clarinews@clarinet.com (BOB KEIM, UPI Sports Writer) (01/16/90)
BEREA, Ohio (UPI) -- Bud Carson's attack defense wilted in the playoffs. Until the final week of the regular season, Cleveland's defense kept opposing offenses under control and allowed more than 200 yards passing only seven times. The Browns used a strong pass rush by the front four, punctuated with blitzes, along with superb play in the secondary to frustrate quarterbacks. Only one passer, Tampa Bay's Vinny Testaverde, exceeded the 300-yard mark, and the Browns returned two interceptions for touchdowns in that game, a 42-31 victory. That all changed in Houston's House of Pain Dec. 23. Even though the Browns beat the Oilers 24-20 to clinch the AFC Central title, it was clear something was wrong with the defense as Warren Moon passed for 414 yards. The next onslaught was provided by Buffalo's Jim Kelly, who passed for 405 yards in Cleveland's 34-30 playoff victory at Cleveland Stadium, a triumph sealed only after Ronnie Harmon dropped a touchdown pass in the closing seconds. Against the Denver Broncos in Sunday's AFC Championship game, the Browns needed to play a solid defensive game in order to contain John Elway, whom the Browns had kept under wraps in a 16-13 regular season win at home. Instead, Elway went wild. He completed 20 of 36 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns as the Broncos burst the Browns Super Bowl dreams with a 37-21 win at Mile High Stadium. In the last three games, the Browns allowed 1,433 yards, with each opponent exceeding 450 yards. If the Browns had scored 21 points in each regular season game, they would have lost only three games with two others going into overtime. In the playoffs, they needed 34 to beat Buffalo and would have had to score at least 38 to win Sunday. ``We needed a transfusion of one kind or another and we didn't have anyone to transfuse it,'' Carson said, still mystified as to what caused his defense to collapse. ``We just gave them too many big plays, the kind of big plays you shouldn't give anybody, corners falling down and things like that.'' After each of the last three games, Carson was quick to credit the other team. Moon had a great game, he said, Buffalo surprised the Browns with a wide-open offense, and Elway was simply magnificent. There is some truth in all three statements, but it also is true that the Cleveland defense, considered the strength of the team and a unit strong enough to take the club to the Super Bowl, was vulnerable. The attack defense works best when the pass rush is in high gear. Slow down the pass rush, as Buffalo did, or evade it, as Elway did, and the defense can be beaten. The Broncos were most effective on third down, converting nine of 18 opportunities. ``If I had an answer to it, I would have given it away at halftime,'' said defensive end Al Baker. ``Everytime somebody scored on us, it was an unorthodox play, a playground type of thing.'' What became most evident in the playoffs is that Carson's defense does not adjust well during games. The Browns were unable to adjust to Buffalo's spread formation and unable to come up with anything that would keep Elway in the pocket and under pressure. ``We just had some people that didn't make plays for us,'' Carson said. ``There were a lot of things there that I thought were going to be very good for us. I thought we had a good game plan, but we didn't execute ours.'' The Browns blitzed frequently, generally using a safety and linebacker Clay Matthews, but that only served to deplete the secondary and leave it wide open for Elway's aerials. In the regular season win in Cleveland, the Browns got good pressure from their front four and were able to blitz selectively. The wear and tear of 18 games, however, showed up Sunday and the front four, despite the rotation that included Tom Gibson, Chris Pike and Andrew Stewart, was worn out. ``We didn't have many full blitzes,'' Carson said. ``We don't have the type of speed anymore that we did early in the year. We've got a couple of older guys so we have to go with more than four (rushers).''