Who Is Gonna Tackle Derrick Henry?
The Cleveland Browns find themselves with an opportunity to beat a playoff caliber team on the road in the Tennessee Titans, but that will depend in part on their ability to stop or at least slow down Derrick Henry.
The game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and their struggles to corral rookie running back James Robinson do not bode well for this game.
The player the Browns are desperately missing right now is linebacker Sione Takitaki, who is on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. He's the best answer the Browns have to teams like the Jaguars and Titans who want to pound the football with a bigger back.
Whereas a player like Malcolm Smith isn't really built to consistently take on the run and Mack Wilson is nowhere to be found, Takitaki thrives on contact. A player that looks like he would've been at home in an era before the proliferation of the passing game, he has an important role as a run stopping enforcer in the Browns defense.
Without Takitaki, Robinson was able to consistently find running lanes as he amassed 128 yards at 5.8 yards per carry.
It also doesn't help that the Browns are without Ronnie Harrison. Harrison has become so valuable in part because of his versatility and his willingness to play down hill and make tackles near the line of scrimmage. His size is a huge benefit at around 215 pounds.
Those are two of the best run defenders the Browns have. B.J. Goodson is the lone one who will play in this game and has been reasonably effective this season. Unfortunately, as the Jaguars demonstrated, when he's the only one and they got a blocker on him, Robinson had open running lanes.
Karl Joseph is a pretty worthwhile defender when he plays closer to the line of scrimmage. Arguably a better linebacker than some of the players in that position group, he can offer some help in trying to limit Henry's impact.
It's a shame that the Browns did not really embrace putting Harrison at strong safety with Joseph up in the slot more when Harrison was healthy as that appeared to be their most physical combination in defending the running game. Instead, Joseph has to play in place of Harrison as he recovers from a shoulder injury.
The Browns run defense as currently constructed relies heavily on their defensive line, particularly their defensive tackles. They are at their best when a combination of Sheldon Richardson, Larry Ogunjobi and Jordan Elliott are able to clog up holes, forcing backs to bounce, altering their initial path. At that point, the rest of the defense can swarm and gang tackle the back.
That's really the Browns best chance to stop Henry. The entire matchup is going to be focused on the line of scrimmage, stopping Henry before he can get a head of steam. If he's able to hit the hole with momentum, he's going to run over and through this defense, gaining strength with every carry.
The good news for the Browns is the contributions they can get out of the defensive end position. Myles Garrett coming back this week is obviously critical as he's the best player on the entire team. If Olivier Vernon and Adrian Clayborn can continue to play at the level they've shown the past few games, the Browns defense gets significantly better.
Garrett may need to adopt the mentality he showcased against the Houston Texans, where he has to be focused on stopping the run before he can worry about the quarterback. In that game, one of the key plays was Garrett stuffing Deshaun Watson at the goal line on fourth down.
The major question for the Browns comes down to what happens when Henry gets to the second level. Who is going to step up and make that tackle? Are can they keep making that tackle in the fourth quarter?
The Browns have been treated to watching opponents struggle with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt late in the game as defenses get worn down by their offensive line and both backs are at full speed. They've been able to close out games with big runs as teams simply can't keep up the same intensity ate in the game.
The Browns certainly hope they can be in that position against the Titans, but there is every possibility the shoe is will be on the other foot and a tired Browns defense will have to muster up the strength and resolve to bring down all 247 pounds of Derrick Henry to make a key stop if they are going to win the game.
Are they up to the task?
