Anthony Walker Jr. didn't mince words when he was talking about what the Browns need to do to best prepare for the Cardinals in Week 9.
“Right now, I’m pretty sure they’re looking at our tape,” he said. “The last two weeks, we haven’t stopped the run worth of s**t. So, we need to change that right now and we got a big task ahead of us.”
Walker’s language might be a bit harsh. The Cleveland Browns have been far from terrible against the run this season and own the seventh-best run defense in the league. The sternness, however, stems from a few big plays Cleveland has allowed in its last two games.
The Browns surrendered 114 yards on the ground last week against the Seahawks, and 45 of them came on one long run from Kenneth Walker, which set Seattle up for a touchdown on its opening drive. Zach Charbonnet also gashed the Browns for a 21-yard run in the 24-20 loss, and the Seahawks averaged 6.7 yards per rush.
A week earlier against the Colts, the Browns allowed runs of 24 yards from Jonathan Taylor and 21 yards from Zach Moss. Indianapolis finished with 168 yards in the game but only averaged 4.2 yards per carry.
Walker said the run defense can improve by refining technique.
“Standard gaps, come downhill as linebackers set the edge, whoever that is, and then have to get off blocks and make tackles,” he said. “All fundamentals and details.”
At 1-7, the Cardinals might appear to be one of the easiest opponents on the Browns’ schedule, but their biggest strength is undoubtedly the run. Arizona owns the fourth-best rushing offense in the league and has averaged 137.8 rushing yards per game.
The Cardinals have maintained a strong run despite playing without Pro Bowl RB James Conner, who’s been out since Week 6. Emari Demercado has taken over the interim lead back role and rushed for a season-high 78 yards last week.
The Cardinals will likely look to run the ball a lot against the Browns, particularly with news that they will shuffle their QB room in Week 9. Either Clayton Tune or Kyler Murray, who has been on injured reserve all season but is nearing a return, will be the starter for Arizona this week. Previously, former Browns backup Joshua Dobbs was handling the starting role for the Cardinals, but the team traded him to the Vikings ahead of the league's trade deadline on Tuesday.
If they start Tune, a fifth-round rookie who hasn’t started yet this year, Arizona could lean even more heavily on the run to ease some of his workload.
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