The Browns may have had more bark than bite to them over the last year, but that isn't stopping them from exercising their vocal cords ahead of their Week 2 meeting with the Ravens.
Jerry Jeudy commenced the tough talk Wednesday when he was asked how the Ravens secondary will challenge the Browns and replied succinctly, "No challenges." A day later, safety Grant Delpit turned up the dial a few notches when asked if it's difficult to bring down hulking running back Derrick Henry, who is coming off a 169-yard, two-touchdown showing in Week 1.
"Not hard," Delpit said with a grin.
"We're playing football, man. It's tackle football. Somebody got the ball, you gotta bring him down."
Delpit and the Browns have a year's worth of experience facing Henry and the Ravens offense, and the team's social media account was quick to support Delpit's claim with a clip of him sending Henry to the turf with a stiff shoulder blow during their Week 8 meeting last year, in which Henry finished with 73 yards and a rushing score on 11 attempts in the 29-24 loss to Cleveland.
Still, the bold claims -- however concise they may be -- come with a requirement to back up the talk on Sunday. Limiting Baltimore's offense, the NFL's most prolific last season, is a tall task for any defense and evidently a challenge the Browns are embracing with gusto as they prepare for their trip to Baltimore.
Cleveland has reason to feel confident. The Browns stifled the Bengals' explosive offense in their narrow Week 1 loss, limiting Cincinnati to 141 total yards, including 7 net yards in the second half.
That side of their Week 1 showing is what is propping up the Browns' reputation after falling 17-16, and the lone source of confidence. As their tone suggested this week, it seems to be enough to make them walk through the week with their chests puffed out and heads held high.
We'll see if the same is true after 60 minutes of football on Sunday.
