What Do Mack and Bryant's Injuries Mean for Browns Going Forward?

The Cleveland Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-10, on Sunday, but they did not emerge from the victory unscathed.

Two critical members of the roster—one on offense, one on defense—appear lost for the remainder of the season with serious injuries.

Center Alex Mack has a broken fibula which will require surgery, while defensive end Armonty Bryant suffered a torn ACL, also requiring surgical repair. 

According to Browns head coach Mike Pettine (via the Associated Press' Tom Withers), tests will determine the length of Mack's absence. If it's just a fracture, he could be back at the end of the season; if there is ligament damage, however, he'll be done for the season.

The duo of injuries will impact the rest of Cleveland's season. With the Browns currently third in the AFC North and possessing a 3-2 record, the balance of power in the division could shift a number of times before the season is over. The Browns must do whatever is within their control to minimize the impact of the two vacancies.

Mack's absence will be the most difficult to shoulder. Mack, the highest-paid center in the NFL, is in his sixth year with the Browns and has been a starter since his first day. He's never missed a single Browns offensive snap in his career, which, heading into Sunday's game, totaled 5,263 snaps.

Replacing a center is always difficult. The center-quarterback relationship is the most important one on the offensive side of the ball—and depending on the situation, the center handles the football more often than the quarterback does.

Establishing communication between a brand-new center, in-season, will be difficult for the Browns to accomplish. Right now, the front-runner appears to be John Greco, who stepped in at center from right guard on Sunday, forcing Paul McQuistan in at guard.

In speaking about the transition to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Greco said,

"

My mindset was 'don't screw this up for the team.' It's hard to fill Alex Mack's shoes. The guy's one of the best centers in the league. So I was able to move over and get everybody on the same page communication-wise. Obviously, I've got a lot of work to do this week and we'll go into the next game trying to win.

"

Cabot noted that Greco had never snapped the ball in a live-game situation save a few times in preseason and that head coach Mike Pettine will be meeting with general manager Ray Farmer on Monday to examine their options at the position.

According to ESPN's Pat McManamon, Greco will at least be the answer in the short term; Nick McDonald should then eventually get to try his hand at the job.

As long as Greco or another experienced Cleveland lineman takes over the job, the Browns should not be in terrible shape. There will be a learning curve, but it won't be as steep as, say, it was last year for the Baltimore Ravens' Gino Gradkowski, a 2012 fourth-round draft pick who won the job by default when veteran Matt Birk retired.

Gradkowski went on to be Pro Football Focus' (subscription required) last-ranked center for 2013, and the Ravens had the worst run-blocking offensive line in the league. It's just that Mack was Pro Football Focus' third-ranked center through the first six weeks of the season that should have the team somewhat nervous.

David Richard/Associated Press

Mack has given up no sacks, no quarterback hits and only one quarterback hurry this year. Greco gave up one sack on Sunday, but no other pressures. But it's not just the pass-rush that is of concern when Greco or whoever takes over the center job from here on out—it's also the smaller, fundamental things.

Snapping the football to a quarterback is not an easy task, nor is reading the defense and being a captain on the line. While Greco having been a starter on the line and playing every snap this season helps—he's not coming into the job cold—there will be a noticeable difference at least for the next week or two while he fully settles into his new role.

There's also the matter of how this change will affects the whole offensive line to consider. McQuistan, barring someone else getting the nod in Week 7 and beyond, should be in the right guard spot where Greco played. McQuistan gave up two quarterback hurries on Sunday and also earned a minus-1.2 grade in run-blocking. 

The overall quality of the line play could see a drop. Currently, Football Outsiders has the Browns' line ranked 11th in run-blocking and 13th in pass protection, with quarterback Brian Hoyer sacked only six times this season and the Browns run game averaging 4.4 yards per rush. 

Mack's talent radiated out to the linemen around him. Greco won't be able to match that. However, if Greco can transition to center smoothly, hopefully the Browns won't see a noticeable decline in how well the line blocks and, as a result, how successful their offense is.

On defense, Bryant's absence would be less of a concern if fellow defensive end Phil Taylor didn't undergo a knee scope last Wednesday that will have him sidelined for a few weeks. Taylor was the starter on the left; Bryant was the end tasked with spelling him in certain down-and-distance situations.

As a result, Bryant has played just 136 snaps on defense this year, or 37.6 percent of the total, according to Pro Football Focus. He had 11 combined tackles, one sack, two quarterback hits and one quarterback hurry. Though his snaps were few, he was a part of the Browns' front-seven rotation. Now that rotation becomes thinner without him—and without Taylor.

David Richard/Associated Press

Fellow end Billy Winn was also inactive in Week 6 with a quad injury. Depending on how long that lingers, it looks as though linebacker Jabaal Sheard could get playing time at end, according to NFL.com's Dan Hanzus.

Sheard was moved to outside linebacker in 2013 and remains there this season, but he was a starting defensive end (albeit in a different Browns defensive system) in 2011 and 2012. He has 20 combined tackles so far this season, as well as two sacks, two tackles for a loss, two passes defensed, a quarterback hit and 12 quarterback hurries, while playing 68.5 percent of the Browns' defensive snaps.

What helps is that the Browns have already taken a creative approach to the defense. Their base 3-4 looks have featured unexpected combinations of defensive linemen, including John Hughes, Ishmaa'ily Kitchen and Desmond Bryant, and they've also shown 4-3 looks with Hughes and Desmond Bryant taking on the roles of defensive tackle. It's not just the Paul Kruger-Barkevious Mingo show out there.

Player	Tackles	TFL	Sack	QB Hit	QB Hurry	PD	Snaps	Snaps %
A. Bryant	11	0	1.0	2	1	0	136	37.6%
Sheard	20	2	2.0	1	12	2	248	68.5%

It's just that with Armonty Bryant out for the season, Taylor out a few more weeks and Winn nursing his quad, the combinations available are limited. There are defensive looks that the Browns might simply not be able to execute with their current depth. An already-creative scheme will have to get even more creative out of necessity.

The injuries to Mack and Bryant aren't enough to sink the Browns' impressive-thus-far season. There are three winnable games ahead and the return of wide receiver Josh Gordon to look forward to.

But it will take time for the offensive line to settle in with a new center and for the defense to find combinations that work in Bryant's absence.

Though the next three games shouldn't pose a major threat to the Browns and their quest for a winning season, the contests that follow are brutal: the Cincinnati Bengals twice, the Indianapolis Colts, the Carolina Panthers and the Baltimore Ravens among them. 

By that point, the voids left by Bryant's and Mack's injuries need to be filled seamlessly in order for the Browns to be competitive during this crucial final half of the season. Short-term hiccups are to be expected with these changes, but they cannot turn into long-term problems.

Good teams have the depth and fortitude to weather injuries. The two the Browns suffered on Sunday will help serve as a barometer of just how much improvement the team has made since last season ended.