Pass Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Chad O’Shea (9.6.24)
You spent so much time in New England where Julian Edelman and Wes Welker ran those choice routes. As you were in the offseason kind of incorporating some of these new schemes, did you show a lot of film of those guys? And if so, what were some things you wanted to really key on teaching to Amari (Cooper) and Jerry (Jeudy) and Elijah (Moore) and all those guys?
“As part of our teaching process, we always utilize film of others doing it. And that’s the thing that’s so nice about modern day technology is how much access we have to every team in the league to include some of the places we’ve been in the past. I’ve been very fortunate to be around some very accomplished route runners on specific routes, you know, choice type routes. So, yes, we’ve gone back and really done a lot of work on looking at other players and studying them and how we can use what they do to better ourselves as far as the way we run those routes.”
Who was really, like, especially good at it in New England?
“Yeah, I mean, Edelman and Welker, they were, you know, very instinctive football players. They made good decisions. They understood how the defensive scheme worked as well as what we’re trying to accomplish from our offensive scheme. So, you know, we’re fortunate to have guys at the Cleveland Browns that are very instinctive, that are good route runners, that make good choices, that have good versatility. That’s the way we built this team, is to have players that can do things in a multiple position role and we’re fortunate to have guys that can run choice type routes and move around the formation and utilize their skillset to help our football team win.”
With Jerry, how valuable have the last few weeks been when he’s been able to be on the field as much as he has been after being kind of on and off for a while?
“The most important thing in our preparation is for the players to be on the field and to work closely with the quarterbacks and receivers, working closely together. So, Jerry’s really put some time in here on the field and it’s been great to have him out there working closely with the quarterback, working with his other teammates, and been very helpful and probably the most important thing we can do in our preparation is get on the field and go through that execution, so it shows up on game day.”
Was it tough for you to see David Bell go and are you hoping that maybe he shows back up here in some capacity?
“Yeah, a lot of confidence in Andrew Berry and how he manages the roster on a weekly basis. There’s a lot of moving parts to that. It’s a job that I respect a lot in the role that he has because there’s so many things that it entails to build a roster every week. So, I truly have confidence in Andrew Berry and our personnel department that they make the best decisions for our team, as well as Kevin Stefanski. So, my job is to go in the meeting room and coach the guys that are in our meeting room and we have a great group. I think a lot of David Bell. But at the same time, we’re moving into this game with the players we have in the room and we’re confident that we can go in the game and do the things that we need to help us win the game.”
I know Jamari (Thrash) — a rookie can learn from anybody in the room, but how valuable – Cedric (Tillman) was just a rookie a year ago, how valuable, being so close to Jamari age wise and experience wise, how much more valuable can he be having just gone through the process and kind of helping Jamari adjust?
“Yeah, it’s a great question and a great point. Jamari’s development really hinges upon Cedric being an advisor to him and saying, ‘hey, this is how it was last year,’ or ‘these are the challenges that I have as a rookie that maybe you can look at it this way.’ Whether it’s learning the playbook, the way in which you learn, the way in which you go about your routine in the building. Just being a rookie player, the transition that is required for these players to go from college to the first year in the NFL, there’s so much that that entails and having a player like Cedric, who’s just gone one lap around the track and then being right next to Jamari, who’s now going on that lap, it’s very helpful. And there’s obviously some things that I probably don’t bring up that Cedric’s going to bring up just on how it is too emotionally be a rookie football player. So, I think it’s very helpful to have guys that are close in age like that to kind of fill the void and bridge the gap from what they’re trying to do and experience.”
We had a chance to hear from Amari yesterday and got to ask him about his name coming up in some trade rumors and it just seems like he kind of lets that stuff like, roll off his back. Just what have you seen from him over the last few months since he’s been back here and everything like that?
“Yeah, Amari Cooper, and I’ve said this a lot, and I’m going to say it again because I feel so strongly about it. He is a exceptional teammate. He’s a great leader. He leads by example. He’s what you want in a football player as far as his work ethic and his commitment to doing the things that we ask him to do. And the one thing about Amari I’ve always admired and respected is his ability just to stay right down the middle of not being too high on the highs, not too low on the lows and really having the same consistent person every day. And that’s true of him playing the game. If he drops a pass, he gets in the huddle and he doesn’t allow that play, that negative play, to affect his next.
And if he makes a great play, he steps in the huddle and very levelheaded. So, I think that’s one of the things I respect so much about Amari, and I know that the guys have a lot of admiration for him as teammates looking up to him just because he’s so consistent coming to work every day. And coming to work every day, he really is, he’s a true professional and I think he can ignore any noise on the outside as well as anybody I’ve been around, and he’s done a great job of that. And he’s had just such great focus in this preseason, and I see a player that really is striving to be the very best at his position.”
What kind of challenge does a guy like Trevon Diggs present?
“Yeah, I mean, talking about Diggs and their secondary, I think that they are a very strong secondary that we’re facing. It’s going to be very challenging for our players. We’ve spent a lot of time looking at their secondary over, obviously, the last couple weeks in preparation. But our guys know that we have a great challenge ahead of us and it’s going to take our very best versus a very good football team on Sunday.”
It felt like last year, you guys spent some time kind of experimenting with Elijah Moore, seeing sort of where he fits. Do you feel like you have a better grasp of where he fits in this receiving corps this year?
“Anytime you’re around a player for, you know, more than the first year, I think it’s very helpful. And just, you know, that player and, you know what their strengths are. I don’t like to talk in terms of weaknesses because I truly think it’s our jobs as coaches to play to the player’s strengths and not worry about what they cannot do. Let’s worry about what they can do. And certainly, Elijah, over the last year we’ve seen so many of the things that he can do really well. So, let’s just focus on the things he can do really well, but our familiarity with what those things are better than they’ve ever been just because of our exposure to him on a daily basis. Another player that I speak so highly of in terms of his professionalism and his work ethic and what he brings every day, I mean, I’m very fortunate to be the coach in that room of a bunch of guys that are just professionals that work so extremely hard and are coachable and that’s something that I’m fortunate to say, that I have a group of guys that do that.”
With those choice routes that we’ve been talking so much about, how is Deshaun (Watson) doing? How are Deshaun and the receivers doing just in terms of communication and how is it looking so far out there?
“Yeah, they’ve been excellent. I mean, you know, there’s so much in terms of whether it’s a choice route or it’s just a straight go route, you know? There’s a lot that requires for us to be on the same page and there’s so many details that are required for a play to work, specifically a pass play. So, we’ve really emphasized the details and being on the same page and that’s something that I think we’re in a good place on. We’ve spent a lot of time, Deshaun’s been out on the field, our receivers have been out on the field healthy. So, it’s been very positive to see those guys work and improve every day on what we’re asking them to do, whether it’s a choice route or it’s just a, let’s call it just a basic route in our offense.”
How does this highlight what Deshaun does well?
“How does the choice route?”
How does this entire offensive system highlight what he’s best at?
“Yeah, I mean, I think that what we do is we play to the strengths of all of our players. So, within this system, obviously, the one thing we’ve done at the receiver position is we provided him with some versatility of some players that can move around within the formation and do different things and present maybe different looks to the defense, but maybe it’s the same concept for us. So, I think the versatility of not only the receiver positions, but some of the strengths of our other skill positions, you know, to include an offensive line that’s going to do a great job for him. I think that that’s the one thing that stands out is just the versatility of some of the skill positions and how he can really utilize them to help him.”
Will the featured choice route runner wear his head over the next several weeks, or do you already have it in your mind who that person is?
“Yeah, the versatility of the group is something I’ve talked highly of, and I think we have guys across the board that can do this. So, you know, we’re going to have different players run a lot of different variety of routes. That’s one thing that we pride ourselves a lot on in our game planning, is making sure, ‘hey, this guy’s just not the slant runner, this guy’s just not the curl runner, this guy’s just not the choice runner.’ So, I think that hopefully, what you see in our pass game is you see a lot of guys doing different things because that’s how we built this team at the receiver position, to have versatility and really to play to their strengths.”