Personnel Is Not the Only Issue for the Struggling Cleveland Browns Run Game
The Cleveland Browns won on Sunday, and that is all that really matters in the end. Unfortunately, if the same problems persist week to week then that will prohibit them from winning in the future. That is what is happening with their run game.
The Browns rushed for 39 yards on Sunday and have a grand total of 108 yards combined the last two games. This is not the type of output you would expect from the team that had the third-ranked rushing offense entering Week 7. It is the type of struggles you would expect from a team that lost its Pro Bowl center for the year, however.
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Last week I wrote a film breakdown showing just how poorly John Greco and Paul McQuistan played in his place. Greco had to start at center for the first time ever in his football life, and McQuistan stepped in for Greco at guard. It was a disaster.
On Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, the Browns started Nick McDonald at center. Never heard of him? Don’t worry, very few people had. In fact, McDonald had just two starts at center in his career and hadn’t played a snap in over a year.
It helped improve the pass protection slightly with Greco sliding back over to guard, but the run blocking was still abysmal. So the issue has to be strictly the loss of Mack, right?
It runs much deeper unfortunately.
As you will see in the plays below, the Browns have far more problems on their hands than just a lineman playing poorly. They have missed pre-snap reads, blown blocks by other positions and offensive linemen other than McDonald have struggled as well.
The line is like a ballet, and losing one piece can throw off the synchronization of the unit. It will take time to get back to a respectable level, and luckily the Browns have had some cupcake opponents to start that process. After Sunday, however, those cupcakes disappear, and the Browns have their one and only nationally televised game of the season in Cincinnati with a division win on the line.
Let’s take a look at some of the issues the Browns had when trying to run the football on Sunday.
Jordan Cameron
As much as it hurts to have Jordan Cameron injured with a concussion and probably missing a few weeks, it may end up helping the running game. He was a huge liability on Sunday.
It is no secret that Cameron is a pass-catcher and not a blocking tight end, but he has to do better than the drubbing he took on Sunday. Here are three examples in the first quarter alone of defenders tossing him to the side before they made a tackle against the run.
The Browns were awarded tight end Ryan Taylor off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens. You’ll never guess what he does best. That’s right; he is a blocking tight end.
They desperately need better blocking from whoever is in the game because the offensive line took a dramatic step back with Mack gone for the year. The past two weeks offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has increased the number of plays where the tight end stays in to block. This is to help compensate for the learning curve of the new lineman.
Whether Taylor, Jim Dray or Gary Barnidge is in the game they have to finish blocks and give the runners a chance.
Losing one-on-one battles
The Browns have also been losing a ton of one-on-one battles the past two weeks. Despite the fact that everyone thinks John Greco is a great guard, the reality is that he just serviceable. He struggled mightily last season and still gets beat from time to time in 2014.
Here the Browns have lined up in a jumbo package with tight ends on each side of the line to help run block. They have seven men up front, and the Raiders have just eight in the box. They should be able to get a helmet on every defender and leave the running back with just one man to beat.
As the play starts to develop the linemen pick up their blocks, and everything seems fine. The only man not accounted for is the linebacker who is tracking the play down the line of scrimmage. He will have to fight through traffic just to make sure this is not a big gain for Ben Tate. Everything is going as designed.
Unfortunately, Greco cannot hold his block and is thrown to the ground. His man is now right in the face of Tate. If he had been able to hold his block for a split second longer then Tate would be in the hole and have at least gained a few yards if not scored. Instead, this was a tackle for loss.
Missed pre-snap reads
Sometimes it is not the line or blockers who are at fault when a run play doesn’t work. Sometimes it is the quarterback. In the picture above you can see that the Browns are going to run a dive to the right. Because the nose tackle is lined up on the right shoulder of the center, McDonald, Greco will have to pick up that block to seal the inside part of the hole for Tate.
The right tackle, Mitchell Schwartz, will be responsible for the outside edge-rusher. You can see that Charles Woodson is showing a blitz, and there is no one else there to pick it up. To the right side of the picture there is a tight end on the line and a receiver in motion to help block.
Brian Hoyer could have audibled the run to the opposite side of the formation or had Miles Austin continue his motion to the other side of the line. He could have also had Cameron shift from the other side of the line to the side of the run to help as well.
All these were options, but instead he just snapped the ball and left his running back one-on-one with a blitzing safety.
As Tate receives the handoff Woodson is already in the backfield and forces him to change direction into traffic. He doesn’t make it anywhere and is tackled for a loss. Even if this was a designed counter play Hoyer still has to get a body on Woodson. Even a chip block would work, but he cannot be left to run free.
So while McDonald did not have a very good game at center and the Browns will continue to struggle with their personnel, there are other areas which can be cleaned up to help the run game. Simple execution of blocks or pre-snap reads is essential to moving the ball effectively.
The Browns failed in all aspects of the run game, and it showed on Sunday. If they don’t clean up the little things it doesn’t matter who plays center or guard.
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