AFC Notes: Browns, Dolphins, Patriots

Browns

The last and only time Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. played the Ravens, he blew up for more than 200 yards receiving and two touchdowns in a 2016 game. Beckham said teams have since started to play a lot of double coverage to take away games like that. 

“(Baltimore) played a lot of one high (safety) man-to-man,” he said, via Scott Petrak of BrownsZone.com. “That’s why it doesn’t happen much. I get man-to-man, I’m just too confident in me — I’m going to win. The worst part about me is you could do great all game, all game, and then one play and it’s gone for 90 and that hurts. So teams don’t play that a lot. It’d be nice.”

Beckham added that teams are calling more deep protection coverage to eliminate long passes to him. 

“Of course, I’d love to come out every Sunday and think that I got a good chance at being able to do well and help a team out, but it’s just not the coverage,” said Beckham. “Teams have found a way to kind of eliminate the deep and have somebody in the intermediate and under routes. So it’s tough. It’s just about finding those beaters and then when we do get those kind of coverages, whoever’s got the one-on-one them winning their matchups.”

Dolphins

• The Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero identifies Eagles CB Ronald Darby, Bears S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Rams CB Marcus Peters as potential targets for the Dolphins in free agency next season. 
• Salguero adds Miami will likely be looking for at least one starter at safety and one starter at corner. Miami can save $11.5 million by making S Reshad Jones a June 1 cut next year and current No. 2 corner Eric Rowe is scheduled to be a free agent. 

Patriots

Patriots HC Bill Belichick believes RB Sony Michel has “done pretty well” this season and mentioned that the offensive line needs to do a better job for him. 

“I think he’s had opportunities and he’s done pretty well with those,” Belichick said, via Phil Perry of NBC Sports. “There’s been times where he hasn’t been able to get started and that’s always a problem with the running game. If you can’t get them through the line of scrimmage, you can gain some yards, but it’s hard.” 

Belichick added that the Patriots will try to improve their play-actions, passing, and blocking to try and help Michel. 

“There are things he can do better. Certainly, we can block better and coach better so we’ll try to do those and improve in every part of our offense, not just the running game but play-actions and passing game and everything else.”

• According to NBC Sports’ Tom Curran, Patriots QB Tom Brady was not happy team owner Robert Kraft made the decision to release WR Antonio Brown. 
• Curran writes that the two were clicking in practice and were almost perfect together, with multiple breathtaking plays. He adds Brady was also trying to help Brown stabilize.
• Curran also reports that while Belichick accepted and understood the decision to release Brown, Brown would still be a Patriot if Kraft had not insisted on the move.