HC Kevin Stefanski (10.16.23)
Opening statement:
“Injury front, Deshaun’s (Watson) continuing his rehab. He’s making progress. He’s day-to-day and we’ll know more as the week progresses. Joel Bitonio, coming off that knee, continues to get better. Hopefully, we’ll see him out at practice Wednesday. Ced (Cedric) Tillman, I think, will be good to go. Anthony Walker’s in the concussion protocol. And then Michael Dunn has a calf injury. Like we talked about yesterday, really hard-fought, gutty win. Proud of the effort from the players, really proud of the game plan put together by the coaches. So, it was really a good outing for a bunch of people. And it wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t pretty, but I think you just saw a team battling and that’s what you have to do against a really good opponent. And I mentioned yesterday, I thought our fans were incredible from the jump right there with us and stuck it out there through the end. So, very appreciative of our fans as well. But with that, I’ll take any questions.”
Kevin, can you just give us any, you know, little more details on Deshaun? Has he been throwing? Is he making progress? Is his arm getting a little stronger? And do you expect him to be out there outside practicing on Wednesday?
“Yeah, we’ll know more as the week progresses, Mary Kay (Cabot). He’s working through his rehab, which does include throwing, but not going to get into specifics past that. But he’s making progress for sure.”
And there were a couple of national reports over the weekend that the club is aiming for him to come back for the Colts game. Is that accurate?
“I don’t pay attention to reports. I’m day-to-day.”
Hey, Coach, you know, going back to yesterday’s game and just from pregame all the way through the end, the fight that you guys showed, where has that mentality come from this year? It feels like there’s a different vibe around this particular group of guys.
“Yeah. As you know, I’m not into vibes. I’m into the people on this team. I’m into the people on our staff and how hard this team works. That’s really what we focus on. We knew the type of game it was going to be, Daryl (Ruiter). Just with the challenge that the Niners presented from a schematic standpoint, from a talent standpoint. So, I think that was really what we talked about all week, was embracing that challenge and embracing the opportunity we had in front of us.”
And with the depleted offensive line yesterday, the success that Jerome (Ford) and Kareem (Hunt) in that run game had. Just after you went back and watched that on film, what did you see from those guys and why were they able to be a little more successful than maybe they were in weeks past?
“Yeah, it’s always a combination of things, as you can imagine. It’s a really good plan. I thought the coaches put together a really good plan and then the execution was on point. But you mentioned the offensive line. They’ll get in trouble if I single anybody out, but they did a really good job with a tough front. I mean, that’s a very good run front. We got on the edges when we could get on the edges. We ran tight zone when we could run tight zone. We moved them with double teams. So, tried a little bit of everything and then you got to highlight the tight ends and the wide receivers, the role they play in the run game as well. But Kareem ran hard. Jerome ran hard. Wasn’t pretty always, but man, they played really hard.”
Hey Kevin, I was wondering about that fourth and short decision in the fourth quarter. What went into it looked like you were going to go for it and then changed your mind?
“Yeah, they changed the spot on us. It was fourth and inches, I think, and then it became fourth and one and just felt like the way our defense was playing, let’s play the field position game there.”
And then Amari (Cooper) said after the game that not a lot of people know he can go up and make the kind of leap and catch he did on the sideline. Did you know he had that in him and what kind of view did you have of that?
“Oh, yeah, for sure. And you know, that was a big part of that game plan going in, Scott (Petrak), was we knew were going to get one-on-one matchups with our guys and I thought P.J. (Walker) did a great job of giving him a chance, giving him a ball. And then Amari did what Amari does, and you have to do that versus their corners, versus that type of attack when they’re playing tight man, you have to go elevate and win a contested ball and not get knocked out of bounds or knocked down. You got to go up and get it and I thought he did that. But yeah, he’s more than capable of going to get the football.”
We talk about the edge rushers all the time, but in that interior, you guys brought in Dalvin Tomlinson, obviously for a reason, but you have Jordan Elliott out there making plays as well. How have you seen maybe Jordan grow with Dalvin and the two of them step up on that interior defensive line?
“Cam (Justice), I thought Dalvin was outstanding in that football game versus the ru,n versus the pass, disruptive, getting after the quarterback, getting through the offensive line. So, I thought he played outstanding. Jordan continues to grow as a player. I think he fits this scheme. He’s attacking blocks. So, there were a bunch of guys that you can single out, but those two in particular did play really well.”
And in that front, the coverage too, just seems to continue to be really strong. How have you seen that progress as the season has gone on, dropping back with the linebackers and even the safeties and corners?
“Well, I think every game plan can be different week-to-week and what we’re trying to take away, and sometimes you add pressure via the front seven. Sometimes you put a little bit more on our defensive backs and secondary. And I thought the secondary, for the amount of man that we played and how hard they fought throughout the entire game versus some really good receivers, some good scheme. I thought the guys were flying around. It was not perfect. We knew that there’s going to be times when you’re going to be chasing your guy, he’s going to have a step on you. But just with the secondary working in conjunction with each other, communicating with each other, they had a tall task in that game, and I thought they did a really nice job.”
I was wondering, the way P.J. played yesterday, would you think about keeping three quarterbacks on your active roster or how would that work out?
“Yeah, those are all things that we’ll work through, and AB (Andrew Berry) will work through as the week progresses.”
I also had a question about Dalvin, you know, a lot of what he does obviously doesn’t show up on the stat sheet at the end of the game, but how effective is he and how valuable is what he can do there?
“It’s a really good point, Ashley (Bastock). I think that’s why you have to turn on the tape to get a full evaluation of any player because you’re right, it may not be in the stats sheet. We don’t really care about stats. We care about disruption up front. And I thought he was leading the charge there.”
After the game, you disclosed that you had a little more intimate knowledge of P.J. Walker than perhaps you let on through your assistant, Kevin Rogers. I’m wondering what were the circumstances that prevented P.J. Walker from playing the Baltimore game?
“Yeah, I understand what you’re asking, Tony (Grossi), but I’m not going to go back and worry about Baltimore. Really focusing [on] moving forward.”
And another follow up on the short yardage. You decided to punt after taking a delay there. Were you at all looking for a look to do a fake punt right there?
“I can’t give away our secrets, Tony.”
Take that as a yes.
[Laughs].
Kevin, just kind of clarification. When did Anthony’s (Walker) injury occur, I guess, in the game? Do you know?
“I’m not entirely sure.”
How did you think Michael Dunn handled stepping in for Joel yesterday?
“Yeah, Kelsey (Russo), he was unbelievable. I mean, the way he fought through his injury, he wouldn’t come out of the game, and you can see it on tape. He was fighting and just in the run game in the pass game. He’s a guy that we trust so much. He’s played well when we put him in there. He’s an awesome teammate, just an all around good person. We’re really pleased that he’s a member of the Browns.”
Hey, Coach, I know you like to look forward, but just have to look back a little historical. Can you just talk about that’s NFL record-setting first five games for the defense? It’s really unheard of.
“Yeah, obviously, you look at some of this Fred (Greetham), you look at some of the stats. We’re playing good defense. We’re playing sound defense, but there’s room for improvement. And I think those are some of the things that we talked about this morning. There are definitely things that we can continue to do better. I know Coach (Jim) Schwartz and the defensive staff are not concerned at all about statistics. We’re not. That’s just not how we operate. We’re concerned with playing good football, playing sound defense, and we’re not chasing any type of stats.”
Does that give you confidence, calling the plays and being on the offensive side, that they’re going to get off the field so we can get back until we get on track on the offensive side?
“I think you always factor in how the defense is playing. When you’re putting your game plan together in-game, you’re having that conversation really through the first, second, third, fourth quarters. You’re always trying to understand what game you’re in, how the matchups look, and then ultimately how the matchups are in-game as well, yes.”
Kevin, I want to ask you about the Harrison Bryant short-yardage package. Without giving away any state secrets here, but just what inspired that? What gave you the idea that Harrison would fit so well doing that for you and just the wrinkle you were able to throw in yesterday with that pitch back to Kareem and it ended up in a touchdown?
“Yeah, you know, those meetings for short yardage goal line, those are some of my favorite ones during the week because you try to look at what you might be facing and try and get creative and get that yard sometimes. And then there are also opportunities at times for explosives. We’ve run that play before, so that’s no secret. But to have a versatile football player like Harrison that you trust in those moments to do a variety of jobs. He’s a guy since he got here, he does a lot of dirty work, doesn’t get a lot of the credit, but he’s done a really nice job in that expanded role.”
Hey, Kevin, I know I asked you about JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) after the game, but just where have you seen him make kind of the biggest strides from his first two years?
“Well, I would point out, first of all, his play on the opening kickoff was outstanding. He came down. He really set the tone I think, for the entire day, with how hard he played and how physical and violent he plays. He’s doing a nice job. I think he’s playing really fast. I think he’s also playing really strong. I think he’s working really hard to be a physical, strong football player. And I think that’s what you see on Sundays.”
Okay, Kevin, looking at the running game in the post (Nick) Chubb era right now, the running back by committee, do you think the personality of the running game is still developing, or what we saw yesterday was pretty much satisfactory to you and (Bill) Callahan and Stump (Mitchell)?
“I think it just varies by game, Tony. I think a lot of the schemes that we have, they vary based on the front that we’re seeing, based on the personnel that we’re in, those types of things. We like that room, that running back room. We think Kareem and Jerome complement each other and the different things that they can do. We think Pierre (Strong Jr.) has a bright future with us as well. So, it varies by game, it varies by matchup, but I think the credit goes to the coaches and the players ultimately in executing the plan.”
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