Every coach is going to beat the drum for their players. While it might not be in the job description, it comes with the territory. You want to see your guys recognized for the work that you know they put in. The only problem is nobody has to agree with you, or the way you choose to frame it.
Like when Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski recently went hyperbolic in touting DE Myles Garrett. In the midst of answering a question about being frustrated over a lack of holding calls, he took the opportunity to, in his own words, “get on the soapbox”.
“He’s the best player on the best defense in the league right now”, he said. “He’s dominant as a defensive player, so he’s the defensive player of the year. I don’t think it’s close”. He added that the football culture gets too wrapped up in sacks alone. “I don’t know that there’s anybody in the same realm as him”.
Let’s just start with the obvious. It’s absurd for a Cleveland Browns head coach who plays in the same division as the Pittsburgh Steelers to say that he doesn’t think there’s anybody in the same realm as one of his players. He faces OLB T.J. Watt twice a year.
He’s personally watched Watt lead the league in sacks every year he’s been healthy since he took over the job in Cleveland. He’s watched Watt raise the Defensive Player of the Year Award. He’s seen Watt sack his quarterbacks eight times.
And that’s not even talking about all of the other incredible defenders around the league right now like Micah Parsons, Aaron Donald, Maxx Crosby, Danielle Hunter, Roquan Smith, or acknowledging a standout season like DaRon Bland and his five pick-sixes.
Of course there’s a valid argument to be made that Garrett is the best defender in football and better than Watt. I’m not going to make it, but I certainly would expect the head coach of the Browns to. What I wouldn’t expect is to hear him say he doesn’t know of anybody else in the same realm.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin recently called Watt the best defensive player on the planet. But he didn’t say that nobody else was even close. Maybe Stefanski is trying to pound the table extra hard for his guy to get his Defensive Player of the Year Award at a time that he’s not producing.
You see, Garrett hasn’t registered a sack in his past four games. He has six tackles in that span, with one pass defensed. According to Pro Football Reference, he only has three quarterback hits during that four-game run as well.
On the season, Garrett has 13 sacks to Watt’s 16, 26 hits to 29, 36 tackles to 55, 14 tackles for loss to 16, 4 forced fumbles to 3, 1 recovery to 3, 0 interceptions to 1, and 3 passes defensed to 7. Both have one defensive touchdown. The only statistic in which he is advantaged is one more forced fumble. But he has one takeaway to Watt’s four. Watt has played about 15 percent more snaps, though.
Do we make too much of statistics, frequently? Of course we do. It’s a lot faster than watching tape, and unless you’re paid professionally to watch everybody, no amateur fan is going to have the time or resources to dedicate to breaking down everybody’s film, let alone actually understanding what they’re seeing.
But I think we can see enough on our own to say Stefanski’s hyperbole was absurd.
