Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (8.23.22)
On a Browns player who has been ‘under the radar’ and has impressed him with their improvement over the past few weeks:
“Knowing me, you know I am probably not going to single anybody out. I would just tell you the rookies as a class, I think they have definitely made strides. You have seen it in the games, which is always important when they take the practice field to the game. I think that has been great. Plenty of room to grow for those guys, making mistakes which you expect to see, but always good to see a rookie class get some game action in these preseason games.”
On P Corey Bojorquez’s leg strength and how that can help the Browns this season:
“You want your punter to be a weapon. Corey is somebody who we were excited about when we went out and got him to be able to use him in some plus-50 situations, especially pin a defense down. We almost had an opportunity to do that in the last game. Then that ability to hold and that battery between (LS) Charley (Hughlett), Corey and (K) Cade (York) is important.”
On DE Myles Garrett’s remarks about DT Jordan Elliott’s improvement:
“We have talked about Jordan – he is walking by right now – quite a bit. It goes back to the spring. I think he committed himself to physically getting bigger and stronger and being a pro at this, and he has done it. He is a young man who is I think maturing, and his game has come along, as well.”
On Garrett sharing some of the ‘little’ things he has changed this offseason to prepare for the season:
“When you see Myles at practice, for the offensive staff, they do not love having Myles out there because he can ruin a practice pretty quickly just because he is so physically gifted. Now having said that, I know (defensive line) Coach (Chris) Kiff (Kiffin) and I think Myles would also say he does have room to grow. There are areas of his game that he wants to get better, and I know Kiff and he have talked about that and have worked at. The mental side of that, I think every player has room to improve and every coach has room to improve when it comes to that area.”
On how young Browns WRs have handled the ups and downs of training camp and the preseason:
“It is a young room in there, and I think (pass game coordinator/wide receivers) Coach (Chad) O’Shea has done a really nice job with those guys, understanding how to be a pro and how to study and those type of things. There are good days and there are bad days, and the big thing for receivers is you have to move on. You have to move on from one play to the next.”
On LB Tony Fields II:
“Tony has done a nice job. He played a lot of football for us last season on special teams and that will continue to be an area where he can make a big impact on Sundays. He has gotten a ton of reps at linebacker, and we may be counting on him at certain points this season. He is trying to put it all together, but it is just a matter of stacking reps for Tony.”
On how the Browns target areas for improvement in practice that are identified both individually and as a team:
“It is a good question. For all of these guys, you want to come out onto the practice field with something to improve. Sometimes you make them write it down, ‘What do you want to get better at today?’ Sometimes you have an opportunity to do that during an individual period right away. Sometimes that is for after practice where you are working maybe by yourself or maybe one other player. You do want them to walk on this field thinking that there is an area, a very specific area that they need to improve.”
On if there is less time during the regular season or a regular-season-like week for younger Browns players to improve, given the focus on the game week and gameplan:
“To your point, we are handing them a gameplan, and we are trying to test them so we are giving them a lot today and tomorrow. We want them to ‘Alright, here is a gameplan. I have to study this, I have to know this and then I am going to pour it out after this week.’ We are going to challenge them. We are putting in a lot of scheme this week that we may not necessarily run in the game, but I want to challenge them mentally. Having said all of that, you still have opportunities out here in individual period and after practice to hone in on your skills. I do not think you ever go a day without working your fundamentals in this game.”
On T Hjalte Froholdt:
“Hjalte is very, very strong. He plays really physical. An intelligent player. Has played in a bunch of different schemes. He has done a nice job.”
On if he has ever been to Froholdt’s native country of Denmark:
“I have not. It is on my list, though.”
On the impressiveness of Froholdt committing his life to football by relocating to the United States to play:
“He has an amazing story. I know this, his teammates really like him. He works extremely hard.”
On if the Browns will have joint practices next in Denmark, asked in jest:
“Let’s go – joint practices in Denmark (laughter).”
On challenging Browns players in practice this week and what the coaches are looking for most during practice, including if the team is fine-tuning things at this point of preseason:
“I think you are [fine-tunning things]. At this point in camp, you are into the third preseason game so you are starting to streamline into what you may be doing in Week 1. We are not a team and most teams do not show you much in the preseason so we won’t show much in those games, but here out at practice, we are going to try some different things, move guys around the formation and use different defenses and offenses that we want to get reps on and feel comfortable then taking it into the season.”
On how much these next few practices will impact the decision for playing time on Saturday:
“I do not think the practices themselves will have much of an impact on that. That is something that I really just started talking to the coaches about. Once we make a decision, I will talk to the team about it. These practices are more just a matter of getting good work in.”
On if QB Deshaun Watson will now only work to the side of practice or if Watson will continue to take reps with the team:
“He will still take reps. It may be more in show-team type looks, going against our defense in carded-type periods. Everything that Deshaun does out here on the practice field when it comes to individual, show-team reps, post-practice work and off to the side work, I think it all adds up.”
On if he expects CB Greg Newsome II to return to practice soon:
“I do.”
On if Newsome will return to practice today:
“Getting close.”
On if DE Isaiah Thomas was able to go to Tulsa for the birth of his daughter:
“He was there for the baby. Yes, he was. He had to be.”
On if Thomas has returned to the team following the birth of his daughter:
“I think he is coming back tonight.”
On his philosophy and approach of allowing Browns players to be away from the facility to attend to family matters, including Garrett and Thomas:
“I do not know necessarily that it is my philosophy. I just think we are all human. All of us have things going on outside of these walls and in our personal lives. I just want to make sure that we are here to support our guys.”
On if Browns coaches discuss aspects of preseason games with opposing coaches:
“I talk to the coaches every week. I talked to (Bears Head) Coach (Matt) Eberflus yesterday. Really, you are trying to make sure that both sides can get work done, but you do not want to surprise anybody. In the last game, we were not going to go into goal-line personnel. Really any preseason game, you are not going to get into goal-line personnel and you are not going to zero-blitz the other team. Those are some of the rules of engagement in the preseason just to make sure you are getting solid work done, and you are really working together in that regard.”
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