The Cleveland Browns have no problems talking trash ahead of Sunday's game at M&T Bank Stadium and Derrick Henry has taken notice.
On Wednesday, Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy said the Ravens secondary poses "no challenge."
On Thursday, Browns safety Grant Delpit said it's "not hard" to tackle Derrick Henry.
Henry saw the comment, which is making the rounds on social media, and had a less boastful response.
"His coach had a quote. He had a quote," Henry said. "We'll see on Sunday."
Henry is coming off a dominant Week 1 performance in Buffalo in which he ran for 169 yards and two touchdowns.
In his two games against the Browns and Delpit last season, Henry ran for 73 yards and a touchdown in the first and 138 yards and two touchdowns in the second. Delpit did get one good hit on Henry last season (at the end of a 9-yard run), which the Browns' social media team highlighted Thursday.
Coming off a game they could have won versus the rival Bengals to open the season, the Browns are entering M&T Bank Stadium with some swagger, looking to send the Ravens to 0-2 and spoil their 30th anniversary celebration.
Safety Kyle Hamilton doesn't believe the bulletin board material makes a difference come Sunday – at least not for him.
"I really don't care," Hamilton said. "Was I not going to play hard before he said that? I'm going to play the same way I was going to play."
Zach Orr Says Ravens Defense Wore Down vs. Bills
The Ravens gave up 22 points in the fourth quarter in Week 1 as the Bills' offense went for a touchdown, touchdown, and field goal on its final three drives.
It looked like Baltimore's defense was fatigued, and Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr concurred, saying "the well broke" for his unit.
"We're not here to make excuses, we've got to be better," Orr said.
Orr pointed out that Baltimore's defense played 87 snaps against Buffalo, including 37 in the fourth quarter when the Ravens were unable to get stops on third and fourth down.
"In the fourth quarter, to our own undoing, we were out there for a long time, and we mentally and physically got worn out, which is tough to say, but that's the truth," Orr said. "The main thing is to get off the field."
Orr delivered a pointed message this week that players not doing the right things would not see playing time. The Ravens made sweeping midseason adjustments last season that turned around the defense. They aren't hesitating in their response this year.
"We've been through it and we don't want to go through it again," safety Kyle Hamilton said. "It's kind of a snap back into it before it gets out of hand. We don't have a conversation like we did last year, like, 'Week 11 and on the Ravens were good on defense.' We want it to be like Week 2 and on. It's now or never for us."
Hamilton didn't agree with Marlon Humphrey’s portrayal that the Ravens lacked maturity in Buffalo. Hamilton said it was more that they were "lackadaisical" with the little things late in the game.
Todd Monken Wants Ravens to Improve in Red Zone
The Ravens scored a touchdown on just one of their three red zone trips in Week 1 and went in reverse on two of those drives.
On their opening march, the Ravens had third-and-2 from Buffalo's 12-yard line, when Roger Rosengarten was penalized five yards for a false start and Lamar Jackson was sacked for a 15-yard loss on third down. That forced Tyler Loop to make a 52-yard field goal for Baltimore's first points.
With 1:46 left before halftime, Baltimore had first-and-10 at Buffalo's 17-yard line. The Ravens could've driven for a touchdown and burned off most of the remaining clock. Instead, Justice Hill lost 15 yards on the next play after fumbling and scrambling behind the line of scrimmage to recover the ball. The Ravens settled for another Loop field goal and left enough time on the clock for Buffalo to answer with its own field goal just before halftime.
Those red zone mishaps proved costly during a 41-40 defeat. Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken wants Baltimore to be much more efficient in the red zone against the Browns in Week 2.
"We got in the red zone and we made lost-yardage plays," Monken said. "We had the fumble just before half. It went from possible touchdown, to now we have to get a field goal, and then they got a field goal coming back. Those were the things we have to improve on. Wwhen you get in the red zone you can't go backwards."
