BEREA, Ohio — Normally, it’s NFL coaches who have to contend with their players providing bulletin board material for the opponent, like Browns safety Grant Delpit did two weeks ago when he said it’s “not hard” to bring down Ravens running back Derrick Henry.
But in the case of the Browns vs. the Lions, it’s actually a coach that may have lit the fire.
Lions new offensive coordinator John Morton, when asked about the Browns’ No.1 ranked run defense — one that’s dominated its first three opponents on the road — Morton conceded nothing. It’s the kind of talk you might expect from a coordinator who’s running back tandem of Sonic and Knuckles — David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs — dropped a combined 218 yards rushing and four TDs on the Ravens Monday night.
“Well, I think this, I’m going back to us,” Morton told reporters in Detroit on Thursday. “The last few weeks, our front, right now, we’re moving guys. I don’t think they’ve seen a run game like ours yet. And you know we have patience. We stick with it. I think that’s the biggest thing. Let’s keep doing what we’ve been doing. We gotta do that so we can stay manageable. We have to stay manageable on third down, and third down and 2 to 6, we gotta be in that area. So first and second down is going to be crucial.”
Schwartz, who’s defense held Henry to 24 yards rushing in the 41-17 loss to the Ravens and held Packers running back Josh Jacobs to 30 yards and a 1.9-yard average, didn’t sneeze at the backs they’ve faced so far.
“I mean we faced some good running offenses,” Schwartz said. “I mean Green Bay was running the ball really well, so was Baltimore. Cincinnati, it’s more of a passing offense, so 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’ve got to defend all 53 and a third, particularly with Gibbs.
“And then there’s a lot of passes that are just an extension 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, that’s a major part of this game plan going forward.”
Schwartz, former head coach of the Lions, didn’t make much of the remark or pre-game talk in general.
“I mean does it really affect the game?” he said. “I mean, 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 in my mind just is distracting from what our job is. So we’ll just, we’ll keep it there. Players on the field will decide to game and not anything else.”
Besides, Morton began his press conference by complimenting Schwartz and the Browns defense, which is ranked No. 1 in total yards allowed as well the run, and is No. 4 against the pass.
“We got a tough opponent this week,” Morton said. “Schwartz, he does a great job. I’ve respected him for years and we’ve got a tough task at hand.
He noted that Schwartz’ defense plays “a lot of man-to-man, and when you’ve got a front like that, you can pretty much do whatever you want. So that’s where they get after it. So it’s going to be about protection in this game plan.”
He also complimented former Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, the No. 5 overall pick, who’s off to a great start for the Browns.
“I think he’s a solid player,” Morton said. “The whole front, everybody on defense, they’re solid. They’re really good. They get after it. They’re relentless. And that’s the biggest thing that you see. It’s speed coming off the ball, they’re great technicians. We gotta be on top of our game. First time practicing live this week, we’re gonna make sure from scout team we get certain looks.”
Morton vowed that the 2-1 Lions, with their No. 3 offense in total yards, and No. 4 in rushing, are coming to play.
“Our guys, they’re going to be ready,” he said. “We’re going to be ready for anything. I don’t care who it is. I mean the most important thing is us taking care of what we need to do technique wise, the details. When we do that, we play pretty good as you saw last week. So, we take care of ourself and stop (Myles Garrett) 95, or at least control him, can’t let him wreck this game. Cannot.”
Over the past two weeks, the Lions have scored a total of 90 points and produced more than 900 yards with a balanced and aggressive attack. It features quarterback Jared Goff, who’s second in the NFL with a 120.2 rating, and leading receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Willams.
“I’ve told you guys before, the personnel that we have, we can pretty much do anything we want,” Morton said. “There’s a lot of weapons. You saw the different personnel groupings and all the different formations and this and that. We’re all trying to create mismatches.
“That’s the way I was taught. How do I create a mismatch? Get this guy on that guy. Different formations and things, I mean they change week to week to get guys open, to keep the defense off their toes. But again, can’t do all this stuff if we’re not really smart. So, it’s cool when you’ve got all these weapons.”
This post will be updated.
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