The New Orleans Saints defense was horrific last year. It was a defense that repeatedly gave up huge production to opposing quarterbacks. In Week 1 of 2016, the Saints defense gave up the second most total yards in Week 1 with the Oakland Raiders, the team they faced, being the only team below them. The Saints defense has suffered setback after setback since last year so it's not a unit that is expected to improve. Any quarterback who starts against the Saints is a quarterback who should be in your starting lineup (unless you have Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers and at times, Drew Brees).
After Week 1, it appears that the Cleveland Browns defense is going to be on the same level as the Saints defense.
Six teams gave up more total yards in Week 1 than the Browns did. None of those team were facing a rookie quarterback though. Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles completed 22 of 37 attempts for 278 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. It wasn't just that Wentz had good numbers for a rookie, those numbers came about very easily. It wasn't just that Wentz was getting time and space in the pocket and his receivers were getting open, he was able to stand like a statue in the pocket while staring down his first read for most of the game.
That doesn't mean that Wentz's performance was bad. It just means that the biggest takeaway from the game should be about the Browns defense rather than about Wentz himself. If the Browns allowed a first-time starter to do what he did so easily, what will they allow established quarterbacks to do?
Ray Horton isn't a defensive coordinator who has a track record of instilling discipline in his defense. Combine that with a defense that is overly reliant on young players and you're going to have constant breakdowns in assignment. This play comes from the very first drive of the game. Wentz lines up under center and executets a hard play fake. It's not an exotic design or a play the Browns woudln't have gameplanned for. Most offenses in the league will run this play fake at some point. Most even do it each week unless they run a shotgun-heavy scheme.
Two players are at fault here. Both are on the play side of the field. The right outside linebacker is responsible for containing Wentz on the bootleg. he follows his assignment but should have recognized the presence of the middle linebacker. With the middle linebacker aggressive initially, he is in position to contain Wentz. The right outside linebacker could have adjusted based on this to slow down the tight end who was initially blocking him for longer than he did.
Once the tight end releases, he is the responsiblity of the strong safety. That safety is caught ball watching though. He is never in position to account for the tight end, initially being pulled away by the play fake and then being drawn to the quarterback for a moment. That was all Wentz needed for an easy completion to Brent Celek.
In the third quarter, the Browns gave up easy receptions against play action again with second-level defenders running themselves out of position by being too aggressive on both plays.
The Browns' coverage on normal dropbacks was as bad as it was against play action. The roster simply doesn't have the talent at linebacker or in the secondary to cover even the limited receiving corps of the Eagles. What makes that an even greater problem is the complete absence of pass-rushing talent upfront. The Browns don't have individual players who can win one-on-one and Horton is a defensive coordinator who likes to use exotic blitzes. He brings pass rushers from the second and third levels of the defense. It doesn't matter to him how far away the defender has to come from to get into the backfield.
Being this reckless with your play designs means that the quarterback is given more time than normal to search out potential big plays.
The Browns had two sacks in the game. One came when Horton disguised his coverage to send a pass rusher from deep. Eight yards passed the line of scrimmage on the numbers to the near side to be precise. Wentz had two opportunities to release the ball downfield but he needed to throw with anticipation to get the ball out in time. He didn't do that. He held the ball in one spot and took the sack instead.
While the result of this play was positive for the Browns, expecting this kind of play to work consistently is unrealistic. It will open more big play opportunities for opposing offenses than it will create pressure on the quarterback. Even the above play was one of the few when a Browns player won his individual matchup.
On this play, Horton uses man coverage with both cornerbacks on one side of the field while playing zone on the other side. This means his cornerbacks are essentially left alone in one-on-one assignments. While doing that, he blitzes both of his inside linebackers up an A-Gap. Chances are they were supposed to attack both A-Gaps but instead they both went through one, making it easy for the Eagles pass protection to push them away from the quarterback in the pocket. Wentz had a clean area of space to release the ball accurately downfield.
What stood out for Horton on this play was how deep his linebackers came from. Neither player threatened the blitz before the snap, so one came from four yards deep and the other came from five. Wentz was eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, the linebackers didn't even contact an offensive lineman until they were between three and four yards behind the line of scrimmage. They needed the quarterback to hold the ball to ever have a chance of getting home, something that wasn't going to happen with single coverage outside.
Horton doesn't have much to work with to be fair to him. Joe Haden is one of the more reputable cornerbacks in the NFL but he has always been a limited player in coverage. Haden had an atrocious outing against the Eagles. It's fair to question if he's suffering from the concussions that impacted him last year.
Haden gave up a long touchdown to Nelson Agholor late in the game. Agholor struggled a lot during his rookie season and was criticized during the preseason also. He was able to easily get open against Haden by winning early in the route. That big play was symptomatic of how his day in coverage went overall. He was repeatedly getting beaten deep. One fo the more concerning plays was this simple one in the above gif. On this play, Haden isn't beaten deep for a big play, but he is so focused on his man coverage assignment that he never even reacts to the ball in the air.
He was beaten in the route by the man he was covering, but the lack of awareness is truly troubling because it will allow teams to complete passes that don't require tough throws.
While it's still early in the season so everything must be framed appropriately, at this point it looks like the greatest threat to quarterback production against the Browns will be the opponent's ability to run the ball. Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner and Wendell Smallwood combined for 132 yards on 32 carries. Danny Shelton at nose tackle is miscast as a two-gapping run stopper. He was repeatedly overwhelmed by double teams and it's hard to imagine that changing over the course of the season even if the defense as a whole improves as younger players play more.
Furthermore, with Josh McCown at quarterback, the Browns are more likely to be playing from behind than they already were. That will limit the need to throw the ball. Game situations can have a big impact on production, but chances are your quarterback will have helped the opponent get that lead so fearing the Browns defense for that reason is irrational.
When non-elite pieces are involved, the Browns defense should sway you on who to start.
