Position coaches (10.15.19)

Included below are select quotes from interviews with the following Browns position coaches during today’s media availability:

Associate head coach/offensive line coach James Campen
Wide receivers coach Adam Henry
Run game coordinator/linebackers coach Al Holcomb
Tight ends coach John Lilly
Quarterbacks coach Ryan Lindley
Defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi
Run game coordinator/running backs coach Stump Mitchell
Defensive backs coach DeWayne Walker
Pass game coordinator/secondary coach Joe Whitt

Associate head coach/offensive line coach James Campen:

On the state of the Browns OL and if now is a time to make adjustments:

“I think any time you have a bye week six games in, you obviously assess a lot of different things and we are in the process of doing that now.”

On evaluating the ups and downs of the Browns OL and if there has been steady improvement:

“I think we have had our ups and downs, and there are some areas of the game that we have had steady progress if you want to call it that way. We certainly need to do more and do more to help our team win. We just have not been consistent at times. Certainly, the consistency is obvious. We will look in all of the areas that we need to improve and things we do well and obviously enhance those moving forward.”

On what T Greg Robinson must do to improve:

“I think for every one of them, not only him, the heightened awareness, the surroundings, what is going on within a defense structure, seeing things quicker and reaction. For the whole entire group, if we can get that going, we are going to cover up a lot of things.”

On G Justin McCray taking snaps at tackle in practice and during games and if McCray could convert to T full time:

“I think Justin does a really good job of being flexible and that certainly helps when you are dressing seven. I am not going to make any statement or whatever on a bye week. We certainly look at all of that stuff, but the one thing that you do know with a player like Justin you can put him in five spots and that helps when you are dressing seven. I think he has done a relatively decent job with that.”

Wide receivers coach Adam Henry:

On how WR Odell Beckham Jr. has been integrating into the team and his performance:

“He is integrating well. As far as playing, we can always playing better. Again, doing the things that we ask him to do, he has been dong. He is continuing to get better each and every day.”

On if it is ‘mind boggling’ that Beckham has not been as productive as expected:

“No, not at all because being with him at my former team, you look at certain things that teams are doing that we are preparing for and they are doing things differently because of him because he can play and he has speed. It is not really mind boggling to me because during the course of the season, we still have a lot of football left to go and so we just stay the course. It is not really mind boggling thing to me. As long as he continues to prepare and work hard like he is doing, I am fine with that.”

On what teams are doing differently to impact Beckham’s production:

“They will cheat the safety over to the side and put two high over there so it helps in the running game. That is normal. That is typical because guys in the past who have played at a high level have gotten that because he is respected.”

On if he is concerned with the couple of passes that have hit Beckham’s hands in the past two games:
“Not an element of concern, but those are balls he should catch. He is his own worst critic so he is hard on himself, but those are the plays he has to make and he knows that.”

Run game coordinator/linebackers coach Al Holcomb:

On LB Mack Wilson’s performance this season:

“Mack is doing a really good job right now. Obviously, it is on-the-job training being a young guy so he is going to go through some growing pains. Every day, he learns more and more and more and he is starting to feel a little more comfortable not only with the system but with the speed of the game at this level. I thought he took another step this week this past week in terms of his play, his alignment and his communication. Across the board, I thought he did a pretty good job and he is continuing to show progress in that area.”

On if Wilson’s has continued to show ability to track the football and intercept passes:
“I saw it today. Out here at practice, he had his hands on a couple of balls. He does have a natural feel in space, instincts and being able to read the quarterback and the route progression. Honestly, I am excited about Mack every time he steps on the field. I think he is a dynamic player. He is a young player that will continue to develop, but I feel like he has a knack for the ball. He will be around the football and he is going to be a big time player for us.”

On if running a 4-2-5 defense puts additional pressure on a rookie linebacker like Wilson:

“No, really the alignment does not have anything to do with it at all. He is playing the WILL linebacker and our alignment, our nickel defense, that nickel is like a SAM linebacker so it is not a big deal.”

On LB Joe Schobert’s consistency:

“He is a student of the game. His football IQ is extremely high. He studies it, he works at it, he takes coaching and he wants to do everything that we are asking him to do. He wants to do it the right way. I think he has shown a lot of improvement just overall with his fundamentals, his technique and playing with his hands. His tackling in space has improved. Really pleased with where Joe is. Hopefully, he will continue to grow and get better as we get further into the season.”

Tight ends coach John Lilly:

On the Browns TEs’ performance:

“Still searching for some consistency. Obviously, they have all been getting a fair share of reps and opportunities and those kind of things. Need to be consistent, and I think that is probably what keeps them going. It definitely fits in the tight end room.”

On if the Browns knew TE Ricky Seals-Jones had the potential to produce as he has recently:

“I am really glad we got him. Obviously, he had done some things. I remember Ricky when he was in high school. He was a receiver. It is funny because you thought he could potentially grow into a tight end. Obviously, I could not tell you everything specifically everything about the way his role evolved in Arizona and all that, but it is certainly one of those things here that you hate that you did not have him through April, May, June and training camp to be able to really detail some of the things we are doing. He has done a nice job of working hard and obviously has found a little niche doing some things for us here. I think he has gotten better every week really.”

On if he expected Seals-Jones would be the one to step up after TE David Njoku’s injury:

“(General Manager) John Dorsey and those guys do a great job of putting the right people in the rooms, and you coach who is in there. I think with all those guys, certainly the dynamic change a little bit when David got hurt and everybody had to pick up a little bit more of it. I think one of the really neat thing about our team so far this year really across positions is when guys have gone down, there has been somebody else ready to step in and play at a high level. That is why they are all here. That is what they all want. I think that is the expectation. You hate it when something like that happens for someone, but you are excited for the guys that have the opportunity and hope they are excited to take advantage of it.”

On what the Browns TEs could improve:

“I used the word consistency. You can take a look, breakdown play after play. One play we do a great job at the point of attack. It comes up again and we may get beat at the point of attack in the running game. Another play, we do a great job on the backside and (RB) Nick (Chubb) gets 52-yard run, and then a quarter later, we have essentially the same opportunity and we do not get it done and it is a gain of one. It is fine line. Every inch matters. In this league, most of the games are really, really close. I say it is like NCAA Tournament basketball. Every week it comes down the last few possessions and somebody makes plays and somebody does not. It is those inches and feet as you go through it that determines who wins and who loses. Across the board whether it is the tight end room or any other room, everybody is looking for a way to just be more consistent and take advantage of every play. You never know when the play is coming that is really the play of the game.”

Quarterbacks coach Ryan Lindley:

On the emphasis with QB Baker Mayfield’s mechanics:

“I think mechanically, there is not a whole lot. You always want to work your feet, always want to work on your timing, but I think it is just details right now. We need to hash some things out, make sure we are in rhythm and that is really what it comes down to. If you want a buzzword, that is probably it. We are not all the way there so we need to get in rhythm, be on the same timing and get rolling.”

On Mayfield’s inconsistencies and inaccuracies compared to last season:

“I think that is part of it – you have some news guys in the mix and he is just trying to get on the same page. We have some new things we are trying to do, too. We have asked him to do some different stuff than we did last year. I think we just have to kind of find a groove of just what is good with everybody in the equation.”

On if the Browns offense is close to reaching the point of rhythm and being on the same page:

“It is like horseshoes right (laughter)? No, I should say it is not like horseshoes. It is either there or it is not. I think it is getting there. At the end of the day, when you look at where he was Week 1 and some of the stuff and that was kind of what we have done this week so you have to evaluate it and everything. It is kind of a good time to have a break. Obviously, you would rather go into a bye week with a win, but I think for us to be able to evaluate, looking at in the last couple of days, where he was Week 1 to compare to where he is now and there is improvement, there is vast improvement. It is just obviously not where we want him to be.”

On if Mayfield is seeing the whole field the way he wants him to see the field:

“Yeah, he is a sharp kid. I think it is just he is going to continue to get reps. The thing is now we are six games in and he is close to 19 games into his pro career still. That second-year guy is still coming out of him. At the same time, the one thing I harp on, we are not making a lot of bad choices; we are just making some mistakes. The difference I always take there is when you make mistakes twice then you are making bad choices. I think he is seeing things for the first time and people are obviously people are throwing different looks at him than he has seen, but I think we will learn as we go. Like I said, I think we are in a heck of a lot better place now than we were a few weeks ago.”

Defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi:

On DT Devaroe Lawrence’s energy:

“I think we all appreciate his energy. I certainly do. I think he brings that same energy throughout the week in practice and in meetings. We can all feed off it. Sometimes I think it is a game that requires a lot of passion and he has a lot of passion for the game and a lot of passion for the team. We just have to make sure it is always channeled in the right direction.”

On the defensive line room like on a typical day, given the personalities in the group:

“There is a lot of things going on there – the way we like it. Sometimes it is chaotic. Hopefully, there is a lot of content going on in there and learning from our mistakes, a constant quest to improve and just like today, go in today, another day at work and finding ways to get better. I thought that is exactly what we did the way we approached our meetings today and the way the guys approached practice.”

On DT Sheldon Richardson and DE Olivier Vernon playing more snaps than usual last week:

“We have tried to rotate the guys. I think we are right on plan as far as in Week 6 based off of percentages of how we look at our eight individuals that are participating in the game of where we want to rep them from a rep standpoint of depending on how many total reps in the game and the percentages we get per guy. I think we are right on target as far as how we have been repping the guys. At the end of the day, there are 11 guys on field. We operate in a 4-3 defense. I would absolutely love to get as many guys out there as possible and as many reps as possible. At the end of the day, we are going to have a four down front and only so many guys can play X amount of snaps. Our starters are obviously going to be playing more, and when the other guys do come in, we need a spark from them. That is what we expect, and we expect the level the play not to drop one bit. I think we seen flashes of that. Guys like (DE) Chad Thomas coming in and sparking us, running to the ball, collecting a fumble in the Baltimore game. Devaroe Lawrence tipping the ball and getting an interception and should have had another one in the following week. Last game with Olivier causing that turnover on a third and one, critical situation and Devaroe being in his gap and recovering another fumble for us. That is what we need out of those guys. We need those guys to spark us with energy and solid play.”

Run game coordinator/running backs coach Stump Mitchell:

On if RB Nick Chubb has surprised him at all this season despite knowing his production from last season:

“No because since I have been here he has been working hard on his hands to catch the ball better. I think as a runner, he proved last year he can do some things. From that aspect, it does not surprise us any. I was glad to see the pass that he caught this past weekend. The route that he ran, the ball was a little bit behind him but he was able to catch the ball. He has been focusing hard on becoming a better receiver, and I think he is doing a tremendous job at that.”

On what Chubb is doing better as a runner compared to his rookie year:

“I think coming out of Georgia, the things that he is doing as a runner now, he did those things in college. I am not surprised about anything that he is doing as a runner.”

On if Chubb has improved with his decisiveness, cutting and getting down the field:

“I think what has improved over last year was his ability and his patience to press the point more and giving the defenders the impression that he is going where he is not going. I think he is doing a good job of doing that, and he is making some good runs. He is getting some blocking from everybody else that is involved, but he is doing some things on his own, as well.”

On the rotation at RB when RB Kareem Hunt returns from suspension:

“I really have no idea right now because we are focused on the guys that are playing, and (RB) Dontrell (Hilliard) is a third down guy. We are focusing on the point of attack against New England with the guys that we have right now.”

Defensive backs coach DeWayne Walker:

On the importance of CBs T.J. Carrie and Terrance Mitchell stepping up after injuries to CBs Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams:

“I thought it was great for us to have two veteran guys to hold down the position fairly well. I know this last game they were a little hot and cold. All in all, I thought they did a pretty good job of holding it down.”

On Carrie being one of the leaders in the DBs room:

“Yeah, and he is a quiet leader, too. He leads by example. He is very anal with his studies. I always try to tell the young guys to try and emulate his approach to the game. Definitely, when he decides to speak up, guys listen.”

On Carrie’s versatility:

“No question. He can probably play some free safety, too, if we ever gotten to bind. His IQ and his professionalism really helps us quite a bit.”

On what is missing with Ward not being on the field:

“You can’t control injuries. That is something that no one can control. It is good to have him back. We have 10 games left so it will be good to get him back on the field and see him start producing for us.”

Pass game coordinator/secondary coach Joe Whitt:

On how the Browns secondary has handled being shorthanded due to injuries:

“You are going to get tired of my answer here, but we are 2-4 and so we have handled it in a 2-4 respect. All I care about is wins. I do not necessarily care about the bodies that are out there. We are here to win. We are not here to play well. We are not here to give a valiant effort at what we are trying to do. We are not here to surprise people. We are here to win football games. We are 2-4 so that is what we are right now.”

On how much better the Browns secondary will be once CBs Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams return from injury:
“I do not think the absence of those two guys has led us to being 2-4. We are a secondary. Everybody that goes out there and plays, we are expecting to win football games. I am looking forward to having a healthy room and then we will put the group of men for that week that gives us the best chance to win. If someone says that when they come back that they will get right back into the same roles that they had, there are no guarantees in anything. They might. They might not. We are going to put the men out there each week that give us the best chance to win that game, and then the next week, we will do that for the next week. I do not get caught up in the names. I just get caught up in we need to win football games. That is what we are here for.”

On what the Browns secondary must do better:

“One thing is we need to turn the ball over more. I do not care if it is fumbles, interceptions or what have you. We have had opportunities with the ball in our hands, and we have to be able to turn the ball over and get the ball back to the offense. We need to be better in the red area and make them kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns, especially on third down. We get them to third down and then we have not been solid in that area. If we can clean those two things up or produce more turnovers and be better in the red area, that gives our team a better chance of winning football games.”

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