AFC Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

Browns’ DC Joe Woods was unable to have certain pieces of the puzzle due to injuries last season but is now looking forward to having a fully healthy defense with plenty of depth.

“Last year, there was a whole lot of things you can say, but we have the mindset of no excuses and no explanations,” Woods said, via Forbes.com “Just based on practice time and players available, there were certain things that we were not able to get to, but now moving forward, we have already started the process in the offseason of installing some new defensive packages and some new cover schemes, just so we can dictate the tempo a little bit more.”

Ravens

Ravens LB Patrick Queen said despite the defense losing some core members in the offseason like pass rushers Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue, the expectations are still high.

“Those guys are are one-of-a-kind so you know we lost some key pieces. But I feel like, it’s the Ravens defense, so you know how we’re gonna come,” Queen said on NFL Network, via Pro Football Talk. “We’ve got those new guys up front in the draft. So there’s a lot of stuff to look out for. And we just want to be that same defense we were, a top-five defense. All the pieces that we’ve got, all the coaching that we’ve got added to the team — it’s going to be a big season. And I can’t wait.”

Steelers

Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger commented on what the team will look like this season offensively under new OC Matt Canada.

“I think this offense is going to be completely different. You will see nothing that you have ever seen in the past. And we are going to try and throw literally everything at everybody so that way we won’t be predictable,” Roethlisberger said, via Mark Kaboly of The Athletic. “It’s just new. In all seriousness, there is a lot of new. For someone who has had a very similar offense for a very long time verbiage-wise, it’s taking some extra studying. It is a fun new challenge. Guys are getting it and, hopefully, it translates into winning football.”

Canada downplays Roethlisberger’s comments and says that there won’t be too many changes implemented and that the team will do things the way the veteran quarterback wants them done.

“We’re not making drastic changes,” Canada said. “Obviously, terminology’s changed and the ways we want to call things, but football’s football. Football is 11 men doing their job, and the quarterback is the focal point. It’s the greatest position in all of sport in my opinion because of all the things you have to do. We’re going to do what Ben wants to do and how Ben wants to do it. I’m a big believer in tempo and the changing of the tempo. If you always go fast, people get used to that. If you always walk out of the huddle, folks get used to that. Defensive coaches are smart. They study film and tendencies and all those things. We’re certainly going to continue to use tempo and use the things that Ben is very, very good at to help our offense be the most productive it can be. The changes of tempo during the course of a game are very important, and I think Ben’s good at it.”