DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2022 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 17 Dolphins 39 Beating Miami

I apologize for some of my word choices like absurd and agenda. I was wrong to say that.

However, there are plenty of threads about Stefanski's alleged incompetence. This one is supposed to be about the matchups for this week's upcoming game. Look at the thread now. It is no longer about the topic at all and instead yet another thread about agendas and personalities.

While I wish you would stay on topic and I find your constant complaining beyond depressing, I was still wrong for some of verbiage.

While I do understand what you're saying, injuries have always been a part of the game. This is an overview. Odds can differ from the start of the season to where a team is today. They can change moving forward. This is simply where they are now. The odds of a 3-5 team making the playoffs are very slim, but not impossible. I didn't mean to infer it was impossible. Yet at the same time it is what it is.

I'm going to reiterate something we all know and has bothered me since it happened. We should be 4-4 right now or even better but at 4-4 we would have a decent chance at the playoffs. We should have won that Jets game. We all know that. If we did, we would be in decent shape despite playing poor D, the mistakes and all the injuries. I should put it behind me and move on I know but it's been grating on me since it happened. It has to be in the top 5 worst defeats in my 55 years being a Browns fan.

I'm getting to the point this year that I believe the top 20 teams are all so close in talent and lack of talent that the old any given Sunday rule is supercharged. So for games between any two teams in the top 20, we can guess but consistently predicting the winner is much harder than in years past. The browns CAN win any game against any team when they show up and play WELL. But that's the issue with a lot of teams this year, knowing who will show up, the winning team or the one struggling.

I believe the Browns will win this game !

They had their prime time win against the Bengals

Showed off to the country that they can be a contender

A good rest to prepare for a team many having them losing to

It's the second half of the season, hopefully the W's prevail over the L's

To start the second half of the schedule.

Jacoby says "I got this"

I wonder if we’ll move MG around more than usual since Tia is a lefty. I wonder if we will employ four DEs more often, since it was successful against the Bengals, or was that more a product of our big lead? What do you guys think?

If JOK does play, I hope he can be more in synch with the rest of the D (if it’s true, as I’ve read, that he hasn’t been sticking to his assignments and resorting to more freelancing than he should).

I think we will have a very difficult time stopping their passing game. I also think that their defense isn't so good. You never know how a game is going to turn out, but I think we have a chance even though I think Miami and Cinci are the two best offenses we will face all year. I say that w/the disclaimer that I think Josh Allen might be out when we play him. I injured my UCL when I was a senior in high school. Mine came while pitching in baseball. There are a lot of different variants of that particular injury, but it ruined my season. I had to rest because it was detached. It eventually healed, but the tendonitis that resulted from it led to a lot of pain anytime I threw too much. Again, not sure if his injury is the same because it starts in the upper arm and goes into the lower arm. Mine was right above the elbow and bunched up right below the elbow. I don't think that is what happened to him. But, I do think that rest is required w/that injury.

Also, Armstead is a very good LT. They got him in FA from New Orleans.

Browns vs. Dolphins: How does Cleveland slow down Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle?



Cory Kinnan
November 10, 2022 8:11 pm ET

Defensive coordinator Joe Woods is going to have to catch up on sleep next week. The Cleveland Browns are set to take on the Miami Dolphins and the most explosive offense in the NFL this Sunday. The NFL’s leading receiver in Tyreek Hill and his counterpart Jaylen Waddle (who is also a top-five receiver in yards) present a nightmare of a threat for the Browns to match.

The Browns have found some success over the past two weeks, but will now need a massive showing to come away with a win this Sunday. How can the Browns at least limit this lethal unit that features two premier receivers in Hill and Waddle?



Stay out of man coverage as much as possible

Browns vs. Dolphins: How does Cleveland slow down Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle? Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

This is an offense that will take any man coverage they see and find a wrinkle to exploit it. This is not to say the Browns cannot play any man coverage at all, but if they come out with frequency and try to punch Hill and Waddle in the mouth with consistency, then they will get run out of Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

The Dolphins do too good of a job at stacking receivers to give them free releases, running rub concepts, and just flat-out winning vertically to think this can be an effective plan of attack. Even with two twitchy and athletic cornerbacks in Greg Newsome and Denzel Ward, this would be quite ill-advised.

Both Hill and Waddle also run 40-yard dashes in the 4.2s and can cut on dimes. Giving them space deep to work, even giving Tagovailoa those looks consistently is not a winning formula. There is not a secondary in the NFL that can track these guys deep and across the field for 60 minutes.

The Browns, however, can bring exotic blitzes that will require a bit of man coverage from time to time. But for the most part, they are going to have to win with four bringing heat up front.


Quarters and Cover-6 will be the Browns' best friend



Woods runs a great deal of quarters coverage (Cover-4). This will once again be deployed at will against the Dolphins. With the secondary playing well over the past two weeks, they will get a boost from Denzel Ward’s return as well. Coming out of the bye, there is no excuse for any more blown coverages in Cleveland.
Quarters allow for the Browns to lockdown the deepest part of the field. It prevents them from getting killed on crossers (that Cover-3 is weak against) and will help to limit the explosive plays deep down the field. This will, however, put a ton of pressure back onto the linebackers as it takes defensive attention away from the middle of the field.

Cover-6, also known as quarter-quarter-half, is a Cover-4 and Cover-2 hybrid where half of the field is in quarters, while the other half is in Cover-2. It offers disguise pre-snap and gives relief deep down the field while also not compromising the seam. It can, however, be vulnerable underneath.



This may be the compromise the Browns have to make against a lethal offense that can win in a variety of ways. Give Tagovailoa a bit of nuance pre-snap, limit explosive plays deep and up the seam, then rally to the football underneath.

There is no perfect answer, and there is no bulletproof defense, but there are ways to limit explosive opportunities.


Linebackers will be asked to wear capes


The Dolphins love their crossers and they love to hit backside digs up the hashes. Not to mention they have a plethora of weapons to attack the seam as well without compromising other levels of the field.

This means the linebackers, Sione Takitaki, Deion Jones, and hopefully Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (who missed the game against the Cincinnati Bengals and has yet to return to practice) are going to have to hit deeper landmarks on their drops.

The Browns are going to have to compromise somewhere in their game plan against the Dolphins and the speed of Hill and Waddle, and underneath may just be that compromise. If these linebackers are forced to hit deeper drops, then they also are going to have to fire downhill when receivers are targeted underneath and rally to the football.

When in Cover-2 or Cover-6, linebackers may also be asked to match inside guys vertically and turn and run with them. Not to mention they also need to remain in a position to fit the run when the Dolphins hand the ball off as well.

This will be their toughest game of the season, and by a lengthy distance.


Final thoughts as Browns prepare for a massive battle


This Dolphins’ offense is lethal, making them difficult to defend. If the Browns look to bring pressure from the second level, they are well-equipped to replace that pressure on RPOs and shallow crossers. If the Browns sit back in Cover-3, the Dolphins will kill them with deep crossers.

The Browns cannot play a significant amount of man coverage in this game either or they are going to get boat-raced out of Hard Rock Stadium. This will put a ton of pressure on the front four to get home. Sure, the Browns can bring pressure on occasion and off of their normal tendencies, but they have to keep Tagovailoa on his toes.

They are going to have to run Cover-2 on Third and mediums, looking to muddy up the middle of the field, while sitting in Cover-4 or Cover-6 throughout most of the game.

Owusu-Koramoah, Takitaki, and Jones are going to be tested. They are going to have to drop deep over the middle to take away backside digs. A ton will be on their plate.

Hill and Waddle are going to get theirs. There is just no way around it. Both are top-five in the league in receiving yards, with Hill being the first over 1,000 on the season. The Browns, however, can hope to potentially slow them down.

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/lis...medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

I don’t know enough X’s and O’s to explain how to stop their WRs. All i know is that stopping those two WRs would be beneficial lol

I talked about how we should not play man against Miami. I think the author of the article I just posted is correct about playing a lot of Quarters and Cover 6. Those coverages should help take away the deep pass and the intermediate crossing routes. However, the short passes will be open. I'd rather they kill us by a thousand cuts than beat us w/nuclear bombs.

j/c

Not playing (a lot of) man coverage against elusive, fast receivers who get separation seems like the biggest no-brainer of all time. Coming up with enough variations in zone coverage to prevent being picked apart all day is going to be nearly as big a challenge - but in theory one that should give up less chunk plays. I think the only realistic way to disrupt their passing game which has been outstanding will be to combine two elements on the same play and get a little lucky -- get pressure on Tua while having disguised the defense enough that Tua makes a mistake on a read and quick throw. Pressure without having mixed up the coverages won't do it by itself - and without pressure and forcing a quick read, changing the coverages won't do it.

Based on what I have seen from Woods over the last couple f years I'd expect a lot of off coverage giving up the underneath all day. Based on Greedy this year to date, I'm concerned. Based on how well the D played vs Cinci - we can win with a similar performance.

Going to add - we can score 40 and still lose this game. I don't want moral victories about how good one side of the ball was .... we need to do it on both sides of the ball. (and Special Teams).

We’ll definitely play zone then since it’s Woods’ style anyways. In basketball, you like to still mix it up JUST enough to keep them off balance, even if it goes with a team’s strength. Maybe some man looks with some pressure too. Like I said, I don’t know nearly as much as most of you with it

The good thing is that Cover 4 and Cover 6 look almost the same pre-snap, which allows us to mix things up. Of course, down and distance along w/the score and time of the game will call for other coverages like Cover 3 and Cover 2.

Gotcha. I have read that the trend in the NFL is to keep stuff in front, especially against these high powered offenses. Miami is certainly one of those

Their elite speed at WR is unique. Hill is probably the fastest guy in the NFL. Waddle is right there w/him. Also, there is this.......I saw a graphic when watching one of the pre-game shows last night about Tua against Man coverage. He was either first or second in almost meaningful category, w/the majority of them being first. I tried to find a link for it a little bit ago, but was unable to do so.

That would make sense with their quickness and his anticipation skills. I heard Ryan Fitzpatrick say that Tua is the best anticipatory he’s played with.

Interesting. That's pretty high praise from Fitz-Magic.

That’s what i thought too

I'll give you another old saying or at least an accurate version of it. In close games good teams find a way to win. Not so good teams find a way to lose. That helps explain the 3-5 record.

I'm not sure what your point is in all that concerning the point that I made. Even you yourself have stated that we should be at least 5-3. That we have lost some hard fought games that could have gone either way. The only actual difference is when it came down to the fourth quarter our opponents have been the ones who found the will to win. The Browns were the team who couldn't make the play when it counted most. And that was my entire point. Jacoby threw a couple of fourth qtr. int's. The defense gave up winning scores. What a team accomplishes in crunch times separates the winners from the losers.

Now that's not to say it will continue that way. That's not to say it's some predictor of the future. But that is what has been happening to this point.

So why not let him call plays? He did it in the most important game the Browns have played in the last 20 years and it was a smashing success. This would free Stefanski up to focus on the entire team on game days.

Prioritize winning.

Dolphins host Browns looking for fourth straight win

CLEVELAND (3-5) at MIAMI (6-3)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS


FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE:

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Browns 4-4; Dolphins 4-5.

SERIES RECORD: Dolphins lead 11-9.

LAST MEETING: Browns beat Dolphins 41-24 on Nov. 24, 2019, at Cleveland.

LAST WEEK: Browns beat Bengals 32-13; Dolphins beat Bears 35-32.

BROWNS OFFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (3), PASS (16, SCORING (7).

BROWNS DEFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (22), PASS (15), SCORING (T24).

DOLPHINS OFFENSE: OVERALL (5), RUSH (29), PASS (2), SCORING (10).

DOLPHINS DEFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (15), PASS (23), SCORING (25).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Browns minus-4; Dolphins minus-3.

BROWNS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Amari Cooper is coming off his best game for Cleveland — five receptions, 131 yards and a TD. A precision route-runner, Cooper has been everything the Browns hoped since trading for him in March. The eight-year veteran scored two TDs in his previous game against Miami for Dallas in 2019.

DOLPHINS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Tyreek Hill has a league-best 1,104 yards receiving. He needs 86 more to reach 1,190 and break the NFL’s Super Bowl-era record for most receiving yards through the first 10 games of a season (Julio Jones, 1,189 in 2015).

KEY MATCHUP: Browns RB Nick Chubb vs. Dolphins rushing defense. Miami allowed the Bears to rush for 252 yards last week. Chubb’s production — 841 yards rushing, 10 rushing touchdowns, 5.64 yards per carry — is one of the main reasons for Cleveland’s No. 4-ranked offense.

KEY INJURIES: Browns CB Denzel Ward could return after missing three games with a concussion. Ward is essential for countering Miami's speedy wide receivers. ... Browns TE David Njoku (knee) and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (knee) were both limited this week. ... Browns Pro Bowl RG Wyatt Teller (calf) is back after missing two games. ... Dolphins RT Austin Jackson is still working his way back from an ankle injury. ... TE Hunter Long is still in the concussion protocol. ... WR River Cracraft was limited this week with an illness. ... LT Terron Armstead was limited with toe and calf injuries.

SERIES Game notes
The Browns have won five of the past seven matchups. ... Cleveland and Miami have met twice in the postseason. In 1972, the Dolphins beat the Browns 20-14 on the way to their unbeaten 17-0 season. ... Miami and Cleveland last faced each other at Hard Rock Stadium in 2016. The Dolphins defeated the Browns 30-24 in that game. ... Miami’s largest margin of victory was by 17 points on Nov. 25, 1990. ... Cleveland’s largest margin of victory was by 28 on Oct. 25, 1970.


STATS AND STUFF: The Browns return from their bye week, which followed a solid all-around performance in the win over Cincinnati. ... The Browns play six of their next nine games on the road. ... QB Jacoby Brissett had a career-high 133.7 rating after completing 17 of 22 passes for 278 yards and a TD against the Bengals. ... Brissett spent last season with the Dolphins, going 2/3 in five starts. He laughed when asked if he wanted revenge on Miami. “They didn’t do anything wrong to me,” he said. "I’m a little too old to hold grudges if they did. It's not my style. ... Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is 2-0 following a bye. ... Chubb (46) needs two rushing TDs to move into third place on the team's career list behind Hall of Famers Leroy Kelly (74) and Jim Brown (106). Chubb rushed for 106 yards and a TD in Cleveland's 2019 win over Miami. ... Chubb and Dolphins LB Bradley Chubb are cousins. ... Browns All-Pro DE Myles Garrett had 1 1/2 sacks vs. the Bengals and has 7 1/2 this season. ... Cleveland's defense limited Cincinnati to 36 yards rushing on Oct. 31. ... LB Sione Takitaki had a career-high 13 tackles and a sack vs. Cincinnati. Takitaki's role expanded following season-ending injuries to Anthony Walker Jr. and Jacob Phillips. ... Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa has 18 completions, a 64.3 percent completion rate and 117.6 passer rating on throws of 20 yards or more. ... Miami's Mike McDaniel joined Dave Wannstedt as the only coaches in Dolphins history to win at least six of their first nine games. Wannstedt went 7-2 in his first nine games in 2000. ... The Dolphins are 5-3 in their past eight road games. ... The Dolphins haven't started the season 7-3 since 2001. ... RB Raheem Mostert is Miami’s leading rusher with 478 yards and is on pace to surpass his career high of 772 yards set in 2019. ... Miami is second in the NFL in yards per play (6.33). ... The Dolphins have faced five of the NFL's top 15 scoring defenses this season: Bills, Patriots, Jets, Vikings, and Bengals. ... LB Melvin Ingram has faced the Browns five times in his career and has 16 tackles, three sacks, one pass defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

FANTASY TIP: Hill has scored more fantasy points than any receiver in 2022, even though he only has three touchdowns this season. Hill has 266 yards and 15 catches in two games against the Browns.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/preview/_/gameId/401437836

Browns 12
Dolphins 52

Tua 7 TD passes
Hill 250 yards receiving.
Waddle 225 yards receiving

No one said that they are unbeatable. Well, other than Super Brown...LOL. I will tell you that they are undefeated w/Tua. I do think you might want to look at their record w/Tua and w/out Tua this year, especially because you are a truth seeker and not an agenda poster.

YOU are one of the only agenda posters. It gets old.

Miami will be one of the better offenses (maybe the best?) that we will have seen to this point. It’s all about us minimizing their big plays

I'm telling you all right now, this is the kind of game we dominate. We should get our asses handed to us. It's past mid-season where we tend to play a more complete game. And we are going in knowing they are tough. We win this big I think.

mac, the Dolphins are 5 and 1 w/Tua. The only loss was the game against Cinci. He has thrown for 300 yards w/3 TDs in consecutive games. He threw for 381 just last week. He passed 469 yards against the Ravens. To not acknowledge the importance of his presence is deceptive. Again, no one other than maybe Super Brown is saying we can't win this game, but this is a tough matchup. To insinuate that it is not is dishonest. It's almost like you are saying that so you can rip the FO and Stefanski if they lose.