HC Kevin Stefanski (11.6.23)
Opening statement:
“Okay, injury front, Marquise Goodwin is in concussion protocol. Jed Wills is going to go to IR with an MCL injury. It’s not season-ending, so expect him to work real hard in his rehab and get him back. On the game itself, really dominant performance there by our defense in particular. I thought offensively, proud of the guys having a clean slate, not turning the ball over, not giving the ball away, which had…obviously we’ve done too often this season. So have a clean game that way. And then I thought Corey (Bojorquez) was outstanding in the field position game. So a lot that was really, really good. We’re watching the film now with players learning from it, and then we’ll turn our attention to Baltimore. And with that, I’ll take any questions.”
Yeah, Kevin, just wondering, with Jed out for at least the next four weeks, will you consider possibly using Dawand (Jones) over there, or do you think you’ll maintain the status quo on the right side and use James (Hudson) possibly at left tackle?
“We’ll work through all those things this week, Mary Kay (Cabot). Just talk with the coaches about it and then practice. But we have options.”
Hey, Kevin, would James be the other starter, whatever side it is?
“Yeah, I mean, James is our swing tackle, so he’s the next guy in. But those are all things that we’ll work through this week.”
And then how do you think Jed’s been progressing, especially the last few games coming off the bye?
“Jed’s played some really strong games for us. I thought he was playing well in that last one yesterday as well. So disappointed for him. But I know he’ll work really hard and we’ll get him back out there.”
On the defensive side of the ball, what is it about this unit that makes them so disruptive? Not only just on the edge, but, like in yesterday’s game, in that interior, in the linebacker’s room, just all around.
“Cam (Justice), that’s the word we use, disruptive. That’s what we’re trying to do. It’s really kind of how our defense is built. And obviously, everything, as you know, starts up front. So with our line, with the ends and the tackles, getting off the ball, being aggressive in how we play, I think that filters its way through our entire defense.”
Jordan Elliott seemed to have that kind of initial spark, and then Dalvin (Tomlinson) went off for his multiple sacks. But how have you seen that grow this season? I’ve asked you about him before, but now with the production there, how have you seen him grow in that regard?
“Yeah, continues to play, disruptive football for us. You saw him get in there in the run game, knocking people back, finding his way to the quarterback, just any which way he can…pressuring the quarterback. So, he’s playing good football for us.”
Kevin, your record as a Browns coach, you are now 18-6 after losses. And a lot of that was built on the 2020 season when you didn’t lose two games in a row that year. So did you pick this knack up somewhere along the coaching trail or how do you attribute that record of the winning games immediately after losses?
“You hope not to lose any of them, Tony (Grossi). You’re trying to go 1-0 each week. Players do a good job of keeping the focus on the current week. Whether you win, lose or draw the previous week, it really can’t affect the next one.”
Another question is about Deshaun Watson, he seemed to be looser on the longer passes. The shorter ones even earlier, go back to before the injury. The touch passes seem to have been a challenge to him. Do you see that and what do you attribute that to?
“I don’t. I get to see him in practice. I get to see him in games. You’re going to have some misses. Not many people are throwing 100% on a completion percentage, but the balls that he threw, two in particular, stick out – the one to Amari (Cooper), the deep one, and then the earlier play action to Amari in stride. I thought he made really good decisions, but he’s a good player and he made some big plays for us yesterday.”
Kevin, do you think you found a punt returner in (James) Proche?
“Yeah, we’ll see how it goes this week, but I thought he made good decisions, got vertical. So, we’ll see.”
And the three-headed running back tree that you’re going with right now, seemed like another pretty good day for them, especially with Kareem (Hunt) coming back. He’s got five touchdowns, I think, in six games. Just what type of life has he been able to inject in the running game after you lost Nick (Chubb)?
“Yeah, Kareem’s, as you know and as everybody knows, you watch Kareem play, he plays hard, he runs hard, he’s good in the pass game. So he has done a nice job for us in short yardage situations, goal line situations. Obviously, as you know, it takes everybody. You got to block and open up holes and that type of thing. But he puts his nose down, he’s running really hard for us.”
Obviously, you’re going to have Deshaun Sunday, but what else can you pick up from that first Baltimore game other than switching quarterbacks to have a better result?
“Yeah, I mean that’s every team. You kind of change as the season goes on, so I’m sure they’re going to be doing things a little bit differently. I know you always have guys in and out of the lineup on both sides. So, matchups may be different in certain areas. So those are the things that we’ll get started on this afternoon.”
Hey, Kevin, I wanted to ask about those running backs, too, just the ability to kind of use all those different guys, different types of runners. Not even throughout the game, but just on a single drive. How valuable is that for you guys?
“I think, you know, it’s a testament to the players. They understand different spots that we’re going to put them in. There’s versatility in that room. Stump (Mitchell) does a really nice job in game of getting the right guy in there on certain plays and then understanding which guy is called for in a given moment. But we really like the versatility in that room. Those guys can really do a bunch of different things. It’s not like they’re one whole player, so to speak. So, we’ll continue to use them as such.”
And I think I’ve heard you say that you want your punter to be a weapon. So how valuable has Corey been for you guys?
“Yeah, he was a weapon yesterday. I just know a couple of those were hit really, really well. You’re going to be in some field position games, and I thought him – Corey and the punt unit really set their offense up in some disadvantageous field position.”
Talk about Deshaun, how did he come out of the game? I mean, health-wise, he feels good, no setbacks you can see?
“He’s good.”
And what about Greg Newsome? Do you expect him to practice Wednesday where’s he at?
“Yeah, I think we’ll see. He’s continuing to work really hard. So, Wednesday we’ll see where he is and we’ll go from there.”
Hey, Kevin. The takeaways have really come in bunches for you guys the last three games. It seemed like yesterday, obviously taking advantage of not giving the ball away either. But what do you think has been the difference over these last three in particular with that?
“You have to be given some opportunities, and then you have to make the most of those opportunities. We talk a lot about turning sacks into sack fumbles, so I thought that was an awesome job, getting the ball out there by Shelby (Harris). That’s seven points right there for the team. So, I think with turnovers, we work them every day, first thing we do at practice. But you also have to play really sound defense. If you do your job on defense, typically you’re going to be in a good spot to have an opportunity to make a play.”
One of those guys who caused those, obviously (Sione) Takitaki, just how has he been dealing with that hamstring injury? I mean, it looked like he didn’t really have any setbacks with that yesterday, and it was his first interception since the 2020 season, so to see him make that play?
“Yeah, it was great. He played really well for us yesterday. He’s a physical football player. He played sideline to sideline, and then again had an opportunity and went up and got the ball.”
Kevin, going back to Corey for a second and how we’ve seen Dustin (Hopkins) throughout the season, but how have you seen the special teams as a unit just kind of increase their production and just grow throughout the season?
“Yeah, I think as an entire unit, I think the guys understand what we want to do. It wasn’t perfect yesterday, had a couple of uncharacteristic penalties that hurt us. But I think each phase of the special teams unit is understanding all the things that Bubba (Ventrone) and (Stephen) Bravo(-Brown) are trying to instill in our team. They play with great effort. They play with an understanding, fundamentals techniques, those types of things. And I think we can only get better in that unit.”
Kevin, as far as your receiver situation goes, it seems like it’s Cooper and everybody else. Cooper’s the only one who’s caught a touchdown pass. Do you think that’s a reflection of your instability at quarterback this season and that everybody’s just leaning on Cooper and not distributing the ball like they would be if you had consistency at that position?
“Yeah, I don’t know that I really spend a lot of time thinking about the stats of it. I think, you know, we know, the opposing team knows Amari is a good football player. He gets a ton of attention, that opens up other opportunities. But like we talked about yesterday, the ball goes where the ball goes. It’s just based on coverage. All our guys are doing what they’re supposed to do, and when the ball finds its way, we have a ton of trust in all of our receivers, tight ends, you name them.”
Hey, Kevin, I have two quick ones on the defense. Besides the no points given up, what did you think was either your favorite or the most impressive of those defensive stats?
“Yeah, I think the run game. You take the quarterback scramble out of the run numbers, and it was impressive. And we knew that was going to be the game understanding playing a rookie quarterback, we knew they were going to try to run the ball, take some pressure off of him. They’ve had success running the football. They have Hjalte (Froholdt), they have Will Hernandez. Some bigger offensive lineman and the ability to really stop the run was a job well done and really just a great execution of the game plan.”
And then it seemed like everybody who talked yesterday when asked about Dalvin, said how much they liked him. Why do you think he’s so well-liked inside that locker room?
“He’s a good person. Probably start there. Great personality, gets along with everybody, great leadership, but just a rock-solid person.”
# # #
***Visit the Browns Media Center for materials provided by the Browns communications department, including media schedules, press releases, quotes, photos, media guides, rosters, depth charts and more.***