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Missed stops tough to watch for McCutcheon
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 07:22 p.m. EST, Nov 22, 2008
BEREA: In the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles, the teasing is frequent.
Former Browns cornerback Daylon McCutcheon said when his friends see his old team on prime time and watch the constant missed tackles, they tell him, ''You need to go back to the Browns.''
''If my knee felt better, I'd be out there,'' said McCutcheon, whose seven-year career was ended by microfracture surgery during training camp 2006.
''It's not good they're not tackling well. It feels good to hear they appreciate that part of my game,'' McCutcheon said.
McCutcheon's name has come up frequently of late, because the Browns' past three games have included some horrifying highlights, er, lowlights:
Strong safety Sean Jones missing Baltimore Ravens rookie running back Ray Rice in the open field on Rice's 60-yard touchdown run. Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson whiffing at the 14-yard line on a 28-yard scoring reception by Denver Broncos tight end Daniel Graham, then running over safety Mike Adams to take him out of the play. The telestrator on Monday Night Football pointing out seven Browns in position to stop Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch before he scored on an 18-yard catch. Linebacker Leon Williams grabbing Lynch around the neck to try to bring him down after another catch for a first down.
''It's all want-to and heart,'' McCutcheon said by telephone Friday. ''You can talk about wrapping up and driving your hips and all the techniques, but if some people don't want to . . . You have to be tough and want to make plays.
''There are so many great skill guys; it's hard to get the perfect tackle all the time. It's being focused and doing the little things right. Sometimes guys want to win so bad, they lose focus and technique. Maybe there should be a little more emphasis in practice at all levels.''
McCutcheon, who played with the Browns in 1999-2005, is in position to make a difference in that regard. He's the defensive coordinator at his old high school, Bishop Amat in La Puente, Calif. His team went 7-3 this season and qualified for the first round of the playoffs Friday night.
Content to work part time while his son Dyson (about to turn 6) is young, McCutcheon might pass along the value of tackling, which he learned at Southern Cal.
''When I was coming out of USC, my position coach Dennis Thurman challenged me,'' McCutcheon said. ''He knew I wanted to go to the next level and be a starter. He said, 'You're a pretty good cover guy, but if you want to be a complete corner, you have to know how to tackle.' ''
Evidently, Browns second-year cornerbacks Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald haven't heard that challenge yet.
The 2008 Browns do not have a tackler on par with McCutcheon, who was a third-round draft pick. Linebacker Willie McGinest is arguably the best, and he turns 37 on Dec. 11.
In fact, since the Browns returned in 1999, few have shown the mettle of former safeties Eric Turner, Don Rogers or Clarence Scott. Since '99, the most reliable have been linebacker Jamir Miller and cornerbacks McCutcheon, Anthony Henry and Leigh Bodden.
The Browns are coming off their worst tackling game of the season against the Bills, but the problem is not new. Of course, coach Romeo Crennel said he emphasized it in team and position meetings this week and gave a list of improvements needed going into the home game today against the Houston Texans.
''We have to get in better position, we have to use the sideline when we have it available, we have to know where our help is, we have to wrap up instead of going off the diving board and we have to get as many guys to the ball as we can,'' Crennel said. ''If we do those things, hopefully we'll be able to get a guy down.''
For those puzzled by the diving-board reference, Crennel explained:
''Some guys, when they tackle, they leave their feet and dive to try to make a tackle. When you leave your feet, all your force and energy, you leave that also. There's nothing you can do if you don't get him down. If you can stay on your feet, at least you can keep your feet moving, you can wrap the guy up and you have more of a chance to get him down.''
Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said he's emphasizing angles and leverage, but he called the diving-board problem ''huge.''
''You don't have any power to finish,'' Tucker said. ''I talk to guys about taking two more steps. Sometimes the runner will get up on them very quickly and they think they have to dive. If you understand you don't have to leave your feet, you can take two more steps, accelerate, get your head in front, wrap up and keep your feet moving on contact, you will miss fewer tackles.''
What Crennel and Tucker aren't saying is that part of the Browns' problem is a lack of athleticism . . . or more specifically, a lack of talent. There is no Ray Lewis or James Harrison on this defense, no fierce, intimidating linebacker who inspires his teammates to play his same bruising style. There's very little speed, either.
Browns defenders are conscious of their shortcomings, at least when it comes to tackling, but didn't sound overly alarmed last week.
''Lynch is one of the most underrated backs in the league,'' safety Mike Adams said. ''I'm not saying it's OK to miss tackles, but it happens. It can't happen on a consistent basis.''
McGinest made it sound like it was just another brush fire to be extinguished.
''Last week it might have been giving up the big play. We took care of that. Now it's tackling,'' McGinest said. ''It's like that every week, there's something you've got to concentrate on.
''We still do tackling drills, even though we're not taking guys down to the ground. It's not one of those things where we say, 'Hey, we're just not going to worry about it' and sweep it under the rug. In some case, it's guys wanting to tackle and guys not wanting to tackle and guys just flat-out trying, but aren't doing a good enough job. That's something we're going to address.''
Wright agrees that a big part of tackling is desire, but added: ''You wouldn't be in this position if you didn't want to. Those guys get weeded out fast.''
Perhaps they don't get weeded out fast when a team is 4-6 and needs a miraculous finish to get back in the playoff hunt. General Manager Phil Savage used his first pick in the last draft, a fourth-rounder, on hard-hitting linebacker Beau Bell, and he's played in only two games.
''I think it's technique,'' linebacker Andra Davis said. ''Guys are giving great effort to get there. All tackles are not going to be pretty. I know they want to knock 'em back every time, but sometimes you've just got to get 'em down.''
The top shelf of Davis' locker was filled with boxes of Nike Air Zoom Assassin shoes. If only the Browns had a few willing and able bodies to fill them.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
BEREA: In the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles, the teasing is frequent.
Former Browns cornerback Daylon McCutcheon said when his friends see his old team on prime time and watch the constant missed tackles, they tell him, ''You need to go back to the Browns.''
''If my knee felt better, I'd be out there,'' said McCutcheon, whose seven-year career was ended by microfracture surgery during training camp 2006.
''It's not good they're not tackling well. It feels good to hear they appreciate that part of my game,'' McCutcheon said.
McCutcheon's name has come up frequently of late, because the Browns' past three games have included some horrifying highlights, er, lowlights:
Strong safety Sean Jones missing Baltimore Ravens rookie running back Ray Rice in the open field on Rice's 60-yard touchdown run. Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson whiffing at the 14-yard line on a 28-yard scoring reception by Denver Broncos tight end Daniel Graham, then running over safety Mike Adams to take him out of the play. The telestrator on Monday Night Football pointing out seven Browns in position to stop Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch before he scored on an 18-yard catch. Linebacker Leon Williams grabbing Lynch around the neck to try to bring him down after another catch for a first down.
''It's all want-to and heart,'' McCutcheon said by telephone Friday. ''You can talk about wrapping up and driving your hips and all the techniques, but if some people don't want to . . . You have to be tough and want to make plays.
''There are so many great skill guys; it's hard to get the perfect tackle all the time. It's being focused and doing the little things right. Sometimes guys want to win so bad, they lose focus and technique. Maybe there should be a little more emphasis in practice at all levels.''
McCutcheon, who played with the Browns in 1999-2005, is in position to make a difference in that regard. He's the defensive coordinator at his old high school, Bishop Amat in La Puente, Calif. His team went 7-3 this season and qualified for the first round of the playoffs Friday night.
Content to work part time while his son Dyson (about to turn 6) is young, McCutcheon might pass along the value of tackling, which he learned at Southern Cal.
''When I was coming out of USC, my position coach Dennis Thurman challenged me,'' McCutcheon said. ''He knew I wanted to go to the next level and be a starter. He said, 'You're a pretty good cover guy, but if you want to be a complete corner, you have to know how to tackle.' ''
Evidently, Browns second-year cornerbacks Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald haven't heard that challenge yet.
The 2008 Browns do not have a tackler on par with McCutcheon, who was a third-round draft pick. Linebacker Willie McGinest is arguably the best, and he turns 37 on Dec. 11.
In fact, since the Browns returned in 1999, few have shown the mettle of former safeties Eric Turner, Don Rogers or Clarence Scott. Since '99, the most reliable have been linebacker Jamir Miller and cornerbacks McCutcheon, Anthony Henry and Leigh Bodden.
The Browns are coming off their worst tackling game of the season against the Bills, but the problem is not new. Of course, coach Romeo Crennel said he emphasized it in team and position meetings this week and gave a list of improvements needed going into the home game today against the Houston Texans.
''We have to get in better position, we have to use the sideline when we have it available, we have to know where our help is, we have to wrap up instead of going off the diving board and we have to get as many guys to the ball as we can,'' Crennel said. ''If we do those things, hopefully we'll be able to get a guy down.''
For those puzzled by the diving-board reference, Crennel explained:
''Some guys, when they tackle, they leave their feet and dive to try to make a tackle. When you leave your feet, all your force and energy, you leave that also. There's nothing you can do if you don't get him down. If you can stay on your feet, at least you can keep your feet moving, you can wrap the guy up and you have more of a chance to get him down.''
Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said he's emphasizing angles and leverage, but he called the diving-board problem ''huge.''
''You don't have any power to finish,'' Tucker said. ''I talk to guys about taking two more steps. Sometimes the runner will get up on them very quickly and they think they have to dive. If you understand you don't have to leave your feet, you can take two more steps, accelerate, get your head in front, wrap up and keep your feet moving on contact, you will miss fewer tackles.''
What Crennel and Tucker aren't saying is that part of the Browns' problem is a lack of athleticism . . . or more specifically, a lack of talent. There is no Ray Lewis or James Harrison on this defense, no fierce, intimidating linebacker who inspires his teammates to play his same bruising style. There's very little speed, either.
Browns defenders are conscious of their shortcomings, at least when it comes to tackling, but didn't sound overly alarmed last week.
''Lynch is one of the most underrated backs in the league,'' safety Mike Adams said. ''I'm not saying it's OK to miss tackles, but it happens. It can't happen on a consistent basis.''
McGinest made it sound like it was just another brush fire to be extinguished.
''Last week it might have been giving up the big play. We took care of that. Now it's tackling,'' McGinest said. ''It's like that every week, there's something you've got to concentrate on.
''We still do tackling drills, even though we're not taking guys down to the ground. It's not one of those things where we say, 'Hey, we're just not going to worry about it' and sweep it under the rug. In some case, it's guys wanting to tackle and guys not wanting to tackle and guys just flat-out trying, but aren't doing a good enough job. That's something we're going to address.''
Wright agrees that a big part of tackling is desire, but added: ''You wouldn't be in this position if you didn't want to. Those guys get weeded out fast.''
Perhaps they don't get weeded out fast when a team is 4-6 and needs a miraculous finish to get back in the playoff hunt. General Manager Phil Savage used his first pick in the last draft, a fourth-rounder, on hard-hitting linebacker Beau Bell, and he's played in only two games.
''I think it's technique,'' linebacker Andra Davis said. ''Guys are giving great effort to get there. All tackles are not going to be pretty. I know they want to knock 'em back every time, but sometimes you've just got to get 'em down.''
The top shelf of Davis' locker was filled with boxes of Nike Air Zoom Assassin shoes. If only the Browns had a few willing and able bodies to fill them.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
Comments
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Posted 07:55 AM, 11/23/2008
If the Browns players are still learning how to tackle at this stage of their careers, there is obviously something lacking in the brownies scouting and evaluation department. Why would you sign or draft a player who can't tackle? Hum!
Posted 08:07 AM, 11/23/2008
Citing Profootballtalk.com, MSNBC reported on Thursday that former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher has been approached about the possibility of coaching the Cleveland Browns.
The report said a source indicated the Browns are willing to offer Cowher a contract worth between $8-9 million per season.
Posted 08:08 AM, 11/23/2008
wooooohoooooo!!!
Posted 10:31 AM, 11/23/2008
Let's hope he says yes == or better yet, that Marty is available and still wants to coach!
Posted 10:47 AM, 11/23/2008
One wonders if the injury impairment being endured by SS Sean Jones factors heavily, in that his normal level of performance formerly obscured some of what is now so apparent.
Several of our non-tacklers have been that way for years now.
It should be no secret that this has not been a physical, run-to-the-ball, gang-tackling, hard-hitting, aggressive, hungry, passionate defensive unit. For that matter, the entire focus of the club on both sides of the ball has been too much about finesse and not enough about hitting with purpose.
This organization needs to get back to fundamental football---blocking, tackling, smart play, preparedness, toughness and playing each and every game with genuine heart.
These are characteristics of teams coached by the names most frequently provided by fans as wanted coaches and precisely why they are so coveted here.
In order to win with regularity at this level, this is the manner in which the games must be played. It's really not that complicated.
But someone first must be hired to set the tone, articulate the vision, provide the direction and inspire the commitment. More than anything else, this is exactly what the organization has most missed.
Posted 11:22 AM, 11/23/2008
These are professionals, and Crennel is talking about re-teaching them tackling lessons they should have learned in high school. As a Browns fan, it was very tough to read this article. I think there is a clear coaching and player development problem in the Browns organization, and it starts with expectations and accountability. As much as I hate to say it, the defensive display we watched over the past several weeks would not be tolerated in Pittsburg. Bring in Cowher at whatever cost..
Posted 01:57 PM, 11/23/2008
We are 3 to 10 now! Go! Browns!
The Browns should be prepared for an all-out pass rush from the Texans. The Texans apply most of the pressure from the defensive line, in particular right end Mario Williams. Williams has eight of Houston's 17 sacks./BTW, saw some cool widgets at statbeast. Take a look!
AKRON, OH
Posted 04:10 PM, 11/23/2008
The clowns sure did tackle there problems today by losing again LMAO
GO STEELERS
Posted 07:19 PM, 11/23/2008
Time for Romeo to get packing, he needs out now, why wait are we going to get another 2-3 wins.
Posted 07:55 AM, 11/24/2008
The Browns defense played well, about the best all year. But it seemed the Browns were affected by the cold weather in the second half. Like kids playing in the street on a cold day, before they quit they start getting cold and stop trying to reach out and catch the passes.
Does Edwards have a bad arm. On one of his drops as he fell to the earth (Edwards is a great leaper, he was way up there) he seemed to be favoring his forarm (left or right, I am not sure)
And as has been said before we have a good coach in Crennel, but not a head coach. He probably should go back to coaching, but head coach should be someone else, but I am not sure if I could swallow that Cowers guy.
Posted 11:05 AM, 11/24/2008
You gotta wrap those problems up around the legs, not just try to bump 'em out-of-bounds!
