NFL Week 4 Byes: Looking back, looking forward

Cleveland Browns, 1-2

The Cleveland Browns are bouncing along about where we thought they would be, save perhaps for a surprising win against the New Orleans Saints.

Really, the Browns have lost by less than five points total, which is just incredible considering.

You’d think that would have happened with the stifling defense we all expected, but that hasn’t been the case. The secondary, once thought a strength of the defense has actually been playing badly. Rookie Justin Gilbert and veteran Joe Haden have both been bad and while you might write off Gilbert as “rookie transition” there is no such excuse for Haden.

According to Pro Football Focus, Haden has been thrown at 17 times and allowed 13 completions for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Browns have allowed 816 yards through the air to date. That means Haden has allowed 25 percent of the teams overall passing yards.

That’s not what you want from a top corner. Neither is the negative 2.9 rating PFF gave him in run defense for the first three games.

The defensive line has also been an issue, getting gashed too often by the run (defense has allowed 461 yards and four touchdowns on the ground this year) and not getting near enough penetration against opposing quarterbacks.

Coming out of the break, the Browns have to have better play from the defense. The offense hasn’t been great, but it’s been good enough most of the time. If the defense can step up, the Browns could be winning some of these close games they’ve been losing.

With the Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders on the docket post-bye, the Browns could turn this thing around, if they get the defense to start playing up to its talent level.