Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (11.18.22)
Opening statement:
“A good week of work and then we will get on the bus tomorrow and head to Detroit. Excited about the challenge. We talked about it all week. A really good football team that we are playing. They are very well coached. I have a lot of respect for their entire staff. It is an impressive group on offense, defense and special teams so we have to be at our best going on the road and find a way.”
On if the team practiced yesterday thinking the game might be moved to a dome:
“I knew that was a possibility yesterday while we were practicing, yes.”
On if the game being played in a dome rather than outside changes what the Browns would have done during the practice week:
“No. We practiced inside today.”
On confirming the Browns will bus to Detroit:
“We are.”
On changes when playing a game inside rather than outside with unpredictable weather conditions:
“You adjust. There are some things that early on we talked about having offensively and defensively for the weather conditions – some personnel groupings, plays and those type of things that you probably aren’t going to get to in this type of game now that it is in a dome or indoors. Plenty of lead time to make adjustments there.”
On minimizing the potential distraction of the game moving to Detroit by focusing on the contest still being at 1 p.m. on Sunday and simply traveling to another location:
“I really don’t think it is a distraction at all. The guys will go step onto a bus and end up in Detroit.”
On if the circumstances pertaining to COVID-19 protocols help the team with its adaptability:
“Yeah, it could be. I think it really falls into the bucket of control the things that you can control. Certainly, we learned that – the whole league and probably the whole world – in COVID, like you mentioned. Just going to control what we can control.”
On CB Greg Newsome II being added to the injury report today:
“Yeah, he had a collision with a teammate so he is getting evaluated for a concussion. We will see where it goes.”
On how TE David Njoku looked in practice this week and Njoku being listed as questionable for Sunday’s game:
“I think he is progressing. I think you want to take the time here over the next couple of hours and couple of days. He is progressing.”
On who collided with Newsome in practice today:
“I am going to protect the names of the innocent (laughter). It happens. You are going full speed. Hoping that he is OK, but we will see.”
On how an injury late in the week could impact the gameplan:
“It has happened before. Like we have talked about, you get injuries sometimes in pregame and you get injuries in the first quarter or third quarter or early in the week and late in the week. You just have to adjust.”
On the significance of CB Martin Emerson Jr.’s experience this season if Newsome is unable to play on Sunday:
“Just in total, the DBs are competing like crazy. I think it is a really good group. They are very competitive at practice and work extremely hard. I think that whole group understands the challenge that this week in particular presents.”
On if playing indoors on turf favors one team over the other this week:
“I don’t know. It is so hard to say. You have to be ready to play outdoors in great weather and then sometimes it is raining and snowing and you go indoors. It is football. I don’t know who that favors.”
On defending Bills QB Josh Allen and the Bills’ weapons on the perimeter, especially when weather conditions will no longer be a factor:
“You have to defend their attack. Obviously, I don’t care what the conditions are, it is a difficult attack to defend. Really, the focus for us goes back to making sure we are sound in everything we are doing. From a rush plan to a coverage plan, we just have to be sound.”
On how defensive coordinator Joe Woods has dealt with external public criticism:
“As we have talked about before, as coaches, we really keep our head down and focus on trying to get better. I see that from Joe. I see that from all of our coaches. I see that from our team. You obviously want to make sure that you are doing everything you can to go find ways to win football games. You have to grind, the game is a grind and the week is a grind. That is kind of where we are.”
On if he has been more involved on the defensive side of the ball:
“I have always spent a good amount of time with the defense. I have to be intentional of how I split my day up, so to speak. Talk to Joe and the defensive staff every day. Again, like we talked about, anything that we are trying to fix, we have to be problem solvers, and that is what we are trying to do.”
On how much attention he pays to the Bills dealing with weather conditions, including as it relates to Buffalo not practicing today and uncertainty about when the Bills will travel to Detroit:
“Not much. You saw many examples over the years and we went through it where you don’t get to practice [during COVID-19 protocols]. As many of the players reminded me when we won those games that practice is overrated (laughter).”
On if he is encouraging Browns fans to travel to Detroit since the Bills are encouraging their fans to go to Detroit:
“I am as curious as anybody about what that is going to look like, who is going to be in that stadium and how full it is going to be. We are ready for the silent count. Obviously, we practiced silent count all week. I don’t know [what it will look like]. I think we have to get there on Sunday and see what it looks like. Obviously, I would like as many people in brown and orange as we can get, but I am as curious as anybody to see exactly how many people are in there.”
On if Bills LB Von Miller is still playing as strong as ever:
“He has not lost any step, any twitch, any speed or anything like that. He is still rushing at an extremely high level. He affects the quarterback and affects the game. You have to pay very close attention to him. He is a very, very good player.”
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