Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (9.20.24)
Opening Statement:
“Okay, first, excited for the (Cleveland) Guardians clinching. Excited for postseason baseball. So happy for Steven Vogt and the guys down there. And then also, I want to say congratulations to Phil Dawson and Jim Donovan. I don’t know Phil well, I do like really good kickers, so I think Phil and I would get along, but I know he means a lot to this fanbase. Had some big moments for this organization. And then so excited for Jim and his family. It’s an incredible honor. It’s so well deserved and, you guys know, I think our fans know how special Jim is to me, personally, to this building, to this fanbase. He is truly the voice of the Cleveland Browns. So excited for Jim. Big one down there at the lake on Sunday. Just finished up on the practice field, putting some final touches on it. We’ll be in here tomorrow working some more and then got to get up and go. One o’clock, game Sunday. With that, I’ll take any questions.”
How did you see Myles respond today getting back on the practice field?
“Yeah, looked good. Obviously, with all these guys, they’re dealing with things that don’t feel great, but he looked like himself.”
Kevin, what can you tell us about the tackle situation?
“Not much.”
But you could.
“I could, but I’d have to kill you (joking).”
Is Jack (Conklin) ready to play?
“Yeah, so with the tackles, as you guys know, I think the big thing we have to do is you have to take in information every single day. What I mean by that is you have to see how guys come through tomorrow, how they feel tomorrow after a full week’s worth of practice, those types of things. So all those guys are working really hard. We’ll make those type of determinations as we get closer to the game.”
Do you think Dawand (Jones) is going to keep starting at right tackle regardless?
“Yeah, we’d have to wait to make a determination.”
If Jed and Jack are both physically ready and able to be active on game day, do you know who you plan to start at left tackle?
“We do. But again, I think it’s really important that with injuries and working through these type of things, you really have to take it day by day.”
We saw Dawand kind of go down on the knee during practice. Did he suffer any setback today?
“No.”
No matter who starts at tackle, can you just talk about the pass rush that Dexter Lawrence and…
“(Kayvon) Thibodeaux and Brian Burns? Yeah, it’s an outstanding front. I swear, it’s every week you go up against these fronts and this one’s right up there with all the other ones. I think they have really, really good players on the edge. They’re good pass rushers, are good versus the run they play hard and then Dexter Lawrence is, to me, he’s one of the best in the business, maybe he’s the best. Just so physical, so big, plays really, really hard. So it’s a big, big challenge for our entire team. But up front, that’s a big challenge.”
You kind of just touched on it but it does feel like every team you watch has really good pass rushers. Why do you think that is?
“I think teams, certainly when you talk about position rankings and value, I think teams all value those guys that can change the game, certainly on the edge. But I think you’re seeing more and more interior rushers in this league, and I think teams know how valuable they are. They’re drafting them higher and higher it feels like. But, yeah, every week, it’s a challenge.”
With the jumbo formations, when you’re able to get Nick (Harris) and Zak (Zinter) out there, how beneficial do you think it is that, even though they’re not like traditional o-line snaps, those guys aren’t starting to, like, be able to get in the flow of the game and get those reps?
“Yeah, we like to use everybody at our disposal and that it may be different game to game, truly. We just go into what matchup we want, what defense you’re trying to go up against where you might be able to find a softer spot in a front. But it is so specific to each game. But to that point, Ashley (Bastock), it’s having guys that understand that there’s roles to play and some guys are starters and that’s really, really important, and some guys are backups and that’s really important. So playing your role, being a role player is a big deal for a team and in this team sport and we appreciate all the guys that play the role.”
Do those guys stay engaged in a different way, I guess?
“Absolutely. I mean, I think guys like to play. You like to be on the field. So if you’re not one of the starting five and you can find your way into the field, I think they like that.”
How did Denzel (Ward) come through the week, and do you feel like you might get more than the 11?
“Yeah, I’m hopeful. Again, he’s worked very hard to get out there and now we just got to go play.”
Amari (Cooper) said he plans to attack these practices like game settings when he talked to us. How have you seen him kind of go through practices this week?
“Yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty fair assessment of how Amari practices. I mean, you get your money’s worth from Amari during the week. He really does push himself. He gets his reps out there in the period, but he also goes when, say, special teams is up, he’ll go off to the other field with Deshaun (Watson) and the quarterbacks and get some of those throws off to the side. And I think it’s a great example for our young players of guys that are constantly working. So, Amari is going to put in, he’s always going to put in all the effort.”
Have you seen kind of a ramp-up this week with all the drops that he’s suffered as of late?
“No, I mean, Amari is a pro. He works extremely hard.”
You’ve talked about (Corey) Bojorquez and that punt that led to Alex Wright’s safety last week. But what does the dynamic really mean between special teams and defense when they put them in that position to make those big plays? How important is that for them?
“Yeah, complimentary football is such a big part of this game, and I can think back to big games that we’ve been in and the defense gets a big stop and then we get a big punt return and sets the offense up. Or what happened the other day; Corey comes through, puts them on the two, and we get a safety. So, watching situational — watching complimentary football, excuse me, watch it unfold, is a big deal. Something we talk about, and that’s the beauty of this game, is how each side of the ball really helps each other.”
You talked about Malik Nabers the other day and how dangerous he can be. Especially run after catch, what makes him so good and how do you think you guys have been tackling in the secondary?
“Well, he’s got, I think it’s 25 targets, 26 if there was one play that was a penalty. So, they’re certainly featuring him and it’s really the entire route tree. It’s down the field, it’s short, it’s versus man, wiggling them open, it’s throwing him the ball and in the space game, and bubbles and that type of thing. So, they are finding ways to get him the ball. He’s very, very fast. He’s got very good ball skills. We have to be about our business against him and this entire offense, but he really does a nice job of hurting in a multitude of ways.”
With Jack, the last couple of weeks he’s been questionable and then he’s been inactive. How close was he to playing either of those two weeks? Did it get to Sunday morning when those decisions were made?
“Yeah, and again, it really goes back to — I sound like a broken record, but you really have to see how guys come through a practice, see how they come through the next day and those type of things. And that’s what we’ll do with all of our guys. Check in with them tomorrow, check in with them on game day, making sure that they’re feeling ready to roll.”
I know I ask you this every week, but is there some wisdom in possibly rotating or platooning anybody at those spots?
“Yeah, I think it goes back to, Mary Kay (Cabot), we have options. We’ll work through those again in the next 24 hours.”
What do you see is kind of like the pros and cons of that? Is it a rotating offensive lineman? Is it tough for guys to get into a groove? Is it more about the priority of keeping them fresh?
“It’s one of those things you just do whatever you think is the best thing for the team in that game. We’ve done it before. If we feel like that’s an opportunity to do that, we would do that. It’s really just based on what we think each guy needs and for that week, what you need to do to win.”
Can you just address how Dawand (Jones), we watched him hurt his shoulder down at the Greenbrier. Then he had the sore knee this past week, he had some cramping. Can you talk about how he’s kind of fought through a bunch of these things to try to stay on the field as much as possible?
“I think that’s a big part of this, Mary Kay (Cabot), with a lot of our guys are fighting through things, and that’s the NFL. That’s not unique to us. That’s every team has guys that are battling injuries and a variety of injuries, and some are obviously upper body, lower body, some are keeping you out of a game, some are maybe, ‘hey, it’s going to keep you out of a quarter,’ or whatever it is. So that’s part of the league is pushing through it. So I think for a young player like you mentioned with Dawand, for him to push through it, I think does show you that he’s understanding what it takes to be a pro.”