Know your Enemy: Cleveland Browns

You know the deal by now..It is Know your enemy: Cleveland Browns edition. We got Peter Smith from Dawg Pound Daily to give the lowdown. Have fun and tell a friend. 

1) How on earth are the Browns 2-2? As an outsider, I couldn't tell you 5 Browns on the team, yet, you guys have held your own the past three weeks. How are they doing it?

The Browns are keyed by a strong defense, particularly the front seven. They had talented pieces in place like Joe Haden, D'Qwell Jackson, Phil Taylor, Jabaal Sheard, T.J. Ward and Athyba Rubin as well as some other pieces that have taken a step forward and become better.  Those include Craig Robertson, Billy Winn, John Hughes, Buster Skrine, Tashaun Gipson.

2) How do you feel about the QB play of Brian Hoyer? What are his strengths and weaknesses?

Brian Hoyer is a quarterback that makes quick decisions, gets the ball in the hands of playmakers, and has a decent arsenal of throws he will use; Including back shoulder throws to get guys in positions to make plays.  Hoyer is athletic enough where he can extend plays with his legs and while he is not much of a threat to run with the ball, he can get away from pass rushers.  He seems to be an overall average quarterback, but that is a massive improvement from Brandon Weeden.  Certainly, the Browns are going to keep looking at him since he is the only quarterback worth looking at on the roster at this point, but with all of their draft picks, it seems like a good bet they will still look to address the quarterback position in the draft.

3) If you were the opposition, how would you attack the Cleveland offense and defense?

To deal with the Browns offense, it comes down to frustrating Gordon and Cameron and putting pressure on Hoyer.  Cameron has been much harder to shut down than Gordon because of his size, strength and ability to get open.  The Bengals were able to contain Gordon last week but really never found an answer for Gordon.  Perhaps with a talented coverage backer like Kiko Alonso, they can use some kind of combo coverage to box Cameron in while being able to protect Gordon from going over the top. 

The Browns are trying to get a semblance of a running game after moving Trent Richardson.  The results have been relatively mediocre and the Browns have employed screens to help make up for not being able to run the ball with any consistency.  The Browns are vulnerable on the right side because of Oniel Cousins, but Shawn Lauvao may be back this week.  Nevertheless, the best area to attack has been on that right side.

4) Why has Jordan Cameron been so affective for you guys?

 Jordan Cameron is a tremendous athlete.  It is difficult to cover someone who is 6'4" 250lbs, but what makes Cameron so effective is his ability to run routes.  He has good agility, can plant his foot in the ground to get open and is extremely comfortable going up in the air to get the football.  Even when he is covered, he is not necessarily covered.  He has great ball skills and really taken advantage of his opportunities.  In addition to everything else, Cameron has speed and can stretch the field, so he can attack all areas of the field.  The issue with Cameron is his blocking; not good at it.

The front seven makes this defense go.  When they are able to put teams in obvious third down situations, they have so many options to attack offenses.  Desmond Bryant and Billy Winn have been able to get pressure from the defensive line, though Winn is currently hurt.  From the outside, the Browns have had Jabaal Sheard (probably out for this game) as well as Paul Kruger and rookie Barkevious Mingo, so the Browns are able to put pressure on from all sides.  They have incredible depth and can rotate a ton of guys into the game without losing anything.