In case you haven’t noticed, one of the biggest stories heading into Monday’s key divisional matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns is what is going on on the right side of the offense for Cleveland.
The visiting team will be starting a rookie fourth-round pick, making his first career start after Jack Conklin suffered a season-ending injury this past week. Now the focus is on Dawand Jones, whose assignment in his first start is none other than T.J. Watt. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt understands that’s not a one-man job.
“We got to make sure we’re not just leaving him out on an island. We’ll take care of him”, he told reporters yesterday, via the team’s website. That is the reasonable approach, of course. It’s basically what every team in the league does when they play the Steelers, regardless of who their right tackle is.
You’re inviting a loss when you leave Watt one-on-one with anybody, as many teams find out. He is capable of wrecking games individually with his disruptive abilities, whether it’s causing a strip sack, pressure to force an interception, or picking the ball off himself. Sometimes even two or three blockers isn’t enough.
Still, the matchup against Jones should be interesting to watch. He is a prospect with a great deal of talent, without question, and he has looked good throughout the offseason. He was solid filling in for most of the opener, especially in pass protection, but he didn’t face anybody like Watt.
“What a matchup he gets right first draw out as a starter”, Van Pelt said. “I think one of Dawand’s strengths is his pass protection, being so large, it’s tough to get around him. So, it’ll be exciting to watch. It’ll be a great matchup. And I know Dawand will be up for the challenge”.
As for Watt, he is coming off a three-sack game against a San Francisco 49ers team that did not even throw the ball that much. And two of those sacks dislodged the ball, one of which he recovered on his own. It was the sixth time in his career he had at least three sacks in a game, and he’s looking to repeat that feat on Monday.
It will be interesting to see what tactics the Browns use to try to help Jones out on the edge with Watt. One would imagine he should expect to see a lot of chips by running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers, but double teams along the offensive line will also be in the mix. They might use a tackle-eligible lineman to provide additional support. James Hudson III has that in his resume.
