Pirate Galaxy » Team focusing on the middle of the field

Trevon Coley Color Rush Jersey , mixing up coverages to combat long-term issue." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesDawgs EDTThe Cleveland Browns have struggled to defend opposing tight ends for just about as long as most fans can remember. It hasn’t matter who was on the field, or who was calling the plays from the sidelines, if a team was facing the Browns, the tight ends had that date circled on their calendar.That was particularly true last season, as the Browns defense seemed to give up a big day on almost a weekly basis. Some of the lowlights included:Jared Cook of the Oakland Raiders hauling in eight receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns in Week 4Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs with seven receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns in Week 9Austin Hooper of the Atlanta Falcons with 10 receptions and a touchdown in Week 10Ian Thomas of the Carolina Panthers with nine receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown in Week 14All told, the Browns surrendered 100 passes for 1,008 yards and seven touchdowns to opposing tight ends in 2018. According to cleveland.com, those totals ranked second https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Duke-Johnson-Jersey , ninth and fifth worst, respectively, in the NFL.The year before, the Cleveland defense allowed the third-most catches (89), ninth-most yards (868) and second-most touchdowns (10). In 2016, opposing tight ends were fourth in receptions, seventh in yards and first in touchdowns, according to cleveland.com.The good news is that the Browns are aware of the problem and are working on a solution during training camp Greg Joseph Jersey , as linebackers coach Al Holcomb explained on Monday, according to clevelandbrowns.com:And lest we forget because it is so rare to hear a Browns coach be asked an actual football question, it was Jake Burns of cleveland.com that posed the query to Holcomb:The Browns will only face a handful of the league’s top tight ends in 2019 - George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5 and a pair of dates with Vance McDonald of the Pittsburgh Steelers standout (although a playoff date with Kelce and the Chiefs could be on the horizon). But given the way they have played in the past, any tight end has been just one step away from a big day against the Browns. If they can solve the problem, however, it will be another big step toward achieving the team’s bigger goals for the upcoming season. Spotlight has been on Odell Beckham Jr.’s absence from OTAs, but what is up with Jarvis Landry?" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesDawgs EDTThe news surrounding the Cleveland Browns the past few weeks have focused more often than not on wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Acquired in a trade with the New York Giants at the beginning of March, a Beckham sighting in Cleveland has been as rare as a Browns playoff game. But now that Beckham has let everyone know that he plans to be at mandatory minicamp this week Jabrill Peppers Color Rush Jersey , we are left to ponder if everyone has been worrying about the wrong wide receiver.Jarvis Landry attended some of the just completed series of Organized Team Activities, but while Landry was on the field he wasn’t practicing due to an undisclosed injury. That injury will keep Landry sidelined during this week’s minicamp, although head coach Freddie Kitchens said that decision was “more precautionary than anything,” according to clevelandbrowns.com.It is only June, but the idea of Landry not practicing because of an injury is a wee bit concerning. Ultimately, just like with Beckham, as long as Landry is ready to go for the regular season it will be no big deal and hopefully there is nothing more going on with Landry’s mystery injury.The one bright spot in Beckham and Landry not being involved in OTAs is that it has given the coaching staff an opportunity to look at the other wide receivers on the roster. The top four spots are set with Beckham, Landry E.J. Gaines Color Rush Jersey , Antonio Callaway and Rashard Higgins, but there will be at least two more roster spots available in training camp, and the more the coaches see the other receivers, the better. That goes for quarterback Baker Mayfield as well, as Kitchens pointed out last week, according to clevelandbrowns.com:The Browns will be without Landry for the upcoming minicamp, but Beckham will be back in town. Hopefully that will be enough to entertain the masses for a few more days.