After years of struggling on the defensive side of the ball, Cleveland experienced a breakthrough with one of the best defenses in the NFL last season.
While the defensive line led the charge, the defensive backfield also ranks as one of the best in the league.
In addition to being some of the strongest defenders in the NFL, Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda wants to see his unit leading the league in another intangible category: passion.
WEWS sports reporter Camryn Justice shared a video on Twitter with Banda explaining the value the coach places on playing passionately on the field.
“Swagger we play with; we want to lead the league in that category, really having (and) playing with passion and making sure fans and people see that,” Banda said.
"You're trying to make each other better. And if you got to talk a little trash along the way, that's fine too."
'Talk a little trash': #Browns fire up competition between offense, defense on final day of minicamp pic.twitter.com/1w7uatV18V
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) June 14, 2024
The defensive backfield does not lack passion.
Later in the video, safety Juan Thornhill noted that in Cleveland’s final minicamp practice, he and other defenders were talking back and forth with their offensive counterparts.
The trash talk was all about firing up his fellow defenders, Thornhill explained.
“I had to flip that switch a little, get the defense going,” Thornhill said in the video.
The result was the defenders keeping the Browns offense out of the end zone in the 7-on-7 drills the teams were conducting.
That’s the effort the Browns coaching staff expects every game.
Earlier this offseason, Cleveland defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz targeted that statistic – improving on the team’s red zone efficiency – as a key category that would take this great defense and make it special.
NEXT: Analyst Praises 1 Browns Defender After Minicamp
