It’s all about the…PASSING (Oh, and DEFENDING THE PASS STUPID!!!)

[DawgFan]

The top 4 PASSING OFFENSES are 20-6 (Green Bay, New England, New Orleans, Dallas). That is pretty impressive and lends to the fact that this is a QB league...HOWEVER:

7 weeks into the 2011 season, there is only 1 Division in the NFL where all 4 teams are at .500 or better. The vaunted AFC North (yeah, not the NFC East like the pundits would have you believe).

The AFC North is built on mainly one thing. In fact, if you talk to anyone, the first thing they mention when talking AFC North teams....and that is DEFENSE!!!

Right now, the AFC North has the 1st-4th ranked defenses in the NFL. Hard to believe, but this division has a LOCK on how to play defense.

Not coincidently, these teams also sport the top PASSING defenses. Browns 1st, Steelers 2nd, Ravens 4th, Bengals 5th.

So, when the top 4 defenses are a combined 16-9, it is hard to argue that DEFENDING THE PASS can be just as important as the ability to pass the ball offensively.

[Sez.EJ]

We have invested the past 2 drafts on defense. It's paying off. We have played some pretty weak offenses. I want to see what happens next week at the texans.. that's really the only big passing team other than Pitts we will face the rest of the year.. Everyone else is middle of the road so we should look pretty good at the end of the year. I still say we have to draft or get a F/A CB next year.. Brown is not getting any younger.

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by DawgFan

Not coincidently, these teams also sport the top PASSING defenses. Browns 1st, Steelers 2nd, Ravens 4th, Bengals 5th.

So, when the top 4 defenses are a combined 16-9, it is hard to argue that DEFENDING THE PASS can be just as important as the ability to pass the ball offensively.

I'm glad to see us at the top of something!!!

The thing that bothers me the most about generalizations (i.e. "it's a passing league") is that it ignores too many other factors. It's a FOOTBALL league. And it takes a balance of offense and defense to be successful. Having all those defensive minded HC's in our recent past may have helped us get to where we are with our defense.

As much as scoring more points helps you win, you have to be able to stop the other team from scoring too.

I would love to see a much more aggressive run defense as well.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by DawgFan

The top 4 PASSING OFFENSES are 20-6 (Green Bay, New England, New Orleans, Dallas). That is pretty impressive and lends to the fact that this is a QB league...HOWEVER:

7 weeks into the 2011 season, there is only 1 Division in the NFL where all 4 teams are at .500 or better. The vaunted AFC North (yeah, not the NFC East like the pundits would have you believe).

The AFC North is built on mainly one thing. In fact, if you talk to anyone, the first thing they mention when talking AFC North teams....and that is DEFENSE!!!

Right now, the AFC North has the 1st-4th ranked defenses in the NFL. Hard to believe, but this division has a LOCK on how to play defense.

Not coincidently, these teams also sport the top PASSING defenses. Browns 1st, Steelers 2nd, Ravens 4th, Bengals 5th.

So, when the top 4 defenses are a combined 16-9, it is hard to argue that DEFENDING THE PASS can be just as important as the ability to pass the ball offensively.

Great stuff! I actually posted the rankings because I was hoping it would generate discussion like this.

Football is a TEAM GAME but some QB enthusiasts get too excited to point out Joey Bottaflacco won alot of games as a rookie just like Ben Rapen did and now Andy Dalton is at the moment. One VERY common theme all these guys walked into was a GOOD running running game and a talented defense. Cincy didn't sweep the AFC North and make the playoffs just 2 years ago by accident.

And now, even a guy like Alex Smith is winning on 125 yard passign days because.... A defense that gets turnovers on the opponent's side of the field or scores while limiting scores provides a trrific margin of error for a young QB. Add a RB like Benson to Cincy or Gore to SF or Rice to Balt or Bettis/Parker/Mendenhall to Pitt and it gets even easier on the QB.

In games our personnel has been even with the opponent, McCoy has led us to important drives that needed the end zone or we lose. He did that vrs 2 teams regardless of what their records are. We haven't exactly been playign like the 72 Dolphins here since 1999 so let's understand where we're comign from in order to better understand where we are going. YES, McCoy needs more consistency and ZERO people are posting he's been a star because we're all on the same page. That said, we've all collectively witnessed a passign game predicated on timing where our QB has had very few chances to step into 3 step drop throws. When the Mebanes of the NFL are beating McCoy to the 3rd step of a 3 step drop - we HAVE to understand it ain't the QB that needs replacing in the priority scale. This is why a Jimmy Johnson gets this morew than those Dallas fans that thought the easy answer was cut Aikmen and keep Steve Walsh. He KNEW they were a Herschel Walker trade away from completion of the RIGHT surroundings to make assessment of QB better than knee jerky. I think Shurmur has been in the league long enough to know this as well.

DEFENDING the pass is going to get put to the test today. Harbaugh played his best football under Lindy Infante so he's going to get some passes to the blazing fast TE as well as swing pass the outside. Our LBers covering the flats are going to have to be VERY sharpe today. That said, when they challenge the outside - they spread us out horizontally creating the natural seams that help rceivers get seperation. That offense Infante had here was my golden years as a Browns' fan.

[Jax Dawg]

Funny how a 7yr QB is suddenly having a career revival on a team that has attempted the second fewest passing attempts in the NFL. Oh, and if the Browns can force him to pass often today I really like our chances!!!

[next2nothing]

Even Mooch said on NFL Gameday Morning that a big reason of Alex Smith's success is that the 49ers and Harbough aren't making Smith put the team on his back. He has both sides of the ball playing well and yeah he is playing well himself but I think Mooch is exactly right. Like others here have said for weeks, Alex Smith doesn't have to do TOO MUCH. He just has to manage the game.

The 49ers are a very good team but they are beatable.

[lemosley01]

I have a hard time believing that the Browns defense is in the top 4 in the NFL.

Yeah, I know what the stats say, but my eyes show me somethihg much much different. Other than Haden, our pass defense is pretty suspect. And run-defense seems to be only slightly better than what we have seen over the previous 11 seasons.

[Enigmatic Evil]

Haden has been all the difference really, we need Sheldon Browns replacement. I cringe looking back, wishing we would get rid of Eric Wright... humble pie there, I think. Patterson ain't the answer at CB. Our DL is inexperienced in the middle but probably where we're strongest. Sheard is up and down on one end and we really don't have much heat coming from the other side either.

The offense is what it is, it's been talked to death and I'm not going there right now.

We lost to a superior team, this screams resonance to the Tennesee/Oakland losses right now. Riffer's made some good points defending the Bengals as well. At the beginning of the pre-season I said that the Bengals were in the cellar unless OUR team says otherwise. Well we have, the Bengals are playing much better than us right now...

Coaching/Players/Whatever it is... it is hard to watch. Its frustrating as hell too. I'd love a big win, one like the Miami game where it's 4th quarter, fist pumping... it gives you some energy. There's been too much bad football in the games that followed that Miami victory.

Nobody's really stepping up to the point of excelling, even Hillis for whatever reason. I read a funny tweet about Colt McCoy today, it said "Brett Favre was Colt McCoy's mentor during the offseason and as a result he leads the NFL in incomplete passes." Funny joke but not completely accurate, I digress. McCoy's not the root of our problems, and he's hardly our greatest strength...

I feel that the team doesn't have too many "strengths" at the moment, though the praise for the Pass D is refreshing.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic Evil

Coaching/Players/Whatever it is... it is hard to watch. Its frustrating as hell too. I'd love a big win, one like the Miami game where it's 4th quarter, fist pumping... it gives you some energy. There's been too much bad football in the games that followed that Miami victory.

Nobody's really stepping up to the point of excelling, even Hillis for whatever reason. I read a funny tweet about Colt McCoy today, it said "Brett Favre was Colt McCoy's mentor during the offseason and as a result he leads the NFL in incomplete passes." Funny joke but not completely accurate, I digress. McCoy's not the root of our problems, and he's hardly our greatest strength...

I feel that the team doesn't have too many "strengths" at the moment, though the praise for the Pass D is refreshing.

We are who we thought we are - a team coming off a decade of averaging 5 wins a year with 3 wins in 7 tries. That's improvement on our defensive side of the ball keeping us in every game. If SF had a better QB they had a guy WIDE OPEN ahead of Sheldon Brown by 1 area code the last time they had the ball and he totally Alexed the throw to another area code. I was proud of the fight in our defense in spite of how deflating it was to watch an offense that understands the game plan less than the opponent seemingly every Sunday.

About our offense, the heroes were Norwood and Cribbs. And right after Cribbs catches a TD pass, he makes the tackle covering the kickoff. Perhaps the most COMPELLING analysis of the game came from the Hall of Fame QB calling the game (Dan Fouts) in the 3rd quarter. The boothe is near the top of the stadium as he looked down to say something to the effect of "I'm surprised Cleveland doesn't have ANYBODY running routes downfield (meaning PAST the first down markers). Too much dink and donk stuff making it easier to defend." And then came the 4th quarter where we actually DID throw it deep to Cribbs and Watson. And just to make the QB critics extremely proud there was a jump ball in the end zone that the opponent jumped for and Little didn't. And not for nothing, when your defense has been busting tail all day to keep you IN the game, you can't sissy out on 4th and 2 at the opponent's 39 in the 2nd half if your goal is to exceed 3 points. I HOPE that was the goal anyway. If your goal is NEVER the goal line, HOW can you expect to cross it? Is it any wonder they are posting how long it has been since the Cleveland offense scored a TD?

Shawn Lauvao might be the worst Guard I've seen here since Joe Andruzzi couldn't move a muscle. He sees 2 guys coming: 1 to the inside and 1 to the outside. Lost in confusion - he touches neither. Then he turns and watches both hit the QB from unaltered sprints. He doesn't seem to ever want to hit anybody until right after the whistle blows the play dead. If there was FILM to be watched last week, I woulda hoped somebody/anybody noticed the difference between Greco and Lauvao. Not saying Greco is better than average, I'm saying Lauvao sucks really really bad. Another time he pulled and didn't hit any of 3 choices. I had countless examples of him not blocking a soul.

Greg Little has only played WR for about 1 year at NC so I'm not sure why we continue to give him the most reps. We're square pegging a guy not ready for this at all, which would be fine if we didn't have a defense out there busting tail to WIN. Sometimes you can phase somebody in once they've proven they know what you want from them. I'm not seeing any improvement from him making me wonder WTF is going on in the film room and at practices. There has to be countless teachign opportunites every week on film. Anyone else wondering why Evan Moore got a gi-normous raise to make a couple cameo appearances each week?

The defense gets a game ball.

The offensive game plan gets a dirty jock strap. You're not gonna beat anybody from a fetal position. Better put, it's hard to win a fight if you refuse to throw a punch. Just re-watch the game and LISTEN to Fouts who really understands a passing game from his vision downfield. We HAVE to start seeing some improvement in that passing game. We looked better in the first preseason game when guys were still learning each other's names - that shouldn't be the case at all. Sorry, I'm just being honest.

[OzDawg]

I also thought little coulda gone up for that ball.. he's big and coulda skybumped the second defender (interception wasn't it?)
but he is rusty..also emerging as a guy who can play