With every "Classic Jurassic Meat-Eater Matchup" there is repetition. That's because the best matchups are often the same, year in and year out, particularly in division play.
For several years now, the better matchups have most often involved the left tackle of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dan Moore Jr.
One reason is that the better edge rusher normally comes from the blind side of the quarterback. Which is why good left tackles are in such high demand. It's the hot spot of pass rushing.
And the other reason is that the AFC North has some serious edge rushers, most notably the Steelers edge rushing trifecta of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig. Add in the Browns' Myles Garrett, Cinci's Trey Hendrickson and the Ravens' Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy and you have some serious meat-eaters.
Garrett has been and probably will be a featured meat-eater as long as he's in the AFC North.
He's that good.
And aside from his own edge rushing teammates, Moore has battled them all and has grown leaps and bounds at the position. He's been the rock of that offensive line.
Last time out, Garrett had a good night. Bully for him. But that is not the norm. Dan has more than stood the test of time in his battles with Garrett and all the other AFC North marauders.
Yes, Garrett is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year — though, I have my own opinion on that. He most definitely is worthy of high acclaim, and they don't just hand those trophies out for no reason.
Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 272-pounds, Garrett is a powerful athlete, one whose athletic abilities are normally found in smaller players. When you watch Garrett play, he moves smoothly like a predator on the hunt.
Garrett is capable of winning any which way as a pass rusher. He has the twitchy burst to run the arc and the four-wheel drive to come down the middle of the biggest offensive tackles and deposit them in the lap of the QB.
Blessed with an ability to bend at the knees and drop his hips while rushing at full speed, Garrett can leverage his reported 272-pounds into a force multiplier, making him seem much heavier.
Though he will line up over a number of positions, he will normally be found rushing from the defense' right side. Taking a wide-9 position, with a low, front-heavy, four-point sprinter stance set up outside the tackle's outside shoulder, Garrett has an excellent first step and every step after that.
Garrett will swim with an arm-over and uppercut with power.
Most often, teams will try to neutralize Garrett with having a running back chip or take a chunk out of him while he rushes before he gets to the tackle. If they don't do that, they will line a tight end up outside of the tackle to double team, or at least chip. Then the tight end might slide out on a delay route.
Garrett comes into the game sporting 10 sacks and 32 tackles. Three of those sacks came two weeks ago against the Steelers, two coming against Moore. This is what happens when big-time players meet up.
Back in the day, as the late, great Mike Webster once noted, as we both stood over our quarterback in a post-pass attempt that ended in a sack, (and yes, it was against the Browns), "You'll have that on big jobs like these."
It certainly doesn't always go your way. An offensive lineman is always on the hot seat. Whether it's run blocking or pass protection, you will win some and, especially with players like Garrett, they will win some. The idea is to win more than they do.
And Dan Moore has done a LOT of winning this year.
This is what football in the trenches is all about. It will be an epic battle, a battle of "meat-eaters." And for the Steelers to be successful against the Browns, neutralizing Garrett is a huge part of getting the "W."
