Browns Pro Bowler Denzel Ward vows to change tackling technique after suffering two concussions as rookie
By Nate Ulrich Posted May 22, 2019 at 2:48 PM Updated May 22, 2019 at 8:09 PM
Browns cornerback Denzel Ward, right, moves in to stop running back Dontrell Hilliard during organized team activities Wednesday in Berea. [Phil Masturzo/Beacon Journal/Ohio.com]▲
Browns cornerback Denzel Ward reels in a pass during organized team activities Wednesday in Berea. [Phil Masturzo/Beacon Journal/Ohio.com]▲
BEREA — Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward has changed his tune about tackling.
After former Browns interim coach and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams publicly and privately ripped Ward last year for failing to adequately protect himself while tackling, Ward said he felt as if his technique was good. Williams wanted Ward to take out the legs of bigger opponents, but Ward didn't shy away from hitting them high.
However, Ward admitted Wednesday the second concussion he suffered in a span of three weeks late last season as a rookie opened his eyes a little bit.
"The first concussion I got really wasn't on a tackle," Ward, the fourth overall pick in last year's draft, said after the fifth practice of organized team activities. "I kind of got my head in there on two guys coming across from me. Once you get your first concussion, you're susceptible to another one. It was kind of a short period of time. I ended up getting another concussion going up against a tight end on the sideline. I just have got to be smart about the tackling."
C.J. Uzomah of the Cincinnati Bengals is the tight end who Ward hit high Dec. 23 in the Browns' 26-18 win. Ward also suffered a concussion Dec. 2 in a 29-13 loss to the Houston Texans. He missed two games after the first concussion and sat out the Dec. 30 season finale after the one against the Bengals.
Williams first criticized Ward's tackling after the Nordonia High School and Ohio State product injured his back while wrapping up Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz in a preseason game.
"I got my head in there a few times on plays that I shouldn't," Ward said. "I think I was just trying to be too physical at times and go up against guys that were 260 [pounds]. So I just got to get lower and just tackle a lot smarter if I could."
Ward insisted he's "100 percent" healthy now and he's not worrying about the potential long-term effects of the concussions.
"I'm a football player," he said. "I like to be physical and play hard. I have to be smarter on plays when I'm going up against a player and making a tackle. I have to be more conscious of how I tackle and everything, but when I'm out there on the field, I'm playing ball. I'm giving my all."
New Browns defensive coordinator Steve Wilks viewed Ward's tackling in 2018 like Williams did.
"Denzel last year had a situation where he'd come in and throw his body around a little bit, which resulted in some concussions," Wilks said before Wednesday's practice. "So we've really got to teach these guys how to tackle.
"I think it's definitely correctable. I think it's more teaching the proper technique, and that's where we are right now in this phase of OTAs. It's really giving him the fundamentals of how to tackle in certain situations, where the ball carrier is, and I also think it's important to understand where your help is coming from, too."
General Manager John Dorsey is confident durability issues won't dog Ward throughout his career.
"You can't brush aside concussions, not in today's football. There is no way that you can do that," Dorsey said April 26. "I'm sure knowing Denzel and the type of person he is that he has done everything in his power to make sure that he will be out on that field for all 16 games."
New tandem
If Dorsey's vision comes to fruition, cornerback Greedy Williams will become a fixture in the lineup opposite Ward. Dorsey traded up three spots last month to draft Williams in the second round (46th overall) out of Louisiana State University.
Ward revealed Williams reached out to him on social media in the buildup to the draft and they began training together. Then Ward called Williams the night the Browns picked him to welcome him to the team and discussed forming a tough tandem worthy of comparison to Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield.
"I've heard of them. I met them as well," Ward said of the legendary Browns cornerbacks. "That's definitely something that I envision with me and Greedy — or whatever corner they put on the other side — but just being a tandem and being two guys that can lock down players on our sides of the field."
Ward said the plan and goal of the secondary is to be the best in the NFL, and superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. ought to give the defensive backs an adequate trial run this summer in training camp.
"I definitely look forward to going against Odell specifically and seeing what he brings to the table," Ward said, "and I feel he's going to get me ready for the games."
Different style
Ward plans to use the experience to test himself in zone coverage, which Wilks employs more than Williams did. Ward even criticized Williams for not using enough zone last season.
"That's what I like a lot about this coaching staff. I feel that it is a balance so far," Ward said. "I feel last year we kind of got caught up in running a lot of the same things, a lot of man to man maybe on some possessions where it was kind of overdoing it. But I feel this year has been a little bit balanced in being able to play man and zone. I like to play zone as well, get vision on the football and make plays as well."
Off field
Ward is scheduled to host a free youth football camp for children in second through eighth grade from 6-10 p.m. June 7 at Nordonia High School. Registration is required at MTKYN.org, the website of Ward's new "Make Them Know Your Name" foundation, which is designed to raise awareness about heart health and honor Ward's late father, Paul, who died of cardiac arrest three years ago at age 46.
"It's definitely a dream come true," Ward said of hosting the football camp. "Coming to the NFL, I want to do things off the field as well, and being from Cleveland, it's a great opportunity to give back to my community.
"That's why I wanted it to be free, too, because it's in my community. I wanted everybody to come out."
Talk about jumping the gun. These tweets are ridiculous. It's OTAs, and this guy is acting as if Corbett is a problem. This is why I don't follow twitter. People tweet crap just so people will follow or retweet their stuff.
Rotating guys during offseason workouts is a smart move. May the best man win. But acting as if this is a concern is a reach. I saw in an interview where Bitonio was saying they had one of the FAs at center a couple times. They are building depth for the Oline, that's a good thing.
It seems like people are dying to label Corbett a bust. It's almost like they need to find something that Dorsey did wrong. It's the cynical attitude that permeates society now. Accentuate the negatives whenever possible and revel with glee over being able to say, I told you so.
Twitters a great thing and like all great things it cn be abused ... and this one abuses rather easily ... *L* ...
I was listening to a radio host yesterday and he said he has a dude that handles his twitter account .... he posts for him with his approval and its what dude does for a living ... he has many other clients ... the talk show host said sometimes his twitter dude will engage him in twitter wars with some of his other clients just to drive traffic and neither of them will have even read a tweet in the entire war .... *LOL* ...
Ingenuity at its finest ... ...
The way Grateful uses twitter is really really cool ... but man ... it has so many holes and flaws .... u talk about being able to dupe people easily ... social media has made it like taking candy from a baby ....
THANKS FOR ALL U DO GRATEFUL ... your the best ... ...
It sounds to me like the coaches are just trying to see what talent they have. There's always the chance a team could find a diamond in the rough and that's what this seems to be with me. It doesn't mean Corbett isn't good enough. It's early and we have to see what we have with all the new players. JMO
It sounds to me like the coaches are just trying to see what talent they have. There's always the chance a team could find a diamond in the rough and that's what this seems to be with me. It doesn't mean Corbett isn't good enough. It's early and we have to see what we have with all the new players. JMO
Early ?? Not even training camp yet .. Organized Team Activities .. and voluntary at that .. Some fans ( and media ) are jumping the gun a bit.
The Cleveland Browns - WE KNOW QUARTERBACKS ( Look at how many we've had ... )
Back to Cover 3 for a moment. Here is a really simple Cover 3 explanation from a high school coach.
He's not very entertaining, but if you combine his diagram w/what I said earlier, it might all come together for those of you who are interested.
I chose this video because cfrs said we are running a ton of 4-2-5 defenses so far. It's cool to see, but you can also sub a LBer in for one of the safeties who is closer to the LOS and it's a 4-3 look.
You know........it never ceases to amaze me how very few posters want to actually discuss "football" on this board.
Not to mention that if Corbett is getting some work at Center with the 2's, SOMEBODY has to be in at RG with the 1's unless they are going to sit on the sideline waiting for Corbett.
Much ado about nothing.
If this UDFA is at RG come Training Camp, THEN we can start talking about there being an issue.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
Talk about jumping the gun. These tweets are ridiculous. It's OTAs, and this guy is acting as if Corbett is a problem. This is why I don't follow twitter. People tweet crap just so people will follow or retweet their stuff.
Rotating guys during offseason workouts is a smart move. May the best man win. But acting as if this is a concern is a reach. I saw in an interview where Bitonio was saying they had one of the FAs at center a couple times. They are building depth for the Oline, that's a good thing.
It seems like people are dying to label Corbett a bust. It's almost like they need to find something that Dorsey did wrong. It's the cynical attitude that permeates society now. Accentuate the negatives whenever possible and revel with glee over being able to say, I told you so.
I agree with everything you said there...with one caveat. In THIS case with Jake Burns, it's concerning to me because Jake puts out some really good stuff with replays and breakdowns/commentary. He's speculating/projecting here, which is something I don't remember seeing from him in the past. In the end, it's still much ado about nothing at this point.
Talk about jumping the gun. These tweets are ridiculous. It's OTAs, and this guy is acting as if Corbett is a problem. This is why I don't follow twitter. People tweet crap just so people will follow or retweet their stuff.
Rotating guys during offseason workouts is a smart move. May the best man win. But acting as if this is a concern is a reach. I saw in an interview where Bitonio was saying they had one of the FAs at center a couple times. They are building depth for the Oline, that's a good thing.
It seems like people are dying to label Corbett a bust. It's almost like they need to find something that Dorsey did wrong. It's the cynical attitude that permeates society now. Accentuate the negatives whenever possible and revel with glee over being able to say, I told you so.
I agree with everything you said there...with one caveat. In THIS case with Jake Burns, it's concerning to me because Jake puts out some really good stuff with replays and breakdowns/commentary. He's speculating/projecting here, which is something I don't remember seeing from him in the past. In the end, it's still much ado about nothing at this point.
It's probably nothing like you said. If Kalis does end up playing, that is a huge concern for me. He was average at Michigan after coming in as a 5 star tackle. He was physically dominant in high school but never learned or developed proper technique or understanding to be a great lineman. Hopefully that's changed.
This is what you do during OTAs, you move guys around, get them experience at different spots, see how players fit and where. You never know when it might come in handy. Get a couple injuries on the offensive line and you may have to shuffle a couple guys around.
Frankly, I'd be more concerned if they had all the starters locked in place and didn't consider any other possibilities.
What should we think of Austin Corbett in Browns OTAs?
BEREA, Ohio -- Add another name to the list of Browns who have been absent for at least portions of OTAs. Along with Odell Beckham, Duke Johnson, Myles Garrett, Jarvis Landry, Olivier Vernon and Antonio Callaway, there’s “Austin Corbett, starting right guard.”
“Austin Corbett, backup center,” has been seen, and “Austin Corbett, starting right guard,” hasn’t been completely absent. He’s been in and out.
There’s one clear difference here. We know Beckham, Garrett, Landry and Vernon can play NFL football at an extremely high level, and Johnson and Callaway know what they’re doing, too.
“Austin Corbett, starting right guard?” He’s new. He’s never played in the NFL. While “Austin Corbett, former second-round draft choice,” has been showing up every day, the Browns are no longer interested in “Austin Corbett, former second-round draft choice.” They want “Austin Corbett, starting right guard, Kevin Zeitler replacement, piece of the puzzle for a playoff team.”
He’s not around.
• CORBETT: “If I don’t get the starting job, it’s my fault I didn’t do well”
If you want to claim OTAs in May are too early to evaluate anything, and you’re not worried about what Corbett is doing, that’s fine. Then you also must be in the camp of completely unconcerned about Beckham’s whereabouts.
If you want to believe that teams, especially teams with new head coaches, are built in May, then you should have as much concern with the Browns working Corbett, an expected starter, as a second-teamer, as you do about a Pro Bowler missing practice.
Me? I trust that the good football players don’t need May. So zero worries about Beckham. But the guys on the way up need every snap they can get, in pads or not, and if the Browns aren’t putting Corbett out there as a sure first-teamer in May, it’s because they have real questions about him as a sure first-teamer in September.
That matters. How much? Consider:
1. Allocation of assets is a vital part of team building. Ask the Indians, who have 28 starting pitchers and 1.33 productive major league hitters. John Dorsey traded from a strength (guard) to address a greater need (pass rush) in swapping Zeitler for Vernon. Zeitler and Joel Bitonio gave the Browns one of the best guard tandems in the league last year, and that showed up in the way Baker Mayfield was kept clean in the second half of the season. But is right guard the most important position on the roster? The Browns would rather be set at quarterback, defensive end, cornerback and receiver, which they are. So if there’s going to be a question mark in May, guard isn’t a bad place to have it.
2. I wrote after watching OTAs in week one that Corbett wasn’t getting the same number of first-team reps as the other O-line starters, giving way to Kyle Kalis at times. The second time we watched this week, Corbett had basically yielded the starting right guard spot to Kalis, at least for the day. So he’s going backwards. That doesn’t seem great.
3. You could spin this the other way and focus on the emergence of Kalis, a local guy, St. Ed grad and four-year starter at Michigan who went undrafted in 2017. He bounced from Washington to Indianapolis back to Washington, and then spent most of last season on the Browns practice squad before he was moved to the active roster in December.
The Browns don’t need Corbett to be a reliable starting right guard; they need someone to be a reliable starting right guard. Undrafted guys grow into productive linemen all the time in the NFL. I can’t give you a scouting report on how Kalis looks, but there are two veterans the Browns signed this offseason, Eric Kush and Bryan Witzmann, who have started at guard in the past. They’re not in for Corbett. Kalis is. So let’s assume the 25-year-old is doing something right.
4. Corbett was the first pick of the second round in 2018, chosen ahead of second-rounders like Colts linebacker Darius Leonard (the defensive rookie of the year), Tennessee pass rusher Harold Landry and Green Bay cornerback Josh Jackson. If we’re going to downplay the importance if interior linemen in analyzing the effect of Corbett on the Browns, we have to apply the same logic to the draft. Why did John Dorsey pick a college tackle who has moved to guard when he could have targeted a more valuable position? And if you believe that Corbett playing second-team center is grooming him to take over for JC Tretter next year, that’s really pushing the contribution of the 33rd pick in the draft off into the future for a team trying to win now.
Also, when the Browns traded Zeitler, they did it with Corbett in mind. He was the plan. If he’s not the guy, then the plan has changed.
5. It’s early. With players like Kush and Witzmann, the Browns do have options. More important practices are ahead. A year ago, the Browns were far more confused on the offensive line, eventually settling on undrafted rookie Desmond Harrison as the starting left tackle late in preseason. When I asked Bitonio this week when ideally the line should be settled, he said the first preseson game was optimal. That’s the second week of August.
But right now, when we watch, the Browns are putting their best players and expected starters on the first team, even in May. “Austin Corbett, starting right guard” isn’t one of them.
I'd sit up and take more notice if we start getting into training camp and the 2nd rounder is still sitting behind a UDFA.
I completely agree w/ you. I simply enjoy irony, that's all.
I don't and I don't think the team does not either...view any of these players once drafted and on the team from whence they came from.
If the UDFA kid over achieves and earns the starting position. Why is this a testimony of HOW BAD Corbett is. Could it possibly be how GOOD has Kalis become?
Technically the RG is not a hard position to transition to. So its up to the kid who Gets bigger, stronger and moves the best. The kid who communicates the best and develops the best first step. The kid who can get to the 2nd level efficiently. Why doe sit matter if its from the 2nd round investment or the UDFA...Why must some of you view it as a negative rather than a positive. ITS A POSITIVE if ANYONE succeeds! The main point is that Somebody succeeds! If so then we have filled that position successfully!!
jmho
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
Well it's certainly an area of concern and something to keep an eye on. I've expressed some reservations about trading Zeitler before. That said, shuffling a few guys around on the line during OTAs in May is really not that big of a deal.
As everyone understands, Corbett is not going to be handed a starting job, which almost necessarily means that other guys are going to get a few first-team reps here and there.
Look, this boards members have always overvalued Corbett as a contributor from the day the team selected him, in my opinion, I recall he was drafted as an O lineman, and the immediate next two picks in that draft were also O lineman, interior I think, and eyeball test, the other two looked better, more dominant, and more physical as manhandlers, So what does that add up to?
Nothing, it's just my eyeball opinion, but since then, the whole boards consensous seems to be he deserves some sort of respect more than what he's done "so far" in the NFL, and I'd guess the memebers of this board are asigining it, because it's so hard to figure, the Browns may have whiffed/blown/or messed up a 2nd pick on the day.
I'm not going to Blame Dorsey, I don't know who was the decision maker on picking Corbett, we know he came out of Nevada, I'd guess he coulda took some of Bitonio's time if he was really good, last year, fact is, Corbett barely played, I think.
Sometimes you hit, sometimes you miss, even 1st round picks are dudds, some of the time, ask Justin Gilbert.
I don't want to put down a guy we haven't seen play yet, but if Sione Taki Taki was a consensous good pick,
you wouldn't have had people scrambling to make excusses as to why they took him, with the loudest voice being Asistant GM, Eliot Wolfe.
If Kush, Lamm, Witzman, or Calais end up the starting Rg then, well I kind of expect it at this point.
Only reason to fret if Corbett doesn't turn out to be something is if you'd built up expectations with Orange and Brown glasses based on the number of his overall pick in April.
It's the NFL, it's not just handed to people... usually.
Can Deshaun Watson play better for the Browns, than Baker Mayfield would have? ... Now the Games count.
But right now, when we watch, the Browns are putting their best players and expected starters on the first team, even in May. “Austin Corbett, starting right guard” isn’t one of them.
I have no idea if Corbett is good or not. I have no idea if he is going to start or not.
What I do know is that Lesmerisis is a hack. He's a gossip columnist who doesn't give us any real football. He isn't telling us what Corbett is doing wrong. He isn't telling us what others are doing better. Instead, he sees that Corbett isn't running w/the ones all the time at RG and he goes on a dramatic rant.
It would be nice if he could tell us whether or not Corbett is missing assignments. Or, if his footwork is really bad. Or, his technique. Or, if he is too slow.
Nah, he just dramatizes a situation where guys are rotating at the only spot on the line that doesn't have a returning starter.
the only positive thing I saw in that steaming pile of hot garbage written was the fact he talked about the St. Ed's kid Kalis who will find a way to be on the roster for his hometown team.
Other than that, I don't understand why anyone continues to promote cleveland.com they are horrid writers
Blocking those who argue to argue, eliminates the argument.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Steve Wilks was talking leadership last week before the Browns’ fifth of nine OTAs, and the usual suspects from Cleveland’s defense rattled off his tongue.
There was Myles Garrett, a Pro Bowler who nearly set the team’s single-season sack record last season. There was Denzel Ward, a Pro Bowler as a rookie who has looked every bit the part of the lockdown corner every defense covets.
And then there was Jermaine Whitehead, who is on his fourth team in as many years and boasts two career starts. A waiver claim midway through last season, Whitehead has impressed his new defensive coordinator despite playing just six snaps on defense thus far in his time with the Browns.
It’s a new year, and Whitehead is making the most of it.
“I’m not surprised at all,” Wilks said. “He has been in the league for a while, been on several teams. It just shows who he is as an individual. He puts in a lot of time into his craft. He studies the game a lot, and it really shows out on the field.
“You don’t have to be that quote on quote guy that everybody looks at. I want all those guys to be leaders when they are out there on that field because we need everybody communication, talking being on the same page.”
Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes on a football team, especially when the rosters are at 90. At the back end of Cleveland’s defense, it’s coming from, among other places, two voices who are relatively new to Browns fans.
Along with Whitehead, veteran Morgan Burnett has been lauded for the presence he’s provided since signing with the team last month. Entering his 10th season, Burnett appears to have plenty left in the tank and looks to be the frontrunner to replace Jabrill Peppers, who was dealt to the Giants in the trade that landed All-Pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., at strong safety.
The Browns return Damarious Randall at free safety but are otherwise poised to count on a handful of new faces at the position. On a team with lofty expectations, Burnett stands out as one of the few who has real, extensive playoff experience.
“He is a definition of a leader,” Kitchens said. “He kind of gets those guys together. He has been through the fire. I like guys that have been in fights – like been in the fight, not in fights.
“I like guys that have been in the battle or battle tested. Coach (Bill) Parcells used to say all the time that he wants to leave training camp and his team be battle tested. That is what we want to get to.”
Burnett, who played eight of his nine seasons in Green Bay -- a familiar place for some of the highest-ranking members of Cleveland’s front office -- has been through enough OTAs to know the optimism flowing through the Browns facility is not unique. Even in places where the rosters aren’t brimming with as much talent as Cleveland has acquired in the past two years, expectations are high at this point of the offseason. Everyone’s undefeated.
It’s how the team responds when the games matter, and Burnett has played in plenty of those.
“All 32 teams feel like they have what it takes,” Burnett said. “That’s why we come out here and work every day. It’s all about stacking success and slowly working that arrow upwards and keep finding a way to get better each day and not get ahead of ourselves.”
What a throw and catch...and that was to our now #4 WR...boy has times changed.
Baker has a knack for putting the ball in impossible places at exactly the right moment in time. I have no idea how he does that. But he does it all the time.
In the 4-2-5 alignment seems like Jermaine Whitehead is going to see the field a lot this season.
How Jermaine Whitehead emerged as a potential starter in the Browns’ new defense: Doug Lesmerises Updated 6:08 AM; Posted May 29, 3:45 PM Cleveland Browns' Jermaine Whitehead eyes the offensive formation before the snap during Day 5 of OTAs, May 22, 2019, in Berea. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com) cleveland.com
Cleveland Browns' Jermaine Whitehead eyes the offensive formation before the snap during Day 5 of OTAs, May 22, 2019, in Berea. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)
25 77 shares By Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com
BEREA, Ohio -- Last year in Arizona, new Browns defensive coordinator Steve Wilks played three safeties on most of the defensive snaps during his one year as the head coach of the Cardinals. This year, figure Damarious Randall and Morgan Burnett as the two starters at the deep safety spots for the Browns, but you still need a third safety to put on the field most of the time, often near the line of scrimmage.
Who? The guy Wilks singled out as one of the leaders of the defense during OTAs, even though Wilks is just getting to know him and most Browns fans hadn’t heard of him before this spring.
Jermaine Whitehead.
What’s his deal?
“Extremely smart. Very intelligent. Takes control when he is out there," Wilks said. "Knows how to really communicate and articulate the defense and get everybody on the same page.”
If you know the defensive starters should be Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon at end, and Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson at tackle (unless Gerald McCoy signs and mixes in), and Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey at linebacker, and Denzel Ward and either Terence Mitchell or Greedy Williams at corner, and Randall and Burnett at deep safety, then the Browns need a primary 11th guy.
So much on defense is a sub package now that getting stuck on the idea of starters is antiquated. But your best 11 when it matters is a big deal. So here’s one point, which you may already know. I’m not sure who the Browns’ third linebacker is, because they don’t have one. In two OTAs that reporters have watched, I didn’t see a snap with a third true linebacker. Again, no surprise, but make sure you realize it.
That means that 11th guy could be a true corner like T.J. Carrie, who makes a lot of sense covering slot receivers and ranked fifth on the team last year in defensive snaps. Carrie has seen a lot of OTA time. But the other option is Whitehead, and he fits the scheme that Wilks chose a year ago. Arizona played 5-foot-10, 195-pound safety Budda Baker near the line of scrimmage a lot last season in that three-safety look, and to double-check, I asked Wilks if that’s what the 5-11, 195-pound Whitehead could do in Cleveland.
Yep. That’s the potential fit. That’s what Wilks has shown he prefers. It’s clear the impression Whitehead has made on Wilks in a short time.
“He’s been in the league for a while, been on several teams. It just shows who he is as an individual,” Wilks said of Whitehead’s efforts so far. "He puts a lot of time into his craft. He studies the game a lot, and it really shows out on the field.”
Whitehead confirmed he loves being around the line of scrimmage, and said the Browns have a name for that package, but he didn’t want to share it. But they use it a lot. When near the line of scrimmage, Whitehead could be seen blitzing one play, covering a tight end the next and helping in run support on another, where he’s a willing tackler.
“Tight ends in the league are becoming more like glorified receivers, so we try to match up with those guys with a safety and put guys in position where we’ve got the advantage,” Whitehead told cleveland.com. “I just like being the ultimate playmaker. Even if I don’t make the play, I can help my teammate make the play. I’m definitely great around the line of scrimmage, definitely great when the ball is in the air.
“But I don’t like to brag about myself. I’d rather prove it. But hopefully when the season comes, I’ll be someone to watch.”
You’re forgiven if you’re wondering how the 26-year-old Whitehead, who was undrafted out of Auburn in 2015 and is entering his fifth season of bouncing around the league, is suddenly worth watching. The Browns signed Whitehead on Nov. 7 last year after he was released by Green Bay the day after slapping New England offensive lineman David Andrews after a play, which led to his ejection.
Not the most egregious act ever seen on a football field. But the Packers also put out the word that Whitehead, after spending most of 2016 and 2017 on the Green Bay practice squad, didn’t fit what they wanted, looking instead for “someone with true safety ability and better size,” according to one report.
They had liked him enough to give him 221 defensive snaps during his eight games in Green Bay in 2018. The Browns played him just seven defensive snaps after they signed him. But now, with a fresh start under a new staff, it looks like the Browns are ready to count on him.
“This is the breakthrough point in my career,” Whitehead said. “I think coming to this situation I see the rights and the wrongs done by me and I’m trying to correct those every day here.”
He’s another part of the connection to Green Bay, where John Dorsey right-hand men Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot Wolf worked before coming to Cleveland. Dorsey also worked in Green Bay before he became the GM in Kansas City, and this front office has shown it likes guys that they know. Randall and Burnett also came to Cleveland from Wisconsin, so it’s possible this three-safety look could be made up of all former Packers.
It’s just that Whitehead hadn’t done much. He was in San Francisco and Baltimore before landing in Green Bay. Then in the midst of his first shot at real playing time, he was suddenly done.
Whitehead said Highsmith and Wolf liked him in Green Bay. He said Randall and Burnett are great teammates and they play well together because of their familiarity. So he started with the second team when OTAs began. Then, like that, he was running with the ones.
When we saw Whitehead last week, Burnett was on the side with an injury, so Whitehead was working at first-team deep safety with Randall. The week before, Burnett and Randall were typically paired together and Whitehead was in that third safety role closer to the line.
He can play either. One way or another, it looks like he’s going to play. He’s certainly acting like it.
“He’s shown a lot of range back there,” Denzel Ward said of Whitehead, “and a lot of communication. That’s what you like as a corner, somebody that’s going to talk to you and get you in the right formation and right coverage, so I’m liking Whitehead back there.”
So is Wilks. The new boss of the defense knows how he wants to play. In Whitehead, he seems to have found someone to help him do that.
If you know the defensive starters should be Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon at end, and Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson at tackle (unless Gerald McCoy signs and mixes in), and Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey at linebacker, and Denzel Ward and either Terence Mitchell or Greedy Williams at corner, and Randall and Burnett at deep safety, then the Browns need a primary 11th guy.
So much on defense is a sub package now that getting stuck on the idea of starters is antiquated. But your best 11 when it matters is a big deal. So here’s one point, which you may already know. I’m not sure who the Browns’ third linebacker is, because they don’t have one. In two OTAs that reporters have watched, I didn’t see a snap with a third true linebacker. Again, no surprise, but make sure you realize it.
That means that 11th guy could be a true corner like T.J. Carrie, who makes a lot of sense covering slot receivers and ranked fifth on the team last year in defensive snaps. Carrie has seen a lot of OTA time. But the other option is Whitehead, and he fits the scheme that Wilks chose a year ago. Arizona played 5-foot-10, 195-pound safety Budda Baker near the line of scrimmage a lot last season in that three-safety look, and to double-check, I asked Wilks if that’s what the 5-11, 195-pound Whitehead could do in Cleveland.
Yep. That’s the potential fit. That’s what Wilks has shown he prefers. It’s clear the impression Whitehead has made on Wilks in a short time.
I'm not sure why you have to have a "primary 11th guy" in the first place. I'll go with the idea of ten more solid/secure starters-- 4 linemen, 2 backers, 2 corners, 2 safeties (not set in stone either but I get where it's coming from)-- but the 11th guy is obviously dependent on offensive personnel.
Did they come out with two backs on third and one? Nobody likes 'base' defense anymore but you might want to consider putting that third 'backer in there.
Or maybe it's 3rd and 10 and they come out with 3 receivers with at least a couple of them being shifty/speed type guys... good time to come out with 3 corners, at least. I'd actually expect to come out in 3 corners more often than 3 safeties. It's an 11 personnel (3 wide) league and we're better at corner anyway.
Sometimes you need a 'tweener guy in there yourself, someone to mix it up in the run game or to cover a big slot guy that might be too fast for a linebacker, but too big for a corner, so you put a third safety in. I'd be surprised if that ended up being the 'primary' 11th guy or our base personnel, however you want to define all that.
I hope everyone realizes that sub-packages exist for rosters whose base personnel aren't suited to defending certain offensive packages or alignments, right?
You don't run a lot of sub-packages just because the NFL now runs a lot of sub-packages..... you run a lot of them when you don't have the talent/personnel to just leave folks out there and still get the job done. Beyond that, the only real "subbing" should be to give guys a breather.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
Good news about Whitehead ... he may be someone who steps up, which is what you need to supplement the talented guys we have too
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
Not sure that I agree with all that. In most cases, I actually think it is better to match up with the offense than it is to put your best 11 out there.
For example, if a team comes out in 3 wide, I'm coming out in nickel to match, or sometimes even dime/quarter depending on the game situation. What I wouldn't do is come out in 4-3, or very rarely for that matter. I would rather play nickel even if it meant taking a good linebacker off the field and replacing him with a mediocre corner (or in some cases, a safety.)
edit: of course there's more to it than that. For example, one of those linebackers might move down to end in some packages, sliding that end over to tackle and you're actually taking a defensive interior off the field. Match ups/fatigue/injury/game situations all factor in here.
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