Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (10.19.22)
Opening statement:
“Second division game of the season, going on the road down to Baltimore. Looking forward to the challenge, and it is a challenge. They are well coached. I will start with their offense. Obviously, a great player at quarterback (Ravens QB Lamar Jackson). The offense goes through him. As you can imagine, he is outstanding in the run game. In the pass game, can make plays within the offense and can make plays outside the framework of the offense. A huge challenge, and somebody who we have played against. You have a lot of tape on him and you have a lot of practice reps going against him, but he is just a different challenge than you get most weeks in the NFL. Great players around him. Tight end No. 89 (Ravens TE Mark Andrews) is outstanding, as we know. He is a really, really productive player. The scheme presents its challenges, and they are surrounded by good players and a bunch of new players. There are some new things that they are doing from a personnel standpoint, but they are doing a nice job. Defensively, a first-year coordinator but (Ravens defensive coordinator) Mike Macdonald has been there so some similarities to what they have done, but you do see his imprint on their defense so far. Obviously, a small sample size, but they are doing a nice job. They still have some big, physical football players up front. They are healthy at corner right now. Previous to last year, they are healthy at corner with No. 44 (Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey) and No. 24 (Ravens CB Marcus Peters) manning the outside, some really good young talent in the back end and linebackers that can run. A challenge schematically. A good defense. Special teams, they are well coached. A great returner. Some good football players across the board in their coverage phases. Everybody has their work cut out for them this week when you are facing this team. Excited for the challenge of a division game on the road.”
On if the Browns have discussed personnel changes in addition to LB Deion Jones potentially being activated to the 53-man roster:
“No. Deion, we are hoping that he gets up to speed this week. Other things would be just seeing who is available and that type of thing.”
On if the Browns are ruling out G Wyatt Teller for Sunday’s game:
“It is doubtful. I don’t like ruling guys out on Wednesdays so we will see how treatment goes and those type of things. He will continue to rehab and try to make it back.”
On if he believes DE Myles Garrett remains on track to play Sunday:
“I do.”
On if QB Kellen Mond is playing the role of Jackson in practice this week and if Mond is the scout team QB every week:
“It is a little bit of everybody week to week. (QB) Josh Dobbs takes a lot of those reps to get himself ready and stay sharp. You will get a little bit of all of those guys. You may take some other players and put them back there on certain plays just to really work that speed element of it. There are a bunch of guys who will try to fill that role.”
On if the Browns have used a WR as a scout team QB at times in the past:
“We have.”
On if he was in the locker room when QB Jacoby Brissett addressed the team after the Patriots game:
“We were all in there.”
On if messages like Brissett’s can be impactful:
“Whenever a player speaks up, players listen. This is a peer-led thing. Jacoby has seen a lot in his career. I know he is a young man still, but he has seen a lot. I think it is important when he does speak up, I think the guys do listen. At the end of the day, it is a matter of doing. We do need to just follow through on all of the things that we are talking about.”
On S John Johnson III comment about everyone needing to be focused on the task at hand, including when not in the building:
“I have talked to John, I have talked to the leadership group and talked to a lot of the young players. You do want these guys to take their jobs seriously. This is a job at the end of the day, and you have to spend time with it when you are in the building and you have to spend time away from the building. There are young players of course that you are trying to teach them how to be a pro. Until you teach them, there are some guys who don’t know. Like most teams, you have young players that you are bringing along, but I think the guys do a good job of pouring everything they have into these weeks. We fill up their day. We fill it up with whether it is meetings, walkthroughs, practice, lifting, rehab and those type of things, but there is also an element of this job that you do stay committed to it outside of this building.”
On how Jackson has improved as a passer:
“He is good. He makes plays from the pocket. He makes plays outside of the pocket. He spreads the ball around. He doesn’t target one area of the field. He doesn’t target one player. He spreads the ball around. He is accurate. The ball comes out on time. He is just dangerous because like I said earlier, within the framework of the offense, it is a well-schemed up offense. When you have the quarterback who can carry the ball and the defense has to account for him in the run game, that is difficult from a run fit, and I think every team that plays him understands that. When that same guy can beat you from the pocket with his arm, it presents all sorts of other challenges.”
On if comments about Browns players staying committed to the task at hand when outside of the building are limited to rookies or also veterans:
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. My message to the team when you are not producing how you want to produce, we all have to do our jobs and then we all just have to do more. I think it is do your job a little bit better, but let’s do more. What more can we do?”
On if additional commitment to preparation includes players doing work at home specific to the next day’s practice:
“It is probably a little bit different for each position group. Again, having vets in each room to show the guys the way is really important. As coaches, we play a factor in that in giving guys projects and homework to do, so to speak. I think so often in my career just watching young players come into this league, they are really raised by their room in a lot of ways. When you have a room with some veterans who can show them the way, that is ideal.”
On Browns players during the offseason and training camp being asked to write down areas they hope to approve and showing the team the next day and if that can continue during the regular season:
“It is definitely a big emphasis in the offseason in terms of skill development and that type of thing. I do know that as the season goes on, some of the most important work that you do at practices is during that individual period where you are just refining those skills. I don’t think any of the players or the coaches assume that guys are as good as they are going to be technique wise when the season starts. I do think that there is an ability to get better there.”
On if G Hjalte Froholdt will start at RG if Teller is unavailable:
“He is an option. There are a bunch of different guys who have played in there. Hjalte was the guy who obviously finished out the game last week. We will kind of see where we go this week.”
On if Teller’s physicality is what the Browns would miss most if unavailable to play:
“He is a good player. He is good in the run game, good in the pass game and has played a lot of good reps for us and played a lot for us over the last few years.”
On the Ravens’ production with takeaways despite having a lower ranked pass defense:
“They are doing a really nice job. They are doing things a little bit different than they have done maybe in years past, just some of the percentages of certain coverages they are playing and those that type of things. At the end of the day, they have the players to play it all. They can play man, they can play zone and they can play all different versions of zone. I think they are doing a nice job when they are visual on the quarterback, they are breaking on the ball, they are tipping the ball in the air and they are coming down with interceptions. A bunch of versatile players in the back end.”
On T Chris Hubbard’s status and if Hubbard is an option at RG if Teller is unavailable:
“He is healthy. He is really playing more tackle for us right now.”
On Hubbard playing at G in the NFL before:
“He has. In this instance, I still think he is a tackle for us.”
On if the Browns review film of last year’s games against the Ravens, given the defense’s performance in those contests:
“Of course, you watch a lot of that, and so do they. They look at the tape to see how we tried to defend them so they are going to have their adjustments off of that. We look at it and see what worked and didn’t work. Just getting back to earlier, it is a unique challenge playing the Ravens. They do things different than most offenses that you are going to see on a week-to-week basis. It is very specific to that week, and then it is just kind of incumbent upon us to have a plan that our guys can go play and play fast.”
On DE Jadeveon Clowney’s status and what factors will determine Clowney’s ability to return:
“He is coming along. He is rehabbing very hard. He wants to get out there. Just see him practice and make sure that physically he can go be himself.”
On trying to limit Jackson’s connections with Ravens TE Mark Andrew:
“I think every team goes in trying to shut them down. Realistically, that is really difficult to do. You want to slow them down obviously. At the end of the day, you want to score more points than their offense. You go into every time you are playing this offense and you have your rules, you need to tackle well and you need to do all of those little things. You also need to realize they have a really, really good player at quarterback, and he is a great player at tight end. They are going to make their plays. Can you limit those? Can you limit the big ones and tackle and get him on the ground? Can you force them into some negative plays? To say that you are just going to go and shut them down, nobody has done that.”
On the Ravens run defense, including against NY Giants RB Saquon Barkley last week, and if the Ravens run defense’s scheme is similar to the Patriots:
“Some similarities. Definitely some similarities with five guys on the line of scrimmage. They are physical. They are big. Obviously, powerful. (Ravens DT Justin) Madubuike and (Ravens DE) Calais Campbell in there. Good players on the edges. They play multiple fronts. They play multiple coverages. We will see what their plan is for us and vice versa. It is a stout front.”
On Jackson’s total interceptions in the fourth quarter and if the Browns can expect opportunities to create takeaways with Jackson:
“Every game, you are trying to take it away. I don’t think you want to go into a game just trying to let them give it to you. That just doesn’t happen. Mentality wise for the defense is they have to go take it away, whether it is a strip on a sack, a strip on a tackle, punching it out, tipping a ball, breaking on a ball and those type of things. I think you have to have that mentality that you are going to go take it away.”
On the emotions and timing of Brissett’s message to the team after the Patriots game:
“Again, I have a ton of respect for Jacoby, as does the entire team. When one of the leaders of the football team speaks up in any setting, the guys listen. It is an important part of leadership. When those guys feel like they want to share, they share.”
On how to create more takeaways, which can be contagious and come in bunches:
“We are trying, every team is trying to get the ball. It is such a huge part of this game – scoring on defense, getting more opportunities for your offense and setting your offense up for a score. It is a formula for winning across the NFL obviously. You can win games where you don’t take it away; it just becomes more difficult. It is very important for the offense to take care of the ball, but in terms of no, you can’t speak it into existence so what can you do? You can work it at practice. You can drill it. You can emphasize it. You can watch tape. You can talk about it in the meeting room.”
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