CB Greg Newsome II (1.9.23)
On the Browns relieving defensive coordinator Joe Woods of the role:
“Obviously, it wasn’t a good feeling for me. He was one of the guys that hand-picked me, as well. I have a lot of love for him and a lot of respect for him. I am definitely sad to see him go for sure.”
On who the Browns may hire as the next defensive coordinator:
“I really couldn’t tell you. I don’t really know what defensive coordinators are available. I don’t really know too many defensive coordinators honestly. I know that is the job for the guys upstairs so I am really not too sure.”
On why the Browns defense did not live up to expectations during the 2022 season:
“I just think it is being consistent, and that is just like every single play. We had a lot of games where we had a lot of great plays, but those two mistakes can cost you a game. It is really just trying to find a way to stay consistent throughout a whole entire game.”
On confidence the Browns defense can improve consistency and reach its goals for the 2023 season:
“For sure. If you look at the last five or six weeks – they were bringing it in the meetings every time – we were a top two defense in the last six weeks of the season. I think we figured a way to fix it and try to stay more consistent. At the end of the day, the last six weeks don’t really matter when you don’t do it the whole season. It is also another thing we have to just find a way to start out strong.”
On why talent on the Browns defense did not lead to better performance, particularly early in the season:
“It is a lot of things. Maybe they weren’t in the right positions that they wanted to be in. Maybe they just weren’t being consistent. It can be a lot of reasons. I’m not really too sure on that.”
On the main factors that led to the Browns defense not performing as well as desired early in the season, particularly given the production in the second half of the year:
“The thing is honestly just consistency, like I said earlier. You can find a way to be consistent every single down and every single play – obviously, big plays are going to happen; that is part of the game of football – but being able to be resilient when somebody makes a big play and being able to stand tall. At the end of the day, it is just being consistent and your technique and doing your job every single play. Like I said, if your job is to set the edge, make sure you set the edge. It is certain things like that where I feel like we weren’t doing that the whole entire season.”
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