Browns defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil has been the subject of scrutiny in recent weeks as his defense ranks 32nd in the league in total yards allowed. If you ask O’Neil, however, he’ll be the first person to tell you how great his defense is.
During Thursday’s press conference in Berea, O’Neil opened up by telling members of the media, “I thought our tackling improved from the previous week. Our guys did a good job. I thought they brought that mindset that we talked about. I thought we had some guys really step up.”
If week four’s epic collapse in San Diego is what any of the coaches consider to be “a good job”, then there is no hope Browns fans when it comes to this regime.
All off-season Browns coaches tried to convince fans that this team would be built on a strong defense. The selections of Danny Shelton, Nate Orchard, who has been a non-factor all season thus far, and Xavier Cooper were supposed to bolster the run defense which finished 32nd in the league in 2014.
Not only has the run defense been among the worst in the NFL, ranked 31st allowing an average of 141.5 yards per game, but now the pass defense is near the bottom as well, ranked 22nd allowing an average of 264.8 yards per game.
Veteran players are trying to defend their individual performances, like Tramon Williams claiming he was not offsides on a crucial last-second penalty that may have cost the Browns the game.
Joe Haden is defending himself from criticism that he should have played through an injury.
Jim O’Neil is defending himself and his players at the podium.
If only they were this defensive on the field!
Head coach Mike Pettine was supposed to be a defensive coach with a solid pedigree from his years with the Jets and Bills, yet he is no longer there and those teams have significantly better defenses than Cleveland.
Cornerback Justin Gilbert was the highest draft pick taken since Pettine began his tenure in Cleveland and now he’s being used as a kick returner and potentially a wide receiver. If defense is Pettine’s expertise, why is his highest draft pick on defense being worked out as an offensive player?
Pettine and O’Neil continue to tell the media and fans they have great players on defense. Actions speak louder than words and if the actions on the field don’t improve soon, we won’t be hearing many more press conferences from this regime.
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