First, Cleveland has had it’s best start in years – what’s behind the turnaround most from your standpoint?
They have been playing much better now. They had the talent last year too, but this year the whole is greater than the sum of their parts and they have some great parts. A lot of credit goes to Stefanski and the team culture he’s created. Players are buying into it.
The stars – Baker, Myles, Ward, Landry and OBJ – they are focused on the team. They aren’t looking ahead – they didn’t look past the Colts even though they had the Steelers up next. They took care of business.
What is he doing specifically to accomplish that?
I think he has a more commanding presence to him. He’s much more low-key than Hue and Freddie were – much less concerned about taking the glory and the credit than they were. I think players see that – that he doesn’t care about that stuff – that he just wants to win and have bought into that.
The offense seems to have become consistent – what’s behind that?
They’ve become a run-first team. Kubiak’s wide-zone blocking scheme has worked well – new offensive line coach Bill Callahan has done a fantastic job. With Chubb they had a balanced inside and outside running game. Wth Hunt it’s different. Hunt struggled some versus the Colts – he’s less of an inside guy – he likes to bounce it outside more. But they have great depth at running back – against the Cowboys D’Ernest Johnson almost got a hundred yards – he’s a guy to watch.
How different is the offense without Chubb?
Chubb is better at getting yards after contact. Hunt doesn’t have the interior running game and the team missed that last week. And Wyatt Teller has been playing great at guard and he’s week-to-week, so that means he may not play this week. If not, Hubbard will be in there – Steelers fans know Hubbard well, He played well last week at guard but it’s still Hubbard.
The power running game – those third and two runs – they’d run Chubb over right guard and right tackle and you’d be sure to get the first down. They are limited that way without him – they don’t have that as much without him.
Mayfield has also been more steady and consistent – what is he doing differently?
They have eliminated a lot of the mechanical mistakes he was making. He’s not throwing so much off of his back feet – less happy feet – and he’s not forcing the ball as much to guys to try and keep them happy. He’s been better that way. Not perfect but better.
They’re getting him back to the style of play that made him successful at Oklahoma. Rolling pockets and play action. Asking a player to do what they do best is not something we’re used to here in Cleveland! He’ll still force passes at times and he doesn’t have a sense of touch on the ball when passing to receivers over the middle. He often throws high which isn’t a good thing. But he’s more the Baker of 2018 than of 2019.
On defense the Browns have caused a lot of turnovers – especially fumbles. What’s causing that?
Myles Garrett is a big part of that. No disrespect to T.J. Watt who is a great player, but Garrett is the Defensive Player of the Year so far. He’s had three strip sacks in the last three games and forced a safety because Rivers was scared of him. And he was being held at then time. He’s been unstoppable and that’s created opportunities on the backend.
Terrance Mitchell has also played very well in place of the injured Greedy Williams. Redwine has gotten some reps at safety – he’s a good coverage safety who gets after the ball – and Joseph should be coming back too. As a group, they really get after the ball and are good at stripping the ball. You can be aggressive and do that when you get pressure up front.
Any areas of concern for the defense?
The deep middle coverage of the Browns – let’s just say it’s been rough. They have a new defensive coordinator and new safeties. Their work transitioning between zones in coverage and passing off help – they just don’t do it. Sendejo is always late. If the Steelers offense has time and those speedy receivers get downfield, they won’t stop them.
The linebackers have been getting better – Goodson and Smith are playing better in those intermediate routes. But if the offensive line can get any push, delayed runs have hurt them. Defenders are getting upfield quickly and the second level hasn’t responded well. With the Steelers defense, that second level behind those front guys fill in well and make plays. But they aren’t doing that very well in Cleveland.
What’s you biggest area of concern going into the game?
The biggest concern is keeping Mayfield confident. The Colts rattled him in the second half. The Browns’ left tackle Wills is good- not great. He’s an upgrade over Robinson, but James Houston had some success against him last week. Pittsburgh could as well with their pass rushers. So that is one area of concern. If they don’t run well on first downs, the second and third and longs could be a problem.
On defense, with Garrett there, anything can happen. With the subtext of the game – last year’s big issue – it’ll be interesting to see what happens. I don’t expect anything will. Tomlin has his guys focused and I don’t think anyone will be baited into doing anything. How Garrett is handled – do they keep a guy like Ebron in to help block when he’s so bad at it – I don’t think that will be helpful. Gustin and Vernon have been coming on too with Richardson and Garrett attracting so much attention.
I also worry about the Steelers’ speed at receiver. It’ll be a great chess match. If the Browns pass rush doesn’t get to Ben it’s going to be a big problem.
On offense where do you think the matchups benefit you most?
I don’t think Haden can cover OBJ one-on-one all game. They’ll move OBJ around – in motion, in the slot – maybe even in the backfield. Try to hide him. He’s been really good. Quiet – but not in a bad way. He just hasn’t been needy but he’s made plays. I wonder if the Steelers will try and get into his head too. Like Baker, it’s hard to know yet if you can trust him.
Any predictions?
I think the linesmakers did a good job. Last I looked the Steelers were favored by three-and-a-half. I think it’ll be a three point game – it’ll be close. One area we didn’t talk about was special teams. The Browns’ special teams have been terrible. They let up a return for a touchdown last week and are n their second kicker, and their punt coverage hasn’t been great either. I think special teams can flip a game like this – that hidden yardage.
I think it’ll be a high-scoring game despite the defenses. I think the offenses will find room and make plays. I’m looking at something like 31-28 Steelers. I just don’t think the Browns will go into Pittsburgh and win in Pittsburgh.
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