Offseason Expectations Are Becoming Reality For Browns Defense
Photo Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
With the hiring of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and the addition of several key players on the defensive side of the ball, expectations were high for the Cleveland Browns’ defense this season.
After years of underperforming, the dawgs are off their chain, the standards are raised, and the Browns defense is putting the league on notice. After limiting the Tennessee Titans to 94 yards on Sunday — their lowest in 49 years — the Browns are performing above expectations.
It’s about time.
Cleveland parted ways with former defensive coordinator Joe Woods in the offseason after three years of leading the defense and brought back Schwartz, who was a part of the organization from 1993-95 as a personnel scout. Over the past 27 years, he’s become one of the most prolific defensive masterminds in the NFL.
But his addition is just one piece of Cleveland’s defensive success this season. The Browns already had a good secondary, led by cornerback Denzel Ward and safety Grant Delpit, and the addition of guys across the front seven has allowed the defense to take another step forward. Defensive tackles Shelby Harris and Dalvin Tomlinson, and defensive ends Za’Darius Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo were four crucial additions this offseason, and they have played big roles through the first three weeks of the season.
“When you are built the way we are, up front is what drives our defense,” Schwartz said during a press conference last week leading into their matchup against the Titans. “We expect those guys to be the engine of our defense and I think, in general, we have guys that are just tough matchups and we try to emphasize that.”
Defensive end Myles Garrett is the piece that makes the engine rumble. He has been since he entered the league as the No. 1 pick in 2017 out of Texas A&M. This year is different, though. With the players he has alongside him, he’s opening opportunities for teammates, but he’s always making plays himself. Against the Titans this past week, he racked up 3.5 sacks; he has 4.5 on the season.
Garrett is having that much success even when teams are scheming against him. After their matchup this past Sunday, a clip went viral on social media of two Tennessee tight ends following Garrett along the line of scrimmage as he went back and forth. If Garrett went to one side, the two Titans motioned to the other side and the former Aggie would simply respond by going back to his original spot. It happened so many times that the Titans were flagged for delay of game because they couldn’t hike the ball while the players were in motion.
The Titans had two TEs following Myles Garrett today 💀
pic.twitter.com/iGJWwJzh3i— PFF (@PFF) September 24, 2023
That’s the type of attention that he’s been drawing. It’s even causing some of his teammates to wonder how opponents can stop him.
“Teams are trying to scheme to block him, if you have two or three guys that are trying to block him and he’s still beating it, I don’t know what you can really do to stop him,” defensive back Juan Thornhill said during his press conference on Monday. “I just hope he keeps it going.”
With all of the attention the former No. 1 pick is garnering, it’s opening up opportunities for his teammates. Leading up to their matchup against Tennessee, Schwartz recalled a play in Week 1 against Cincinnati where Garrett was lined up against the center, and “he got a flush and we got the sack.” A week later, the Pittsburgh Steelers countered the move with a double team, which left Sione Takitaki open; he was able to get the sack.
“We have a lot of complementary parts that we can use,” Schwartz said. “If you devote too much attention to one guy, we have a lot of ways to make you pay.”
It was the type of talent that Thornhill saw before landing in Cleveland and now that it’s all coming together, he’s excited the world gets a chance to see it.
“I’ve been talking about it since I first got here. I see the pieces each and every day, seeing the talent that we have,” Thornhill said. “Now it’s finally coming together and the world is starting to see it. Guys are making a lot of plays and everyone is starting to recognize what we’re really capable of.”
Schwartz has them playing as a unit. One of the biggest things he said he has been preaching this season is planning as one unified group and playing within yourselves. He preaches the message of “make plays that come to you, don’t go outside to make them.” He doesn’t want guys playing outside the scheme or doing too much.
Schwartz said the 71-yard touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens scored on Monday Night Football — the only touchdown the Browns’ defense has allowed all season — was a result of that. He said they had too many guys who were just trying to make a play outside of the scheme, and they paid for it.
The Browns haven’t made too many of those mistakes this season, though. Compared to the 220 plays their offense has run, Cleveland’s opponents have only run 152 plays this season. They also lead the league in average time per drive (1:48), number of plays per drive (four), yards per drive (12.6) and points per drive (4.9).
Outside of the Pickens touchdown, the Browns have allowed just two field goals and have only allowed two red-zone attempts. No team has scored on them in the red zone either. They have also limited teams to less than 20% on third-down conversions.
When a defense is having that much success, it circles back to the defensive coordinator and what he’s instilling in his players. But for them, it’s not that hard to buy into what he’s teaching them.
If you are part of a defense that’s not really successful, not making many plays you start questioning things,” Thornhill said. “But with this defense that we are in, guys are making a lot of plays, so it’s showing it’s easy to buy in, you just have to keep playing each and every week for the guys next to you.”
Up Next