Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt (12.7.23)
When we talked to you last week you said Joe (Flacco) had a lot left in the tank. So, after he played Sunday, what impressed you most about his ability to execute the game on Sunday?
“I would say probably the third and 14th throw to Amari (Cooper), that was very impressive. That caught itself really and there are a lot of throws he made, you see it. Obviously, he can stretch the field for sure. So real impressive for a guy to come off without an offseason or anything really, and step in and be productive. So, proud of him.”
You mentioned being able to stretch the field. He thought that showed up in the run game. Do you think that’s something that will carry forward, that his ability to hit off opens up the run game?
“Absolutely. Yeah, it definitely will. It all plays together, obviously. A little different style of QB than we’ve had, but we’re used to that so we can always adjust and adapt and always going to play to our guys’ strengths, whoever’s in there.
He’s taken a hit, absorbed a blow, been out there with his teammates, had the pads on again. How much better do you think he’ll be this week?
“Oh, a ton. I mean, there were a handful of plays in that game where if he’d been here through training camp and knew all the adjustments and rules that weren’t on the same page oftentimes, not often, a few times where a week better of just understanding the system will clean that up.”
We saw him kind of peeking at his wristband a couple of times, even under center. Is he just getting like the last little details on pass routes or what’s on there?
“Play calling is difficult, especially when you’re just getting thrown into the mix like he is. The wristband is kind of like a security blanket just in case. He does a great job of learning the play calls each week and that’s just in case you need it. So, we’ll call the play to him and say, ‘Hey, by the way, it’s wristband.’ So, a lot of times you’ll see quarterbacks just refer to it, make sure they’re calling it correctly. When you get to the line of scrimmage, you’re just, ‘Oh, shoot, what was it again?’ Kind of confirming it. And that’s where we are right now.”
Yesterday, a lot of that play action looked really good with him. Is that just because he’s got all those little subtleties down so well? I mean, does his size lend to that as well?
“Yeah, that’s how he grew up under center, running the ball and play action. So, all the ball handling he’s very familiar with. That’s something we definitely put a point of emphasis on is making him look as much like the run as possible.”
I saw a couple drop passes in that game in LA. What do you think the common thread to that is because, not you, but the team has been dropping more than any time since you’ve been here?
“Yeah. Again, I don’t think it’s anything that we’ve done differently, to be honest with you. You kind of go through these streaks at times. We work fundamentals of catching every day. So, it’s nothing that we’ve not like all of a sudden stopped catching the ball at practice. Like, we do it daily. So sometimes it’s just, ‘Oh, man, I got the drops right now.’ It’s like my driver, oftentimes it’s left and then all of a sudden it’s right. So, we just got to correct it and not worry about it as much as just getting, ‘ey, just catch the ball and we will.”
Does it have anything to do with guys getting used to a different quarterback all the time?
“I don’t think so. I don’t. I don’t think there’s a huge difference of velocity from each guy. There is some difference, yeah. But that hasn’t seemed to be the issue. Whatever quarterback, in the last few days or a few weeks, we’ve dropped the ball, so we got to handle the ball better.”
I know that you probably want to leave this in Kevin’s (Stefanski) hands, but I think just to get it on the record, can you announce yet or say anything about whether or not Joe will start?
“Yeah, we’re still working through all that, Mary Kay (Cabot). We still have to get Dorian (Thompson-Robinson) all the way through the process right now. So, until he officially clears, there are no real decisions to be made.”
I know you can’t control the injury situation week to week, but this has been an ongoing challenge for you guys this year. When you’re going through these weeks not knowing who your starter is going to be, is that as big of a deal for you guys as maybe outside the building sometimes it gets made out to be?
“It’s a big deal again. It’s our jobs as coaches again to put a plan together to put whoever that player is in the best situation for success for him and for us. So again, honestly, after going through the COVID years and all that, this is like, yeah, it’s part of the deal now. Adjust and adapt, and it’s a bottom-line business. We got to find a way to win games regardless of who’s out there.”
I just want to clarify, is Dorian still in the protocol right now?
“You’d have to talk to those guys, as I know. I think there’s one more box to check before it’s all go, but I’m not 100% sure. You have to check with those guys.”
You were a backup quarterback. You understand the value of them as well as anyone has this season because of all these injuries changed the way you think teams are going to value backup quarterbacks?
“It can, it’s organizational. I mean, how you deal with those positions, it’s money-based a lot of the times, but that’s an important role as the next backup. I would like to – the running backs are trying to get…let’s go over the backup quarterbacks, but it’s important to have one. We’ve had some good success with the guys we put in those positions, but yeah, it’s always like another security blanket. But again, the guys have stepped in. P.J. (Walker) won two games for us, Dorian won a game for us. Joe’s going to win a game for us eventually down the road. So, feel good about how we’ve gotten these guys prepared to play regardless of who’s in.”
Does Elijah (Moore) getting twelve targets, does that speak to their relationship, just game flow? All the above?
“Yeah, a little bit of the above. I think the injury to Amari obviously put him into that spot which is going to get the targets and I think the familiarity between those two only helps.”
If there is a decision to be made between Joe and Dorian this week, is it kind of difficult to evaluate Dorian if he is still in the protocol and is a little bit limited? Do you feel like you’re getting a clear picture of how he’s working back into things?
“Yeah, I mean, we’re working him back in now. Again, that’ll come down to a later-in-the-week decision. Sure, it does. It does add a layer to it. But again, we have to wait to see the final end-of-the-week results to see what we can do.”
If Dorian does clear, is there something in his game that would make you think he would give you a better chance to win than with Joe?
“Right now, again, it’s not a decision to be made at this point. I think both guys give us a chance to win. I feel confident in both guys, I really do. Different players, but definitely I think both can give us a chance to win. Again, that’ll be a decision made later in the week.”
What are your thoughts on a little bit of platooning or package of plays for Dorian if he’s clear?
“Yeah, again, that’s always a possibility. If he makes it again, we’re going to try to find, as we do every week, try to find a way to win one game this week. And if that’s using all the roster availability that we had, then we could find a place for that.”
With all the drop passes and the injury to Amari, is there any chance of Austin Watkins getting some playtime?
“That’s something we’d have to discuss. He’s definitely – from his preseason work shows that he can make plays in the league for us. Not exactly sure of the availability of those guys, but he is definitely an option.”
Without Amari – if he doesn’t play, how do you handle it? He’s such a big part of what you guys do. Who needs to tell that?
“Yeah, everybody, really. It’s big shoes again. Everybody’s going to have to step up. David Bell is going to have to step up and make plays. He does every week. He’s Mr. Consistent. You ask Dave to do a job, he does it and he catches the ball. You feel really good about him taking some of those reps. Elijah will play more in that position at times and then Ced (Tillman), he continues to grow and come on. So those are the three main targets. And then our tight ends will have to take some of that weight as well. So, we’ll have to spread the ball around. But we did a good job of that last week. I think we had nine receivers, so that’s something that we feel good about. We’re definitely going to have to find multiple people to fill that role.”
You also see David Njoku, who becomes more targeted in that?
“Absolutely. Each week you go into it, you think about the players and not the plays. And David’s top on that list.”
Harrison (Bryant) caught a touchdown for you last week. Just where’s his game at right now?
“Yeah, Harry’s a really smart player. Headsey. Always in the right spot, always doing the right thing. It’s good to see him have success and catch a touchdown pass. I mean, he’s a really good route runner. He gives you everything he’s got in the run game. He’s physical. Some of the kickout blocks he’s doing right now, for us, that’s a physical block. So again, just trying to find skill sets, use our guys skill sets in the best position to put them in on game day. But I’m glad to see him get in the end zone. That was good.”
Did Amari clear protocol and will he practice today?
“I’m not sure where he is. I think he still is. I’m not 100% sure, Mary Kay. I know that there’s still more hurdles. It’s different now than it used to be, but, yeah, he’s got to check some more boxes I believe.”
As you’ve started prepping for the Jaguars, what stands out about their defense that are bigger challenges for you guys?
“Yeah, solid group. I mean, obviously they’re ranked highly in DVOA so it’s a really good defense and really good against the run. So great challenge for us. The edge rushers are special, too, so having ability to make sure we’re taking care of those edges is a big part of it. But really skilled defense, plays a lot of defense, a lot of different looks. So the communication is important for us and how we ID things, but really impressive to watch those guys work. They do a nice job. (Mike) Caldwell’s been in the league a long time. I followed his career. I want to say we came out around the same time, so I’ve always followed his career. He does a great job. He’s been around some great coaches and it shows. Their scheme is good. Their pressure package is really good as well. So big challenge.”
There’s a number of games this season they’ve kept teams to under 100 rushing yards. So when you look at their run defense, I guess for you guys, as you look at how to balance the run game and the pass game, what is the biggest challenge for that?
“For the run game, for us, we got to stay in positive plays. We had a couple of TFLs last week that kind of scared us a little bit in the run game and really didn’t get it cranking until the second half. So for us, it’s coming out and being efficient on first and second down in the run game.”
If the decision ultimately is Dorian this week, obviously he can’t be on the practice field while he’s in protocol, but can you give us an idea what he is able to do to prep for a game while he’s in the protocol.
“You know, he’s in practice us now for us. So there’s different levels of that protocol. So right now he’s available for work, so he’s getting work out on the field, getting reps and again, he’s just whatever he has to do at the end of the week to get a green light, we’ll see, but that’s what he’s doing. He’s not off the field right now. He’s with us.”
# # #
***Visit the Browns Media Center for materials provided by the Browns communications department, including media schedules, press releases, quotes, photos, media guides, rosters, depth charts and more.***