Browns $36 Million Defender Takes 2-Word Shot at Derrick Henry
The Cleveland Browns do not fear Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, particularly safety Grant Delpit.
Henry remains one of the best and most ferocious running backs in football at 6-foot-3 and nearly 250 pounds. He’s fresh off a 169-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Buffalo Bills, averaging a whopping 9.8 yards per carry. The only time Henry looked human was when he fumbled in the fourth quarter, which ended up being a significant turning point in the 41-40 loss for the Ravens in an all-time classic matchup.
Henry can often make defenders look silly as they try to take him down. But Delpit is one player who has a highlight reel hit on his resume against Henry. Last year, he walloped Henry on a run and hit the “too small” celebration. Delpit is confident he can continue being a force in stopping the five-time Pro Bowler.
Delpit was asked how hard it is to take down Henry and needed just two words.
“Not hard,” Delpit said on Thursday.
Delpit remained very logical in his assessment of battling against the run-heavy Ravens.
“You’re playing football, man. It’s tackle football,” Delpit said. “Somebody got the ball, you got to bring him down.”
Browns Feel Disrespected by Double-Digit Spread
The Browns head to Baltimore as a double-digit underdog. The Ravens are favored by 12.5 points for the Week 2 matchup, which has added some extra fire to Cleveland’s locker room.
“Yeah, it is definitely disrespect, but we just have to go in there and take care of business regardless of what people may think and who they’ve got winning or losing the game,” Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward said. “We have to go in and try to beat the odds. They put us against the odds, we’ve we got to go in there and try to beat it.”
Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy echoed a similar sentiment.
“That’s disrespectful,” Jeudy said. “But at the end of the day, if they think Baltimore could beat us like that, we’re going have to prove another thing. We’ve got to do our job and do our best to win the game.”
Browns QB Joe Flacco Excited for Return to Baltimore
The game will also mark the first return for quarterback Joe Flacco to Baltimore, where he spent the better part of 11 seasons as the starting quarterback.
“We were on good terms when I left,” Flacco said. “But at the same time, you know, it’s natural to feel a certain way when you’re going against a team that you’re not playing for anymore. I’ve been a part of other players that do that and you kind of try to act normal, but it is a big deal. You do want to go beat them, and it’s a little bit of a difference.”
Flacco, 40, won the starting job in camp with the Browns. It’s his second stint in Cleveland. He helped lead the team to the playoffs in 2023, going 4-1 as the starter and winning Comeback Player of the Year.
Flacco and the Browns will have to be prepared for a fired-up Ravens team eager to get their season on track after Week 1’s crushing defeat.
Raiders can't continue to ignore the rise of an unlikely rookie
The Las Vegas Raiders are embarking upon a new era, so things have looked a bit different at the team facility this offseason. Not only is the culture being shifted under new head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek, but the physical makeup of the team is as well.
Carroll and Spytek both love big, long, fast and physical players. While this sounds like something every NFL leadership tandem wants on their team, the new regime in Las Vegas is actually instituting it and practicing what they preach.
It was evident that they wanted a certain kind of player this offseason, and to make matters better, they stopped at nothing to acquire them. They even signed Laki Tasi, a 6-foot-6 and 373-pound lineman from Australia, by way of the International Player Pathway.
OL Laki Tasi shining for Raiders from the International Player Pathway
Tasi, a former rugby player, came in as a projected defensive tackle. It did not take long, however, for the staff in Las Vegas to realize that he was better suited as an interior offensive lineman. This did not make much of a difference to Tasi, who played in his first-ever football game last Thursday.
He played just 13 snaps for the Raiders against the Seattle Seahawks in the preseason matchup, but he was the highest-graded player on the Las Vegas offense, by a solid margin, according to Pro Football Focus. Tasi recorded a grade of 84.6 and had a nasty pancake block to pair with it.
This is not bad for a player who, on Wednesday, told reporters at the Raiders' facility that when he came into the building, his football knowledge was around a one or a two on a scale of one to 10. Now, however, despite acknowledging where he needs to still improve, he feels he's at a 7 now.
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It should help, also, that Tasi is idolizing a player who went through a similar adjustment and was able to develop into one of the league's best. He also told reporters on Wednesday that his biggest inspiration is Jordan Mailata, an Australian-born rugby player-turned-All-Pro-lineman for the Eagles.
With Alex Cappa out due to injury, Dylan Parham being a free agent next offseason, and the new regime seemingly not sold on Jackson Powers-Johnson, there is plenty of runway for Tasi to develop into a force at the NFL level.
Tasi's rise has been remarkable, and it should give Raider Nation hope that he is truly just starting on his journey. This cannot be ignored by Carroll and the rest of the staff, as he may be an integral part of the team's future and cannot be treated like just another end-of-roster player.
