Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (6.16.22)
Opening statement:
“Good to see you guys. Great finish to the offseason program. Really appreciate this group and how they worked going back to April 19 in the snow globe, of you remember. The guys have done a really, really nice job. We have taxed them physically, we have taxed them mentally and really, we got a lot done. Are we where we need to be? No, but now is the time where we can take a break, go charge the battery and get ready to roll come July. We were fortunate to have some alumni out here today to visit with us, which we felt was really important. We have talked a lot about our alumni over the course of these weeks so to be able put some faces to the names and introduce the guys to some of these great players was a big deal. We are going to head inside and have a barbeque with the team with some of the alumni in there, as well.”
On CB Denzel Ward’s status:
“No. No update. I do not have enough details to say yet, but we will update you.”
On his final message to the team to close veteran minicamp and the offseason program:
“No. 1 is to be safe. As a coach, you hate when your team is traveling all into the globe and you want everybody to be safe – you want them to have fun, like I mentioned you want them to charge the battery but definitely be safe and make great decisions when they are away from here. Then they have to come back in the best shape of their lives. That is kind of what you have to do every time you are getting ready to start training camp.”
On what the next few weeks will look like for the Browns coaching staff:
“Get away. The coaches do a great job, and they have done a really nice job this offseason. Very pleased with the work that the guys have gotten done. Now is the time to charge the battery, reconnect with the family, go make some visits and those type of things.”
On where he will be vacationing this offseason:
“Location undisclosed so you won’t bother me (laughter).”
On Browns players not inviting him to player-organized workouts potentially meaning he won’t invite the players on his own vacation:
“I am respectful of their time so I will leave them alone.”
On QB Josh Dobbs seeming to be ‘a genius’:
“I do not know what the definition is, but he is pretty darn close. He is a really good guy. Just enjoy being around Josh. He knows a lot about football, and he knows a lot about a lot, also. A really impressive young man.”
On the development of the QB room during the offseason program:
“They came very, very far in the nine weeks that we were together just from an understanding of the scheme, the operation of things, the functioning in and out of the huddle, different snap counts and different concepts. We have thrown a lot at them. We have not held back. They have done a nice job. They worked really hard.”
On what the Browns learned about QB Jacoby Brissett during the offseason program:
“He is a good basketball player – he won our shooting contest down there at the Cavs facility. I learned that. He is a good person. We knew that doing our homework on him. I have just been really impressed with how he prepares and how he operates in practice – he really treats it game-like.”
On Brissett saying he wants to master the offense and if that can be done during the offseason program:
“No, I do not think you can. I think you can introduce it and I think you can get comfortable with it, but we do want to become masters of the offense by the time Week 1 rolls around. It is a process. You can’t just plug something into the back of your head and get it. You have to work at it and spend some time with it.”
On the biggest difference this year compared to the past two offseason programs when COVID-19 protocols were in place:
“The offseason, the way we structured it to make sure that we were safe in everything we did, make sure it was competitive and make sure we had fun. I think the guys had fun. They had fun competing and pushing each other, but I think ultimately we got a lot of work done but we did it in a safe manner.”
On T Jedrick Wills Jr. during the offseason program:
“I think Jed is right where we need him. He has worked extremely hard this offseason. I thought he came back in really, really good shape so it is just a continuation of that work, and I think he will be right where we need him to be.”
On if the process of getting QB Deshaun Watson comfortable within the offense is complete:
“No, I think that is ongoing. Any time you add a player, you study all of their tape and you kind of get a sense for what they are comfortable with, and then you get around the player, you talk through concepts and then you start to adjust. When we start Week 1 to Week 17, the offense evolves. You add plays. There are plays that we have not installed that I am sure that we are going to run next year. It is really just trying to make sure throughout the season that you are constantly searching for unique ways to get a different guy the ball and unique ways on third down to get a first down. That really is always evolving but certainly with the quarterback in what his comfort level is.”
On WR David Bell during the offseason program:
“A very, very diligent worker. Wants to be good at this so you see him working. He is the guy who gets extra. He will be in the facility at all hours working really hard with coach (pass game coordinator/wide receivers coach Chad) O’Shea to refine the game. He is a rookie so he has plenty of room to grow and will have time to do that, but he is doing a nice job. He is working hard.”
On what the Browns learned about WR Amari Cooper during the offseason program:
“I think for anybody that first meets him, Amari’s size. He is a big, physical player – maybe not 6’6” but you see how strong he is. That has been impressive just seeing how he operates on the field. A really impressive worker in the classroom. He is a pro’s pro. I do not think there is anything that we have challenged him with mentally that he does not just get immediately. His intelligence/football intelligence is very impressive.”
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