Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt (10.14.21)
On if the Browns need to get WR Odell Beckham, Jr. more touches:
“Yeah, he needs to touch the ball. He is a good player. Finding ways to get him the ball is important to all of us. He does so much for us. Just thinking about the touchdown to (WR Rashard) Higgins, three guys covered him. He brings a lot out there. He gets a lot of coverage drawn his way. I know the production has not been there for him, and I am not worried about that. I do think it will come. It is still early in the process for him back on the field so that is not an issue in my mind. The other stuff that he does and in the run game, I know it is not sexy, but he is really effective and he really came down and really put the wood on a couple of those safeties in the game. He does a lot of great things other than catching the ball on the field, but yeah, I would like to see him catch some more balls.”
On the balance between getting Beckham more targets without forcing the ball to Beckham:
“I think you call plays with him in mind. We call a lot of plays with him in mind. There is no doubt our gameplans are focused around him and a lot of the ways where we can get him the ball. The defense sometimes will not let you do that. I do not think it is a matter of us not trying to get him the ball as much as we definitely have that in the back of our mind when we gameplan. Sometimes the defense does not allow you to throw him the ball. Just staying patient. Stay within our system and process. We feel really good about everybody who is out there right now but really appreciate his effort out there. We are all in it to win it at the end of the day.”
On if he feels a need to reassure Beckham his bigger production days will ultimately occur:
“I think every great receiver, I would be mad if he did not want the ball more – really, that is the reality of it. Those guys need to touch it, and they want to touch it. Human nature is to get frustrated when you do not. Like I said, it is way too early in the season to worry about that in my mind. His plays will come for sure and will probably come in bunches when it does.”
On the media asking about Beckham and QB Baker Mayfield every week with other strong contributors on offense:
“Yeah, you want to talk about (G) Blake Hance coming in and playing lights out against (Chargers OLB) Joey Bosa? You want to talk about (T) James Hudson (III) coming in playing in back up of (T) Jack (Conklin)? There are a lot of other guys on that offense who make us successful. Obviously, it is important to everybody else about [those external questions]. For us, it is not. We go to work. We are proud of the guys we have out there, and it will come. I am not worried about that.”
On Mayfield and Beckham still seeming not to click together from a chemistry standpoint:
“I do not know where to put the finger on that one. A lot of times as I said, defense dictates where the ball goes. I have not seen any miscommunications on the field where Odell is in one spot and Baker is throwing to a different spot so I guess I do not feel that as much as maybe it shows up for everybody else because we practice out here three times a week, and it looks great.”
On coaching collaboration during games on offensive play calls, particularly how it impacts decisions late in games:
“That is Kev (Head Coach Kevin Stefanski). He does a great job with that. We do not just sit there and say, ‘How about this? Let’s do this.’ It is a matter of, ‘Hey, what do you guys think on this one?’ Then we collaborate at that point, but Kevin is in charge and has done a great job with the play calling. I do not know if I have been around much better. When he gets going, it is impressive to watch.”
On the status of T Jedrick Wills Jr. and T Jack Conklin:
“I am not really sure. Hopefully, we can get them out later in the week, but if not, it is next man up mentality for us and those guys. Blake, I was really proud of him last week. He did a really nice job. Bosa went over there on his side a lot, and he held up. It was great. James came in the game late and played well for us. Next man up mentality, I know that is how we prepare those guys, and they will be ready to go. If Jed is back, that is a bonus. If Jack is back, that is a bonus. If not, I feel really good about our guys.”
On if the Browns prefer Hance at LT over Hudson if both start on Sunday:
“I would defer to (offensive line) Coach (Bill) Callahan on that.”
On Wills starting practice yesterday and then stopping:
“I do not know. I do not want to speculate on anything like that. I know he tried to do some work on it yesterday. It is just a matter of how good he will feel on Sunday.”
On Bosa switching sides and G Joel Bitonio helping Hance:
“Joel is big. Obviously, he is the leader on that offensive line. Yeah, we thought they would move Joey over and test us on that left side, and Blake answered he bell. It was good to see.”
On if there is consideration to slowing down the Browns offense to give the Browns defense longer breaks:
“That is tough as an offensive coach to slow down. When you are scoring touchdowns, it is good. We want to score touchdowns, as many as we can.”
On scoring a touchdown on mainly running in 2:30 minutes last week:
“You never apologize for breaking off touchdowns. It is part of it, but offensively, the more points we score, the better.”
On WR Jarvis Landry’s status for Sunday:
“I am not sure again. Medically, I am not sure where he is. Hope so. Can’t wait to get him back whenever that is because he is a big part of our offense and a huge leader for us.”
On how the Chargers defense played against the Browns three TE sets, which the team employed often:
“We had a plan going in. We wanted to see how they responded and matched certain personnel groupings, and when we found one we liked, we stuck with it.”
On if opponents are doing a better job of covering the deep ball or doing so differently, including in three TE sets and play action, given the team has not had as many opportunities this year:
“We have not. I do not know if we have had those deep ball shots like you are saying yet. Eventually, they will come. You can’t stay back and defend the run all day from that shell so you have to bring somebody down to stop the run, and that is when that will open up.”
On if Mayfield saw the safety on the second-to-last play of the game:
“That is for quarterback talk. That is a read there where the corner or safety sits and the ball goes over the top.”
On if Mayfield’s read was correct on that play:
“Yes.”
On if the analytics and NFL decisions are trending toward more fourth down attempts:
“I think so, within reason making smart decisions. If the analytics say it is in your favor to do it, I think most teams now are leaning towards the analytics.”
On the Cardinals defense and the impact if Cardinals LB Chandler Jones is unable to play:
“Obviously, he is a force. A very disruptive pass rusher. Not sure if he will make it to the game or not, but he is a guy who we definitely have to be aware of. It is a really good defense. There is a lot of defense out there. They do a lot of different things. They are very multiple. (Cardinals defensive coordinator) Vance (Joseph) does a great job with that scheme. It will be a challenge for us.”
On Cardinals DE J.J. Watt:
“The same player. He is disruptive in the run game and disruptive in the passing game. He still brings a lot of juice. He has one of the best arm-over moves in the business, and it shows up all day on Sundays. Definitely still playing at a high level.”
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