Shaquill Griffin claims he “knew” what Browns were going to run

Another week, another opponent coming up with a dubious tale following a loss by the Cleveland Browns.

A week after San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman entertained a gullible media with a story about Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield disrespecting Sherman during the pregame coin toss, it was Seattle Seahawks defensive back Shaquill Griffin’s turn to spin a yarn.

On Thursday, Griffin told Joe Fann of Yahoo Sports that he knew what the Browns were going to run on offense during Cleveland’s 32-28 loss to Seattle:

“I’ve been going with my gut feeling this whole year, and my gut’s been right. With that team, it was pretty simple. I thought they were going to change it up on us, but they didn’t. I think I was calling out plays really that whole game. Their tendencies were the same.”

Griffin highlighted one play in particular - the interception by defensive back Tedric Thompson in the end zone on a pass intended for wide receiver Jarvis Landry right before halftime:

“I remember the way he lined up – his actual split kind of gave up what he was going to do – or at least I felt he was going to do that. He was tight to the numbers. You’ll see prior to the play I was telling Ted(ric) that he was running that route. I was telling Ted, ‘He’s coming this side, he’s coming this side. Right to you, right to you.’

”I broke as soon as he broke and went inside. I told myself to undercut (the pass) and try to go get it myself. It popped into the air, and Ted, knowing it was coming to him already, he knew just to be there in the area.”

It was a nice play by Tedric, and it is not uncommon for teams to pick up on tendencies, but there was still an element of luck to the interception. If the ball had been knocked down, for example, then would have been no interception by Tedric and no opportunity gor Griffin to crow about it.

It is also interesting that Griffin is boasting about knowing the Browns play following a game when Cleveland scored 28 points, averaged almost seven yards per play and totaled 406 yards of offense, while leaving more points on the field thanks to four turnovers and the assistance of the game officials.

Candidly, Sherman appears to be a better story teller than Griffin.