BEREA, Ohio — When Joe Woods leaves a game that doesn't go well defensively, he knows exactly what is being said of him from the fanbase. Tweets of "Fire Joe Woods" sent in droves every time a coverage is blown, every time a tackle is missed.
The past two games have seen the Browns' defense struggle against the run. Last week, issues with tackling was the main culprit. So Woods went to work. He's spent hours upon hours analyzing why his defense isn't playing up to par—even making a reel of every single missed tackle this season, which consisted of around 15-20 plays, that he screened in his defensive meetings Thursday morning.
Woods made sure to break down exactly what each player in the back seven who missed a tackle did wrong, but more importantly, drilled into them what they needed to do right to have gotten in a position to make the play and make the tackle.
"You have to have a tackling plan and understand what type of tackle that you need to make. Do I have the guy in a hole and he has nowhere to go or is it in the open field? I have to put myself in position and get the guy on the ground. A little bit of that is what I saw," Woods said. "I put the tape together, showed the examples and I wanted to talk to the whole group so they understood it, the back seven. We watched that. I believed it helped them. We will see.”
The defensive coordinator entered his press conference Thursday after peering over film, taking notes and making a game plan. His eyes, bloodshot from staring at screens and papers. After all, he has a lot of work to do in order to clean up the issues.
That's why this week of practice, while it may sound juvenile, went back to the fundamentals. The team has been working on ball control, tackling form and clean technique. Good teams have the fundamentals down and the Browns have a roster full of talent. For them, cleaning up the game and gettin into positions to win means getting back to the basics.
Simple fixes are what the Browns feel they need, and in his more than 30 years coaching, Woods has seen many a coach overcorrect when things weren't going well. The Browns defense has shown flashes of what Woods has worked to achieve. From third down stops to red zone stands, the defense has been able to lock down stretches of solid performances—which is what makes the inconsistency and late game meltdowns so difficult to swallow, for both fans and the team.
“It's frustrating. I would say disappointing at times but not discouraged. I do believe we have the talent to be a top-five defense. I've said that from the start. It's my job to get us there. We're addressing issues. We're trying to fix it. Part of it is fundamentals. Part of it is scheme. Part of it is just guys doing their job. It's a little bit of everything," Woods said. We all have to get on the same page, give them a good plan and then we have to go out on Sunday most importantly and execute. Believe in it and execute.”
While there are plenty of fans right now that have lost their faith in Woods' scheme, his players are still on board. Cornerback Greg Newsome II knows the heat fans have placed under Woods seat, but is confident that the temperature will fizzle soon enough.
“Coach Woods never changes. The heat is temporary. When you find a way to fix some of the things we’ve been fixing, it all can turn around. So we’ve just got to, like I said, put our head down and just try to put our best foot forward on Sunday," Newsome said.
The Browns sit at 2-3 on the season, with all three losses coming down to three points or less. Each game this season has seen the Browns beat, or nearly beat, themselves. From offensive failures in crucial moments, to defensive breakdowns that send the game spiraling, to special teams nightmares—all have shaken the confidence of the fan base.
The pressure is a lot for anyone. Some coaches do listen to the external noise, and not that it comes without difficulties, but Woods has plenty of experience in the league and can navigate the backlash. At the same time, he understands the issues his unit is having.
“I'm just telling the truth, I don’t worry about it. Like I know it is a problem, and to me in the NFL, it is fair. The NFL is fair. You have an opportunity. I feel like the organization provides us with good players on defense at all three levels. Right now, we're not performing well. There are stretches where we're doing good things, but we're not consistently playing well for 60 minutes. It just comes with the territory," Woods said. "In terms of worrying about that, you can’t because if you worry about it, then it affects your decision making and it affects your thought process. I just put my head down and say, ‘How can we get better?’”
So Woods, open and honestly, answered questions of how they aim to actually get better.
Simplifying the scheme to help guys get up to speed. Balancing play calls that benefit specific players' unique skillsets. Adjusting the positions of players on the field to best attack the offense. Woods is working to put out a consistent defense that performs on the field the way they are expected to on paper.
It's not easy for Woods right now, and the frustrations are mounting like they did last season when the defensive coordinator's personnel started the year shaky. With a defense that has seen most of its starters return, continuity is not the issue. Woods is, however, using moments from the second half of last season to get guys back on board and up to speed.
“It's momentum. Just like everything you teach, the schemes you put in the game plans, when you go out and you have success...and guys buy-in more. I know that the guys buy in," Woods said. "I think we all see the issues from a players’ standpoint and from a coaches’ standpoint. Whenever we have an opportunity in terms of the opponent we're playing and whether it's scheme or the same opponent, we try to show those positive plays from previous years.”
And despite the calls for his job, Woods is taking this rough stretch in stride as he aims to put a defensive product on the field that can make the fans proud, and most importantly, win games.
"I promise everybody, we are trying to do everything that we can to win. Right now, it is not going well in terms of the consistency—it's in stretches we're doing things —but I just don’t worry about it. You can’t. I've been around in my coaching career just different people who maybe they listen to it more, and I've seen what it's done to them," Woods said. "I just believe in what I'm doing. I believe in the coaches I have around me, just because of stuff that we have done. I believe in the players. I feel like if we all just work together to correct the issues that we'll get it headed in the right direction.”
Camryn Justice is a reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @camijustice.
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