Film Breakdown: The Cleveland Browns Secondary Is Screwing Up the Little Things

The Cleveland Browns defensive secondary has come under heavy fire, and deservedly so.

Pro Bowl corner Joe Haden has given up a number of big plays this season. Buster Skrine seems to have reverted back to his poor play from two seasons ago, and eighth overall pick Justin Gilbert is a target of opposing quarterbacks every time he steps on the field. The breakdowns have rarely been one person but rather a lack of consistent team defense.

The Browns currently have the 28th-ranked pass defense in the NFL. They are allowing 269 passing yards per game and 8.1 yards per attempt, which is third-worst in the NFL.

Part of the problem has been the lack of pressure the defensive line and linebackers have gotten on opposing passers. They have just eight sacks, which is 20th in the NFL, and have not been able to find ways to consistently get in the backfield.

They are also abysmal when it comes to stopping the run, which allows teams to catch the Browns on their heels time and time again. They are allowing 152.5 yards per game, which is tied for 29th in the league. They are allowing 5.1 yards per carry, which is 30th in the league.

All of these things combine to make stopping the pass very difficult for the secondary. Sometimes the secondary just blows the coverage, and that is what we are going to take a look at this week.

Against the Tennessee Titans, the secondary allowed two passing touchdowns late in the second quarter, which you would have never seen last year. Simple assignments were blown, and it created 14 points going the other way.

Play 1

NFL Game Rewind

The Titans were already up 14-3 with just under four minutes to play in the half. They had sustained a six-minute drive that started at their own 20-yard line and now were threatening to add to their lead.

On this play, Kendall Wright is going to run a simple corner route from the slot. The outside receiver will run a crossing route back toward the other sideline in hopes of pulling Joe Haden away from the end zone and giving a wide-open touchdown to Charlie Whitehurst.

Skrine will have man-to-man coverage on Wright, but if Haden does not force a tough throw to the back corner of the end zone, then it is nearly impossible for Skrine to defend this route.

NFL Game Rewind

Safety Donte Whitner comes down to cover the crossing route, and for some inexplicable reason Haden also collapses on the underneath route. This is highly unlike him, and while he sometimes struggles to stay on quick receivers, he hardly ever blows coverage.

The few steps toward the line of scrimmage open up the corner of the end zone for Wright, and Whitehurst sees the route will be wide open. All he has to do is keep the ball on the right shoulder of Wright, and Skrine will probably not be able to defend the pass.

NFL Game Rewind

Whitehurst throws a perfect pass to the corner of the end zone, and the Titans put six more points on the board. This was a rare breakdown in coverage for Haden, who could be pressing this season after signing a huge contract extension in the offseason.

Perhaps he is trying too hard to live up to the money, and it is affecting his play.

Play 2

After that last breakdown, it did not seem like it could get much worse for the Browns defense, but that just wasn’t true. The Titans would tack another seven points on the board, and this time it would take just one play covering 75 yards.

NFL Game Rewind

The score is now 21-3, and the Browns are just trying to keep their heads above water. This time, Justin Hunter is the slot receiver. Hunter will be in man coverage with Buster Skrine and will run a hitch-and-go route near the top sideline.

The outside receiver will run a crossing route about 10 yards downfield in hopes of drawing the safety down to his route.

NFL Game Rewind

The play starts fine as Tashaun Gipson is dropping deep in case Skrine gets beaten on the outside. Skrine jumps the hitch in the route and will fall a few steps behind Hunter. While this is not ideal, it is also not terrible because Gipson is supposed to have coverage over the top.

Instead of keeping his eyes on all the routes and squaring back up his feet, however, Gipson spins with his back to the line of scrimmage when he thinks the outside route is a short, out route.

Now, Skrine is getting beaten, and Gipson turned his back to the play to break on the underneath route.

NFL Game Rewind

Skrine attempts to make up the ground but is unable, and Gipson is on the complete opposite side of the field by the time the ball gets to Hunter because he lost sight of that route.

So while it looked like Skrine was solely to blame for the deep touchdown pass, it was actually a simple fundamental breakdown by Gipson that allowed the play to become a score.

These are the types of plays that have made the Browns lose two games and have two spate halves against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Titans in which they were run off the field. It is not that the talent on the field cannot keep up with the offense. In fact, the Browns have one of the more talented defenses in the NFL.

The problem truly is simple defensive breakdowns and bad fundamentals through the first four weeks. If the players can clean up their execution throughout the rest of the season, then the Browns should quickly rise in the defensive standings, and accompanying that will be victories.

If they cannot clean up these issues, then the Browns will linger around the bottom of the NFL and will not win too many games, especially on the road. Not everyone is as bad as the Titans were on Sunday.