The Cleveland Browns present a formidable opponent for the Patriots’ week 6 opponent. Not many think much of the Browns and to look past them would be a mistake. Per Football Outsiders, the Browns are #12 in overall DVOA. The Patriots are #16. The Browns Offense is ranked #4 per Pro Football Focus.
Offense
3WR 1 TE
| STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | |
| QB | Jacoby Brissett | Joshua Dobbs | Kellen Mond | Deshaun Watson SUSP |
| RB | Nick Chubb | Kareem Hunt | D’Ernest Johnson | Jerome Ford IR |
| WR | Amari Cooper | Anthony Schwartz | Jakeem Grant Sr IR | – |
| WR | Donovan Peoples-Jones | Demetric Felton Jr | Isaiah Weston IR | |
| WR | David Bell | Michael Woods II | ||
| TE | David Njoku | Harrison Bryant | Pharaoh Brown | Jesse James IR |
| LT | Jedrick Wills Jr. | James Hudson | ||
| LG | Joel Bitonio | Drew Forbes | ||
| C | Ethan Pocic | Michael Dunn | Nick Harris IR | Dawson Deaton IR |
| RG | Wyatt Teller | Hjalte Froholdt | ||
| RT | Jack Conklin | Chris Hubbard | Joe Haeg |
Jacoby Brissett is holding down the QB position until Deshaun Watson comes off his suspension. His numbers are pretty good as he is ranked as the #10 QB in the league. The former Patriots draft pick has 103 completions on 161 throws for a 64% completion rate and 1060 passing yards. He has thrown for 5 TD against 3 INTs and has an 85.4 QB rating. All this despite the fact the Browns have a sub-par receiving corps.
Running the ball is what Cleveland does well. Nick Chubb leads the way with 98 rushes for 593 yards, a 6.1 average, 7 TDs, and 0 fumbles. Kareem Hunt is no slouch either with 57 carries for 247 yards. 4.3 average 2 TDs and 0 fumbles. Hunt is also a dangerous receiver with 14 catches on 16 targets for 83 yards, a 5.9 average, and a TD. Jacoby Brissett can also run and has 21 carries for 112 yards, a 5.3 average, and a TD. The Browns want to establish the run game to set up the passing game just like the Patriots.
The Achilles heel of the Browns is their receiving corps. Amari Cooper is the big threat with 27 catches on 43 targets, 304 yards, 11.3 average, and 2 TDs. TE David Njoku is 2nd on the team with 24 catches on 29 targets, 289 yards, a 12-yard average, and a TD. Donavan People-Jones is a big target and has 16 targets on 31 targets, 191 yards, 11.9 average, and 0 TDs.
The Browns’ strength is their Offensive Line. They received the Offensive Line of the week from Pro Football Focus because they didn’t give up a sack and only had 4 QB pressures. Warren Sharp in his Season analysis had the Browns’ Offensive Line as the #1 group in the league. The Browns O-line is led by Guard Joel Bitonio. He is a guy I wanted the Patriots to draft and is a perennial Pro Bowler. The Nevada product enters his 9th year in the league as a 2nd-round selection in the 2014 draft. In 2021 he was selected as a 1st team All-Pro. He was a 3-time 2nd team All-Pro and was selected as a 4-time Pro-Bowler. Bitonio hasn’t missed a game in the last 5 years. Jedrick Wills is the starting LT. He was Cleveland’s 1st round selection in the 2020 draft out of Alabama. Ethan Pocic holds down the Center position. Another SEC product, Pocic played at LSU. He was a 2017 2nd by Seattle. Wyatt Teller is the RG. The Virginia Tech product was originally drafted by Buffalo in the 5th round of the 2018 draft. He signed a 4-year extension with Cleveland for $56.8M in 2021. That is a significant amount, averaging $14M a year. That tells you what Cleveland thinks of him. Jack Conklin rounds out the starters at Right Tackle. The Michigan State alum was drafted in the 1st round (#8) in the 2016 draft. Cleveland obtained him as an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2020. He signed a 3-year $42M contract with an Average Annual Salary of $14M a year. That’s 3 high 1st round picks. Cleveland is not afraid to pay their O-lineman. Former Patriots Draft Pick Hjlarte Froholdt is a backup guard for the Browns.
TE David Njoku is a big threat in the passing game, especially with Jacoby Brissett at QB. Brissett has a tendency to target the TE often. He is an athletic, big target for the Browns.
Defense
Base 4-3
| STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | |
| LDE | Myles Garrett | Isaiah Thomas | Isaac Rochell | Chase Winovich IR |
| LDT | Jordan Elliot | Tommy Togiai | ||
| RDT | Taven Bryan | Perrion Winfrey | – | – |
| RDE | Jadeveon Clowney | Alex Wright | Stephen Weatherly IR | |
| WLB | Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | Tony Fields | ||
| MLB | Jacob Phillips | Deion Jones IR | Anthony Walker Jr. IR | |
| SLB | Sione Takitaki | Jordan Kunaszyk | ||
| LCB | Denzel Ward Q | A.J. Green | Greedy Williams IR | |
| SS | Grant Delpit | Ronnie Harrison Jr. | ||
| FS | John Johnson | D’Anthony Bell | ||
| RCB | Greg Newsome | Martin Emerson Jr. |
The Browns’ formidable pass rush (Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney ) has not been enough to balance a shaky secondary. Cleveland’s defense is ranked 30th in the league. They give up big plays in the passing game and their run defense is 2nd worst to Detroit (EPA of .093 vs Detroit’s .094). The Patriots should be able to run on Cleveland and if they sell out to stop the run the play-action pass game will kill them. Look for Cleveland to blitz a lot no matter who is at QB. Last week Cleveland gave up 238 yards overall on the ground and Austin Ekeler had 178 yards on only 16 carries.
Let us start with Myles Garrett. He is a force and will give Isaiah Wynn fits. The Patriots may need to chip him with the TE to slow him down. Garrett The 2017 1st overall pick is coming into his 6th year in the league. The Texas A&M Aggie is a two-time 1st team All-Pro, once Second-team All-Pro, and 4 time Pro- Bowl selection. Garrett has 61.5 Career sacks, and 3 of those came in the 4 games he has played this season. Jadeveon Clowney is the other bookend. Entering his 9th season, Clowney, the former 1st overall selection in the 2014 draft by Houston has 41.5 career sacks. He has been nicked up and missed three games this year with an ankle injury. He came back last week with a 5 tackle performance against Los Angeles Chargers Taven Bryan is a former 1st round pick from Florida. He was drafted in 2018 and has had 88 total tackles in his career. At 6’ 5” and only 291 lbs it appears that he can be easily moved out with just man-blocking. Bryan has missed time with a nagging hamstring injury this year. Jordan Elliot is the other Defensive Tackle. He has been the healthy one on the D-line. Elliott was a 3rd round pick in 2020 out of Missouri. He played one year for Texas before he transferred to Missouri (SEC). Elliott only has 8 tackles on the season. Clowney and Garrett only have 10 tackles (5 of Clowney’s came against LAC last week).
The Linebackers are called upon to make the tackles. It starts with weakside linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The Notre Dame product was a 2020 2nd-round pick. He is one of the new breed of LBs that are 6’2” and 220 lbs. In comparison, our safeties (Dugger, Phillips, and Peppers) are bigger than Owuso-Koramoah. His 20 tackles rank 4th on the team. Jacob Phillips leads the LBs as the Middle Linebacker, with 29 tackles. The former LSU Tiger was the 2020 3rd-round pick. Phillips has struggled this year and he is only 6’3”, 229 lbs. The Strongside LB is Sione Takitaki, another small LB at 6’1” 238 lbs. The former BYU Cougar was 3rd round pick by Cleveland in the 2019 draft. Takitaki has only 12 tackles in 5 games.
The secondary is making a lot of tackles but that may be because the front seven aren’t. Safety Grant Delpit leads the team with 30 tackles. The 2020 2nd-round pick from LSU also has an INT this year. Denzel Ward is their best DB. The 2018 1st-round pick (#4 overall) from Ohio State has an INT and 6 Pass Breakups to go along with 20 tackles. John Johnson is the Free Safety. The former Boston College Eagle signed a $33.75M contract with Cleveland in 2021 plucking him away from LA Rams in Free Agency. He had 61 tackles and 3 INTs last year. So far this season he is 2nd on the team in tackles with 29, but doesn’t have any INTs. He is relatively slow for safety.
Special Teams
| STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | |
| PK | Cade York | – | – | – |
| P | Corey Bojorquez | – | – | – |
| H | Corey Bojorquez | – | – | – |
| PR | Demetric Felton | Donovan Peoples-Jones | Jakeem Grant IR | – |
| KR | David Bell | Jerome Ford IR | Jakeem Grant | |
| LS | Charley Hughlett | – |
Punter Corey Bojorquez was a former UnDrafted Free Agent signed by the Patriots in 2018. He was cut and picked up by Buffalo and played three seasons there. The LA Rams had him in camp in 2021 but traded him to Green Bay where he kicked an 82-yard punt, good for the best punt in 2021. He was signed by Cleveland as a Free Agent. Bojorquez is the 15th-ranked Punter so far this season. Cade York is middle of the pack at 15th among all Kickers. Folk is 13th. Demetric Felton was a player I thought the patriots might have been interested in. The RB/WR from UCLA is ranked 18th in punt returns.
Injuries
Cleveland
| Joel Bitonio | G | Elbow | DNP |
| Jadeveon Clowney | DE | Ankle, Knee, and Elbow | DNP |
| Amari Cooper | WR | Rest | DNP |
| Ronnie Harrison | DB | Illness | DNP |
| Denzel Ward | DB | Concussion | DNP |
| Yavern Bryan | DT | Hamstring | LP |
| Myles Garrett | DE | Shoulder, Bicep & Hand | LP |
| Perrion Winfrey | DT | Ankle | LP |
New England
| Nelson Agholor | WR | Hamstring | LP |
| David Andrews | C | Back | LP |
| Lawrence Guy | DT | Shoulder | LP |
| Damien Harris | RB | Hamstring | DNP |
| Jonathan Jones | DB | Ankle | LP |
| Mac Jones | QB | Ankle | LP |
| Raekwon McMillan | LB | Thumb | LP |
| Jakobi Meyers | WR | Knee | LP |
| Jalen Mills | CB | Hamstring | LP |
| Demarcus Mitchell | LB | Concussion | LP |
| Jonnu Smith | TE | Ankle | LP |
Comings and Goings
Patriots waived WR/TE Lil’ Jordan Humphries from the 53-man roster. Perhaps they are going to fill that spot with a Runningback from the Practice Squad (JJ Taylor or Kevin Harris). They also waived OT Sebastion Guitierrez, who was signed last week. They filled the Practice Squad spot with special teams contributor LB Calvin Munson.
Morse’s Morsels
- Congrats to Matthew Judon for being selected Defensive Player of the Week for Week 5 against the Lions.
- Per PFF, Jack Jones is ranked as the #1 CB in the league after 5 weeks. His rating is 91.2. This is the best of all players, not just 1st-year players.
- Per Mike Felger, Detroit was in FG position 7 times in the game. They got no points for their effort. If they just kicked the FGs and if they don’t give up a strip sack and then a scoop and score, the score would have been NE 22 – DET 21! I think the end of that game would have been different. K Austin Siebert was hurt.
- Damien Harris is likely out multi weeks with a hamstring injury.
Bottom Line
The Patriots are the superior team. If the Patriots can establish the run and not turn the ball over, they will win. Belichick will find a weakness in the Browns’ run game and turn them into a one-dimensional team. If the Browns fall behind, I don’t think their pass offense is better than the Patriots’ secondary. It should be a close game and I don’t see why the Browns are favored in this game. I like the Patriots to win this game!
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Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.
