Preparing for a Bill Belichick-coached defense isn’t easy. That’s why the Cleveland Browns are putting in a little bit extra before their Week 6 matchup with the New England Patriots.
It’s no secret that Belichick, an owner of eight Super Bowl rings, is one of the greatest defensive minds in the history of football. You name it, he’s done it, and everyone around the league knows about it. That is why a big question in Cleveland this week revolves around how the Browns can prepare to face a Belichick defense.
For the most part, the answers were what you’d expect.
“They are always disciplined. They are always good. I feel like they are never going to beat themselves,” Browns guard Joel Bitonio said Thursday, per a team-provided transcript. For us, it is a big execution week and a big understanding what they are trying to throw at us. You have to account for players. (Matthew Judon) is playing out of his mind right now. They are all playing really well. They just came off of a shutout. They are going to be a real tough test for us.”
It’s hard to argue with anything Bitonio said. New England rotates a large group of bodies in and out of its defense, forcing the opponent to account for individual matchups. Judon is in fact playing out of his mind. The Patriots did indeed shut out the Detroit Lions last week. But, above all else, Belichick is going to provide a wrinkle.
“You have to know your players because you have matchups when you are run blocking and pass blocking, but they do run a lot of games, they do have a lot of blitzes and they have a lot of different fronts again that they can throw us,” Bitonio said. “They will probably have a flavor of the week of what they want to do to the Browns. It is tough. You do put in a little bit extra work this week because you know they are going to have something planned for us.”
Guessing what that “flavor of the week” will be is anyone’s guess. That’s part of what makes Belichick defenses so difficult to prepare for. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and his No. 1 rated rushing attack will soon find that out.
