Todd Monken had a simple message for the Browns this week: enough talking, time to prove it.
After Cleveland came into Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with plenty of noise around it, the Browns didn’t back any of it up once the ball was kicked off. Veteran defensive end Jared Verse was especially vocal leading into the Week 8 matchup, saying he wasn’t worried about Pittsburgh. Then the game happened, and Cleveland went quiet.
That’s why Monken’s comments this week landed the way they did. Speaking to the media, the Browns head coach made it clear that words don’t carry much weight unless the play does the talking.
"You are how you play, not how you talk," Monken said. "That was the message all week.
It’ll continue to be our message each week. Speak with your play.
I’ll leave it at that."
Given Monken’s style, it’s easy to imagine that message was even sharper behind closed doors. The point was straightforward: if the Browns want to make noise, they have to do it on the field.
Sunday made that lesson hard to miss. Verse, who did most of the talking, finished with just one tackle. He also found himself on the wrong end of an illegal but embarrassing play when a Steelers lineman slammed him to the ground.
The bigger problem for Cleveland was the way the whole game played out. Pittsburgh was better and more physical, and the Browns ended up looking like a team that had done more talking than playing.
Monken, to be fair, probably doesn’t mind a little trash talk. He’s not exactly shy himself. What he can’t accept is a team that opens its mouth before it’s ready to handle the response.
That’s where Cleveland fell short. The Browns talked first and backed it up never.
Now they have to live with it and adjust. Trash talk is part of the game.
But if you’re going to do it, you’d better be ready to stand on it.
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