CLEVELAND, Ohio — When you fancy yourself Superman and wear the imaginary red cape, you’re not going to be afraid to speak your mind.
And when you’re a recent NFL Defensive Player of the Year and future Hall of Famer, your words will pack a wallop.
Myles Garrett raised some eyebrows and ruffled some feathers with his tough talk on the Browns’ points-challenge offense over the past week, but the team rallied around his remarks on Sunday and pulled together to blow out the Dolphins 31-6 to improve to 2-5.
It started after the Browns’ 23-9 loss last week in Pittsburgh, when Garrett said he was “frustrated as hell” by losing the same way every week, meaning a lack of scoring.
He doubled-down on that frustration during his weekly availability on Friday, adding that he wished the Browns would’ve run Quinshon Judkins more, “but they saw it differently.” Judkins ran only 12 times for 36 yards, including six times for 12 yards in the first half when the Browns trailed only 9-0 for most of it.
It’s the kind of dirty laundry that teams don’t like aired outside team walls, and Kevin Stefanski indicated he talked to Garrett about it.
“I won’t get into any conversations I have with our players,” Stefanski said after the game. “And we all want to just continue to work and obviously that’s what we’ll do.”
Garrett, who snapped his three-game sackless streak and watched Browns defenders pick off Tua Tagovailoa three times didn’t apologize for his remarks. He had also urged defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on Friday to free him up more to get sacks, saying “offenses’ sole game plan for the most part is how to stop 95 and we have to do something to change that, make adjustments to get me matchups just like other edge rushers around the league so that I can have the same kind of effect. I feel like I’m that kind of player.”
After the Browns’ rout of the now 1-6 Dolphins, Garrett explained why he piped up after the Browns fell to 1-5 last week.
“I’m always going to tell it how it is,” Garrett said. “That’s just my nature. I’m going to shoot you straight and I have no problem saying what I say to them up here and vice versa. So I’m not trying to say anything to disparage anybody or try to get anybody either removed from their position or anything like that.
“I want everybody here to be a benefactor to our success. So it all came together today and I hope we continue to rally around everything that we’ve been talking about and I’ve been talking about.”
With many fans and sports talk radio hosts calling for Stefanski’s job heading into the Dolphins game, some interpreted Garrett’s remarks as anti-coach. Not so. He was calling things out to wake up a team that was in the doldrums and he felt needed a jolt. Fortunately for him, every phase of the game backed him up.
“Yeah, I mean, rallied and we got a win in a fashion which we can appreciate, but that’s not enough and we’ve got to continue to do that,” he said. “One win is one thing, but we’ve got to turn this into a habit, an addiction. It’s got to be an obsession to win and win like this. And so we’ve got to keep on chasing that feeling.”
With Garrett vowing before the season to lead the team to the Super Bowl, he’ll always feel compelled to speak up when he feels it’s necessary. He demanded a trade in the offseason to try to win a Super Bowl elsewhere, and won’t settle for anything less than a championship effort on the part of everyone. He’s also studied great players such as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, and learned from them to take matters into his own hands when he sees fit.
“The football team is a mirror of our leaders and one way or another from players to coaches and that kind of grit and that kind of resilience, that comes from us, but it’s got to continue to go around the entire chain,” he said. “We’re only as strong as the weakest link and we’ve got to make everyone feel like we can bounce back from this and we can still achieve the things we want to. Because we dug ourselves a little hole, but we can get ourselves out of it. We’ve got to do it together.”
Whether or not he spoke directly to Schwartz about making changes defensively, he felt that the 2023 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year and leader of the No. 1 defense that season got back to his roots on Sunday.
“Yeah, I mean we took some risks and we sent some guys, sent the corners, sent the safety and that’s the Jim I know,” Garrett said. “That’s the aggresse in-your-face defense that we’ve been known for, and I like getting back to who we are and I think what we did today, we can continue to do all year. But we have to be willing to stick to who we are and our identity.”
Garrett had admitted after the Steelers game that the losing was taking a toll on him the same way it did Hall of Famer Joe Thomas in his latter years here. Fortunately for him and others, they were able to harness that feeling and take it out on the struggling Dolphins, holding them out of the end zone. Heading in, the Dolphins had scored 27 points in three of their last five games.
“It can be a spark as much as we want it to,” Garrett said. “Hopefully we’ve gotten so tired of the losses and tired of the pain that comes with them that we’re ready to inflict it on somebody else. You’ve got to learn to use that pain, use that drive. It can’t just become acceptable to have those feelings. Right now, it was a good response that we have, but it’s got to continue.”
Garrett was happy to see the Browns ride Judkins to victory, with 25 carries for 84 yards and three touchdowns, including two off direct snaps out of a wild cat formation. Some of that was because of the driving rain and high winds, but the Browns learned the hard way last week that rookie Dillon Gabriel throwing the ball 52 times isn’t wise. Granted, the Browns got 21 of their 31 points off turnovers, but it was something for the offense to build on.
“He runs hard,” Garrett said. “He’s dynamic. I mean spinning off that tackle that most guys would’ve went down clean on. That just shows how special he is as a runner and the other guys getting burned as well. And Jerome (Ford) and Dylan (Sampson) coming in and making some big plays for us. All of them are going to be crucial down this stretch to keep on picking up wind. So I’m proud of all of them.”
He was also happy for safety Grant Delpit and cornerback Tyson Campbell, who both had monster games. Delpit, blitzing more than usual, forced the fumble on the kickoff return that led to a touchdown, and hit Tua Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter to cause the pick by Rayshawn Jenkins. He also notched a sack on a field goal drive.
“(Delpit) was (expletives) to the wall,” Garrett said. “He was flying around the field, whether it was run or pass, he was making somebody feel him that he was trying to inflict some pain. And I love that kind of impose your will mentality. I see it a lot in myself, but also the guys up front. “
Campbell, acquired two weeks ago in a trade with the Jaguars for cornerback Greg Newsome II, saved two touchdowns and scored one on a pick-6.
“I told him that’s a hell of a way to introduce yourself to the team,” Garrett said. “You don’t let one game, one play to define you. And so bouncing back like that, getting a huge play for us, that really cracked the game open and I think he’s going to continue to play at a very high level and that’s a hell of a confidence booster.”
Despite the joy in Mudville, Garrett preached perspective. The Browns have a big game in New England coming up, and need to stack some wins if they want to stay relevant.
“It’s what I expect,” he said. “I can’t say I’m excited and encouraged. This is the standard and I’m not expecting anything else. So I want our guys to look at this film and don’t be too high on it. Don’t be too low on it, but learn from it. See how we can do this every week if we want to. Just stick to the plan.”
Superman has spoken, and will keep it up when he sees fit.
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