CB Joe Haden boasts Cleveland Browns stand among league’s elite defences – NFL News
Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden has taken everyone by surprise by demanding that the team’s defence should be rated among the elite defensive units in the National Football League (NFL).
Although all analysts agree that Browns’ defence has become a force to reckon with in the league since last couple of games, seeing it among top five defences in the NFL is too much to ask.
The cornerback said:
"I would say we're one of the top five defences, for sure. We have people who can play their position, are really good at it and everybody's established now and they understand what's going on.”
He added:
"We have playmakers that can make plays at every level, and when we're all healthy and everybody's doing their thing, we're up there with the best."
The team’s performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers is particularly notable. They were able to force eight turnovers; five fumbles and three interceptions. It was the highest number of turnovers forced by any team most recently.
Yet commentators believe that the Browns’ performance in a couple of games cannot measure performance of their defence overall. Joe may be right in his reasoning but the reality is that the Browns have only three wins in the season and their defensive line
is as much responsible for the losses as their offensive line.
Coach Pat Shurmur describes the situation:
"It's like baseball. You need to be strong up the middle. When you have two big sturdy guys in there that can play the run on first and second down, and then get push when it's time to throw the football."
Overall, it was their defensive line effort versus the Steelers on past Sunday that helped them claim a rare victory over the visitors. The Steelers previously had lost only a single game to the Browns, and it was their second but untimely defeat that has
made them suffer in their playoff chance.
The Browns, with 3-8 points behind the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, are preparing for a game versus the Oakland Raiders this Sunday (Dec. 02), although their playoff chance has gone begging due to consecutive losses by them.
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