Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (6.7.23)
Kevin, are you ready to name a starter for the Hall of Fame Game?
No, I’m not. But I’ll be there.
Hey, Kevin, without Kareem here, do you see Chubb being a little more used in the passing game?
I think it’s early to say, you know, make those type of predictions. Nick’s a huge part of what we do offensively in the run and in the pass, so we’ll see how all that shakes out, like you mentioned. But I think he’s doing a really nice job, showed up. He’s in shape. He’s catching up to some of the things that are new, and he’s working at it.
Looks like you all are experimenting with the different things Elijah Moore can do offensively.
Yeah, I think that’s what, honestly, the offseason and minicamp are for, you got to put things in the laboratory, see what they look like. So we’re trying to emphasize certain things where we need extra reps, really, is what we’re trying to do. So make sure that we’re intentional about what we’ve rep so that we can see what we like, see what works for our players. Because ultimately, like you mentioned, each one of these players, Elijah, in this case, we got to find out what he does best.
I know this probably isn’t the ideal situation, evaluate defensive lineman yet, but what have you seen out of Obo?
It’s so hard. You want to say, ‘hey, this guy’s having a good camp.’ It’s so hard in the rules how they’re written for the guys in the trenches that their game is predicated on physicality, and you can’t do that. So Obo in particular, though, I’ve been very impressed with him in our building. Works really hard, displays some leadership traits. As you know, we’ve played him, so I know what he’s all about. He’s really a relentless pass rusher. Plays hard, plays with power, plays with speed. So excited about Obo. But right now, I think he’s doing a nice job with what we’re asking him to do.
When you make the move for then Za’Darius, after you sign him, does there need to be a conversation? I’m thinking he came here thinking he was going to be a starter, and now his role might be different.
I think for all of our players, you have a lot of those conversations with your guys throughout the offseason as things change. But we also know that our jobs, every single one of us, coaches, players, we have to do our job. Whatever that job is, whatever our role is, whatever role we earn, we have to do that job to the best of our ability.
The gambling violations that have occurred. Did Browns re-up their teaching program? The do’s and don’ts?
Yes, often. Yeah, because we take it really seriously. You could ask the players. We’ve talked a lot about it throughout this offseason. Just because you’re teaching off of things that are happening around our game and happening with other teams, and we don’t want to lose a guy for any reason. We don’t want them to get injured. We don’t want to lose a guy for breaking a rule of any sort. So you have to educate them on the rules because there is some things that are new, as you know, with sports gambling. So part of my job and our job with this organization is to educate our players. We’re going to spend more time on it. We talked about it yesterday. We’re going to spend more time on it this afternoon as well.
Why was Perrion Winfrey not on the field yesterday or today?
Yeah, he’s working inside, but not going to get into all the specifics.
Is he healthy?
Yes.
How does Deshaun look?
I think you’d have to ask him for a specific answer to that. He’s doing everything we’re asking him to do. And like I mentioned earlier, we’re trying some different things. Like, even in that last period, we made an adjustment right before the play. Hey, have the running back do this instead of what we had previously talked about. So it’s all about trying to see what our guys can handle, see what our guys are good at, quarterback included. Want to see what Deshaun is comfortable with. But he’s doing a really nice job.
What about his sharpness?
Yeah. And to your point, seven-on-seven, I mean, I beat the quarterbacks up on your eyes and your feet and those drills, and he’s working really hard. I think he’s working really hard in the meeting room, making sure that he’s got a really good grasp of what we’re doing. And then the ability to make throws, the ability to be on time, go through your progression, and make accurate throws to our guys. So he holds himself to a high standard, and I think he’s practicing really well.
Are you just noticing a difference that comes with a certain comfort level, that this is his team now?
Yeah. Again, I don’t want to go backwards, but I’ll just tell you where he is. He’s working really hard. He’s got, like any of us, one year into it, has a better grasp of all things. So we just got to continue to stack days and get better every day.
What are you seeing from David Njoku?
Yeah, I think, like we’ve talked about a lot with Dave when he was healthy last year, he was rolling, he was making plays in the pass game, was excellent in the run game, so we know what he’s capable of. I still think there’s even more that we can get from Dave and Dave can get from himself. And I think he puts himself in great position to do that with how he takes care of his body, practices really hard. Excited about Dave.
Are you comfortable with the backup offensive tackle situation?
Yeah, I think, as you know, with our roster, we continue to–Andrew and crew look at every position to try and improve throughout the season. I really like the guys we have, both the starters and the backups at that position. They’re working really hard. I think coach Callahan and coach Peters and coach Decoster, they’re spending countless hours in that meeting room out here on the field to develop young players. So we’re working really hard at it right now.
What do you hope are the main benefits that you guys get out of going to The Greenbrier?
Yeah, I think The Greenbrier will be an opportunity for us to get away from town and get under the same roof together. Hopefully there’s no cell phone service, that type of thing. So it just allows you to just be around your team and really focus on the work. I mean, we’re down there, I think, for eight nights, and as we’ve talked about with that Hall of Fame Game, really gives us an opportunity to lengthen our runway into the season. So we’re going to make each one of those days count, but excited to just be down there together and then we’ll get back up here and have plenty more work to do and have an opportunity to get in front of our fans.
Continued:
I think if you have the opportunity and luckily, fortunately, we have ownership that are so supportive of this, but if you have the opportunity to get your team away and really focus on football and kind of eliminate distractions, a crying kid at two in the morning, get everybody in one spot. I think it’s beneficial to your team.
What do you want Deshaun to do between now and training camp?
Yeah, he has a plan. We’ve talked about it. He’ll do a couple of things, personally, but then he’ll have the guys working out in a couple of different spots. They’ll stay sharp. So we’ll talk about it tomorrow with the team. But that break is really important for a bunch of different reasons. Number one, to just get away, take that final breather, because, as you know, it’s a long season, so to get that final breather away from this, but then also to keep yourself in great shape. I think those weeks away are an opportunity for our players to really get ready for the grind. I think they’ve done a nice job with this offseason while they’re here, and then when they’re away, it’s time to get your bodies ready for the grind.
Does the offensive line have to hold blocks longer or how much different is it for them blocking for Deshaun than it was?
Yeah, that’s something we’ve talked about. I mean, it was something, certainly, we saw last season. Deshaun has the ability to extend plays, and when that when those times come up, it’s really incumbent on all ten other guys out there to stay alive. And that may be the receivers getting open. That’s got to be the offensive line when they’re blocking, the play is never over until that whistle blows. And Deshaun does have that unique ability that he’s shown his whole life to extend plays.