THORNHILL ASKING FOR POSITIVE PASSION

Safety joining revamped defense after Super Bowl stint with Chiefs

It did not take long for Juan Thornhill to be reminded he wasn’t in Kansas City anymore, and not just because there are fewer barbecue restaurants in Cleveland.

Thornhill used free agency to sign a three-year contract with the Browns in March after playing four seasons with the Chiefs. Those Kansas City teams won the AFC West all four years, were 5214 over the span and won two Super Bowls.

The Browns haven’t won a division title since 1989 when they were in the AFC Central. The Chiefs won as many playoff games last season (three) as the Browns have in the last 34 years combined.

Thornhill scrolled through Twitter upon joining his new team and discovered Browns fans, scarred by the past, are loyal but skeptical. He wants to turn frowns upside down.

“My tweets aren’t really anything negative,” Thornhill said May 24 after OTA practice in Berea. “In Kansas City, those fans there, I wouldn’t say they were too cocky. They were just like, ‘We’re going to win this week.’ And the players can feel that. When you walk into the stadium, you know that you’re going to win and everyone is behind you.

“You don’t want to be walking around with fans saying, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to win or not. I hope we win this year.’ We don’t want to see that as a team. We want those guys to be behind us, pushing us every day. Once you have your fans backing you up, they make us want to play harder for you, as fans.”

Thornhill is a key part of the defensive overhaul made in the offseason, as is the addition of defensive ends Za’Darius Smith and Obo Okoronkwo, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, signing safety Rodney McLeod and drafting defensive tackle Siaki Aki. Thornhill

TIM PHILLIS — FOR THE NEWS-HERALD Safety Juan Thornhill joined the Browns after winning two Super Bowls with the Chiefs.