Browns' defensive coordinator offers feedback on Tyson Campbell's debut

Newly acquired cornerback Tyson Campbell made his Browns debut last Sunday against the Steelers, barely days after arriving via a trade that saw fellow cornerback Greg Newsome II being shipped to Jacksonville in return.

While Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz admitted there were still some things where Campbell was understandably behind in relation with the rest of his unit, the coach did offer some praise for the DBs performance donning Cleveland’s uniform for the first time.

“He had some really good tough competitive plays. I thought he was battling. They were obviously testing the new guy and you’re talking about one of the premier receivers [DK Metcalf] in the NFL doing it, But, we’ll get him up on that.

One of the points that Schwartz emphasized was getting Campbell up to speed on how the Browns teach coverage, where he prefers his players always turn to look for the ball, as opposed to playing coverage blindly like some other teams prefer.

“That is something that we coach a little bit different here, and a lot of guys coach people to play blind to the ball, and play the blur of the ball”, explained Schwartz while talking to the media on Thursday. “It’s a tough situation to be in. A lot of colleges teach it that way, and [Campbell] was only here, boots on the ground for not very long.”

Elsewhere, Schwartz noted a couple of potentially big opportunities missed by Campbell for not turning his head around in time.

“I think on two of those plays, if we get our head around, there’s chances for interceptions there. I thought it was tough, like the very first play of the game... they’re up there, they run a play-action. He loses his eyes and he’s the deep-third player that, he’s gotta be able to see that. I think we can get a little more experience time on task. You know, tough position to put him in there. I thought he was battling, and he had his fair share of good plays, but then also had a couple that I’m sure he’d like to have back.”

Schwartz mentioned how this technique could potentially help Campbell and all other Browns defenders come Sunday, due to the weather conditions projected for next Sunday’s tilt at home versus the Dolphins.

“There is a potential on Sunday that the wind is going to be blowing pretty good and the ball is going to move around a lot, and our ability to find the ball downfield is a big part of what we do.”

The coach did go out of his way to underscore how much he appreciated Campbell’s physicality during his Browns debut, expressing: “I did like the way he was playing physical. He made some really good physical tackles in there.”

Campbell was officially credited with five combined tackles, two passes defended and a forced fumble last week during the loss at Pittsburgh. As was the case against the Steelers, expect Miami to test “the new guy” a lot this week as well, instead of going after four-time Pro Bowler Denzel Ward on the opposing side.