The Ringer NFL Show - The Play Sheet [VIDEO]: How the Browns Defense Smothered the 49ers

Episode Date: October 18, 2023

The Ringer’s Ben Solak looks at the turnaround in Cleveland, where the Browns were near dead last in run defense last season, but have skyrocketed to fifth under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. This past Sunday, a combination of a smothering pass rush, clever alignments, and some new contributors on the Browns defense handed Kyle Shanahan and his 49ers their first loss of the season. Producer: Cory McConnell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey howdy. I'm Ben Solac. This is the play sheet. This is our Wednesday episode on the ringer NFL feed. So click into your Spotify app. Click on the episode, watch the video, see the plays. Have a good time. The opening script. How the Brown's defense got it done. Entering week six, the San Francisco 40-9ers had scored 30 points in every single, all of the games. The first five games, 30 points in each one. They were the sixth team in Super Bowl era history to do so. And four of the last five teams had all gone to the Super Bowl. So that's pretty good. Also pretty good. was the defense they were about to face in week six. The Cleveland Browns. The Browns have played four games before a week five by, and in two of those four games, they'd held their opponent totally touchdownless. In three of those four games, they held their opponent to a success rate of 25% or below. One successful play on offense out of every four attempts is crazy good.

The problem was the Browns had kind of faced a bit of a cupcake schedule. In week one, Joe Burrow and the Bengals, and this was when Joe Burrow had like one and a quarter calf. Week two, Pittsburgh Steelers who are coordinated by Matt Canada, week three, Tennessee Titans, whose offensive line, like no one could say off the top of their head, and then in week four, the Ravens, who actually had a little bit of success against them. Which begged the question, were the Browns really an elite defense, or were they just beating up on some bad teams?

Well, in week six, they beat that 49ers team, and they held that 49ers offense to only 17 points. How'd they do it? We go to play action. Time to get some plays up. Let's start with 49ers running game. Do you remember five years ago when, like, Like it was Shanahan McVay and there was running outside zone over and over and over again.

It was crazy. We don't live in that world anymore. The Rams still like kind of do some of that stuff. But the Niners have really changed their running game identity. And they run a lot more power stuff now. They'll pull dudes. They try to man block the zone stuff they've kind of left in the dust. This right here is a great example of this new look Niners offense.

We ain't under center dot in the eye anymore. It's your granddaddy's offense. We are in the gun with Debo Samuel in the backfield. This ends up being power, right? You're going to double team to this player. You're going to bring out the goal. guard. He's going to kick out Lane Van derrash. George Kill is going to pull right down Main Street. Debo Sammo's going to follow him, right? That's the look here. They end up, you know,

the motion McCaffrey out. And then Michael Parsons steps up into the line. And so we just end up getting is this becomes a wash, this becomes a wash, right? You don't actually double team up to a linebacker because he's not there. The Cowboys are presenting this kind of weird front. It doesn't matter, right? You have power at the point of attack, right? Displacement, displacement right here. Ayuk-O-Lays the outside linebackers that he can go potentially get to this safety or this corner. That's going to become really important later. But all together, the George Kittle gets into the hole. I mean, look at the space, and Kittles got like no one to find, no one to block.

So Debo Samuel just takes daylight. Easy, beautiful. I do want to talk about that wide receiver block again? Because it's a critical block. This is Joanne Jennings, right? The Niners line up their wide receivers in these short alignments, right? They are close to the offensive tackle, the quasi-tight ends. And on a lot of their runs, doesn't really matter the blocking scheme.

On a lot of their runs, they ask their receivers to dig out these box safeties. Go get him and earhole him, displace him. You have to block as a wide receiver in this offense in order for these, runs to work. And so watch, we're going to get double teams on the interior, right? Now McCaffrey, the whole goal here is to get to this alley. This player's stepping in. You need Joanne Jennings to displace and watch the earhole. Watch the shot. Dig him out. And that's you get a positive run. This revolution of the Niners running game, I mean, it is critical for Jim Schwartz and the Brown's defense to answer because Jim Schwartz is four down front. Defense alignment, upfield,

penetrate just like that that Cowboys defense was. And when you're so oriented on getting upfield, when you lose to that double team, you're going to get washed away. You're going to get uprooted, you're going to give up explosive runs. This is how the Browns struggled against the Ravens running game, right? I mean, we're going to get double team right here, displacement, tid and climbs to a linebacker, here's that wide receiver on that safety. Here comes the polar, right? Create that alley right here for Gus Edwards to come through. I mean, it works beautifully for the Ravens here. Look at the displacement on the double team. Bang, what a hit right there. Wide receiver wins his block, Patrick Hart wins his block, and it's nice, successful run.

Again versus the Ravens, two things to watch. I want you to watch this double team and the vertical displacement they get. And then I want you to watch how Miles Garrett gets so far upfield, so aggressive, play one gap, go, go, go, go, that he gets taken out of the play easily. Look at double team walk, five yards down field. This is the worry, man. This is the worry. So what happens in week six against the Niners? Well, critically, you're not playing Lamar Jackson.

But the other thing is that the entire defense just plays faster. They are quicker to the point of attack. They're beating blocks consistently. and they win on all those rushing downs. Niners here, similar play, not the same play, but similar play to the one we just saw with the Ravens. They're not going to go double-team with these two players and take this defensive tackle vertical.

Instead, it's going to be double-team with these two players, and they're going to take this defensive tackle horizontal, right? They want to displace him. They're going to bring George Kittle in motion, ram into this edge, leave him unblocked, and this is how you set up your alley, right? Move him this way, stop this defensive end. Now you've got your alley.

Kyle used to check poles. He either works to the safety here. He works to this linebacker, and then Christian McCaffrey, up Main Street, right? It's all that we want is just we're pulling guys and we are we are attacking one gap. We are attacking this space right here. So what happens? First thing is Dalvin Tomlinson knock back. Watch 74's feet. Boom. Look at him, look at him bounce backwards when Tomlinson hits him. That's vertical displacement, right? That's okay. You're playing one gap. Take that player,

move him into the backfield. What that does it affects Kyle Eushik. Ushik wants to come tight off 74's butt and get up field. Now he has to kind of belly back and then try to get upfield. You ruin the timing of the play a little bit. The second thing that ruins the timing of the play, the chemistry of the play. Look at Alex Wright. Look at Alex Wright. Get lower than George Kittle. George Kittle is good at these blocks, dude. Watch Alex Wright get underneath this and just end up laying in the gap, right? Take his body out and look at the space you have. You shake here, this block on a delpit. If Alex Wright's getting displaced, McAfrey has time and room to find daylight and then go somewhere. But Alex Wright just laying in the way. He's just in the way.

Neither Tomlinson or Alex Wright are making a tackle here, but they are making the play work. And the last guy makes the play work is Grant Delpit. I have not seen Grant Delpit play this well in a while. Watch eyes on the run the entire way. And here comes that block from the receiver that we're talking about, right? This is Brian and I. We want to earhole him. We want to wall him off so that our back can work into this gap and then get outside and use that leverage.

But Delph is just too fast. Just eyes on the run, knows it's coming, knows that his defensive line's going to protect him, steps into the play. And as Iyuk shoves him, takes that velocity right into Christian McCaff. excellent run defense. The play of the Brown's safeties in the box. Grant Delpa, and on this one, Rodney McLeod, the vet right here, number 26, cannot be overstated in this game. Do you remember that, that Cowboys play we saw where Juan Jennings had that block on that safety, right?

Took him out of the play, created space for the run. We're going to have similar luck, right? It's going to be double team. Double team. We're going to send a Kyle Eustick in motion. He's going to end up blocking the end here. He's going to be functioning there, a tight end. George Kittle is going to be working up to the second.

level right here. So we get those double teams. We get this kick out here on this, on this defensive end. Rodney McLeod is the guy that's left. And what we want is, we want Juan Jennings. Right here. It's the same player. Jennings is so good at this. But make the Niners running game work. Is this sort of a block? He's going to take McLeod. He's going to earhole him. He's going to displace him. And McAfrey's going to be able to work up that hole. Here's the play from the beginning. Watch McLeod call the entire play. Okay. Motion. And then watch this. He's coming to this gap. Right here. This is the gap that they would like to run the ball to.

And then the entire time he's just tights the line. He knows it's coming. Step down. Come on. The vet. The vet knows it's coming. One more time for Grant Delper to play a heck of a game. This time it's schemed up, right?

This defense of tackle is not going to stay in that gap. He's actually going to slant over to this one. Miles Garrett's going to stay outside. J.O.K. is going to stay outside. And when George Kittle comes across, Siontokie-talkie, linebackers are going to get pulled this way. So now who's responsible for this A gap? It's Grant Delpit. Delpit's going to fold in all the way from the outside.

Remember, Ray Ray Ray McLeod is trying to block him. Ray Rory McLeod is trying to get to him. Delpit is too fast and he's too physical, right? He goes and he hits McCaffrey in the gap, which is tough to do. Good tackling game from these Browns. It doesn't actually they fully 100% get him down, but that's what your buddies are for, right? And it ends being a nice stop. Now, because I'm an enormous nerd and love football, I got to show you the beater

because Kyle Shannon has been around the block a couple times, okay? It's not his first time. It's seen a defense. Oh, we penetrate up the field. Oh, look at our safeties. Block safety's fill. on the run yet or whatever. Shannon's got a few tricks up his sleeve, all right? The player to watch here is Brandon Ayuk. Just the whole play. I want you to watch Iyuk. Whoop. Oh, got him.

Like Grand Double played a great game. Look at him expect this block coming. Woo! And then Martin Emerson the corner, right? He gets, he gets Scott peeking, thinks it's the run play, actually play action. Dude, here we are. I mean, it's sick. There's no one near Brock. It is six points. George Kills pulling the deep safety. This is six. points touchdown go score what happens it's a bad ball by brock slows him down right you make iuk stop for this football you make the the makeup corner right martin emerson takes a great angle and he's flying it's a good rep by emerson in recovery but if you hit iuk here in stride he's turned up field and iuk's a four four player he's not losing this foot race this should be six get the tackle on the sideline ends up being

three shame now that was the biggest passing play of the niners day and it could have been better and that's kind of the whole story from the niner side of the ball they had a lot of meat left on the bone with drops and with inaccuracy problems. So critically, with pressure. I mean, Purdy was just under heat the entire game. And that's a testament to Jim Schwartz and this defensive line. That's the way he built it. It's like, listen, you might get guys open, but we are getting after the quarterback. We're going to make it difficult to execute. And that's really the whole point of this defensive coordinator change, right? Last year, the Browns had Joe Woods, who was trying to do some like Brandon Staley, Vic Fangio stuff with the defensive line,

play two gaps, right? Play slow and try to control the line of scrimmage. Don't penetrate. Don't get upfield, set up your linebackers and your safeties to make plays in the running game. Well, it didn't work. It was bad. They were 31st in the league and run defense. So when Schwartz comes in, he puts the philosophy on its head, right? Our defensive line is going to get upfield. They're going to be aggressive. Miles Garrett is going to be unleashed and we're going to get him some friends. Oblo Okarunquo in free agencies. Adairius Smith via trade, Dalvin, Tomlinson, defensive tackle in free agency. These guys just play. They play fast. They play physical. And they win at the line of scrimmage. Brown's defense against the run this year?

So that's the story for the Browns, the identity change. Joe Woods to Jim Schwartz has completely 180 this defense, and it's keeping them alive as they deal with Deshawn Watson injuries and offensive problems. This team is winning because of its defense? And is this a blueprint against the Niners offense? I generally don't think anything is a blueprint against anything, and I hate that word, I hate that construction, but kind of, sure. If you look at who the Niners contenders are in the NFC of the Eagles and the Detroit Lions,

the Eagles are very clearly equipped to do this, right? They have an elite defensive front. Fletcher Cox, Joshua, Hassan Reddick, Jalen Carter, my large adult son, defensive rookie of the year, Jalen Carter. They should be able to rush and penetrate the way the Browns did. The Lions want to be there. They're getting career seasons from Aline McNeil and Aiden Hutchinson. They probably need more gas up front, but they do have a great physical second level the way these Browns did with Brian Brands, Chaunce Garner Johnson, and he comes back from injury and linebacker Alex Anzalani. So it's less about a blueprint. Everybody follow this blueprint and more about an identity. Do you have a defensive front that can dominate against the Niners?

Just throw so much chaos at their running game and then at their passing game that they can't execute the way they want to execute. And for some of the NFC contenders that the Niners plan on facing, the answer is probably yes. And that'll do it. For us here on the play sheet, thank you for watching. What the frick? My Bramiliad is wilting, Corey.

I'm not into that. Pothos are doing beautiful. Look at him. He's sprawling. He's going to get all the way down by the end of the season. I.U. goes for the hurdle. Can't clear it. Can't keep his foot. No six points. Can't keep his foot. The word is footing, by the way. Footing, not foot. Goodness gracious, talking is unbelievably difficult.

Howdy. I'm Ben Solac. Solac? There's no reason for me to sound this nasally. Howdy? Yeah. Thank you to Jim Schwartz for letting the big dogs up front eat. Thank you to the big dogs up front for eating. Thank you to Cory McConnell for producing the episode. Thank you for commenting. And subscribe and you watch the videos, you're the best.