Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (10.17.22)
Opening statement:
“No real updates yet on the injury front. (G) Wyatt (Teller) is getting some imaging on the calf. I will be ablet to update that later in the week.
“Like I talked about after the game, we got beat. We got beat on offense, defense and special teams. We obviously got beat, players and coaches. You see it on tape. The margins are razor thin in this game. You are 3-3 there at the end of the first, you get a great takeaway from our defense and we don’t capitalize with points. Just moments throughout that game where we have to pick each other up. Offense, defense and special teams have to play complementary football together to go get a win. We weren’t able to do that yesterday. That is the frustrating part. We are watching the tape as we speak. Players are in meetings as we speak to learn from it, and we have to move forward. We have to move forward. We understand what is at stake, especially this week versus a really good football team in our division. We will do that. We will move forward.”
On the challenge when facing new issues to correct each week, particularly on defense:
“We are obviously trying to play consistent football. Specific to your question, we are trying to play consistent defense. As you know, you are going up against some tough attacks, and you are going to try and take away their run game or try and take away their pass game, and they are going to make their plays – I think we all get that. When we play our sound defense and we are limiting big plays, I think you are on your way to playing consistent defense.”
On if CB Denzel Ward remains in concussion protocol:
“Yes.”
On evaluating QB Jacoby Brissett’s game film after a performance that was less productive than recent weeks:
“We can’t turn the ball over. That is obvious. Jacoby knows that. Really as a team, we have to do way better both taking care of the ball and getting the ball. More than anything, I think Jacoby understands his role and his job is to operate in this offense, but ultimately, we can’t turn it over. Again, he understands that.”
On if he will potentially devote more time to working with the defensive staff to solve problems or if it is solely up to that group to make corrections on defense:
“I spend a lot of time with (defensive coordinator) Joe (Woods) and the defensive staff week to week. We are all working together trying to get it right.”
On confidence in the team’s ability to turn things around moving forward and Brissett’s message to the team in the locker room after the game:
“I believe in the people we have in that locker room. I have seen us play winning football. Offense, defense and special teams, we have had growth. Jacoby’s message, he is a leader. He has been through a lot in his career so I think it is always good when he wants to impart those type of messages to the guys.”
On the solutions to making corrections on offense, defense and special teams:
“That is kind of our job week to week where there are always things you feel like you can improve and really trying to identify those things, shore up the things you feel like you can improve and accentuate the things that you do well. Really, that evolves throughout the season. You feel like you are good at one thing early in the season and then that maybe tapers off for whatever the reason, and you have to adjust to protect that, if you will. I can’t get into all of the specifics, but I will just tell you, from and offense, defense and special teams perspective, you are constantly doing your own self-scout to find out what you do well and what you don’t do well.”
On if the Browns will consider making lineup changes for players who are not properly executing assignments:
“I really think that is a week-to-week thing. You do that each week. You try to put the guys out there who give you the best chance to win, and we will always do that.”
On if after reviewing the film he wishes the Browns would have called more running plays in yesterday’s game:
“Obviously, when you get out of a game and you lose 38-15, you look at a lot of things that you wish you did differently. The game, we weren’t having as much success as we have had in the past however many games and then the game gets to 24-6 with five minutes left in the third so it is going to force you to play a little bit differently in terms of trying to play catch up. We go into every game, as you can imagine, wanting to make sure that our guys are touching the ball. We talk about it throughout the game about what their touches are and those type of things. Sometimes the score and the game dictate that you have to play catch up.”
On what led to the Browns not having as much success in the running game early in yesterday’s game:
“You should start with giving them credit. There weren’t fronts necessarily that we didn’t foresee. We just didn’t win our one on ones consistently enough. As you know, sometimes there are dirty runs that happen throughout the course of a game and then you pop one. Yesterday, they did a nice job. We will keep working it. Not discouraged.”
On the Browns not typically making starting lineup changes unless due to injury and if that is one of his coaching philosophies as the defense continues to have some issues to resolve:
“No, I don’t think there is some big philosophical thing there. Week to week, you are tying to put the best 11 out there and then rotational guys, obviously you have different guys who play different jobs who aren’t the quote-unquote ‘starting 11.’ The bottom line is you go into every game trying to put the guys on the field who will give you the best chance to win. That is what we are trying to do.”
On being one game out of first place in the AFC North with division games at Baltimore and versus Cincinnati in the next two weeks and if that impacts whether or not the Browns will consider making starting lineup changes to ‘spark something’:
“Honestly, I look at it game to game. I look at the game we have to put together for Baltimore, and it is going to be unique to Baltimore like it always is and you are going to do whatever you need to do to win that game.”
On S Grant Delpit being hard on himself yesterday about mistakes on the long TD and another chunk play after a missed tackle:
“Grant had some good moments in that game, and then obviously, he is playing man coverage and lost his feet and then we have to get that guy on the ground as Grant said. Just have to be consistent with your technique. It is fundamentals and finish at that point when you are talking about tackling on the long pass play that we had down the seam. Grant knows this, you don’t just say, ‘Hey, keep your feet;’ you just want to talk to him about his technique and talk to him about his feet, his hands and those type of things when you are in man coverage.”
On if there is a need for him or Browns leaders to be more vocal after three consecutive losses to help keep the team grounded and focused:
“You want everybody to be themselves in that regard so if they are vocal, you want them to be vocal. Leading by example is really, really important, especially like you mentioned when you have lost a few in a row and you want to come out on the other side. You want examples of guys who are doing it the right way so everybody can see that. Guys lead in different ways. We encourage them to lead in different ways. As much as anything, it is a matter of doing and less talking.”
On if the Browns can add more to make improvements on defense or if it is a matter of focusing on the core elements and seeing it come to fruition:
“I kind of go back to you are just trying to play consistent defense, to your question. Consistent defense is playing sound and playing disciplined. I thought you saw that in moments. I felt the run game in terms of fitting the runs, shedding blocks and tackling was better. We can’t give up the big plays that we gave up obviously. You are just trying to find that consistent balance.”
On how much trust in the team’s process is tested following three consecutive losses, including one by a large margin yesterday:
“I think it is really important that you look at everything. I do think you have trust in a lot of what you do, but I don’t think you can ignore anything when you are going through a stretch like that. You have to look at everything. You have to look at how you approach practice, how you approach everything you do and how you gameplan and just make sure that you are not missing anything. I think that is important for me to do and I think that is important for our staff to do, and push the players on making sure that their preparation is truly 100 percent every single week.”
On the decision for LB Sione Takitaki to play more snaps than LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah yesterday:
“Just again felt like it was that type of game in some of the bigger run fits.”
On pushing the ball downfield with Bissett and not having great results in recent weeks and how to stretch the field better moving forward:
“To your point, you have to be explosive in the NFL. You have to find ways to make explosive passes and make explosive runs. They can come in a bunch of different areas. They can come in different play types. They can come with throws over the middle of the field throws and throws outside of the numbers. We are constantly searching for those explosives that that present defenses is vulnerable to. Jacoby has shown over the course of his career and over the course of this season he can make those throws to those areas.”
On if beating the Steelers in Week 2 and standing one game back of first place in the AFC North create a sense of urgency at this point of the season:
“I think the sense of urgency exists in football in the NFL with 17 games – it is not 162; it is not 82 games. It is every single week is just so important. Then you are playing a division opponent this week. I am well aware of all of the things you are stating, but I am also laser focused that we will be hyper focused on putting together a gameplan and preparing to go down to Baltimore and play our best football.”
On if LB Deion Jones is more likely to play this week after not playing on Sunday:
“It is definitely more likely. We want to continue to see how he comes along from a physical and mental standpoint.”
On if the Browns would consider playing QB Joshua Dobbs to help create a spark during a game:
“I won’t get into speculative stuff like that. I just think for us, Jacoby is battling. I know he can play better. I have seen him play better. He will play better. I have seen it. That is where my focus is.”
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