{"id":2465,"date":"2024-11-12T12:09:24","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T12:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=2465"},"modified":"2024-11-12T12:09:24","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T12:09:24","slug":"why-this-young-browns-edge-rusher-is-poised-for-more-opportunities-in-the-2nd-half-of-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=2465","title":{"rendered":"Why this young Browns edge rusher is poised for more opportunities in the 2nd half of the season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Browns<\/p>\n

BEREA, Ohio \u2014 It was a move that just about everyone saw coming.<\/p>\n

Ahead of last Tuesday\u2018s trade deadline, the 2-7 Cleveland Browns shipped off Za\u2019Darius Smith to the Super-Bowl-contender Detroit Lions.<\/p>\n

While it was an expected trade (the Lions needed an edge rusher with star Aidan Hutchinson\u2018s season over), there was still an element of surprise for the fellow edge rushers in the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was surprising,\u201d Isaiah McGuire said on Monday as the Browns returned from the bye week. \u201cYou love a guy like Z. Like I said, just the energy he brings, the enthusiasm he brings, also the playmaking ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

But with Smith (who was second on the team with 5.0 sacks at the time of his departure) now gone, there\u2019s also another element at play.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, I know I have to step up,” he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s truly a blessing to go out there and play more.\u201d<\/p>\n

For McGuire, the Browns’ 2023 fourth-round pick out of Missouri, it\u2019s also about embracing this increased opportunity.<\/p>\n

As a rookie in the NFL\u2018s No. 1 defense last year, McGuire struggled to get on the field due to the Browns\u2019 depth. He appeared in only four games, and was a healthy scratch in Cleveland\u2019s 14 others (including their wild card loss to the Texans).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2018d definitely say it was difficult, but I truly believe that God allows things to happen for you to learn something,\u201d McGuire said. \u201cSo in that I learned other aspects of the league … in that I learned different perspective, a different appreciation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, I believe God allowed that to happen to me for the future. When I\u2018m the veteran, when I can help a younger guy that\u2019s going through that, just say, \u2019keep striving, keep pushing, rely on God and family.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Why<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>
 <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So what has McGuire done in the wake of that lesson?<\/p>\n

Throughout the last year-and-a-half, he\u2019s worked tirelessly to refine his pass-rush arsenal, inspired by new D-line coach Jacques Cesaire.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust building myself as a pass rusher, just building a whole set of interior moves when it comes to pass rushing and using those things,\u201d he said. \u201cNo sacks if you don\u2019t have any moves. … And you don\u2019t do something until you get it right. You do it until you can\u2019t get it wrong. I\u2019ll definitely say, that\u2019s one thing my veteran room has definitely instilled in me.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGuire has come off the bench in eight games this season (he was a healthy scratch in Week 1 against the Cowboys), and has registered 17 tackles, three for a loss, as well as half a sack against the Bengals and Joe Burrow.<\/p>\n

The highlight of his year, however, came in Week 4 against the Raiders, when he forced a key fumble at the start of the fourth quarter that safety Rodney McLeod scooped and scored.<\/p>\n

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz raved about the play the following week and said the Browns would give McGuire more opportunities going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need everybody to play well and the greatest reward is the opportunity to do more, and I think he\u2019s earned that,\u201d Schwartz said. \u201cHe\u2019s played physical football for us, he\u2019s been slippery in his pass rush and he\u2019ll get more opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Why<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>
 <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Myles Garrett leads the Browns with 7.0 sacks this season. With Smith gone, the second-highest sack getters are now DT Dalvin Tomlinson and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah with 3.0 apiece.<\/p>\n

So there\u2019s certainly room for more sack production across the D-line.<\/p>\n

The other player who seems most likely to benefit stats-wise from Smith\u2019s departure is Ogbo Okoronkwo, who is in line to start opposite of Garrett on the left side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think both of those guys have given us some really good moments, really good reps,\u201d head coach Kevin Stefanski said. \u201cOgbo\u2019s done it now as a veteran for us and you\u2019ve seen it, he\u2019s a productive player. Isaiah being a younger player, you haven\u2019t seen it as much, but in those small samples I think he\u2019s done a nice job.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the coming weeks, McGuire will have larger sample sizes to see if he can capitalize.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Isaiah McGuire is being pressed into duty, after a year-and-a-half of waiting for his opportunity on the attack-minded D-line. It’s here, after the Browns traded Za’Darius Smith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy this young Browns edge rusher is poised for more opportunities in the 2nd half of the season - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=2465\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why this young Browns edge rusher is poised for more opportunities in the 2nd half of the season - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Isaiah McGuire is being pressed into duty, after a year-and-a-half of waiting for his opportunity on the attack-minded D-line. 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