Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (10.18.24)
Opening Statement:
“Okay, good practice out there. Obviously beautiful day. Going to be a beautiful day down there on the lake I’m hearing. So, excited to be back in front of our fans. Got to play good football. That’s what our focus is. And with that, I’ll take any questions.”
Kevin, you have Nick (Chubb) listed as questionable.
“I expect him to play.”
Same with Nyheim (Hines)?
“I’d say we’ll see how that goes, but I’d say unlikely with Nyheim.”
How about Ethan (Pocic)?
“Yeah, with a lot of these guys with these injuries, just want to see how they respond to today’s practice, so I’d put him in that category.”
How did you see, going to Ethan, how did you see his knee kind of respond the last couple of days from the treatment and from being back out there in practice?
“Yeah, I think he’s working really hard. He’s battling. He moved around well, so we’ll see how he responds to today’s practice and how he feels tomorrow and kind of make a determination from there.”
How do you think the on-field adjustment’s been without Amari this week and just has there been a lot of movement from guys in maybe bigger roles or moving around more?
“The guys have done a very nice job understanding what the plan is, where they factor in, where they line up in different formations, if you will. So, I thought it was a strong week in that regard.”
Did you change anything operationally with the schedule at all this week just looking to shake things up?
“Aa few things. Not going to share. Yeah, I mean, but that’s just part of always looking for a way to do things better. So, there’s some small things, some big things.”
What do you see from the guys? Just, we don’t get to see behind the scenes, but just as far as mood and just the collective, I guess, feel the guys concern where you’re at, what do you feel?
“Yeah, as you can imagine, Daryl (Ruiter), I don’t get too into that. My job is to get these guys ready to play. They’re pros, they practice really hard. We’re focused on finding a way to win this game. That’s really all we’re focused on.”
Kevin, when we talked to Jim (Schwartz) yesterday, he mentioned the cornerbacks, thinking they can do more there and just kind of calling them out. I guess how you’ve seen that group respond and how much higher you think their collective ceiling can be?
“We think really highly of that group. That’s part of what makes our defense go is that room. I think we got great players in there. I think they battle like crazy and I think they had a good week of practice.”
You said you had to see what Nick Chubb did in this week’s practice before you really put them on a pitch count per se. Do you guys have a plan now that you see him going?
“We do, and it’s talking with Nick, talking with how he feels and with Duce (Staley), we have a plan in place. And then you have to be ready to adjust based on how Nick is feeling.”
When you trade a player like Amari, your number one receiver, how do you expect the offense to look better than it did with him?
“I think big focus for us, Mary Kay (Cabot), is everybody doing their job. Like we talked about earlier this week, it’s not one person that gets all of those plays or one person that gets all of those targets, that type of thing. We just need everybody to do their job. We need to put them in position to go make plays. But it’s not about one person.
How’s Ethan Pocic doing?
“Yeah, he was out there pushing through it. We’ll see how he responds to today’s practice, but he’s battling.”
Did you see enough on a Jordan Hicks to know if he will be able to go?
“Similar. I mean, he’s practiced last week as well, so just want to make sure he comes out of everything feeling good.”
Kevin, going back to the receivers, Jerry (Jeudy) seems like he’s ready to embrace this opportunity. So how have you seen him kind of practice this week and kind of chase this opportunity?
“Yeah, I think for all those guys, I think it’s just important that they do what they’re asked to do on a given play. Jerry’s a guy that’s been reliable for us this season and has made some plays, and certainly there could be more opportunities potentially, but his focus is really just on doing his job.”
Michael Dunn said that he has always taken snaps at center, worked on that. Has that workload maybe increased with Nick Harris going on IR and Ethan still dealing with that knee?
“I think it’s important with all offensive linemen, guards have to be ready to play tackle, tackles have to be ready to play guard, centers have to be ready to play guard, etcetera. So, Mike Dunn is a very versatile football player for us. He gets snaps every week and then we have to get him ready to play some guard and three plays later he’s back in at center. So you just have to be very, very flexible at that position, both mentally and just the physical part of the technique that adjusts based on which position you’re playing.”
What is it about this specific matchup that seems to have at least over the last several meetings, it’s favored you? Is there something schematic, something personnel wise that a matchup is something that you look at?
“Honestly, we’re just focused on this one. It’s a really good football team, good players on both sides of the ball, special teams. I have a ton of respect for their coaches. We have to play good football. That’s really our focus.”
Do you see (Joe) Burrow getting rid of the ball faster than you have in the past?
“I mean, he’s getting rid of it quickly. I don’t know what it is relative to previous years, but he makes very quick decisions with the football.
So how do you counter that defensively?
“We play a lot of teams to get the ball out quickly. So, it’s about playing sound football, whether you’re rushing or you’re covering.”
Have you seen any of these receivers step up from a leadership perspective with Amari gone this week?
“It’s early in that type of process, if you will. I think it’s important that our guys do what’s natural to them in that area when it comes to leadership. We have a good group in our leadership committee, if you will. We have good veterans in that room already, so those type of things come naturally.”
Coach, were you surprised by the news yesterday that the Browns are moving to Brook Park?
“I really don’t have much to add there. I worry about practice.”
Kevin, do you feel like you guys have what it takes; you have the personnel, the scheme and everything to get those explosives now that you don’t have Amari?
“I think it’s the big thing for us, Mary Kay (Cabot), is efficient and explosive. Certainly, you’re always going into a game searching for ways to get the ball down the field and have those gains that move the ball. And then you got to be efficient as well. Certainly, searching for explosives in any game, but you don’t want to not be efficient as well.”
Do you feel like Deshaun has the accuracy he needs on these explosives? Because sometimes they look kind of off, but maybe that’s because the route was off or the whatever.
“Yeah, I feel confident in that area. I think he can make all those throws, and I think our guys will make plays for him as well.”
The number 80 (Andrei Iosivas) for them I think… Has he sort of become the new Tyler Boyd in their offense?
“Yeah, they’ve done a nice job. They’re playing some different personnel groupings. They have played with some two back, so they’re doing a nice job of trying to keep the defense off balance with different personnel groupings, different formations. It seems that the quarterback trusts all those guys that he’s thrown to.”