Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (8.6.22)
On the Browns traveling to Jacksonville on Wednesday:
“Really regardless of where we were playing, I wanted to go in early and kind of have some team activities, if you will. There are some things that I think that we can get down there and take a look at in Jacksonville, which I think the players will have a nice experience doing. It just gives us opportunities to do some team-building exercises, if you will, which anytime that you travel, that is team-building enough. Just being around each other, felt like (Preseason) Week 1 was the right time to do that.”
On the team activity scheduled in Jacksonville:
“We will do walkthroughs down there and meet quite a bit, but there are some things that we will do off the field.”
On if the Browns will practice on Wednesday before going to Jacksonville:
“Yes, we will practice Wednesday around noon and then get on the plane.”
On WR David Bell, LB Anthony Walker Jr. and WR Javon Wims being reactivated today and the plans to integrate them into practice:
“You have to be smart. Obviously, they are not going to come in and get a bunch of reps just because they are all working through their own injuries or what have you. We will be smart. I think you will see those guys in individual to start, maybe some on air-type drills and then eventually get them into team drills.”
On if the Browns feel good about Bell’s ability to get fully up to speed with the offense:
“I do. He is really intelligent. He had a nice spring for us. We have moved him around in the formation. He picked it up pretty quickly. We are excited about getting him back out here. Like anything, I want him to catch up real fast, and I know that he does, too. He is excited to be back out.”
On if Bell could play at Jacksonville:
“We will see. With him coming off [the active/PUP list], I will see how he does today, the next day and those type of things, but I am not ruling him out.”
On CB A.J. Green making the team as an undrafted free agent in 2020:
“I am trying to remember back if I can to when we first got him. A.J., the first thing you notice with him is just physical ability and physical size. He has length and has really good ball skills. I think that shows up in practice. He is very competitive around the ball, and then I would go back to special teams. Right from the jump, he got in there on special teams and was making plays on almost every phase. I think that is one way to certainly get the coaches’ attention.”
On the Browns signing DE Chris Odom:
“With all of it, we added a receiver (WR Daylen Baldwin), added a DB (CB Lavert Hill) and added a defensive end (Odom). You have to catch them up as quickly as you can. The good news is all of those guys are pros. They are all very intelligent. They are full speed ahead with their coaches, diving into the playbook and then see what they can handle. It is really per person. You have to make sure that you meet each guy where they are.”
On what the Browns liked about Odom:
“I know he was productive down there in the USFL so somebody who our scouts identified as a guy that we liked to come in and see what he could do.”
On if WR Michael Woods II will miss time due to injury:
“He is going to miss some time, yes.”
On if Woods sustained the injury in practice:
“Yeah, a muscle injury. It is something that affected him back in the spring so we are just going to be smart.”
On slower 40-yard dash times often impacting NFL players’ draft status and sticking with them through their careers and when CB A.J. Green proved that he was faster than his 40-yard dash time in 2020:
“I think we organizationally – I know I do – you look at that number, but that is not playing speed, and you have ways to measure playing speed nowadays. There are so many guys who have played football for a long, long time who had ‘bad 40 times.’ I do not pay too much attention to it. Obviously, when a guy runs fast, you notice it and you can see it, but you want to see that show up in games and you want to see that show up in how they play. Do they play fast? Do they react? Those type of things. I will be honest, I am not even aware of what A.J.’s 40 number is.”
On how much GPS tracking in the NFL has helped teams judge game speed versus 40-yard dash times:
“Yeah, I think it is good. It is uniform across players, and it is uniform across the leagues that you have access to it so you really can measure guys based on how fast they play. That is with pads on and of course playing the sport as opposed to at the combine in your underwear, it is a track drill so it is just totally different. The nice part is when you have all of those numbers, it is uniform across the board.”
On QB Josh Dobbs’ performance on and off the field during training camp:
“I thought he has done a great job. I have really enjoyed how he has handled himself and how he has done in the meeting room. I think he is on top of everything. He has had some really good moments out there on the practice field. You always have moments that you wish you could have back, like any quarterback, but I think he is doing a nice job.”
On if DE Stephen Weatherly’s knee injury will require surgery:
“Yes.”
On disappointment that Weatherly’s sustained an injury that requires surgery:
“I am disappointed for Steve. I have a history with him going back to the Vikings. A really, really solid person. Just a rock-solid person so disappointed for him.”
On the Browns DTs’ performance at this point of training camp:
“Honestly, it is really for every position, I would say up and down. I think that there have been some really good moments and things we have to clean up. I think when the pads go on, what you do not want is the technique to go out the window. We work our drills so often, and with what (defensive line) Coach (Chris) Kiffin is doing with our guys, repetition and making it so that it just shows up in practice. Sometimes the pads go on and you lose a little bit of that. There is definitely some refinement that needs to go on.”
On LB Anthony Walker Jr. and LB Jacob Phillips competing for starting MIKE:
“The way I look at that is I like having a lot of good players. I think we have a ton of good players at that linebacker position. All of them are going to play, and those guys do push each other. They respect each other, they push each other, they enjoy playing together, they enjoy each other off the field and they are friendly – in that whole room I am talking. I think it is a great thing to have competition in a room that also recognizes that they all have each other’s back.”
On if there are any updates regarding QB Deshaun Watson:
“No.”
On addressing the team shortly after QB Jacoby Brissett went down on a play and his message to the team:
“That had nothing to do with Jacoby. I will keep that between me and the team.”
On how Bell has been able to stay up to speed with the team mentally while unable to practice due to injury:
“Anybody who is injured, they are in every single meeting and they are at every single walkthrough so they are getting those mental reps, but you are not getting the physical reps. So much of that is making sure that you are diligent about being out here at walkthrough and knowing what play is going on, standing next to the coach and talking through the adjustments on maybe that given play. There is no secret to that one. It just takes a lot of time.”
On if the Browns have discussed K Cade York’s range in detail and if the Browns will consider York attempting kicks of 60-plus yards this season:
“I do not know that we are there yet. Obviously, we are excited about Cade, and he has done a nice job out here. This is a process so we have to get through the preseason, get into the season and see where he is. We are excited to have him. Obviously in those moments when you need a guy, you are going to want a guy who can come through for you. That is why we drafted him where we drafted him, but also understanding that he is a rookie, this is a process and we have to make sure that we respect that and understand that throughout that time.”
On if he has a favorite drill to run in practice:
“Just a team drill, when you get both sides off the field and you send plays in and it is a longer drill, that is the closest thing that looks to a game. So much of what we are doing is getting ready to play these games. Those individual drills are about refining your skill and being great at fundamentals and techniques that then have to show up in these practices and they have to show up in games. When you have a team drill, you get to see how guys can react to a play coming into the huddle, the defense coming into the huddle quickly and getting through the mental checklist of where I need to be, my alignment, my assignment and technique and can I maintain my techniques throughout that play and can I maintain my techniques throughout six plays. As we start to get into team drills where we move the football more, I think that is all about getting us ready for ultimately what matters most, which is the games.”
On if the Browns have worked two-minute drills in practice yet during training camp:
“Coming tomorrow.”
On if the Browns will practice live goal-line drills in training camp and if the team will not conduct those drills due to safety:
“We won’t do it. Yeah. We have not done it in the last couple of years. We will go through it and we will have an instillation period of that, but we will not do it live.”
On if the Browns will be more selective on when to kick FGs in preseason games, given York is the only K on the roster:
“He is young. He will be OK. It depends. It depends do we feel like the offense needs to work in that situation or do we feel Cade needs the work. It is not going to be an absolute. We will just kind of deal with it by each situation.”
On York frequently making FGs with plenty of distance to spare:
“As long as they get through. He has done everything we have asked him to do since we got him. He is a rookie. He is going to have some growing pains. He is not going to be perfect right away. He needs to work at his craft. I am obviously aware of that.”
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