{"id":8451,"date":"2024-12-30T11:17:14","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T11:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8451"},"modified":"2024-12-30T11:17:14","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T11:17:14","slug":"breaking-why-the-browns-defensive-players-want-to-keep-core-together-despite-losing-2024-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8451","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Why the Browns defensive players want to keep core together despite losing 2024 season"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Myles Garrett made his intentions known 10 days ago. He doesn\u2019t want to stick around for a rebuild in Cleveland.<\/p>\n

Two days before Cleveland\u2019s Week 16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Garrett talked at length about the future, and notably expressed a desire for Cleveland\u2019s defensive core to stay together.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting all the guys back,\u201d Garrett said at the time. \u201cI think that would really keep my mind at rest, keep me settled. Not just mine, a lot of the guys on the defense, the D-line, around the team, but we have to continue to take strides forward, not just as players, but from the top down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since those comments, the Browns have lost two more games, the latest being their 20-3 defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, ending their 2024 home slate on a sour note.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re now 3-13 with only the finale in Baltimore remaining. They were officially and mathematically eliminated from playoff contention three weeks ago with a 27-14 loss to Pittsburgh. They were unofficially eliminated weeks before with an offense that could never get off the ground.<\/p>\n

But even now, with one week to go, and the team\u2019s record the worst it\u2019s been since the 0-16 2017 season, Garrett continues to feel the same way about this core group of defenders.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still got a lot of young guys who are new to this system, new to (Jim) Schwartz and myself, still building that chemistry but still going out there and making plays,\u201d Garrett said on Sunday night. \u201cIt\u2019s all learning to jell. Some guys have been thrust into action and really gone out there and showed their behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, got faith that they continue to grow in the upcoming year, years. And I think even with the short field and some of the turnovers, we were able to really hold them to less points than they really should have put up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s No. 1 ranked unit has fallen considerably stats-wise. Consider their performance in several major stats from 2023 to 2024 (the averages from 2024 were not yet updated to take into account their performance against the Dolphins in Week 17 as of early Monday morning).<\/p>\n

The Browns went from first in overall defense (270.2 yard per game) to 20th (339.9). They went from the top-ranked passing defense (164.7 yards per game) to the 16th (212.5). Last year\u2019s 11th-ranked rushing defense (105.5 yards per game) is now ranked 20th.<\/p>\n

The one category they\u2019ve been able to hold on is allowing the fewest first downs in the league per game \u2014 last year it was 14.9 and this year it\u2019s 17.7.<\/p>\n

The reasons for the slide? There\u2019s not an easy answer.<\/p>\n

Some of it is just teams having more of a blueprint to Schwartz\u2019s system in Cleveland in year two with a whole season\u2019s worth of film available.<\/p>\n

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\"Why<\/p>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A big part of it has likely been the Browns offense\u2019s struggles, too.<\/p>\n

Schwartz\u2019s defense is all about a see quarterback, get quarterback attitude that requires guys upfront to go all out and play with reckless abandon \u2014 that becomes much more difficult when you\u2019re not playing with a lead.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the fact that the Browns are the worst team in the league when it comes to giveaways. They had 37 heading into Sunday, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw an interception and lost a fumble against Miami to add to the total.<\/p>\n

Injuries have also plagued the team at key positions.<\/p>\n

Star linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is on injured reserve and hasn\u2019t played since Week 8, when he suffered a scary neck injury against the Ravens. Cornerback Greg Newsome II is on IR with a hamstring injury. So are defensive tackles Shelby Harris (elbow) and Maurice Hurst (ankle\/foot), and edge rusher Alex Wright (triceps). On Sunday against Miami, Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward exited with a shoulder injury and didn\u2019t return.<\/p>\n

But even amidst this slide, there have still been spurts for the Browns defense. That included holding the Kansas City Chiefs to 21 points and Patrick Mahomes to 50% completion, the lowest of his career, two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the score, you feel like we might be playing bad, but if you actually take a step back and look at the stats of each quarterback that we\u2019re playing, rushing yards and things like that, guys are struggling to move the ball on our defense,\u201d Juan Thornhill said. \u201cAnd that shows what kind of guys we have. We got guys like Myles up front getting after the quarterback, linebackers that can cover ground, like the full 53 yards, and safeties and corners that can cover very well. So hopefully we can keep this thing together because I think we have a bright future for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

There also have been a few younger players stepping up — notably edge rusher Isaiah McGuire, who recorded a sack on Sunday and now had 2.5 for the year. He also has three forced fumbles, tied for the team lead with Garrett.<\/p>\n

So despite all of the frustration this year, why do players still feel like this unit is worth keeping together?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re playing our best ball, (we\u2019re) one of the best defenses in the world, honestly,\u201d Martin Emerson Jr. said. \u201cFlying to the ball, being aggressive and no matter what happens, just leaning on each other and playing for your brother. And that\u2019s special. That\u2019s what the defense does. We play for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the issues have been in their control in 2024. Some haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n

And some of the faces on the unit are bound to change in 2025 \u2014 that\u2019s just life in the NFL, as Schwartz likes to say.<\/p>\n

But with this core, it\u2019s also about getting the chance to help fix this mess of a year \u2014 something they say they are up for.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust not let it go to waste,\u201d Grant Delpit said. \u201cLearn from the mistakes and don\u2019t repeat it. Think it\u2019s a valuable year in knowing what to fix and how things could turn out if we don\u2019t do what we got to do. So we got to fix it, and take it and learn from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

The Browns defense, from Myles Garrett on down, is intent on keeping their core together after the 2024 season wraps, despite their 3-13 record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Why the Browns defensive players want to keep core together despite losing 2024 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=8451\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Why the Browns defensive players want to keep core together despite losing 2024 season - 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