Buccaneers vs. Browns: Breaking Down Clevelands Game Plan: The third and final week of the Cleveland Browns cupcake stretch culminates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday. The Bucs have just one win on the season and have lost their last three contests. The Browns game plan for their Week 9 matchup should be to establish the run early and put their foot on the throat of a lowly football team. The Buccaneers enter this game as the 29th-ranked rush defense. Hopefully this is a cure-all for the Browns rushing woes. They have run for just 69 and 39 yards in the last two weeks. Two weeks ago they were the third-ranked rushing offense in the NFL; now they are 12th. If the Browns can go out and get back to what they do well, they should end up in the win column after the game. “I know their record is not where they want it to be, but it’s an NFL team,” said head coach Mike Pettine to the media on Wednesday. “They have some good players, and it will be a challenge. They haven’t put it together, but as always, we’ll talk about a team and expect their best. That’s the biggest challenge for our guys—to go out and execute. Normally a coach will praise a player or unit of an opponent. Pettine knows the biggest challenge this week, however, is the guys in his own locker room. They need to stay mentally focused and take care of business that should be taken care of. It is too easy for a locker room to start thinking about the fact that they can be 5-3 heading into a nationally televised game against the Cincinnati Bengals next Thursday. Keeping that mentality far away from his locker room is Pettine’s biggest challenge this week. Last week it was easier; his guys had just gotten bit by the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road. Now they have to avoid the press clippings and do what needs to be done. The best way to do that is to come out physical and dominate the line of scrimmage. Let’s take a look at who has the edge at each position in this game. The Competitive Edge Quarterback Hoyer had a nice bounce back week against the Oakland Raiders. It was not his best game of the year but he did enough to win and keep backup Johnny Manziel at bay for another week. On the other side, Mike Glennon is not having a horrible season for the Buccaneers, but then again it hasn’t been that good either. Without a running game to fall back on he has been a sitting duck in the pocket. Edge: Cleveland Running Back After the last two weeks the Browns had running the ball, it would take a pretty poor opposing backfield to give them the advantage—but that’s exactly what the Buccaneers have. They have the 29th-ranked rushing attack in the league and look like they may be handing things over to rookie back Charlie Simms, who can return from injured reserve as early as this week. He has to be better than Doug Martin who has been a huge disappointment. Edge: Cleveland Receivers There is a reason that one of the hottest names around the NFL trade deadline was Bucs receiver Vincent Jackson. He is about as talented as anyone in the league. The deadline came and went and Jackson is still in Tampa so the Browns will have their hands full with the 6’5” veteran. They also have rookie Mike Evans who has been turning heads the past few weeks as well. Edge: Tampa Bay Tight End Even with Jordan Cameron out after suffering a concussion last Sunday, I would still take the Browns tight ends. Jim Dray is a good pass-catcher who does not have elite speed but has a knack for getting open. Gary Barnidge has always been a good target in the red zone as well. With limited targets they have combined for more yards than Tampa rookie Austin Seferian-Jenkins and have just as many touchdowns. Edge: Cleveland Offensive Line Not only is Tampa Bay ranked 29th in rushing but they have also allowed 19 sacks this season. Their offensive line play flat-out stinks. The problem is that the Browns line has stunk the last two weeks as well. They have allowed four sacks and 13 tackles for loss in the last two games and are struggling to find chemistry after Mack’s injury. Edge: Push Defensive Line Both defensive lines have struggled this season even though the Browns’ has played better of late. Gerald McCoy is a heck of a player and has three sacks on the year, but no one else has stepped up for Tampa. The Browns are getting healthy but until they show some consistency and stop someone from running all over them I will be skeptical. They have just two sacks as a unit. Edge: Push Linebackers Over the past two games the Browns linebackers have started making some plays. Craig Robertson has been better against the run and even showed some coverage skills last week. Paul Kruger had three sacks against Oakland and is now top-15 in the NFL. The weak link remains Barkevious Mingo, who looks lost in coverage and like he doesn’t belong in the league against the run. Edge: Cleveland Defensive Backs The Browns already had the edge in this department and then Tampa Bay traded safety Mark Barron at deadline. For the Browns, Joe Haden returned to his Pro Bowl form last week and was dominant. Even rookie Justin Gilbert has been playing well the last two weeks. They are starting to play like the unit people thought they could be before the season began. Edge: Cleveland Special Teams The Browns are still struggling in this department. Despite having the best opponent’s average starting drive mark in the NFL, they cannot find a rhythm in their return game. They rank near the bottom of the league in kickoff-return average and dead last in punt-return average. For the Bucs, Solomon Patton has been very solid and consistently sets them up with decent field position. Edge: Tampa Bay Browns Offense vs. Buccaneers Defense As I said earlier, the Browns have to establish the run this week—not just to make easier a victory over Tampa Bay but because they have to find some kind of rhythm before they hit the hard part of their schedule. The Buccaneers defensive line has struggled as bad as any unit in the league. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will pound the ball early and often. That should set up the play-action pass which has been quarterback Brian Hoyer’s bread and butter all season. If they cannot establish the run they should still be able to move the ball through the air. Tampa has allowed nearly eight yards per attempt which is terrible and among the worst marks in the NFL. And that was before they traded Barron. This should be the type of game where the Browns can get back on track offensively. They were a top-ten offense just two weeks ago and now rank 16th in points per game. They have to get some mojo back. Browns Defense vs. Buccaneers Offense If the Buccaneers want to win the game it will have to be done on the arm of second-year quarterback Mike Glennon. He has not done all that much this season. He is taking decent care of the ball, just five interceptions, but he also has just 1,157 passing yards. Glennon’s 85.3 quarterback rating is 26th in the league and his 6.81 yards per attempt is even worse at 27th. The Browns will need to get pressure on Glennon and force him to read through his progressions. If they can get him uncomfortable in the pocket, he will make mistakes with the football and take sacks. He has hit the ground 14 times this year. Even if Charlie Sims plays Sunday, the rookie running back will not carry the workload. That duty will go to former Browns running back Bobby Rainey. He is a shifty back who will probably have an ax to grind against the team who cut him just last year. The Browns corners will be challenged this week as the Buccaneers have two big targets in Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans. Whoever is not covered by Haden on each play will be the guy to worry about. If they can get Evans one-on-one against Buster Skrine then they have a huge height advantage. If the Browns can score early and make this young offense play from behind then they should be able to get them to turn over the ball. Tampa has a negative-2 turnover ratio on the year which is 23rd in the league. Special Teams As is the case every week now, the Browns are just trying to stay afloat at special teams. They had another mistake last week as Travis Benjamin fumbled on a punt return. Tampa has allowed a special teams touchdown already this year but it is highly unlikely that the Browns can take advantage. Patton is a good returner but not necessarily a game-changing threat. If the Browns can avoid a turnover on special teams then this category should end up a wash by the end of the game. What They’re Saying “The game hasn’t really seen a quarterback like him, I don’t think. They say Doug Flutie and guys like that, but he can throw just as good as the 65 prototypical quarterbacks, and he can run like (Jets QB) Michael Vick. He’s a great player, and when he gets his shot I think he’s never going to come off the field.” —Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans on if Johnny Manziel will be successful when he finally plays “Yeah, it’s something that you’ve got to think about. It’s an expensive mistake.” —Browns linebacker Paul Kruger on whether he aims for the legal hit zone on a quarterback when sacking him. Browns’ Wednesday Injury Report Did not participate: Offensive lineman Joe Thomas (rest), wide receiver Rodney Smith (hamstring) defensive lineman Phil Taylor (knee) and tight end Jordan Cameron (concussion) Limited: Defensive lineman Ahtyba Rubin (ankle) Full Participation: Linebacker Barkevious Mingo (shoulder) defensive lineman Desmond Bryant (wrist) cornerback K’Waun Williams (head), defensive lineman Billy Winn (quad) and safety Jim Leonhard (hamstring) This Week’s Game Stats and Facts At 4-3, the Browns have their best record through seven games since 2007. Tashaun Gipson is leading the NFL with five interceptions this season. In addition, his 10 interceptions since 2013 are the most in the league. Taylor Gabriel is second in the NFL with an average of 19.8 yards per catch. The undrafted free agent is tied for the lead among all NFL rookies with three receptions of 40-plus yards. Buccaneers guards Oniel Cousins and Garrett Gilkey as well as running back Bobby Rainey all played for the Browns last season. All quotes and observations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Game stats and facts are courtesy of the Browns’ communications department. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #AFCNorth #ClevelandBrowns
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 04:28:40 +0000
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