Ravens vs. Browns: Analyzing the Snap Counts (Defense)

The Browns' defense ran into some issues at the end of the first half against the Ravens, but other than that, they completely stifled Joe Flacco and Baltimore's running game in a 24-18 win. The snap count distributions for the Browns' defenders against the Ravens are listed below. [Week 9 offensive snap counts for Cleveland can be found here]

Defensive Line
Desmond Bryant	Phil Taylor	Armonty Bryant	Ahtyba Rubin	John Hughes	Billy Winn
74% 53/72 plays	38% 27/72 plays	36% 26/72 plays	36% 26/72 plays	24% 17/72 plays	11% 8/72 plays

Phil Taylor: 1 tackle (1 combined). 1 tackle for loss.
Ahtyba Rubin: 1 tackle, 1 assist (2 combined). 1 tackle for loss, 1 quarterback hit.
Desmond Bryant: 2 assists (2 combined). 1 quarterback hit.
John Hughes: 1 tackle, 1 assist (2 combined).
Armonty Bryant: 2 tackles (2 combined). 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 quarterback hit.
Billy Winn: 2 tackles (2 combined). 1 tackle for loss.

Thoughts: In his return game, Billy Winn didn't see very many snaps on the defensive line. I'd say the big surprise was that Armonty Bryant saw a major boost in playing time, even getting more snaps than Ahtyba Rubin and John Hughes. Perhaps the percentages were thrown off a bit because the Ravens run a hurry-up offense, meaning you can't substitute as much. The guys up front did their job, holding Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce to nothing on the ground.

Inside Linebacker
D'Qwell Jackson	Craig Robertson
100% 72/72 plays	99% 71/72 plays

D'Qwell Jackson: 4 tackles, 5 assists (9 combined). 1 pass defended.
Craig Robertson: 2 tackles, 4 assists (6 combined).

Thoughts: I hope this isn't premature in me saying this, but it seemed like D'Qwell Jackson and Craig Robertson played their best games in weeks, even if it was nothing spectacular.

Outside Linebacker
Paul Kruger	Jabaal Sheard	Barkevious Mingo	Quentin Groves	Eric Martin
72% 52/72 plays	71% 51/72 plays	47% 34/72 plays	7% 5/72 plays	6% 4/72 plays

Paul Kruger: 2 tackles (2 combined). 1 pass defended.
Barkevious Mingo: 1 tackle, 2 assists (3 combined).
Jabaal Sheard: 2 tackles, 1 assist (3 combined). 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 2 quarterback hits.
Quentin Groves: 1 tackle (1 combined). 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 quarterback hit.
Eric Martin: 1 assist (1 combined).

Thoughts: That's the Jabaal Sheard we all know and love! Quentin Groves had an early sack, but an injury sent him to the sidelines again, paving the way for Eric Martin to get a couple of defensive snaps.

Cornerback
Joe Haden	Buster Skrine	Chris Owens	Leon McFadden
100% 72/72 plays	100% 72/72 plays	97% 70/72 plays	3% 2/72 plays

Joe Haden: 3 tackles, 3 assists (6 combined). 1 interception, 2 passes defended.
Buster Skrine: 3 tackles (3 combined). 1 pass defended.
Chris Owens: 5 tackles, 3 assists (8 combined). 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 quarterback hit, 2 passes defended.
Leon McFadden: No stats registered.

Thoughts: I've been criticizing Chris Owens a lot this season, but he really stepped up his game against the Ravens for arguably his best performance of the season. The Browns really like utilizing him on the corner blitz, too, and he notched another sack. Joe Haden had a good game as well, while Buster Skrine was good enough.

Safety
T.J. Ward	Tashaun Gipson
94% 68/72 plays	88% 63/72 plays

T.J. Ward: 4 tackles, 3 assists (7 combined). 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 1 quarterback hit.
Tashaun Gipson: 1 pass defended.

Thoughts: I saw T.J. Ward disrupting some more rushing plays, which is always a good thing. The oddest statistic of the season is seeing that Tashaun Gipson didn't have a single tackle all game. That would lead one to believe that he was playing the deep safety position in coverage all day. He appeared to get burned once, but also had a tip that led to an interception.