The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Team won’t let guard down, says Woods
In front of a home crowd, the Browns are taking Texans as seriously as a last-notice overdue bill in the mail.
The Browns are happy they will be playing in front of their home crowd on Sept. 19, and they are taking the visiting Houston Texans as seriously as a last-notice overdue bill in the mail.
Playing a 17-game means a team will likely have to win at least 10 times to make the playoffs. The Browns do not want to start 0-2 and then have to climb a steep mountain so they can play meaningful games in January. As geared up as the Browns were to face the defending AFC champion Chiefs last week, the coaches are making sure the fire is still burning for the 1 p.m. kickoff at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“There is definitely no letdown,” defensive coordinator Joe Woods said. “This is the NFL, so every week is a different challenge. These guys won their first game, so they’re flying high. They believe in what they’re doing.
“They’re a very physical team. They want to establish the run and really win the time of possession. Schematically, when you look at them, it’s not as complex in terms of the number of plays and the different types of plays as maybe a K.C., but they do a really good job packaging their run game and their pass game together and making it all work.”
The Texans played with a lead throughout their game with Jacksonville last week and rushed 41 times for 160 yards. Houston quarterback Tyrod Taylor completed 21 of 33 passes for 291 yards. He threw two touchdown passes and did not throw an interception.
Middle linebacker Anthony Walker, who led the Browns with 10 tackles in the opener, injured his hamstring in practice Sept. 16 and was placed on injured reserve a day later. He must miss a minimum of three games while on I.R.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski was intentionally vague about the plan to replace Walker against the Texans when he met with reporters Sept. 17 — the last media availability before kickoff. Jacob Phillips would start, but Phillps is on injured reserve recovering from surgery to repair a torn biceps.
“We’ll work through it,” Stefanski said. “When we get to the game, we’ll see what we’re going to do. We have a plan, obviously, to rotate in some linebackers. Malcolm Smith is a candidate. Elijah Lee is a candidate.”
The Browns are also dealing with injuries at left offensive tackle. Starter Jedrick Wills is listed as questionable with the ankle injury that knocked him out of the game with the Chiefs. He has not practiced since being injured. Wills’ backup, Chris Hubbard, has been ruled out with a triceps injury. Rookie John Sutton will start if Wills cannot play against Houston.
The Texans swiped three passes from Jaguars rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the opener. That equals the total of interceptions made by the Texans last season, when they finished 4-12.
“They’re going to try and take the ball away,” Stefanski said. “That’s what (Houston defensive coordinator Lovie Smith) is known for. He’s done it really at every stop in his career, and you saw last week, they took it away three times.”
The Browns turned the ball over twice last week against the Chiefs and had no takeaways. Nick Chubb lost a fumble and Baker Mayfield threw an interception.