Browns: Joe Woods isn’t on the hot seat, yet

Joe Woods has been getting heat from fans as of late.

One of two things is true; either Joe Woods’ system is not compatible for the NFL or the players he has are not as good as advertised. What this means is if the Browns’ defense continues to be exploited as the Chiefs did in the season opener, either Woods or Andrew Berry won’t be here much longer. The team spent too much money on this defense and drafted too many prospects for this to be a recurring thing.

That doesn’t mean that Woods’ is on the hot seat currently. It’s far too early in the season for that. It doesn’t mean, however, that it isn’t on the table at all. If the Browns continue to struggle against the defense as they did on Sunday against the Chiefs, moves will have to be made.

This team is far too loaded with too much expensive talent to just keep letting this stuff happen. With teams like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Arizona on the radar still, Cleveland can’t afford to get batted around anymore.

Joe Woods still has the chance to prove his defense can work

The Browns fell apart defensively on Sunday, there’s no other way to describe it. While the team needs to be able to beat the Chiefs and stop them defensively, it isn’t the worst thing that could happen.

Patrick Mahomes may very well be the best quarterback in the NFL right now, regardless of his weapons. Teams are going to struggle against him if they aren’t able to get pressure, which the Browns didn’t ever really get.

Is that on Woods or on Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney? Remember, Clowney is coming off of a few bad seasons. He’s never been a big-time pass-rush guy, to begin with, and he played most of his prime next to J.J. Watt, the best defensive player of their generation.

Clearly, Woods isn’t the only issue.

For those who will go to the “…IT’S ONLY WEEK 1!”, it’s not.

We are now well over 52 weeks of Woods on the Browns. The issues that plagued the team on Sunday were there in the heartbreaking loss to the Ravens, they were there in the first game against the Steelers, and they were there in the playoff match against the Chiefs. These issues have been present for quite some time now.

Soft defenses, no blitzing, a lack of containment on mobile quarterbacks. It’s not new. It’s a prevent defense and the only thing those types of defenses do for you is prevent you from winning.

The team has a lot of big games where that defense will have a chance to shine, so Woods still has a chance to prove he’s worth keeping around. With the Lions, Raiders, Packers, and Patriots on the schedule, the Browns should be able to fully flex their defensive might. If they can’t and some of these bottom-feeding teams end up spanking the Browns defensively, then that’s when it’s going to be time to let Woods go.

Houston’s up, and despite what they looked like in Week 1, there’s no reason to suspect they can do that again against a good defense. So if the Texans hang big numbers on Cleveland in the home opener, then Woods will have a much shorter drive to pick up his things.