Defensive coordinator Joe Woods is going to have to catch up on sleep next week. The Cleveland Browns are set to take on the Miami Dolphins and the most explosive offense in the NFL this Sunday. The NFL’s leading receiver in Tyreek Hill and his counterpart Jaylen Waddle (who is also a top-five receiver in yards) present a nightmare of a threat for the Browns to match.
The Browns have found some success over the past two weeks, but will now need a massive showing to come away with a win this Sunday. How can the Browns at least limit this lethal unit that features two premier receivers in Hill and Waddle?
Stay out of man coverage as much as possible
This is an offense that will take any man coverage they see and find a wrinkle to exploit it. This is not to say the Browns cannot play any man coverage at all, but if they come out with frequency and try to punch Hill and Waddle in the mouth with consistency, then they will get run out of Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
The Dolphins do too good of a job at stacking receivers to give them free releases, running rub concepts, and just flat-out winning vertically to think this can be an effective plan of attack. Even with two twitchy and athletic cornerbacks in Greg Newsome and Denzel Ward, this would be quite ill-advised.
Both Hill and Waddle also run 40-yard dashes in the 4.2s and can cut on dimes. Giving them space deep to work, even giving Tagovailoa those looks consistently is not a winning formula. There is not a secondary in the NFL that can track these guys deep and across the field for 60 minutes.
The Browns, however, can bring exotic blitzes that will require a bit of man coverage from time to time. But for the most part, they are going to have to win with four bringing heat up front.
Quarters and Cover-6 will be the Browns' best friend
Quarters allow for the Browns to lockdown the deepest part of the field. It prevents them from getting killed on crossers (that Cover-3 is weak against) and will help to limit the explosive plays deep down the field. This will, however, put a ton of pressure back onto the linebackers as it takes defensive attention away from the middle of the field.
Cover-6, also known as quarter-quarter-half, is a Cover-4 and Cover-2 hybrid where half of the field is in quarters, while the other half is in Cover-2. It offers disguise pre-snap and gives relief deep down the field while also not compromising the seam. It can, however, be vulnerable underneath.
This may be the compromise the Browns have to make against a lethal offense that can win in a variety of ways. Give Tagovailoa a bit of nuance pre-snap, limit explosive plays deep and up the seam, then rally to the football underneath.
There is no perfect answer, and there is no bulletproof defense, but there are ways to limit explosive opportunities.
Linebackers will be asked to wear capes
The Dolphins love their crossers and they love to hit backside digs up the hashes. Not to mention they have a plethora of weapons to attack the seam as well without compromising other levels of the field.
This means the linebackers, Sione Takitaki, Deion Jones, and hopefully Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (who missed the game against the Cincinnati Bengals and has yet to return to practice) are going to have to hit deeper landmarks on their drops.
The Browns are going to have to compromise somewhere in their game plan against the Dolphins and the speed of Hill and Waddle, and underneath may just be that compromise. If these linebackers are forced to hit deeper drops, then they also are going to have to fire downhill when receivers are targeted underneath and rally to the football.
When in Cover-2 or Cover-6, linebackers may also be asked to match inside guys vertically and turn and run with them. Not to mention they also need to remain in a position to fit the run when the Dolphins hand the ball off as well.
This will be their toughest game of the season, and by a lengthy distance.
Final thoughts as Browns prepare for a massive battle
This Dolphins’ offense is lethal, making them difficult to defend. If the Browns look to bring pressure from the second level, they are well-equipped to replace that pressure on RPOs and shallow crossers. If the Browns sit back in Cover-3, the Dolphins will kill them with deep crossers.
The Browns cannot play a significant amount of man coverage in this game either or they are going to get boat-raced out of Hard Rock Stadium. This will put a ton of pressure on the front four to get home. Sure, the Browns can bring pressure on occasion and off of their normal tendencies, but they have to keep Tagovailoa on his toes.
They are going to have to run Cover-2 on Third and mediums, looking to muddy up the middle of the field, while sitting in Cover-4 or Cover-6 throughout most of the game.
Owusu-Koramoah, Takitaki, and Jones are going to be tested. They are going to have to drop deep over the middle to take away backside digs. A ton will be on their plate.
Hill and Waddle are going to get theirs. There is just no way around it. Both are top-five in the league in receiving yards, with Hill being the first over 1,000 on the season. The Browns, however, can hope to potentially slow them down.
