Another Sunday down, another painful and frustrating loss for the Browns.
Cleveland lost another heart-breaker, once again playing winning football in the first half and then unraveling on the b-side. While the game was really closer than the 20-10 final score would indicate, the Browns once again squandered an early lead and the Cleveland faithful went home disappointed.
But despite the multiple mangled quarterbacks, a gimpy and for the first time this season largely ineffective Peyton Hillis, and the worst game of Joe Thomas' career, the Browns still finished Sunday's contest with something to be proud of: their solid and much improved efforts on defense.
There were still some hiccups and their performance was far from perfect, but the Browns' defense turned in a commendable effort on the whole. Following are ten observations on the performance of the Browns' D in Sunday's loss to the Falcons
1. Browns Defense (Mostly) Gets The Job Done
Prior to this past Sunday, the Browns defense has struggled mightily over the last few games. Opponents' passing games have flattened them. Receivers have routinely beaten their cornerbacks over and over again. They have failed to pressure opposing quarterbacks almost entirely, and have made it way too easy for opponents to convert on third down, especially in crucial situations where the opponent has field position inside the red zone.
This Sunday was different in a very, very good way. The defense ceded just one touchdown and two field goals for 13 points. They had Atlanta 0-for-3 in the red zone, giving up only those two field goals inside the 20.
Unfortunately, they got burned on two big plays (Matt Ryan's 45-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White and Michael Turner's 55-yard run). Combined with the horrific problems the Browns suffered on the offensive side of the ball, those two big plays were enough to sink the team.
2. The Pass Rush Finally Materializes
For weeks, we've all been complaining about the Browns complete failure to generate any sort of effective, consistent pass rush.
It seems they finally figured it out this week, holding Matt Ryan to just 173 passing yards and one touchdown.
While they were unable to force Ryan to make a huge mistake and yield a turnover, their efforts did force Ryan to scramble out of the pocket, and resulted in a 16-for-28 completion rate for the Atlanta quarterback. The Browns managed to sack Ryan twice, and clearly were able to pressure effectively enough to throw him off his game.
Still, there is room for improvement. Ryan still had too much time to throw on multiple occasions, one of which being the play where he connected with Roddy White for a 45-yard touchdown pass that may have been the beginning of the end for the Browns in this contest.
The Browns and Coach Ryan should undoubtedly be commended for their improved pass rush, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
3. Relentless In The Red Zone
As mentioned earlier, the Browns did a stellar job of preventing the Falcons from moving the ball in the red zone. Atlanta's offense was 0-for-3 on converting in the red zone and was held to just two field goals after moving the ball inside the 20.
Kudos to Eric Barton for his amazing third down stop, one of three great plays by the Browns in the red zone where they were able to stop the Falcons once at the six yard line and twice at the twelve.
This is an area where the Browns have struggled in the past. This week, they were virtually flawless here. Had the Browns defense not done such an excellent job in the red zone, the score in this game would have been much uglier.
4. An Impressive Effort By The Secondary
For the most part, the secondary's handling of the opponent's passing game was outstanding this week. The difference between their handling of the Falcons offense this week and the way they struggled with the Baltimore offense just two weeks ago was huge.
Their coverage in the end zone was most impressive - Ryan was not able to find anyone open there over the course of the game. At all.
The lone significant error was the touchdown catch by Roddy White, who beat Sheldon Brown in single coverage for the catch and the score. To be fair though, Brown had been removed from the field just two plays prior to that after injuring his shoulder on a tackle of tight end Tony Gonzalez.
5. Defense Regresses Slightly In Its Ability to Stop The Run
In recent years the Browns have had a terrible time trying to stop the run. This season that hasn't been much of a problem, and instead it's been the opponent's passing game that has given them fits.
Unfortunately this week the Browns defense regressed a bit in it's ability to handle the Falcons' rushers. Michael Turner posted 140 yards and was the first running back to rush for over 100 yards against the Browns this season.
Turner also had that huge 55-yard run that was one of the two disastrous plays for the Browns' defense that wound up being instrumental in their destruction.
This is not to say that the defense was awful this week against the run, just that they appear to have taken a step backward in this area.
Additionally, their performance looks worse when compared to that of the Falcons' rushing defense. The Falcons held the Browns to just 48 rushing yards, whereas the Browns ceded more than three times that many (165 yards total).
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Be sure to read PART II of "Cleveland Browns: Observations On The Defense In Loss To Falcons" for five more key points from Sunday's game.
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