No, the main problem is that way too many of the possible answers have turned out to be no-gos. Think I'm wrong? Then just tell me, of all the defensive free agents signed by Phil Savage, name any true difference-maker. Choices include Gary Baxter, Brian Russell, Matt Stewart, Willie McGinest, Daven Holly, Antwan Peek, Robaire Smith, the nose tackles named above, and several lesser luminaries. See my point?
It's true, some of those folks were brought in to buy time. I'm not saying all those players are bad or that their signings were all unneeded. (Even Ralph Brown, crispy as he was, was in Cleveland for good reason.)
The issue is that we are too little and too late in bring along the players we were buying time for. Sean Jones and Brodney Pool, both playing their third season, remain average safeties at the moment. Eric Wright looks like he'll become a terrific young cornerback, but the fact that he needed to start as a 22-year-old rookie with all of 22 college games under his belt speaks volumes about this program's lack of development. You can't lay it all on the injuries to Baxter and 'Cutch.
You can point to the draft. If a Phil Savage draft were a golf hole, you'd have a long, lofty tee shot, a lot of jabbering back and forth along the fairway, and a three-putt. The most interesting bogey you'll ever see.
Of his 25 picks, there are seven starters, two key reserves, five back-benchers/special-teamers, three practice squaders, and eight men out. Six of those eight departees played defense (Perkins, Speegle, Hoffman, Minter, Oshinowo, Hamilton). Two of the three practice squaders are undersized defensive ends that just might develop into Simon Fraser types, which we know from experience doesn't bode well for the rush defense.
And even the defensive draftees who are considered part of this team's core, well, serious questions remain about each one of them. Wimbley, Pool, D'Qwell, Leon, Wright -- all have had their weaknesses exposed in game action. Perhaps they will yet round into more complete players. I certainly want to believe that. Pro Bowl potential exists, maybe for Leigh Bodden this season and others down the road.
But until we see Gumby develop a full repertoire of rush moves and break up a few passes in coverage...
Until Pool displays more of the smart, heads-up plays like we saw against Big Ben last Sunday...
Until D'Qwell sheds more blocks and withstands the rigors of the NFL season's long slog...
Until Leon can help stop tight ends from picking us apart...
Until Wright is entrusted with more tight man coverage, disrupting receivers' rhythm and
freeing up blitz opportunities...
... then the investments will not have matured, the rewards will not accrue. And while we're waiting with interest, the margin of opportunity will narrow (ala McGinest and Roye) and close (ala Fisk, Washington, and 'Cutch) on folks like Robaire Smith and Andra Davis before their successors are in place. And so the rebuilding effort will never come to fruition.
Scheme-wise, to maximize their chance of making this a special season, the Browns need to do more than keep the ball in front of them. They're getting nibbled to death by possession passing, losing the time of possession battle and wearing down. They need turnovers. You don't get those when your defense wears training wheels.
That means, among other things, taking more chances in order to disrupt the timing in the backfield and generate a pass rush. Creative, disguised blitzes in both run and pass situations are the best hope for forcing mistakes.
Here's a shorthand exercise to try while watching the game: Look at the Browns defense just before the snap. Guess how many men will rush. Hold out that many fingers to lock in your bet. Then take note of a) whether you were right, and b) whether the defense succeeded. In theory, the harder it is to guess right, the better the defense's chances.
Are there signs of progress with the Browns' defense? Absolutely. Short yardage run-stuffing. Four sacks of Big Ben. But how long it will take for the unit to truly come into its own and become an agent of victory rather than a liability to overcome?
If that growth curve doesn't continue to accelerate, look for lots more turnover this off-season on the Browns defense. And not just the players, either.