WR Jarvis Landry (12.11.20)
WR Jarvis Landry:
On if there is something about Head Coach Kevin Stefanski’s leadership that makes him unique:
“He is all about the details. He is all about the details. He is all about winning and doing whatever it takes. Even from his first press conference and still his mantra today is ‘We have to put the work in. We have to work.’ That has just been the motto that we have been coming out here and practicing with and playing with each and every Sunday. That is one thing I will give him. He is a man of his words, and he is doing whatever it takes to win.”
On how the Browns have grown since Week 1:
“If you go back to when the season first, obviously, they deserve the credit, but in a lot of ways, we did a lot of things that cost us the game from turnovers to penalties, and we went for it on our first punt [with a failed] fake punt. We gave them more chances than we should have. As the year went on, I think we have grown past those points. We [have] 20 takeaways from the defensive standpoint, and I do not think we have turned the ball over [more than once] in the last five or six weeks so that is high priority for us. We want to keep it that way.”
On what has allowed QB Baker Mayfield to put good games together, including the Titans game:
“He just keeps going. He just keeps going. He just keeps coming to work to try to get better. He keeps challenging himself and challenging us on the outside. We are finding ways to do different things and also get good at things that we want to do game in and game out. For us, the more time that we are continuing to spend together, the better we are getting. Again, I will keep on saying it, the best football that we have to play is ahead of us. That starts with coming out here working on this practice field each and every day.”
On if the Ravens set of CBs are the best the Browns will see this year:
“Those guys are very talented. They are both from a standpoint of being ball hawks as far as getting the ball out, whether it is catching interceptions or when they are going in to tackle of making sure that they are stripping the ball out or punching it out. They do a very great job of that. Obviously, their coverage skills speak for itself. We are excited about the matchup and the challenge.”
On how the Ravens CBs make it tough for WRs on the outside:
“They grab a lot. They grab a lot. They are going to play physical. They are going to force the referees to be a part of the game. That is something from a receiver standpoint that we can’t allow so we have to find a way to create space and make tough catches and obviously make the easy ones when they are there, as well, and break a couple of tackles. I think that is how our yards and our big plays will come.”
On what gives him confidence that the Browns are ready for back-to-back primetime games:
“I think the priority and the urgency of winning and doing everything that it takes throughout the week to make sure that that is possible. Every guy, obviously, again, looking themselves in the mirror and understanding what we have to correct and what we have to do offensively, defensively and on special teams. Again, coming out here on this practice field and making sure that we can practice at a high level. That way, when we go out there to play, we play at a high level.”
On if Mayfield is putting him in a position to win and make plays and if Stefanski is finding plays that work well for him, given WR Rashard Higgins’ recent comments:
“Yeah, I think it is all about trust. For us, too, time builds that trust. I keep going back to practice because I feel like that is where it all starts. Having an opportunity to show and win the right to have that opportunity in the game, that is something that is very huge. Coach Stefanski obviously sees it and does amazing things for our quarterback and does amazing things for our offense as a whole. When you go back to look at it, it is just how you drew it up, and then Baker makes the throw and the receiver makes the catch. That is how it goes. It is a process, but it is something that I think we are figuring out.”
On how Mayfield has handled and responded to public doubt and criticism this season:
“For me just watching him, I think he just stuck to the script. I think he understood that regardless of what was happening, wins or losses, that it also reflects on him and how he plays. I think that for him he has been one of the hardest workers since I have gotten here. He is not content with what he has done, what he has done in the past or anything like that. That is always something that is encouraging to see from a guy who has had success and is still on the younger side of players and quarterbacks in this league. It is still encouraging to see and from us from a standpoint of building that trust of just making these plays out here and having an open line of communication on and off the field.”
On if Mayfield is establishing himself as the QB who can take the Browns exactly where they want to go:
“Absolutely.”
On why he says Mayfield is establishing himself as that QB for the Browns:
“A lot of the things that I just stated. It is encouraging to see how he just continues to come out here and work, regardless of what he does in the previous game – water under the bridge. The things that are said about him in the media or whatever it is, whether he takes it personal or not, I know he comes here to work and challenge himself, and it has paid off. Look, we are 9-3, and you could say that I do not think 20 years ago. It says a lot about that man.”
On how much more of the Browns offense’s playbook is available now compared to the beginning of the season, particularly given the virtual offseason program:
“I think it depends on who we are playing that week. Now that there is a lot more film out with us and of other teams, we are able to find ways to put things in and invent things but also have our bread and butter things be designed in the plan, as well. As it unfolds, trust me, there are a lot of play that go in that we are learning now but that are also off of other plays. For us, we just have to go out there and make the plays, the bread and butter plays, and then the ones that we draw up pretty much for that week, those that are big ones that we want to make sure that we hit in a game because they can be game-changers.”
On how much RBs Nick Chubb’s and Kareem Hunt’s chemistry and relationship have impacted the Browns’ success:
“I think personally, that is the character of both of those guys. I think that both of those guys are extremely humbled and obviously, blessed with talent. Again, two of the hardest working guys out here, even though they are sharing reps. At the end of the day, to watch what they can do and how they cheer for each other and mutually respect each other, it is something that you want as a teammate, and that is something that you want to see from your team. It is definitely an uplifting sight.”
On how rare it is to have two players of Chubb’s and Hunt’s caliber to have their mentality and fully accept their roles:
“You do not see it often. You really do not see it often to be honest with you. Again, these guys, they embody who we are as a team. Nick Chubb, a stand-up guy. I do not know if there is a bad done in his body. He is one of the nicest people that I have ever met, and then on Sunday, he turns into a whole different person. The same with Kareem – quiet, soft spoken, but he gets on the field and he is a totally different person. At the end of the day, I think they both understand what they bring to the table and that they are both beneficial. They know that together they can do something special.”
On having 71 games with at least five catches, one game behind Buccaneers WR Antonio Brown and Pro Football Hall of Fame WR Marvin Harrison and approaching Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins:
“Legends. Those guys are guys who I have watched play the game the right way for a long time and that I aspire to have a career similar. It is an honor to hear that. It is an honor to be recognized next to those guys. Those guys are a large part of my inspiration of the receiver that I am and want to become.”
On the pride he takes in being able to consistently produce:
“I have been doing this for so long. A lot of this is who I am. Every time I take the field, I always expect to have a game-changing performance or a performance that will help the team in some type of way. That has just been my mindset and my drive behind why I play, never really for the recognition. I also understood that if you are available to be out there, you can make plays, and if you are not, you can’t. I think that that is a testament to just being available, and then obviously, all the work that I put in out there on the practice field, just growing up or whatever that has allowed me to make those plays.”
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