BEREA − The talk about the Browns defense coming into the season was about its experience.
Over and over, it was brought up about how the defense returned nine of 11 starters from last year. The only two starters not back from the Browns' base 4-3 look were at the defensive tackle spots.
Those returnees were promoted as a reason to believe the Browns would have a chance to be a top-10 defense taking a step beyond what they did a year ago. That wasn't just a belief among the media or fans.