The Cleveland Browns are set to go on the road to play the New England Patriots in Week 8, and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel made a surprising admission.
Despite the Browns being 2-5 on the year, Vrabel believes Cleveland’s defense is the best New England will play.
“Yeah, I mean, just statistically and play style, they’re playing at a high level,” Vrabel said on Wednesday. “There’s quite a lot of confidence. It’s a lot of speed, a lot of disruption. They don’t give you a lot of time to make decisions, and then there’s enough change-ups in there. You just have to be good, you have to be sound, and you can’t hold onto the ball.”
Cleveland’s defense forced Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to throw three interceptions in their Week 7 blowout win. So, Vrabel knows the offense, and Drake Maye will have to be well prepared to face the Browns’ defense.
Patriots Coach Continues to Praise Browns Defense
After calling the Browns the best defense the Patriots have faced this season, Vrabel continued the praise.
The Patriots’ head coach believes their speed and ability to get after the quarterback and force turnovers.
“Well, they’re fast, they’re disruptive. They put pressure on the quarterback. And they do it through their players and their identity,” Vrabel said. “They understand what they want to do and how they want to play. They want to force you into mistakes if you give up loose plays or guys get on the edge of somebody.
“You’ve got an elite edge rusher on the outside, and if you can’t step up it’s going to be hard to protect. And then the corners are going to be sticky, the linebackers all can run, safeties are very good tacklers. And that’s the thing that I’ve noticed, is that if a ball breaks, eight yards is a really long run against this team because the safeties are such good tacklers – Grant [Delpit] and Ronnie [Hickman].”
The Browns’ defense is allowing 21.7 points per game, while averaging 2.57 sacks per game and five total interceptions.
Kevin Stefanski Reveals Message to Defense
After a dominant performance from the Browns’ defense, head coach Kevin Stefanski sent a clear message to the team.
Stefanski knows the defense has been solid all season long, and he sent a message to his defense.
“I think, obviously you score 21 points off of four takeaways, that’s a great recipe for success,” Stefanski said. “I think a big message for our defense, and I’m sure most defenses, is ‘do your job’. And you don’t go looking for an interception, or you use your technique when you’re tackling and the second guy in punches out.
“So, doing your job, the ball, you’ll be in position to make plays on the ball. And sometimes you have to wait for those opportunities to come, but you don’t go outside the framework of your defense.”
Stefanski is impressed with the defense and believes there is a lot to build off of after their performance against Miami.
The Browns are seven-point underdogs against the Patriots on Sunday.
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