A DARN’ TOUGH WEEK 3
Sam will see it all from ‘D’ guru Gregg
Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been flummoxing quarterbacks for as long as Sam Darnold has been on this planet, unfurling one funky wrinkle after another for three decades. He's a bespectacled master of disguise, an outside-the-box schemer bent on confusing the Jets rookie in Cleveland on Thursday night.
It'll be a terrific test to punctuate Darnold's threegames-in-11-days welcome to the NFL.
Darnold didn't say it, but his mentality is clear: Challenge accepted.
“His guys… come out fiery,” Darnold said. “They bring pressures that sometimes no one has ever seen before. But… we're going to be ready.”
Darnold seemingly has been ready for anything even if he hasn't been perfect. The signal caller has flashed the special skills that will ultimately turn him into a true difference maker. Darnold is making plays in the short and intermediate areas of the field as he gets accustomed to the speed of the game. He's picking up intel along the way. He'll strategically step out of that comfort zone and eventually take more consistent shots downfield.
He'll enter a new world Thursday in the face of Williams' wackiness.
“He's just real unorthodox,” veteran wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said of the Browns play caller. “There's a lot of funky stuff, a lot of rotating safeties and corners and blitzing from the corners. Just a lot of unusual stuff. But it works.”
It sure does. Williams' defense played well enough to beat the Jets in a Week 5 loss last season. The Browns had three sacks, eight quarterback hits and held Gang Green to 212 total yards and 4.2 yards per play, but were, well, screwed by an inept offense that committed two first-half turnovers inside the Jets 5-yard line and missed two field goals before halftime.
Although Todd Bowles maintained that Darnold's exposure to his sophisticated defense this spring and summer will help, there's little doubt that Williams will reveal some goodies designed to play mind games with Darnold.
“He does a great job,” Bowles said of Williams. “They disguise very well. They move around very well. They're very fast. They have a great understanding of what they're doing and that makes it awfully difficult for an offense. They've made it awfully difficult for people.” Darnold will face an aggressive and attacking 4-3 defense for the second consecutive week. Although the young quarterback was sacked three times in his first career loss to the Dolphins, he acquitted himself well en route to becoming the youngest 300-yard passer in league history.
That being said, Darnold could sure use some help on the ground this time. He shouldn't have to air it out 41 times again.
“We got to be able to run the ball better,” said Bowles, whose running backs combined for 41 yards on 17 carries against Miami. “Our goal every week is to run the ball. It's got to be a war of attrition and we got to do some things to offset that. But at the end of the day, we got to come back and try to run the football.”
There are two ways to view Darnold's upcoming challenge. On one hand, a 60year-old man with 28 years of NFL coaching experience should run circles around a 21-year-old kid making his third pro start, right? Not necessarily. The right mindset is very different. This game offers Darnold a great opportunity to further his education. The shortened preparation time this week obviously isn't ideal, but he's learning more every day. The experience will embolden him, especially if he plays well in a victory.
What better way to build confidence than to beat an aggressive defense on a short week?
Experience really is the best teacher. Every bit of new information and knowledge will only serve to help him… and thus, the team.
Williams obviously won't make it easy. Expect him to throw everything at Darnold, whether that means a revolv-
ing door of blitzes from all angles or odd player deployment. The rookie needs to be ready for anything.
Williams' attacking mantra has already rubbed off on a group that has eight takeaways, including a ridiculous six in the season opener. (The Browns only had 13 takeaways last season).
Williams isn't expected to have two starters (DE Emmanuel Ogbah and LB Christian Kirksey), but don't believe for a second that he'll scale anything back. He's maniacal enough to dial up even more craziness.
Game-wrecking defensive end Myles Garrett, the 2017 No. 1 overall pick, already looks shot out of a cannon with two sacks and two forced fumbles this season after being slowed by an ankle injury as a rookie.
“He's one of the best players in the league,” Darnold said. “We're going to be ready for him, but… we can't go in the tank if he has a sack here and there. He's a great player. He's going to make plays. We know that. We just have to continue to stay positive and stay consistent with what we're doing.”
Williams has been a defensive coordinator seven different times for six teams. He's been a head coach once. He loves welcoming rookie quarterbacks in his own unique way.
It'll be a daunting test for Darnold. It might also be a springboard for great things.