HC Freddie Kitchens (9.30.19)

Head Coach Freddie Kitchens:

Opening statement:

“It was a solid team win last night. It was good to get one on the road, a division game on the road. Those are hard to come by. I was proud of the way we played. I was proud of the way we competed in all three phases. Nothing will change from my approach this week. It will be the same things we do after every week. Everything remains constant. Our guys are going to go out and try to better. We have a lot of things we can get better at. We have corrections to be made. We have plenty to learn from. I thought we were physical. That is the type of football that we would like to play. We set a goal and accomplished the goal so I think that is where it needs to stay.

 

“Our defense had three turnovers, which was huge. They limited big plays down the field in the passing game for the most part. I did not like the last touchdown. I want to finish the game better than that, and our defensive guys agree totally with that. I think we put together a great gameplan, and our players did an excellent job of implementing the game plan and being in positon to make plays on the ball. They affected the game positively from that manner. (S) Jermaine Whitehead showed up. He was involved in three turnovers. Excellent job by him of doing his job. (LB) Joe Schobert made plays all over the field and saved us a couple of times with some good tackles. We would like to continue to work on missed tackles and get those down.

 

“Offensively, I thought (QB) Baker (Mayfield) had a rhythm. He did an excellent job of staying in the pocket and hanging in there. He did a really nice job of getting the ball out of his hands and getting it into guys’ hands that can make plays with the ball. (WR) Odell (Beckham, Jr.), we are really excited about Odell, the way he competed every play. If you watch the tape, you see his hustle and his determination to get down the field and help his teammates is a testament to his character and a testament to the teammate he is.

 

“Special teams, across the board, I thought we were solid. We made our kicks and covered kicks very well. We need to do a better job in our return game on kickoff return.

 

“Injury-wise, I do not have the final outcome and everything, but I think we came out of the game pretty healthy, with the exception of (WR) Jarvis (Landry) who was placed into concussion protocol.”

 

On who received game balls from Sunday:

“We have not discussed that yet. We have, but I have not made a final determination, I do not want to just give out game balls for doing our job, but we are still in the midst of discussing that.”

 

On if he contacted NFL headquarters and NFL SVP of Officiating Al Riveron last night about the altercation between Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey and Beckham:

“I will reiterate that I did not call last night. It is against the rules to call before 9 a.m. so I want to make it very clear that I did not call last night. We are still in the process of talking through some things with that. Here is my big deal with that: I just want to have consistency with how we are going to deal with things. That is all I am looking for. I do not want there to be a situation where… I do not like seeing our player on the field and somebody’s hands around his throat. I do not like that. I do not think that needs to be in our game, and I would be the first to say that if it was our guy doing it. I want everybody held to the same standard. That is all I want.”

 

On the blocking looking solid during RB Nick Chubb’s 88-yard TD run:

“It was great execution up front. Our offensive line did a great job of protecting Baker all day, opening up holes for Nick, and of course, Nick exemplifies everything you do from the standpoint of how you practice and how you finish runs. He did what he does, and that is finish the run. Excellent job on the perimeter blocking, and a lot of times when plays happen like that, the first 10-15 yards is on the front side at the point of attack, but the backside blocks are the ones that are critical to extend that into that deep run range. (T) Greg Robinson did an excellent job of getting to the backside linebacker, and that is what really creased it. They did an excellent job on the front side. It was a well-blocked play. Those guys did a good job in the running game all day of getting on their guys and finishing their blocks. I loved the way we finished down the field with blocks. That is what we expect. That is our expectation, and they did a nice job on that.”

 

On what has pleased him most with how Browns players have handled adversity to start the season:

“You do not really find out what you have until you hit adversity because then you either run together, you run toward each other or you separate. We do not have any guys who separated during the first three weeks. I will reiterate that this is just one game, and that is it. We are going to try to make corrections off this game. We are going to approach this game just like we did with the previous three and just keep our head down, keep working and worry about what is inside of our building and that is it. Just continue to get better, and I think these guys have done an excellent job of being resilient from the standpoint of just worrying about what they are doing in the moment to get better – to make themselves better and collectively make the team better. I think that is what they did. They stayed together. They did not split. They did not worry about what the outside noise was talking about, and they just stayed together. We need to continue doing that next week and the next game. We need to do it, and it starts tomorrow when we get back together, clean this game up and get started on San Francisco. Our process is not ever going to change. It is always going to be the same no matter what happens in the rearview mirror.”

 

On new Browns veterans contributing on offense and defense:

“We added some guys with some years of service on the defensive side of the ball. They bring a stability standpoint and something we needed. That is added with (DE) Olivier Vernon, (S) Morgan Burnett and some of the other guys that we have added who have played in the league. Of course, that is crucial to have such a young nucleus of a team to have guys like that that they can look at. Offensively, you are exactly right. If you want to judge (WR) Odell Beckham Jr. – everybody knows about his skill level and his skillset and things like that – but if you want to know about Odell Beckham, put on those plays where (WR) Jarvis Landry is down the field 40-50 yards. Look who is down there with him trying to get him into the end zone. Look who is down there making their block. Look who is blocking No. 44 (Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey) before he gets punched in the throat. If you want to tell about Odell Beckham as a football player and as a person, look at those plays.”

 

On if he talked to Riveron after 9 a.m. today:

“I am not going to mention it. I do not know what you get fined for and what you do not get fined for so I am not even going to answer that. I can promise you this: hopefully, I will have a better understanding of what we want it to look like on gameday.”

 

On NFL referee Shawn Hochuli’s pool report stating neither the officials nor New York saw anything that was at the ‘level of a disqualifying foul’ and if they did not see Beckham being choked:

“I was told during the game the same thing you were told. I know what I saw on the field. That is all I have to say about it right now. I do think that Shawn and those guys did an excellent job of maintaining control of the football game. They did do that. They did an excellent job of that. My hat is off to them in that scenario because that can get out of hand in an hurry. I will compliment our players on maintaining their composure in that situation. Again, one of their teammates was on the ground, too. We just need to decide what direction we want to go with that. I do not like seeing our guys on the ground getting choked.”

 

On the Browns playing ‘physical for the first time’ yesterday and if the team simply ‘turned it on’:

“No, everything we do is a process. Do I think they just turned it on? No. I think we were physical in every game that we have played up to this point. That is our goal every week. That is not going to change. I want it to look like football when we play football.”

 

On Beckham’s impact and drawing attention from the Ravens defense:

“Yeah, there is no doubt. When you have a dynamic guy on the field, that definitely draws attention and guys have to decide how they want to play him. We try to realize that early and decide what we need to do moving forward during the course of the game.”

 

On WR Antonio Callaway returning from suspension and if Callaway is able to play following his ankle injury:

“Yes. I am assuming that he is. I am assuming that he has been doing his part in getting in shape and getting ready to go. I expect nothing else out of Antonio. I am looking forward to getting him back.”

 

On if Callaway can contribute immediately after returning from suspension:

“That is my expectation for him, yes.”

 

On factors into Mayfield’s ability to stay in the pocket more on Sunday: 

“You have to give credit to the offensive line of doing their job. Everybody did a nice job up there in protection. I do not think he got hit but twice, and one of them was on the sack. All of them involved did a nice job. The backs did a nice job in protection, also.”

 

On Cleveland Fire Department greeting the team following the plane landing yesterday:

“I think we do a good job as an organization supporting our first responders. To be recognized like that was fun, but everybody needs to understand that it was one game. We have not won anything yet. We just have to keep moving on down the road, stay focused and stay focused on the moment. Honestly, I have already turned my attention to San Francisco. I fully expect our guys have, too, when we get them back in the building. The gesture, we have some of the most passionate fans in football. The gesture of course is appreciated. Also in the same line, it was a good win for us. It was a good win for the organization . That is what we have to do. We have to continue to stack wins. That is what you want to do, and you do that by the next game. That is all you are trying to do is just get better and see where the chips fall at the end, but continue to get better week in and week out. That is what our goal is always going to be.”

 

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