Getty Images Dawson Knox of the Buffalo Bills runs upfield while Grant Delpit of the Cleveland Browns defends.
The Cleveland Browns‘ defense has appeared lost at times this season and the reality is that they might be.
The Cleveland defense was gashed once again on Sunday against the Bills, allowing Buffalo to run away with the 31-23 win behind 171 rushing yards. Browns safety Grant Delpit gave some worrisome insight into the unit after Cleveland fell to 3-7.
“Gotta stop the run. Simple,” Delpit said. “In order to have trust, you’ve got to know what you’re doing. The team has got to have faith that they know what they’re doing. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it never works.”
Delpit gave some further insight into what that statement exactly meant.
“In the run game, you’ve got to know what your fit is. If you don’t know what your fit is or you jump out of your gap, the run is going to bust every time,” Delpit said. “You’ve got to know your fits.”
Along with Delpit, an anonymous Browns defensive player told Jason Lloyd of The Athletic that there has been internal frustration about the lack of adjustments made by defensive coordinator Joe Woods.
“When s**t ain’t working, change it,” he said. “We don’t f***ing change anything.”
Myles Garrett Disappointed With Direction
Myles Garrett was very vocal prior to the matchup with the Bills that the Browns had to win their next two games to keep their playoff hopes alive. After Sunday’s rough outing, that obviously won’t be the case and the Browns will need some significant help if they want to make the postseason.
“That has always been the idea: win the next two, but it was really keep on winning and keep on stacking. That is still the idea,” Garrett said. “That is still the mindset. That is not going to change. We still feel like we can do so, but we have to put the preparation and have that level of detail to match that excitement and that energy we have with wanting to do it.”
Garrett expressed disappointment with the defense’s performance, especially after a promising start against the Bills. A particular focus for Garrett has been the lack of turnovers forced, which he thinks stems from the team’s mindset in practice.
“It just has to be more of an emphasis in practice,” Garrett said. “It has been a lack of importance when we go out there and practice. It has to be more important to us if we want to force those takeaways in the game. We have goals that we set in practice, and we are not reaching them.”
Garrett Hinted at Lack of Adjustments Previously
Woods’ game plan has been questioned before, particularly by Garrett, who said the Browns didn’t make the proper adjustments when they got railroaded by the Patriots 45-7 last season.
This year, Garrett hinted that the Dolphins knew exactly what the Browns defense would be doing during their Week 10 matchup, which helped Miami rack up nearly 500 yards of offense.
“Honestly, how specific it was towards us (is what stood out),” Garrett said. “It wasn’t like a first 15, it was like a first 60. The way they attacked us was very detailed in what they were trying to do and just had us out of position a lot of the time. Seemed like when we tried to switch things up, they were a step ahead.”
The Browns will face Tom Brady and the Buccaneers next week as they try to get back into the win column.