Cleveland Browns defenders keeping a wary eye on Tennessee's Johnson, Hasselbeck

The Browns defense will face two of its biggest challenges to date: Titans running back Chris Johnson and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

View full sizeJohn Russell, Associated PressStar receiver Kenny Britt may be lost for the season, but the Browns' defense remains concerned about the performances of Tennessee QB Matt Hasselbeck (8) and running back Chris Johnson.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns' young defense is developing quite a swagger, but there's two guys coming to town Sunday that could make it stagger: Titans running back Chris Johnson and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

Hasselbeck -- coached by Mike Holmgren for 11 seasons -- is arguably off to the best start of his 13-year career in a new system in Tennessee. And Johnson -- the NFL's leading rusher over the last three years -- is a ticking bomb. Johnson -- who held out 35 days for a blockbuster $53 million deal -- is averaging just 2.1 yards per carry, hasn't rushed for more than 54 yards this season and has yet to score a touchdown.

"He's been waiting to have a breakout game," said defensive end Jabaal Sheard. "Nobody wants to be the team that lets this guy run wild."

Browns running backs coach Gary Brown, who once rushed for 1,000 yards for the Oilers in half a season, knows it's just a matter of time.

"If you look at all the great ones, everybody hits slumps in sports," he said. "It just happens that Chris Johnson's is in the beginning of the year. But I guarantee you this: Elite players like that find ways to get things done, and I'm sure he will -- not this week, though."

"We know it's coming," said safety T.J. Ward. "We just don't plan on letting it be this weekend."

Tony Grossi’s Four Things on Browns-Titans

• 1. Strength v. strength: The Browns’ defensive line has emerged as a strength, if not its defensive identity. The Titans’ strength may be their offensive line. It should be good. Head coach Mike Munchak is a Hall of Fame lineman, as is Bruce Matthews, their line coach. The old cliche of football being won or lost in the trenches certainly rings true.
• 2. Tick, tick, tick: Titans running back Chris Johnson has rushed for 24 yards, 53 and 21 in three games. Not too long ago, that would be one offensive possession for him. Johnson is the NFL’s most lethal “home run hitter” at his position. When those kind of guys are in a slump, look out when they bust out. With receiver Kenny Britt lost for the year, Johnson’s time may have arrived.
• 3. Josh b’Gosh: Josh Cribbs should be able to return to kickoff and punt return duties after being slowed by a groin injury. Titans kicker Rob Bironas has a strong leg; only six of his 14 kickoffs have been returned. But punter Brett Kern is averaging only 34.6 net yards on 14 punts. Cribbs could affect this game as he did against Cincinnati and Indianapolis.
• 4. Where’s Jerry? Titans coach Mike Munchak is a fan of Browns history, having played in 23 games against the former division rivals of his Houston Oilers. In an NFL questionnaire, Munchak, a native of Scranton, Pa., actually lists the Browns as the team he followed as a child. With all those connections, Munchak should have left a ticket for former Oilers coach Jerry Glanville, who used to do the same for his hero, Elvis Presley, who also was a Browns fan.

-- Tony Grossi

Plain Dealer predictions

• Tony Grossi (1-2) / Browns 27, Titans 24: Peyton Hillis, Tony Pashos, Josh Cribbs (returns) should bolster the offense.
• Mary Kay Cabot (2-1) / Browns 20, Titans 19: Browns start quicker and hang on through another close game.
• Bill Livingston (1-2) / Browns 20, Titans 17: Delirious Browns fans book flights to Super Bowl, then realize it’s only a drive to Indianapolis.
• Bud Shaw (2-1) / Titans 20, Browns 17: Tennessee RB Chris Johnson’s 2.1 yard per carry average can’t last.
• Terry Pluto (2-1) / Titans 24, Browns 20: I have a bad feeling about a hot Matt Hasselbeck and Chris Johnson due to snap out of his funk.

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What makes Johnson so special is his speed, timed at 4.24 in the 40 when he was at the NFL combine in 2009.

"That guy has a tremendous blend of world-class speed and tremendous vision," said Brown. "He may be the fastest guy in the whole league. Even if you have him boxed in, he's dangerous. As football fans, we have to embrace that type of guy and know that what we're seeing is rare."

Johnson, whose 98 yards on 46 carries are tied for 37th in the NFL, told Tennessee reporters that he's not in sync with his line. The Titans are last in rushing, and the Browns are 29th against the run.

"I've been running behind this line for three years, so I have confidence in them and I'm sure they have confidence in me," he said. "We just have to get on the same page and keep working."

Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, the reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Month, figures the Titans will lean heavily on Johnson now that premier receiver Kenny Britt is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

"He's got his legs up under him now and we're looking for him to get a lot of touches, whether it's on screens or the classic stretch plays," said Jackson. "You don't think a guy with that frame could run between the tackles, but he does great. He has great vision and all it takes is one play. Anyone who's rushed for 2,000 yards [in 2009] is special."

Said Scott Fujita: "He's great at getting to the edges and then finding that cut-back hole and darting through it."

Jackson hinted the Browns will devote a spy to the former NFL Offensive Player of the Year. "We'll have special eye out for him," he said. "We know if we contain him we increase our chance of winning."

Cornerback Sheldon Brown has his own theory on Johnson's slow start.

"I don't think you need to run that well when you're throwing the ball around the field like that," he said of the Titans. "Matt Hasselbeck is playing phenomenal football. Right now, (any) of us can line up in their offense, run routes, get open, he'll hit us. That's how comfortable he is within the scheme, the system, he knows what he's doing. What's impressive is the short amount of time they've had to work together."

Hasselbeck, who ran the West Coast offense in Seattle until arriving in Nashville and working with coordinator Chris Palmer, is eighth in the NFL with 932 yards, and seventh with a 102.2 QB rating. He's thrown five TDs and only two interceptions -- but three of those TD passes went to Britt.

"He's playing lights out," said Jackson. "Any good quarterback in rhythm, you've got to try move him off the spot and get as many guys on him as possible."

Said Jabaal Sheard, part of defense that's second in the NFL with 11 sacks: "This is probably the best line we'll face all year. They barely give up sacks. But I'm hungry as ever. I want to get to the quarterback and I'm looking for another win."

On Twitter: @marykaycabot

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2011/10/cleveland_browns_defenders_kee.html

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