BEREA, Ohio — Myles Garrett can’t wait for the Hungry Dawgs to face the Lions on Sunday and try to make offensive coordinator John Morton eat his words.
Morton complimented the Browns No. 1 defense Thursday, but said, “I don’t think they’ve seen a run game like ours yet.”
The remarks have understandably wound their way through the Browns locker room and meeting rooms.
“He’s entitled to his opinion,” Garrett said Friday. “He hasn’t seen a defensive front like ours and he’s entitled to say what he wants and we have the privilege to see who’s right and I think it’ll be a battle of ideologies and I think our DC also has some things to say and we have to be the ones who put it into action and so we have to meet and see who’s right.”
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Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who’s defense is No. 1 in total yards and No. 1 against the run with only 57.3 yards per game, reacted to Morton’s comments in real time on Thursday, just moments after Morton uttered them.
“I mean, we’ve faced some good running offenses,” Schwartz said. “Green Bay was running the ball really well, so was Baltimore. Cincinnati was more of a pass game offense. So, you know, it’s one of the major things we have to do is stop the run. Two different running backs, you got to protect your edges. You got to defend all 53 and third, particularly with (Jahmyr) Gibbs.
“And then there’s a lot of passes that are just extensions of the run game. A lot of screen game, a lot of quicks. Even the checkdowns are sort of an extension of the run game. So, our ability to play run defense, our ability to tackle in the open field, you know, that’s a major part of this game plan going forward.”
Schwartz stressed that words won’t line up on Sunday and lock horns.
“I mean, does it really affect the game?” Schwartz said. “Maybe it makes things nice for you guys or for people to say stuff or whatever. I don’t play the game. I’m just out there trying to put a good plan together. I’m trying to put our guys in position and turn the game over to them. So, anything that I think or anything that I would engage in my mind just is distracting from what our job is. So, we’ll just keep it there. The players on the field will decide the game, not anything else.”
Does it make Garrett’s job easier to motivate the troops with Morton providing some bulletin board material?
“I mean, no,” he said. “Whether they’ve scored (90 points in the last two games), they have to do that on Sunday and that’s not guaranteed. They have to show up and be those same guys when the time calls at 1 o’clock. And we have to show ‘em that they can’t be that.”
Browns defensive tackle Mason Graham understands the assignment.
“I mean we’ve stopped the run every week and that’s what we’re going to continue to do,” he said.
In addition to a battle of muscles and grit, Garrett said it will be a clash of ideologies between these two teams.
“They want to run the ball as much as possible and we love stopping the run,” Garrett said. “Our DC is very much stuck in his ways and wanting to be stubborn and this is how we’re going to do things. We’re going to man up on the outside and we’re going to get after guys with four. They want to get the ball out quick, want to get to their skill guys, want to get to the perimeter and after that, they want to go downhill on you. So I think those two ideologies will come to a head this Sunday.”