to a one-year deal with him on Sunday.

What does it mean?
Let's start here: the Browns had two of the top five linebackers in the league a season ago in defensive snaps played. According to FootballOutsiders.com, Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey each played every defensive snap.

Jamie Collins and James Burgess combined to play 980 of the Browns' 1,072 defensive snaps. Burgess filled in for Collins when he was injured last season.

So Gregg Williams used a lot of three-linebacker looks last season.

This is a little surprising. Williams' recent history suggests that hasn't always been the case.

Looking at data from 2016 compiled by Football Outsiders, the Rams, with Williams as defensive coordinator, played Mark Barron 1,086 defensive snaps and Alec Ogletree 1,089 defensive snaps. No other linebacker played more than 122 snaps. To really take it to the next level, Barron is a former safety who is more of a hybrid.

In 2015, according to the NFL's Game Statistics and Information System, Williams' top two most-used personnel groupings included just two linebackers. The same goes for 2016. Last season, you have to go all the way to the tenth-most-used lineup to find less than three linebackers on the field for the Browns.

What does this tell us?
Last season appears to be an outlier for Williams. With the way the NFL is trending, three linebackers at a time is generally a dangerous recipe. The best teams in the league are passing more often and on earlier downs and that puts pressure on a traditional setup at linebacker.

The Browns' three linebackers are an athletic group. Schobert dropped weight last season to feature his speed, while Collins came to Cleveland touted as a strong coverage linebacker. Kirksey is more of a rusher, but his versatility allows him to play all three spots.

Part of the reason Williams went with so many three linebacker packages stemmed from a lack of trust in his secondary. The cornerback position has been completely remade, now, and the hope is that Jabrill Peppers can thrive at strong safety. Damarious Randall will play at free safety, but he has the ability to slide to corner and cover. Briean Boddy-Calhoun can line up at nickel and drop back to free safety. Derrick Kindred could be a useful piece if he's limited to working against the run.

https://www.cleveland.com/expo/erry-2018...art_river_index

this is how bad our talent was last year.. even playing to player strengths was not good enough to overcome it.

Well, the field was already stretched with Peppers playing about 150 yards deep. Not much help on run support and just threw in front of him.

May as well rush and blitz IMO. Corners were real liabilities.

no corners... no recievers....no QBs... in where everyone passes... gee why didnt we win last year?

We were the most talented team in the league, should have won them all. Hue couldn't coach.

i'm a little surprised Hue would just say Kendricks is the starting MLB right off the bat (it was probably how they got him to sign here) .... but Hue doesn't need to say that yet

Good article. Thanks for posting that.

It seems disingenuous to be non committal on Kendricks. You have to acknowledge his experience and his level of play when you are bringing him in. That's not to imply that the team doesn't also state their expectations of him. Bottom line he doesn't sign here if you play cute about his playing time.

When the season opens he is going to be on the field with the ones because he has demonstrated that level of play before he ever put on a Browns uni. I like Schobert, but the moment Kendricks signed it was a given that the depth chart would be shaken up.

Last, I didn't take the statement that he will be "starting" at MLB to mean he is immediately and permanently entrenched there. Instead, because of his versatility he will "start" or begin at the MLB position. Leading up to the season he will see action elsewhere within the LB corp. That's how I expect him to get the reps he's looking to get and for the team to get the most value from signing him.