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Maliek Collins on Stopping the Run: “We Got a Trap Fire...That We Have to Put Out”
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- Maliek Collins on Stopping the Run: “We Got a Trap Fire...That We Have to Put Out”
theOBR
BEREA, Ohio— The Cleveland Browns have been steamrolled in the rushing game the last two games. Tony Pollard and the Titans rushed for 141 yards a week ago. Pollard had 87 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter, but the Browns were able to overcome the problem and find a way to win.
However, against the Steelers last Sunday, the Browns were not able to overcome it.
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The Steelers rushed for 200 yards with Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle combining for 199 of those yards. The Steelers also rushed for three touchdowns.
Just before the Browns played the Titans and Steelers, the Browns bottled up Derrick Henry and the Ravens and held the future Hall of Fame running back to just 58 yards.
The Browns were all over Henry and after a couple of runs early, Henry was a non-factor in the Browns win.
The OBR asked Monken if it was a mindset for the defense, considering they have shown what they can do in the rushing defense.
"I don't see it as a mindset," Monken said on Monday in a Zoom call. "Our guys play their rear ends off – they're physical. Every game's different, every week is different. We played (the Ravens) at home.
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"We've got to play better on the road," he said. "We've got to play from in front. That will give us a chance to play the run better and force them to make calls. But there's a number of things we're going to have to do to change, because we're going to continue to see those type runs, those schematic runs against the attack style, and where we go from here.
"The most important thing now is, so what?" He continued. "Now what? Okay. We weren't at our best the last couple weeks in stopping the run. All right, now what? What are we going to do to stop the run? What are we going to do to put ourselves in position to where you're always trying to make a team one-dimensional, no doubt, but where we can mitigate those long plays."
In the Browns 27-24 win at Huntington Bank Field on Oct. 1, the Browns had better success with the Steelers rushing game allowing just 92 yards and no rushing touchdowns. Warren had 93 yards, while Dowdle missed the game due to injury.
What happened in the second game.
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"Explosive plays, schemed-up runs against the attack-style front, and we're certainly going to work to eliminate those," Monken said. "And again, they did a really good job. They've got good backs. They broke a number of tackles once they got through the front line.
"And there were times we didn't mitigate the yardage that they got," he said. "I mean, it's one thing to get to the line of scrimmage and get a solid play, but they got explosives out of it. And all you have to do is point to the third-and-extra-long, 51-yard gain and the one play right before halftime where they got 23 on two trap plays, and you're looking at 74 of their yards.
"And we just weren't able to mitigate that," he said. "And again, they were playing from ahead. And that's the difference, is we were ahead in that game, and they were ahead in this game."
Defensive tackle Maliek Collins was asked about the two trap plays that accounted for 74 yards.
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"I feel like third-and-14, nobody's expecting trap," Collins said on Monday. "You might expect a draw, you might expect a screen, but nobody's expecting trap. The trap was right at me. I feel like I could have fit it better. If I would've knew it was coming, I would've definitely condensed it, but it wasn't a big tendency, a third-and-14 trap."
Collins said the defense has hurt itself the last two games in the rushing game.
"I feel like Monks (Monken) say it all the time, Browns can't hurt Browns," he said. "We got to go out there and fix those self-inflicted wounds as you may and stop the run."
The Browns rushing defense dropped from No. 20 to No. 24 after the Steelers game, going from allowing 116.4 yards a game to 126.9 yards a game, including a 4.7 yards per carry average.
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Overall, the Browns defense slipped from 12th (318.1 yards a game) to 14th (323.5 yards a game)
Collins said he thinks the Browns are on the way to fixing the problem.
"(There's) a lot of different ways to play trap," he said. "And then right now, we got a trap fire. So I mean that's something that we have to put out and I'm looking forward to what the game plan's going to be.
"We talked about it, made some corrections (Monday)," he said. "I'm looking forward to how we play it going forward."
Collins was asked if there is some doubts creeping in on the defense in stopping the run.
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"(Former NFL head coach) Rod Marinelli, he taught me panic or poise," Collins said. "And he taught me in situations like these, most people panic. It's important as a leader of men to remain poised and to show others that you poised in these situations too.
"It's not a panic," he said. "We're five and three and we still rolling. I mean, it's the NFL. Sometimes, teams scheme up things great. Sometimes you get beat, but it's how you respond from that."
Monken said he expects to see more trap plays that are designed to take advantage of the attack-style defense the Browns are using. Monken was asked if the Browns have to change up what they are doing up front.
"For sure," he said. "No, that's all part of it. Part of it is that changing up with the looks, part of it is how we fit the gaps. The next is, okay, when it does break, we've got to get them on the ground.
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"We had opportunities on the 50-yard gain," he said. "It's the safety to get it on the ground. Right before halftime, they're going to run a trap. They have one timeout left, and they're just going to test the water a little bit if they get a play. And not only do they get an explosive, we don't get him on the ground, he gets out of bounds. So, there's certain things that we're going to have to do with our front, definitely with our fits, and then when it does break, our ability to tackle better and get them on the ground."
EXTRA POINTS
Campbell, Collins Update:Monken was asked if the Browns came out of the game with any significant injuries. CB Tyson Campbell (neck) and DT Maliek Collins (elbow) left the game, but returned.
"Not as of now," he said. "All those guys came back yesterday."
Collins was on a Zoom call on Monday and said he was good to go.
