Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (7.30.22)
Opening statement:
“Good to see everybody. Beautiful day for football. We have our fans out here today, which is great. I know our players are excited to feel that energy from this awesome group of fans. Excited for that.”
On if he has anything ‘exciting planned for the fans today’:
“A good football practice – how about that? We are still in the early stages of our work. We have a lot of work to do. As you guys know, we do not have the pads on just yet, but you will see some competitive periods. Again, anytime you have the fans out here – it happens every year – the first time the group is out there, you are going to see the intensity of practice rise up and you are going to see guys’ energy levels rise up. It just gets competitive. That is the beauty of our sport is it is a competitive sport.”
On TE David Njoku’s career growth:
“We talked a little about this when we signed David [to a new contract this summer], his game has evolved. I am really proud of him and the work that he has put in and watching his blocking develop over the course of time that I have been here. He has really bought in. He is obviously big enough and strong enough to do a lot of those jobs. That is what I am probably the most proud of him for but also recognizing that there is a ton of room to grow. I think that is the beauty of David and a lot of our players here is they have that growth mindset where they want to continually get better.”
On if WR Amari Cooper is vocal about preferred types of routes or the type of receiver he wants to be:
“I think he is not going to come out and say it unless you ask him, but when you do, you are talking to a very, very smart football player. He has seen all of the coverages. He has gone against every DB. I think he knows his game and what he is good at. We had those conversations and great dialogue about routes that he has really consistently won on in his career because ultimately, as we put this together, we are trying to match up what our guys do best. Anytime you can have that conversation with a player, I think it is important.”
On what makes Cooper such a great route runner, including double moves:
“The first thing you notice with Amari is just his size. I think his forward lean at that size really gets defensive backs’ attention. With double moves – a single move or a double move – you really have to be definitive in what you do on that first move. I think he has the savviness to realize how much to spend on that first move before you get into that second move. You will see a lot of young players run a double move and they will rush it, and they will be very greedy with their first move and they do not sell it. With Amari and with the amount of reps he has had over his career, he has that savviness and that wherewithal to sell the first route first.”
On if the Browns decrease the use of three TE sets will it create more opportunities for Njoku:
“Yeah, I think potentially sure. We have talked about that with our tight end room – we still have to see how that tight end room emerges this season. With David, I do think there will be more share of opportunities.”
On defensive line Coach Chris Kiffin sharing his appreciation for being able to return to the Browns after leaving for a position at Ole Miss with brother, Head Coach Lane Kiffin, for a short period of time this offseason and if the Browns looked for a new DL coach during that time:
“I do not remember. That was a long time ago. We are very excited that Kiff is back. That was a unique opportunity that came up with his brother down there, but very excited that Kiff is back.”
On if Njoku has the potential to be among one of the top NFL TEs:
“Obviously, we think highly of David and think that he has a bright future ahead of him – he is a young player. I know it has been mentioned many times, he is still a very young player. In terms of where that fits in the league and those type of things, I think for us, we are just trying to make sure we put our guys in position to succeed. Like we talked about, there may be more opportunities for David this year. We are excited about where he is. We are excited about where (TE) Harrison (Bryant) is. Really, you can go across the roster and look at a bunch of guys who will help us come Sundays.”
On if there is a mindset that of Njoku and QB Deshaun Watson could be ‘an elite combination:
“I am not sure. I do not know.”
On if there are early returns of progress from the ramp-up period or if it is primarily known after the long term:
“What we are trying to do is be very intentional about how we plan practice. You have X number of days to get them ready. We have X number of days before that Jacksonville game. We have X number of days before the Carolina game, and then you have 17 of those games. It is just trying to use all of the information at our disposal, get this team ready to play, be smart about it and make sure that every step along the way we have that discussion about what we do is in the safest way. That is what we are doing right now. There will be plenty of dog days of training camp, and it is going to be really hard and the players are not going to like me very much, but I just feel like now is the time to ramp into this thing appropriately.”
On takeaways from the NFL’s first 17-game season that the Browns can apply this year:
“It is something that we have talked about last season was adding that game, there was a cost to that game – there was a physical cost to that game How were we going to address that cost? We tried to do that throughout the season in how we prepared, and you can’t wait until the 17th game to say, ‘Alright, now we are going to take care of the team.’ You have to be proactive about that looking forward. That is important that our guys realize there is a lot of work to be done – they will have their days off starting tomorrow – and when you have those days off and when you are in this building, how do you recover. Fortunately, we have a lot of modalities in there that can help with that recovery, but the first part first, you have to have something to recover from. That is what we are trying to do here with the work that we are putting in.”
On if the full period of preparation during training camp and the preseason is still fully needed with the 17-game schedule:
“For me, it has been interesting, going back to 2020, that was an unprecedented situation and not having the preseason games and having what felt like an ample amount of time – you were not traveling to cities to go play a game. With three games, you structure it a little bit differently, if you will. I think all 32 teams have to make decisions based on what they feel is right for their team. I know there are 32 ways to do it. I have studied it and looked at other ways to do it. We just feel like this is our best way to do it.”
On if there is an update on WR David Bell’s status:
“No update. He is doing well. He is progressing well. Should see him soon.”
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