Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (9.16.24)
Opening Statement:
“All right, injury updates. David Bell, like I told you guys, has a hip injury that will require surgery. So, disappointed for David. I will tell you, I gave him a game ball, nine plays, he had three catches. So disappointed for him, a guy that his teammates really appreciate how that kid works, and then he’ll bounce back. Pierre Strong has a hamstring injury, I’d say that’s week-to-week. And then Ogbo (Okoronkwo) is cleared from the concussion protocol. You know, like we talked last night, wasn’t perfect, wasn’t always pretty, but it was gritty, and I thought the guys found a way there, and it’s certainly a learning experience. I think win, lose, or draw, you got to learn from these things. With that, I’ll take any questions.”
Hey, Kevin, I know you want your starting quarterback to always start well. What did you like about the way Deshaun (Watson) opened up yesterday?
“I thought offensively, Tom (Withers), in Deshaun, obviously, in particular, we played clean, we played on time, and I thought he spread the ball around. Was very good in his reads, really, throughout the day. But kind of took what was there, if number one wasn’t there, moved on to number two and played really clean.”
Along those lines, he’s always had to carry the load regardless of where he is or was. Now he’s in the second year with you guys. Does he seem to have a better grasp on, he doesn’t have to be the hero every time. That he has to make good, smart plays as you just referenced?
“I think Deshaun understands how to win, first and foremost. And I think he understands that he’ll do whatever it takes to win. I think he’s like a lot of the great quarterbacks out there; they’re prepared to do whatever it takes to find a way to win.”
I wanted to ask you about Myles (Garrett) playing through this foot injury. Just, you know, he made it clear after the game he plans to play through this thing, but just what do you plan to do to help him deal with this and play through it?
“I mean, we can obviously treat, all these guys, we can treat the injury, you can rest. And then there’s a lot of guys that are playing through a ton of things and Myles is no different. He’s done that in his career when I’ve been with him. He plays through things, and he’ll just continue to get better and treat the injury.”
And then Denzel Ward, I think he had just eleven snaps on Sunday. Just what’s the plan with him and how is he physically?
“You know, each injury is different. We’ll continue to work with every guy and rehab and I think injuries get better with rest and with time, and I think this is no different.”
I know you said yesterday that Amari (Cooper) is a pro and he’ll be fine, but why do you think it hasn’t quite clicked yet for him and Deshaun through these first two games?
“Yeah, again, small sample size. I’ve seen it click with those two guys many times, so we’ll just keep working.”
And with David Njoku, is he out this week or is there a chance he can play?
“I wouldn’t rule him out yet. It’s a week-to-week injury, so got to get through the next couple days to have a better sense.”
I know last week you guys had more penalties than you wanted and then kind of replicated that again in week two. With that being a point of emphasis I’m sure for you guys this week, how do you coach up those penalties, especially those illegal shifts and some of those offensive holdings that took you guys back behind the sticks more than you’d like?
“Yeah, really disappointed there, Cam (Justice). We need to be better in that area. It’s hard to win, we don’t need to make it harder on ourselves and we did in a bunch of areas. So we can just identify and correct, we’ll keep hammering it. But until we do it, we’re just going to make life hard and we don’t want to do that.”
Is there anything that’s ongoing from having to learn from this new point of emphasis with those, maybe, the shifts? I know those illegal formations were a little bit more frequent last week, but is there anything that’s carried over that you’re still trying to work through?
“You know, not really. We know the rules. An illegal shift wiped out a touchdown for them as well. And so it’s so, so, so important to be about our business. And the more pre-snap motion and shifts and type things that you do, you really have to be on top of it. So that’s a point of emphasis for us.”
You just touched about it a little bit but, is there a silver lining? I know you want to play clean, but to come out of a game and get a win when you had so many self-inflicted wounds, you know, beside the penalties; dropped passes, plays that are correctable and still get a win?
“Well, I think like we talked about yesterday, Fred (Greetham), winning is hard in the National Football League. So going on the road, playing a good team, obviously accomplished our goal last week, yesterday, but we have to do that again this week against another good team. So really the focus becomes making sure that you don’t beat yourself. Because again, it’s hard to get a win in this league.”
Hey, Kevin, just to give you a chance to expand on David Bell a little bit more, I mean, he, I know is your guys’ ‘Mr. Reliable’. To see a young receiver who kind of just did everything that was asked of him, always in the right place. For his season to end like this, just how disappointing is that in all the years you’ve gotten to know him so far?
“Yeah, very disappointing, Ashley (Bastock). And we’ve talked about injuries many times and they’re no fun, nobody likes them. Particularly ones like this that can end a season. So, feel badly for David. I know his teammates feel badly for him, but he will bounce back. But he’s a guy that is a big part of this football team. He’ll be here, I’m sure, as he rehabs and can provide that steady hand as well, even just in this building.”
And then just to ask about the third-and-six snap at the end of the game where Deshaun didn’t take the sack. I mean, I know you talked about learning from that play yesterday. Is that one of those things where it’s like a very quick teaching experience for you as a coach and you kind of put it out there and move on from it then?
“Yeah, I mean, listen, Deshaun got a game ball. I mean, he played well. He helped us win that game. Obviously, that play wasn’t exactly how we wanted it to go, but he’s a battler. That, I think, is very evident.”
Hey, Kevin, I wanted to ask you about Jerry (Jeudy) and just the way he sort of fit into this offense through two games and it seemed like yesterday, just kind of watching, he sort of became like the outlet guy for Deshaun when the play broke down. Just kind of what has he added so far to this offense and how have you noticed Deshaun sort of counting on him in those situations?
“Yeah, Jerry made a couple of nice plays off schedule. David Bell made a nice playoff schedule. So, there were guys that were working with the quarterback but Jerry’s doing a nice job. We’re going to continue to learn more about him and how to line him up, where to line him up, those type of things.
Just wondering, is David Bell’s surgery definitely season ending?
“I’ll confirm that, but I believe so, yes.”
Kevin, on Jack Conklin and Jed (Jedrick) Wills. Do you expect that maybe one or both of them could be ready to play this week?
“Yeah, potentially.”
Hey, Coach. You talked about motion a little bit earlier, but just from week one to week two, it seemed like you guys did a lot more of that this week. Just how much does that help the offense and what did you see from yesterday in terms of being able to do a little bit more when you were utilizing that in your game?
“Yeah, I think it speaks to every game really calls for its own game plan and sometimes you lean into certain personnels more than others, certain play types more than others, and sometimes it’s a shift game, sometimes it’s a motion game, sometimes it’s both. So really, we focus really on a week-to-week basis on those type of things. Yesterday we had a few more times with movement. Now, like I talked about earlier, we have to lock in when you are moving because now you have the chance of having two people moving at the same time if you have a double shift, per se. So, it’s certainly part of what we’re doing, it’s part of our attack, and it’ll really just be a game-to-game decision.”
And then we saw that JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) had the Guardian Cap on yesterday. He’s the first player, obviously, on your guys seem to wear one. I’m curious, what kinds of conversations do you guys have with guys about the Guardian Cap? Do you talk to certain players who maybe have had more head injuries about using them and just what are those conversations kind of like?
“Yeah, the NFL does a nice job educating the guys on the Guardian Cap usage and the numbers behind it, and then our equipment staff does a great job as well in that area and it’s really up to each player on what they want to do.”
Hey, Coach. I just wanted to ask, with Jack Conklin, how close was he to playing Sunday? And just kind of, was there any thought at all on whether he had a chance to play?
“Yeah, without a doubt I mean, he’s continuing to get close. We just need to make a decision, really, as you get into through a week, get in the weekend and decide what’s best for the team. But, yes, he’s getting close.”
And could you provide any update, I know we haven’t talked in a while about Nick Chubb, where he’s at right now?
“Really no update on Nick. He’s here.”
Hey Kevin, I had a question about a specific penalty. Were you surprised to see the flag on Dustin Hopkins on the kickoff being over the 50?
“No, I wasn’t surprised. That’s a penalty, Dustin knows that. That was really disappointing. You know, that’s a game changing play. We get the ball. Obviously, Dustin kicked really well for us yesterday, he’s been a huge asset for us. But he just made a mistake there. He knows the rule, he just made a mistake”
Third down has been a struggle for you in the first two weeks, and I know a bunch of stuff goes into that. But, what did you see specifically yesterday that you’d like to get cleaned up?
“Yeah, it’s always a combination of protection and/or route running and precision in the pass game. So, plenty to clean up. I will tell you, the distance on those third downs really matters. So, it’s protection, it’s coverage, it’s rush, it’s all those things and it’s also the distance.”
I wanted to ask you about Cedric Tillman in the preseason training camp offseason. Felt like he was going to be a big part. It seemed like he was playing behind David Bell, a guy you let go a couple weeks ago. And can you just say where he’s at? And is it just a small sample size or what you see going forward with Cedric Tillman?
“Yeah, very small sample size and Ced (Cedric Tillman) is doing everything we’re asking him to do. So, ball will make its way to him. I mean, there’s a lot — that’s the good news and there’s a bunch of guys on our team that can make plays with the ball in their hands and Ced is certainly one of them.”
Kevin, it felt like you went back to your bread and butter yesterday with the run game. You know, D’Onta Foreman early, Jerome Ford. Was that by design or product of game flow and just how do you think that whole thing responded?
“Yeah, I think we had some good moments, obviously, in the run game, some good moments in the pass game, but we definitely have to play cleaner. I will tell you; we were better on first and second down which is a very, very big part of having any production on offense. So, we were better, but we feel like there’s still things that we can do better, certainly, when it comes to the run game.”
And then just lastly, there seemed to be some confusion after the safety with Jacksonville doing the free kick. Just what was going on there from your perspective? Were they trying to do an onside kick and they weren’t allowed?
“Well, they declared onside kick, so we knew that, and that’s how you’re allowed to align like we did. We wanted to call timeout to see how they were aligning and how they were holding the ball and those type of things. So, once we saw what was going on, we made sure (James) Proche was over where we thought the ball was going. I know it may seem easy, that’s a very difficult — the way that ball was kicked, that punter (Logan Cooke) does a very nice job with that banana ball, and I thought Proche did a really good job of securing the catch.”