BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Myles Garrett isn’t backing down.
Cleveland’s defensive end doubled down on critical comments he made about the officiating he receives following their win over Jacksonville last Sunday and the Browns will be without three more starters against the Bears Sunday.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from Friday before the Bears roll into town.
Holding firm – Garrett remains frustrated by the officiating, and he didn’t take any of his criticism back Friday afternoon. “Absolutely not,” Garrett said. “It had been something that had been stoked for a while last couple weeks, and then other rushers have been also dealing with the same thing. I can only speak for myself, but once you’ve got a whole position kind of fed up of how they're being treated, then you kind know something's kind of off.” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski backed his All-Pro. “We’re not the thought police,” Stefanski said. “Our guys can voice their opinions… He gets a ton of attention. I remind the officials of it every game. Just so they're aware that teams are going to be doing everything in their power to slow down 95. That's what they're talking about in their building. So when he's being clearly restricted, we expect it to be called.” Garrett, who hasn’t had a sack in the last three games and remains stuck on 13.0, isn’t worried ab out any backlash. “It is what it is. Right now I'm not getting any calls, so it can't get much worse than that,” Garrett said. “I'm not trying to offend anybody. I just want them to do their [jobs] to the best of their ability.”
Three more starters down – After placing left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II and safety Grant Delpit on injured reserve this week, the Browns will be without at least three starters against Chicago. Defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo, safety Juan Thornhill and center Ethan Pocic were all ruled out due to injury. Nick Harris will start for Pocic. “He's a guy that we trust. We've won with Nick,” Stefanski said. “We know what it's like with him in there. He plays at a high level, plays really hard, smart player. So we have a lot of trust in him. His teammate have a lot of trust in him.” Harris started al 16 games last season after Pocic was lost for the year in training camp. “It's like there's no backups in the NFL,” Harris said. “Anybody can play at any time and you got to prepare as such. You got to prepare every week as if you're going to play, and he holds us to that standard, holds everybody to that standard. And I just try and do the same thing. I just try and prepare every week as if I'm going to go in there at any time. And then if I go in there then it's a seamless transition and there's no separation between who's in there.” Stefanski and the Browns are holding out hope Okoronkwo won’t be lost for the season after he suffered a torn pectoral against Jacksonville but finished the game. Delit out for the year plus Thornhill being unavailable means D’Antony Bell and Ronnie Hickman will be called upon. “There's some guys that we trust back there that have given us good reps,” Stefanski said. “We have different options and combinations that we can work through. But bottom line is that's why these guys work so hard throughout training camp, throughout the season to stay ready because you never know when your number is going to be called.”
Walker, Eliott and Ward questionable – Linebacker Anthony Walker, defensive tackle Jordan Eliott and Denzel Ward are all questionable for Sunday. Walker tweaked an injury during practice according to Stefanski. All three players were limited this week. Ward has missed the last three games due to a shoulder injury while Eliott has been in the concussion protocol.
Take it away – The Bears have forced eight turnovers the last two weeks with seven of those being interceptions. “They're taking the ball away,” Stefanski said. “It's tipped balls. It's making plays on the ball. It's zone defenders being visual on the quarterback. They have great ball skills throughout their defense. So it's definitely a part of certainly their success recently. It's also a part of their scheme. They're playing a lot of visual zones and doing a very good job. So it's really important that your entire offense is keyed in. It's not just the quarterback, it's everybody. From running the routes at the proper depth to having great protection to the offensive line. When it's time to get the defensive lines hands down, that's as important as anything.” The Browns lead the NFL by committing 27 turnovers this season.
Special team – Receiver Elijah Moore hasn’t put up the prolific numbers some might have expected after being acquired from the Jets for a second-round pick, but Moore has thoroughly enjoyed his first season with the Browns. “I tell my family all the time, it's been nothing short of a blessing,” Moore said. “The camaraderie, the relationships that I have, I've never, never been a part of something like this in my entire life. So I lean on these guys like I've never leaned on a human before. I've been able to get through things off the field that I maybe handled different and it's a true testament to everybody in this locker room and the coaches and how they handle things here. It is definitely night and day from every position from college, from every single level of football that I've played.” More is also bolstered by the addition of former teammate Joe Flacco, who has thrown five touchdowns in two starts the last two weeks after signing to the practice squad November 20. Flacco was added to the 53 officially on Thursday. “I feel like I'm getting to see sides of him that I didn't really have the opportunity to see in New York, especially with him being right next to me and then on the field,” Moore said. “I said last week was probably the most emotion that I've ever seen him express. So that was definitely good to see with also the finish that we had.”
Quote of the day – “Just nice playing meaningful football this time of year and 9 and 5 sounds nice, especially when you put them together.” – Garrett on the Browns being in the thick of the playoff race entering this weekend’s game with Chicago.
Injury report – OUT: DE Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral), S Juan Thornhill (calf), C Ethan Pocic (stinger); QUESTIONABLE: LB Anthony Walker (knee), DT Jordan Elliott (concussion), CB Denzel Ward (shoulder); EXPECTED TO PLAY: LG Joel Bitonio (knee), WR Amari Cooper (ribs), DE Myles Garrett (shoulder), TE David Njoku (knee), RB Kareem Hunt (groin), RB Jerome Ford (wrist)