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Why the Browns defense struggles with missing tackles

Why the Browns defense struggles with missing tackles

BEREA, Ohio – There’s a pretty simple saying that Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz uses.

“The mark of a good football team is how well they tackle,” he said, “and we were inconsistent in that area.”

The inconsistencies in this area have resulted in last year’s No. 1 ranked unit having a quieter start to 2024.

Currently, the Browns have the No. 11 overall defense (299 yards per game); 10th-ranked pass defense (175.8 ypg); the 19th ranked run defense (123.3 ypg); and are 17th in scoring defense (21.8 points per game).

Missed tackles were particularly common in the last two games, the defeats against the New York Giants and the Las Vegas Raiders. The Browns had 11 in the former and a season-high 12 in the latter.

“It’s bad,” starting safety Grant Delpit said. “This will be stuff that will make you beat. We understand that we need to make these simple games. Those TFLs could result in a 10-yard gain, and that adds up. Must tackle. These are the basics of the game. That’s not us.”

In the 20:16 loss to Vegas, misses were particularly common in the third quarter.

Facing third-and-9 from the Cleveland 34, Raiders running back Alexander Mattison managed a 16-yard run by racing through a group of Browns D-linemen near the line of scrimmage.

On the next play, receiver DJ Turner scored with an 18-yard run. Cleveland had at least three missed tackles from Delpit, safety Ronnie Hickman and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

In total, the Browns gave up about 67 yards after initial contact with Raiders players, Schwartz said.

“[T]“It’s not about playing physical football,” Schwartz said. “But we also want to see a better team reaction to it, I think. I don’t know the best way to put it, but there are different ways we can approach it. And when you’re flying around and the next guy comes in, no one notices that one of the guys missed a tackle because the next guy is there cleaning up.”

So what is the solution?

In short, missed tackles really vary on a case-by-case basis.

Some are due to leverage. Some are due to footwork.

“In general, we have to go one step further and not fall off the diving board, so to speak,” said Schwartz. “A little too much ankle grabbing and stuff like that. In general, your correction is another step. They tackle almost everything with their feet. A lot of people talk about tackling them, finishing them, shoulders and things like that. You tackle with your feet, put your feet on the ball carrier and we have to go one step further.”

Some failures could be due to technology falling by the wayside as games start to spin and players become more desperate to make a big play.

This includes players lying around on first contact only to clean up on second hit.

“If you play good team defense, run to the ball and play with great effort, a lot of those missed tackles go away,” Schwartz said. “They still have them, but the second man goes and cleans them up and that’s where we really need to put the emphasis. It’s a little bit of technique, it’s a little bit of leverage.”

It’s more than one thing to correct, but it could help them move back up in the defensive rating.