DaBrowns41;630513 wrote:It's hard to look prepared when you have practice squad guys playing on defense. Brian Schaefering is a season removed from not even being on the active roster. Ray Ventrone also received quite a bit of playing time. He's a converted WR who was also on our PS a year ago.
Abe Elam, aka "Look behind you, Abe", is such a liability in coverage it's not even funny, and Sheldon Brown is one of the most overrated corners in the AFC. The Eagles had no problems letting him go.
I like what Joe Haden brought to the table, and I'm very curious is Eric Wright can get back on track next season. He's a good corner. I think he was intimidated by Haden, however, and he really struggled early on. Not to mention he battled some nagging injuries.
I think Ryan has done a fair job. Not excellent, or great, but fair. He made some plays despite having a slow defense who is somewhat inexperienced. Ahtyba Rubin has been a nice surprise, and Kenyon Coleman can still get it done, but we have no depth at DL, or LB. For what Ryan has had to work with, I think he's done a fair job.
I'd say that another thing making Ryan's defensive numbers skew towards the bad side is simply the caliber of play on the other side of the ball, both with Cleveland and Oakland. Defenses break down when they basically have to carry the game because guys like Delhomme, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn are incapable of sustaining drives (and it's not like he had much better helping out in Oakland).
After scoring 24 in their win over Carolina, Cleveland averaged 11 points a game in finishing 1-4. Time of possession went like this:
Miami (W) 29:24 to 30:36
Buffalo (L) 23:50 to 36:10
Cincinnati (L) 21:57 to 38:03
Baltimore (L) 28:14 to 31:46
Pittsburgh (L) 26:46 to 33:14
In all five cases, they lost in the time of possession and in the Buffalo and Cincy games, it was a huge difference. A better offensive game that keeps the defense off the field for more of the game would probably be a big help.
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