Sitting Myles Garrett is the right call even if the Cleveland Browns lose

Health should come first for the Cleveland Browns and Myles Garrett.

It’s been a turbulent week for Myles Garrett. He crashed his car while speeding down a two-line side road earlier this week, and suffered some minor but lasting injuries that will keep him out of the matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Garrett has a history of excessive speeding that calls into question his judgment as a driver.

After Henry Ruggs killed a woman last year, no one should ever consider speeding no big deal. As Garrett demonstrated this week, even an alleged 20 miles over the posted speed limit can prove to be dangerous.

Thankfully, Garrett and his passenger are ok, and no one else was injured in the one-car wreck. That’s the most important thing when it’s all said and done. Garrett even, to his credit, spoke out about what a wake-up call this was for him, but only time will tell if he’s able to control his speeds.

Due to the crash, however, Garrett will miss Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons due to his injuries. This is the right call. Even though Garrett’s injuries are minor, and mostly attributed to general soreness, anyone who’s ever been in a car accident can tell you that just because the injuries aren’t serious, doesn’t mean they aren’t painful. Sitting Garrett, especially after the Tua Tagovailoa controversy on Thursday, is the right call.

Player safety and player health should always be the number one issue when injuries and long-term viability are at play.

Joe Woods will have to do something different without Myles Garrett; blitz

As of right now, Jadveon Clowney is expected to miss Sunday’s game but that could certainly change by tomorrow. He’s listed as questionable but is expected to miss the game. Garrett and Clowney may not be the only misses on the defensive front, as Taven Bryan, the team’s best defensive tackle through three games, is also out for the game against the Falcons.

Not only that but Chase Winovich has gone in IR, leaving the Browns very thin at defensive end.

Perrion Winfrey may finally get out of the dog house and get some reps, but after the last few weeks, who knows what the Browns will do with their rookie at defensive tackle?

The Browns will likely roll out a front four of rookie Isiah Thomas, Tommy Togiai, Jordan Elliot, and rookie Alex Wright to start.

The Browns will get back Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah but is also without Anthony Walker on Sunday. Meaning that the team is going to be hurting up front, allowing the Atlanta Falcons to really test the team’s replacements.

To combat all of these injuries, the Browns are going to have to blitz more often. While I can’t find a stat to support this, I would wager that the Browns are the least blitzing team on defense in the league under Joe Woods. That’s going to have to change on Sunday, as the Falcons have a solid offensive line and the Browns have no real pass-rushers to speak off at the moment.

It’s not even about the pass rush either, as the defensive line they have isn’t known for its ability to get depth against the run either, and with how bad Jacob Phillips has been throughout his career, this game could become very ugly. Especially for a defense that has had issues this season when fully healthy.

Blitzing and causing disruptions is the only way this defense will be able to hold off a surging Falcons offense.