HC Freddie Kitchens (8.10.19)
Head Coach Freddie Kitchens:
On Ks Austin Seibert and Greg Joseph having good practices:
“Yeah, I thought they did well. They had to come back, and it is just consistency with those guys, too. Like I said the other night, I just want it through the uprights. That is all.”
On if today was the first time QB Drew Stanton took snaps with the first time offense:
“It may have been. Just different combinations and always preparing for things with receivers more than anything. It is not a big deal. (QB) Baker (Mayfield) was throwing a bunch of balls earlier in practice. He just had to even it up some. We still have a month to go in training camp.”
On RB Kareem Hunt progressing and getting more involved in practice:
“Yeah, it is good to have him out there. He has been working hard to get back to point he is at now and that is where we are at.”
On if Hunt will play against the Colts in the second preseason game:
“We do not know yet. We are just seeing how he progresses and what we do not want to do is lengthen the time he has been out so we will play it day by day, just like a lot of guys.”
On if he knows specifically what the joint practices with the Colts next week will be like and if he has spoken to Colts Head Coach Frank Reich:
“Frank and I talked over the summer and got everything organized. We are ready to roll.”
On if there will be live tackling periods in practices with the Colts:
“I do not think so. We will save the live stuff for the game.”
On if the Browns will be in full pads next week:
“Oh yeah, we are not going [out there] to practice against them in helmets.”
On TE David Njoku’s spectacular catch in practice, his importance and if that is what he can bring to the team if consistent:
“Yeah, it is. We just need it every day. Like I told you guys before, I just want to know what I am getting when we go to the field and then we can plan accordingly, but if you never know what you are going to get, then it is hard to plan. I want the same guy every day with everybody. I try to be the same person ever day. I just want everybody around me to be the same guy every day.”
On if TE David Njoku is a special talent:
“Of course. His ability is what got him drafted. The round you are in does not matter when you are here. It does not matter to us how you got here, which is very evident with a bunch of our guys. We do not care how they got here. It is about how you are going to stay here and how you are going to help this team win, is what I am worried about.”
On if he has seen Njoku take steps towards being more consistent and dependable:
“I think he is trying. I think David is trying. He understands what the problem is. We like to identify problems and then attack that problem, and I think he is doing that. We have progress to go. We have to get better every day. He falls into that bill.”
On how encouraging it is to hear Mayfield can act as a second coach on the field, given quarterbacks coach Ryan Lindley’s comment:
“I hope it is every day. That is what leaders do. That is what he is coached to do and that is what he has done in the past and of course, yes.”
On at what point do the Browns consider moving LB Mack Wilson up the depth chart based on recent performances:
“It is one of those things where you try to find your best 11, however it plays out. I know you guys think I am lying – we have starters of course, but there are a lot of positons to be battled for and I would be doing a lot of disservice to everyone who is competing for these jobs if I name a starter. We are not going to name a starter right now. Whoever the hell is out there, they need to play and play well, and they are expected to play well. Our threes are expected to play well. Our twos are expected to play well.”
On if the Browns need to see Wilson with the starters to get a full sense of if Wilson can handle it:
“Yeah, I think so, but the game of football is about one-on-one matchups in a strategy situation. He needs to show that he can win his one-on-one battles and then maybe he gets that right. We have other guys out there competing too that is doing pretty well. Just because he makes two splash plays, you did not see the busted assignments. I am not saying he has busted assignments, but he has busted assignments out here on the practice field. For us, the practice field is just an extension of the game. Just like I said a while ago, I just need consistency every day. That is what I am looking for. Not to take anything away from his play, but if you make two good plays and three plays that kill you and I am talking about generally. I am not talking about necessarily Mack, but I want to see him coming back from those bad plays. It is how you come back and play the next play. It is not necessarily the play that you just did because by the time you think about the play you just did, it is in the past and we are not thinking about the past either.”
On the Browns TEs, given injuries to TEs Demetrius Harris and Seth DeValve during camp:
“I think it is better today than it was yesterday because we got one of them back. Those guys have a lot to do. Demetrius has some things to catch up on, but I thought he looked pretty good today and I was happy to see him back.”
On how much he has to help harness QB Baker Mayfield after certain plays where he may improvise too much:
“I think that is part of it when you have a skillset like Baker has that is what you have to determine is when to escape and when to shuffle and move. That is why we are practicing this to get those feel for things, feel for the pocket. I know he is safer inside the pocket. With somebody with that kind of skill, you do not ever want to diminish the fact that he can get outside the pocket because that is where his big plays are created a lot of times. It is just something we are working through and he is working through, and he is continuing to get better at it.”
On if Mayfield’s knack to extend plays is something that he does not have to coach Mayfield too much on:
“I do not really think you can coach anybody on escaping, and if they tell you that they can, then they are lying to you. I think you just got to have to have a feel for the pocket and when it is collapsing or whatever you got to get out of there or sit there and take a sack, and I do not like sacks.”
On what number he wore at Alabama:
“Nine.”
On if that was the same number he had in high school:
“No. It is not. I had 12 and 14 in high school. I had 12 when I played wide receiver and I had 14 when I started playing quarterback. I was very versatile (laughter).”
On if jersey numbers matter to him:
“It did until I did not get the number that I wanted at Alabama and then it did not.”
On the number he wanted at Alabama:
“I wanted No. 12 but our punter at the time had it. Go figure.”
On him not getting to choose his number:
“No, they did not. They had a punter names Bryne Diehl. He had No. 12.”
On why No. 12 was significant to him:
“Joe Namath, Kenny Stabler, Steve Sloan, a bunch of those guys had number.”
On if he wanted to be the next Namath:
“It definitely affected how I played. I would have played much better at 12 than I did nine (laughter).”
On CB Terrance Mitchell’s performance during camp:
“I do not know if you guys caught it or not but a couple of weeks ago, we gave (CB) Greedy (Williams) some (first team) reps. I do not know if you remember, it was a switch. What I like about Mitch is he continued to work. He did not let it affect him. He just continued to work. Then what happens? You start making plays. Just like Mack, he struggled early in camp and he just kept working, kept his head down. That is what happens. Sometimes you come through the other side being a better player than you were. We have several examples of that, but that is what we are expecting this is training camp. We are trying to get better every day. If they ever stop getting better, then we probably do not need them.”
On DT Devaroe Lawrence’s performance in practice and Thursday’s game:
“That is a perfect example. I do not know if you guys paid any attention or not, but the week leading up to the game, we could not block him. That was a continuation of practice. Practice does not mean anything until it does. Sometimes people like to focus on the fact that they are not making plays in practice, then they kind of get discouraged and then that is when their game production comes down. We do not ever want to look at the scoreboard. We do not ever want to look at the production. We just want to get better for the Cleveland Browns and that is what he did. Those are three good examples right there.”
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