Yeah, no, CLE has a pretty bad run defense. Without being ultra scientific you can pretty much tell by looking at total rush yds allowed and yds per carry. But more than anything there is a big gap between how good their pass coverage is and how good their run defense is. PFF have them as the clear #1 in pass coverage, ranked #17 in run defense. As you might know the PFF grades measure each individual player on each individual play so it says more about individual performance than team performance, but Football Outsiders have them ranked as #2 in pass defense and #29 in run defense by their DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average which measures efficiency adjusted for situation and opponent).
That being said CLE might stack the box and force Dalton to beat them through the air, as defensive coordinators generally likes to do, and with Haden on Green and CLE being great at covering RBs in the passing game that would push targets in the direction of Sanu and Gresham. If I were Pettine I'd be pretty comfortable with that game plan.
Really good points.
It kind of begs the question (I don't know the answer), if they were already stacking the box in some cases, with poor results.
* Certainly ILB Dansby returning, if he is any semblance of his usual Pro Bowl form, is not on the plus side of the ledger for Hill in this game. I believe as of today, SS Whitner was listed as questionable (if he was earlier, now listed probable)?