Out of the Rafters at the Q
Out of the Rafters
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I want to focus on how the Browns can best attack Kansas City this weekend. And, no surprise coming from me--it's all about the trenches.
You know about offense. Our offensive line has absolutely mauled people this year. Kansas City is incredibly vulnerable against the run. They built their defense to generate turnovers, and their defensive line is built to penetrate--not to be stout against the run. They are, by a wide margin, the absolute worst red zone defense in football (link). So, our first key this week is to maul them there. Let's hope Conklin is healthy and Bitonio is fully recovered from COVID. Let the big boys do what they do best, and let Chubb and Hunt feast behind them.
Next, when we talk about how their defense is constructed, Baker needs to not turn the ball over. No fumbles, no picks, and we have a great chance of winning this. Watch out for Chris Jones's penetration up the middle. Our interior offensive line was incredible against Pittsburgh, and they'll have to be the same against Kansas City. Neutralize Frank Clark off the edge, and then it's just Baker and his eyes versus an exploitable secondary. You gotta keep track of Mathieu in those situations.
Now, on to defense. I'm a guy who thinks coverage is more important than pass rush in the NFL--at least when it comes to a performance-per-dollar metric. However, against KC, I'm not sure that's correct. If you give him time, Tyreek is going to get open against anyone. Luckily, the Chiefs are exploitable here. Mahomes tends to drop back DEEP every third down. He gets away with it because he's a freak, but it's punishable. These deep drops set the KC tackles up to get dominated by pure speed rushes that go straight back to where Mahomes bails back to. This means Myles might have his juiciest matchup of the entire season on Sunday. If he's healthy, expect Garrett to get home with at least one strip sack fumble.
Besides that, we just have to keep KC at bay. As incredible as they are, Hill isn't going to beat you in physical, short routes. Mahomes isn't going to beat you with precision passing underneath coverage. Play conservative defense. Keep them in front of you. Let our defensive line stop the run and pin their ears back on third down. The Chiefs will screw up eventually, and that's all we need.
If you haven't watched it yet, this is a great video:
You know about offense. Our offensive line has absolutely mauled people this year. Kansas City is incredibly vulnerable against the run. They built their defense to generate turnovers, and their defensive line is built to penetrate--not to be stout against the run. They are, by a wide margin, the absolute worst red zone defense in football (link). So, our first key this week is to maul them there. Let's hope Conklin is healthy and Bitonio is fully recovered from COVID. Let the big boys do what they do best, and let Chubb and Hunt feast behind them.
Next, when we talk about how their defense is constructed, Baker needs to not turn the ball over. No fumbles, no picks, and we have a great chance of winning this. Watch out for Chris Jones's penetration up the middle. Our interior offensive line was incredible against Pittsburgh, and they'll have to be the same against Kansas City. Neutralize Frank Clark off the edge, and then it's just Baker and his eyes versus an exploitable secondary. You gotta keep track of Mathieu in those situations.
Now, on to defense. I'm a guy who thinks coverage is more important than pass rush in the NFL--at least when it comes to a performance-per-dollar metric. However, against KC, I'm not sure that's correct. If you give him time, Tyreek is going to get open against anyone. Luckily, the Chiefs are exploitable here. Mahomes tends to drop back DEEP every third down. He gets away with it because he's a freak, but it's punishable. These deep drops set the KC tackles up to get dominated by pure speed rushes that go straight back to where Mahomes bails back to. This means Myles might have his juiciest matchup of the entire season on Sunday. If he's healthy, expect Garrett to get home with at least one strip sack fumble.
Besides that, we just have to keep KC at bay. As incredible as they are, Hill isn't going to beat you in physical, short routes. Mahomes isn't going to beat you with precision passing underneath coverage. Play conservative defense. Keep them in front of you. Let our defensive line stop the run and pin their ears back on third down. The Chiefs will screw up eventually, and that's all we need.
If you haven't watched it yet, this is a great video: