Cleveland Browns: Rob Ryan Needs to Play Defense He Has, Not the One He Wants

As we look forward to the Cleveland Browns game vs. the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, it's time to address a growing problem on the sidelines: defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's sometimes reckless blitzing.

To be clear, this in no way should be interpreted as a call for Ryan's head, dismissal, dismemberment, or any other such negative connotation—this is just a honest assessment of the last few weeks.

Ryan loves to mix up blitz packages, which is a good thing, and he loves to blitz the quarterback, which anyone would be in favor of; however, that doesn't mean you do it 30 times a game and leave Anquan Boldin and Terrell Owens wide open.

The Browns secondary isn't one of the best in the league and our guys have been getting torched on the long routes. Eric Wright, after a particularly bad game vs. Baltimore, became the focus of fan ire but he wasn't the only corner watching a streaking wide receiver run down the field lately.

Ryan tried some heavy blitzes on Joe Flacco—even though his best pass rusher, Marcus Benard, wasn't even on the field.

That didn't work out so well. Go check how many times the Browns sacked Flacco two weeks ago.

Last week vs. the Bengals, Carson Palmer used the blitz against Cleveland by keying in on the open wide receiver. Since the personnel behind the blitz couldn't get to Palmer fast enough, the ball was gone and the play made before a sack could be recorded in most cases.

While Shaun Rogers has finally returned to the field, he looks a lot heavier than he did last year and that can't have helped his speed.

Matt Roth and Kenyon Coleman both had good games against Cincinnati, and that's worth pointing out, but overall, Ryan is deploying his squad like it has a lot more talent and speed on it than it actually has.

T.J. Ward and Joe Haden are going to be stars, but right now they're rookies. Sheldon Brown is the only quality corner, and that shows because Palmer generally avoided throwing in Brown's direction.

Of course, the one time Palmer did throw that way, Brown fell down, but that's going to happen every now and then. It's frustrating, but it's reality.

The Browns now have added Jayme Mitchell to the roster, a defensive end acquired from Minnesota, which brings some much needed depth to the Browns defense.

It was reported team president Mike Holmgren was on the practice field last week, involved in lengthy discussions with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, and the offense was much better balanced and much more effective versus Cincinnati.

Maybe this week, Holmgren, or someone with expertise on defense, can go have a word with Ryan.

We like the blitzing, but you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em.