Can Joe Woods Browns defense follow the 49ers Super Bowl blueprint?
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Joe Woods, the Browns defensive coordinator, spent one season as the 49ers defensive backs coach, but his experience there has led to repeated questions since his arrival in Cleveland. That 2019 season for Woods and the 49ers, of course, was noteworthy because of the teams run to Super Bowl LIV. So its natural for folks to wonder how  or if  the Browns compare to that 49ers defense. That recently led to Woods being asked if this years Browns defensive line reminds him of the 49ers group from 2019. When I was in San Francisco, we went through the season so you can see the results of it because we played 19 games, Woods said. We have not played a game yet, and on paper, it all looks good, but it is all about what you do between the white lines. In terms of the comparison, you can see we have ability, but it is all going to be based on how we perform if we are similar to that unit.  Woods also brings up Browns-49ers comparisons himself, like when he used former 49ers linebacker Kwon Alexander to note that Browns rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah isnt alone in being a light linebacker, or when he mentions schemes and successes he had in San Francisco that hes trying to mimic with the Browns. Maybe its time to take a closer look at how the 49ers 2019 Super Bowl defense compares with Woods Browns defense. Its worth doing because, as youll see below, there are similarities in approach. But there are also areas where the 2021 Browns need to improve over last season if they want to reach the benchmarks set by the 49ers. SIMILARITIES  1. Low blitz rate  The Browns blitzed 21.3 percent of the time last season, which ranked 30th. It was a big difference from what fans saw from the Browns under Steve Wilks and Greg Williams the previous two seasons. The Browns were fourth in blitz percentage under Williams in 2018 (34.0 percent) and fifth in 2019 under Wilks (38.2 percent). Neither approach mattered much to the Browns sack totals. They had 37 in 2018 and 38 in both 2019 and 2020. The 2019 49ers ranked 29th in blitz rate (20.9 percent). But it worked as they finished with 48 sacks, ranked sixth. 2. Lots of zone  Woods had his secondary in zone coverages approximately 70 percent of the time last season. Thats about the rate Woods had his 49ers secondary using zone in 2019. This offseason the Browns added Greg Newsome II, who played mostly zone  and played it well  at Northwestern, as well as Troy Hill and John Johnson III, who were in zone 80 percent of the time last season with the Rams. In Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams, the Browns have two cornerbacks who excel in man coverage (Ward is good at any coverage, really), but Woods past and the teams defensive additions suggest the Browns will lean into zone coverages again this season. 3. Lots of nickel  NFL defenses are using nickel packages (five defensive backs) more than ever before. Thats because NFL offenses are putting more receivers on the field. Teams used 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) an average of 60 percent of the time last season. But the Browns saw it 67 percent of the time, which was tied with the Raiders for most in the league. That meant putting an extra defensive back on the field (usually Kevin Johnson) and taking a linebacker off (usually Sione Takitaki) was the norm for the Browns. This was nothing new for Woods. The 49ers saw 11 personnel 66 percent of the time in 2019, more than all but three teams (the average was also 60 percent in 2019). 4. Limit explosive plays  The Browns ranked ninth in limiting explosive run plays last season, and 14th limiting explosive pass plays. That was quite an improvement over their 2019 performance when they ranked 31st vs. the run and 19th vs. the pass. The 49ers werent great at limiting explosive run plays in 2019 (ranked 20th) but Woods secondary got the job done against the pass, where they ranked second, allowing explosive plays only six percent of time. While the Browns got better last season overall against explosive plays, they still have a way to go to reach the bar set by the 49ers pass defense. DIFFERENCES  1. Pressure rate  Sacks are great, but what defenses really want to do with their pass rush is create pressure on the quarterback. The 2019 49ers, despite their low blitz rate, created pressure 28.7 percent of the time, which ranked second behind the Steelers (30.5 percent). Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead on the edge and DeForest Bucker on the interior powered the 49ers pass rush in 2019. They also rotated Dee Ford and Solomon Thomas on the edge. Those five players accounted for 234 pressures in the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus. Three players were over 50 pressures and both Bosa (80) and Armstead (62) were over 60. The Browns top five in pressures last season were more balanced, totaling 194, but maxed out at Myles Garretts 56 in 14 games. Olivier Vernon had 51, Sheldon Richardson 43, Larry Ogunjobi and Adrian Clayborn each had 22. Add it all up and the Browns pressure rate was 21.9 percent, ranked 24th. 2. Linebackers in coverage  Alexander and Fred Warner gave the 49ers two linebackers who performed well in coverage during their Super Bowl run. Alexanders 81.3 coverage grade from PFF ranked ninth among linebackers in 2019. Warners 76.4 ranked 11th. Having that duo  along with Dre Greenlaw being above average in coverage  helped the 49ers rank second in pass defense DVOA in 2019. Having a solid defensive backfield didnt hurt either, of course, but having linebackers able to limit mismatches in coverage goes a long way. This is an area the Browns hope they addressed this offseason. Malcolm Smith had the best coverage season of his career in 2020 and ranked seventh in PFF grade (79.0). He was re-signed, and the Browns added Owusu-Koramoah, who is expected to be on the field for passing downs. What the Browns dont seem to have is a three-down linebacker able to be their version of Warner. But then, not many teams do. Warner led all linebackers in PFF defensive grade (88.6) and coverage grade (91.1) last season. 3. Slot coverage  No team had more games lost to injury in the secondary than the Browns last season. And all those injuries really put stress on depth in the slot. Whether it was Kevin Johnson, Tavierre Thomas or M.J. Stewart, the Browns struggled. Each player had PFF defensive grades below 60, and passer ratings against above 100.0. The Browns hope the addition of Hill helps with that. Last season Hill had over 50 percent of his snaps in the slot in his first full season as a starter. It was more snaps in the slot than his first five seasons combined. But he gave up just one touchdown and had three interceptions from the position, and quarterbacks had a passer rating of only 75.8 against him in the slot. If Hill can repeat that performance, the Browns will have what the 49ers had in KWaun Williams in 2019. The former Brown (2014-15) ranked fifth among slot corners in passer rating against (69.3). -  Browns playoffs shirts, hats for sale: Heres where Cleveland Browns fans can order shirts and hats celebrating the team qualifying for the 2020 NFL playoffs. Hey, Mary Kay! Pluto