DT Sheldon Richardson, LB Joe Schobert and C JC Tretter (9.19.19)
Included below are select quotes from interviews with the following Browns players during today’s media availability:
- DT Sheldon Richardson
- LB Joe Schobert
- C JC Tretter
DT Sheldon Richardson:
On if the Rams offense is as good of a unit the Browns will face all season:
“Yeah, one of the better ones in the league. Just got to go out there and play sound, disciplined defense and execute.”
On if he or Rams DT Aaron Donald is better:
“Who is better? Me or Aaron Donald? I will let you all do the comparisons, but he is worth every penny he is getting. I feel like I am, too. Leave it at that.”
On how the Browns defense played overall against NY Jets RB Le’Veon Bell and facing Rams RB Todd Gurley II on Sunday:
“Same style type of running backs. One cut, find the hole. Versatile out the backfield as far as catching the ball. Just have to do the same thing. Keep it bottled in and 11 hats to the ball.”
On how to defeat high-caliber teams:
“Trusting the gameplan. Coaches trusting their players to make plays and not over-coaching things, not overthinking things. Once again, staying discipline. Eliminating penalties and creating turnovers.”
LB Joe Schobert:
On if the Rams offense is as good of a unit as the Browns have faced in recent years:
“Yeah, they are definitely up there. They have a lot of talent at a lot of different positions. They have a good offensive scheme, and they work together as a god unit. It is definitely going to be a task for our defense to be able to limit them in what they want to do, but I think we are up for it.”
On the Browns potentially playing without LB Christian Kirksey this weekend:
“Obviously, you never want to see a teammate go down, a good friend go down, somebody you rely on right next to you in your position group getting hurt, especially with what he has been through the past year, but we have young guys that are going to need to step up. They have a lot talent and they have the ability to do so. I am excited to see how they do on the field on Sunday.”
On the significance of Kirksey’s absence:
“Yeah, definitely. He is the leader in our room. He is the leader on defense, our vocal leader. He is the leader on the team. Not having his presence out there is definitely going to be missed. Like I said, I have a lot of faith in these young guys and what they are showing through spring through training camp and up until now. It will be under the lights and it will be a little bit bigger, but they played at big time universities in big time games so I am excited to see what they can do.”
On if he was aiming for the ball during his tackle that led to the forced fumble against the NY Jets:
“Not specifically. Just coming from my angle where I was coming from, I just had to hit him at the thigh board level. I knew a lot of times running backs try to dip down to get lower than you on those kind of plays, although (NY Jets RB) Le’Veon (Bell) will try to jump you sometimes. There is a little bit of a risk, but if you can hit them right in that sweet spot, there is not much they can do to protect it. It is kind of a technique that has been taught through the years that I have learned.”
C JC Tretter:
On looking to slow down Rams DT Aaron Donald:
“He is a great player. It will be a good test for us. We will have a gameplan and a plan for him, but everyone is going to have to have their one-on-one matchups that they are going to have to win. You can’t find a way to double team a guy all of the time so we have to be good with our fundamentals and good with our technique and win one-on-one battles. That is just part of it. He is a great player so it will be a great test for all of us.”
On how often he will face Donald, given Donald lines up in multiple positions:
“Yeah, he mostly plays a 3-technique. He will play out at defensive end in certain packages and he will play over the nose in certain packages. There is a good chance each of us will have a shot at him and have an opportunity to go one-on-one against him at some point in the game. All of us need to be ready to bring our A game.”
On Donald’s skillset that has led to back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year accolades:
“Explosive, powerful but super quick and great with his hands. He is a great player. You have the five-tool baseball player or whatever it is. He is that for defensive linemen. He has everything you look for.”
On executing the job as an OL while remaining confident and not being concerned about being manhandled by a player of Donald’s caliber:
“We are all professional football players. Obviously, he is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and he is great player, but we are also professional football players, as well. I do not think we look at it like we are playing God reincarnate. We are playing a very talented football player and we are going to have to bring out best to the table, but we are not going into it thinking that we are looking down the barrel of a gun going up against him. We are going to have to do our job and block him, but we are going into it ready for the challenge.”
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