Browns press conference – Page 2

Andrew Berry acknowledges the need to focus on the Browns’ defense this offseason

The team’s top 5 tacklers are all pending free agents

Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry set the table for the team’s offseason plans in his season-ending press conference this week. One of the more important things Berry said related to the focus of where the on-field product needs the most help.

The defense.

While Cleveland’s offense efficiently finished in the upper half of the league in most metrics, the defense was in the bottom half almost across the board. And with several 2020 starters about to hit free agency, it’s a unit that is getting thinner as the offseason dawns.

It’s something Berry is acutely aware of, even if he diplomatically dodged directly answering the question about having his Browns focused on fixing the defense this offseason.

“It is a fair observation to realize that the resources this past year that we had going into this past fall were predominantly oriented to support the offense and support the quarterback, but that does not mean that we did not make some investments all across the team,” Berry said matter-of-factly. “We can have improvement anywhere. I understand that obviously we think we can certainly boost the defense as we go into 2021. It is probably too early to make any declarative or definitive statements, but certainly understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team.”

Cleveland’s top five tacklers from 2020 — B.J. Goodson, Malcolm Smith, Terrance Mitchell, Andrew Sendejo and Karl Joseph — are all set to hit free agency. So are young DT Larry Ogunjobi and primary slot cornerback Kevin Johnson. Additionally, starting DE Olivier Vernon is recovering from a torn Achilles that ended his season in Week 17 and leaves his future in doubt.

[listicle id=57997]

Wyatt Teller rooting for his old teammates with the Bills to win in AFC championship

Teller was in the Bills 2018 draft class with Josh Allen and Harrison Phillips

Wyatt Teller is very happy to be a member of the Cleveland Browns, make no mistake about that. But a piece of the Browns standout right guard still resides with the Buffalo Bills, the team that drafted him in 2018 and where he spent his first NFL season.

Teller is pulling for his old team and especially the friends he still has on the Bills. He was in the 2018 draft class with QB Josh Allen and DT Harrison Phillips and still considers them good friends, as well as offensive linemen Ike Boettger and Dion Dawkins.

“I hope the best for them and all the success to them,” Teller said via Zoom on Tuesday. “Josh, I’ve texted him multiple times, Harrison Phillips, Ike Boettger, a bunch of the guys on the offensive line. Dion Dawkins, I made sure to say hey to him. FaceTimed him a couple times.”

Teller noted he “wished we (the Browns) were still practicing” and that he learned a lot from his breakout 2020 season in Cleveland. He talked about the “weird experience” of missing time with a calf injury and then with the COVID-19 chaos around the team. He appreciatively pushed off praise and the concept that he has earned a contract extension this offseason.

“I believe in the team and I believe in the guys leading us,” Teller said when asked about the Browns success.

As for his old team in Buffalo, he’s excited for the Bills and the intense fans of the team, the Bills Mafia.

“They gave me my shot. They drafted me there,” Teller said of Buffalo. “I understand it’s business. I kind of grew a part of that family there. I love Bills Mafia. I’m pulling for ’em. I wish the best for ’em.”

The Bills will get their shot at beating the Chiefs in Kansas City in the AFC championship game this weekend, a week after Teller and the Browns came up just short in the divisional round.

Kareem Hunt grateful for the ‘honor to be here’ with his hometown Browns

Hunt and Nick Chubb make a great 1-2 punch and they like it that way too

Kareem Hunt will be in Cleveland for at least two more seasons. Hunt signed a 2-year contract extension this week that will keep the running back with the Browns through the 2022 campaign. A humble, smiling Hunt is very happy about getting more opportunities to play in his hometown.

“I am just grateful,” Hunt said in his Zoom press conference on Wednesday, his first meeting with the media since signing his extension. “I have to thank everybody in the building from top to bottom. It is an honor to be here, especially in my hometown.”

Hunt also made it a point to cite former Browns GM John Dorsey, who signed him in Cleveland in 2019 when that wasn’t a popular decision. Dorsey originally drafted Hunt to the Kansas City Chiefs when he was that team’s GM in 2017, too.

Some have expressed concern over what the commitment to Hunt means for fellow RB Nick Chubb, the NFL’s No. 2 rusher in 2019. Hunt doesn’t see any issue and took the question as a chance to pump up his Browns backfield mate.

“I would definitely love to be a tandem here with Nick for a long time,” Hunt said. “Nick is a great back. He is definitely one of those backs who can take it to the house at any moment. Our conversations are still the same. We are really good buddies and we look out for each other.”

[lawrence-related id=51948]

Hunt caught 37 passes on 44 targets and carried the ball 43 times in eight games with the Browns in 2019. He missed the first half of the season while suspended by the NFL for a domestic assault in a Cleveland hotel room while he was still a member of the Chiefs. He has avoided trouble since, and now the Browns are counting on him to remain a big piece of the offense for the next three seasons.

Kevin Stefanski still won’t reveal who will call the Browns offensive plays

Will it be Kevin Stefanski or Alex Van Pelt? Coach Stefanski will not reveal.

Give Kevin Stefanski credit for being able to keep a secret. The Browns rookie head coach still will not reveal who will be calling the offensive plays when Cleveland visits Baltimore to face the Ravens in Week 1 in just four days.

Stefanski has steadfastly refused to divulge if he or offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will handle the in-game playcalling duties. The topic has come up in several press conferences, but Stefanski has never even tipped his hand one way or the other.

He did that once again in Wednesday’s Zoom session with reporters, a press conference that featured a more national presence than normal. The question came up right away.

Who will call the plays, Stefanski or Van Pelt?

With a wry smile, Stefanski dodged the bullet.

“No, I will get to that, though. I promise.”

When asked later in the press conference if he and Van Pelt would call plays differently, once again Stefanski refused to bite.

“I will not speculate.”

Because Stefanski won’t, it will lead to many doing the speculating for him. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in Cleveland, where who is calling the plays takes on unusual importance after some recent coaching nightmares on that front.

Sheldon Richardson happy for a 2nd season in Cleveland and ready for ‘pure dominance’

Richardson played for 4 teams in as many seasons prior to this year

Sheldon Richardson played on four teams in four seasons prior to the 2020 campaign. Sticking with the Cleveland Browns after his first season in the brown and orange makes the starting defensive lineman happy.

Richardson played 2016 with the New York Jets, the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He then bounced to Seattle (2017), Minnesota (2018) and finally Cleveland. He appreciates the stability even with the regime change over him with the Browns.

“It has been a while for me having my second year with the same team,” Richardson said in his Friday press conference via Zoom. “I approached it completely different. A new head coach, a new defensive coordinator and new plays callers and all of that, so it is really my first year with the coaching staff but second year on the squad. That is a little different, but other than that, I just embraced it. I am not running from any work.”

Playing as part of a very talented line also helps. Richardson, Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi and Olivier Vernon all return intact as one of the most impressive front foursomes in the league. Richardson believes they’re ready to show it, too.

“Pure dominance,” Richardson instantly responded when asked what to expect from the Browns D-line. “That is how we are looking at it. We are not woofing about it. It is straight work. At the end of the season, we look up and look at our work and then judge it off of that.”

Joel Bitonio hopeful JC Tretter returns for Week 1 but sees ‘positive signs’ with rookie Nick Harris too

Left guard Joel Bitonio could very well open the 2020 season sandwiched between two rookie starters when the Browns travel to Baltimore in a little over a week. It’s a big responsibility for Bitonio, the greybeard of the Browns team and one of the steadiest performers in the NFL at his position.

Bitonio talked about how he’s hopeful that regular starting center JC Tretter can return in time to face the Ravens. He noted that he’s confident in Tretter being mentally prepared to return to action from his knee injury.

“Mentally he’s been in every meeting,’’ Bitonio said during his Zoom teleconference with reporters on Tuesday. “He’s watching practice on his iPad, and he’s getting focused and ready to roll. I know mentally he’s going to be ready to play, if he’s ready to go physically. That’s not going to be an obstacle.

He’s always been a smart guy, and he knows where we are play-by-play and issue-by-issue. I still talk to him in the meetings and make sure I’m like ‘Hey, this is what we are seeing out there. What would you call in these situations and those type of situations?’”

There is a difference between mental reps and physically going up against the likes of Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi in practices, however.

“ I know he has been pushing himself. He’s here every day just trying to get back and get ready for Week 1,” Bitonio concluded on Tretter.

The veteran left guard seems encouraged by what he’s seen from rookie Nick Harris, who has been the first-team center while Tretter has been out for the entire training camp.

“From Nick’s perspective, he is playing center so there is a lot on his plate making calls and things of that nature. He has done a really good job of picking that up. He is an athletic guy. He can move, he is quick and he gets to his position really well. Those are things that are really big positive signs.”

Denzel Ward learning a new press coverage technique on the fly

Ward is trying to become more well-rounded and versatile in coverage

Denzel Ward has been very successful in coverage in his first two NFL seasons. That Pro Bowl-level play doesn’t stop the Browns cornerback, or his new coaches, from pushing to be even better.

One area in particular where new defensive coordinator Joe Woods is hoping he can help Ward is in the CB’s press coverage technique. Ward talked about it in his Zoom teleconference with reporters on Tuesday.

“They are going to teach new things,” Ward explained. “That is one thing. One thing specifically that I like is they are critiquing my technique, actually. Right now, I am kind of trying to learn a new technique that I played in press coverage a little differently than the years past. I have been working on that. That is one thing that I appreciate so far from Coach Woods and the rest of the staff.”

He admitted it’s not been an easy process to learn and implement a new technique while being away from the team facilities and working remotely with Woods and the coaches.

“Yeah, a little bit, just because I have not really worked that technique before,” Ward said when asked if it’s been hard. “It has been a fun process so far and learning the new technique. Just trying new things out and not really being one dimensional.”

Ward did not elaborate on the exact technique change. Having watched his game tape, I would suspect it involves his transition step(s) when he stops the early press; Ward often takes a deep step that leaves him vulnerable to quicker wideouts.

Andrew Berry on David Njoku: ‘I think he can have a fantastic year’

The Browns GM talked up Njoku’s value to the team once again

David Njoku will be a member of the Cleveland Browns for the 2020 NFL season. While the mercurial young tight end might not have always wanted it to be that way, the Browns organization has never wavered from wanting Njoku in the offense.

Browns GM Andrew Berry once again trumpeted the team’s high regard for Njoku in his Zoom press conference with reporters on Tuesday. When asked about Njoku’s recent decision to rescind his trade request, Berry laid out the big plans the team has for him and how well the player himself has handled the awkward exchange.

“I will not go into necessarily the specifics of the conversation that I had with David, but what I can tell you with David, really even since the spring and definitely since he has been back, he has been very engaged with our coaching staff and our performance staff,” Berry said. “He has shown up in terrific shape. I do think that there is an element with getting back around your teammates, your coaches and the excitement of training camp.

We have been very consistent that we think David can be a big part of where we are trying to go as a team this year and that we think he has an important role to play for this roster and for this team. We are looking forward to working with David. I think he can have a fantastic year.”

Berry speaks the truth in referring to the consistency at which he and head coach Kevin Stefanski have been bullish on Njoku’s potential in the new offense. It’s something Berry himself talked up during his press conference at the scouting combine in February and Stefanski has reiterated on multiple occasions.

Njoku withdrew his trade request last week. He made the initial request through his new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, earlier this summer just hours after hiring Rosenhaus as his representation. The request contradicted Njoku’s own words from the winter and spring, where he enthused excitement about his own potential in Stefanski’s TE-friendly offense.

Kevin Stefanski downplays the Browns need to have a “quarantine” QB

Stefanski trusts the Browns safety precautions and doesn’t see the need

The notion of having a “COVID-19 quarantine” quarterback is a popular discussion point on sports talk radio and message boards. As often happens, the concept filtered up and made an appearance in Browns coach Kevin Stefanski’s Zoom press conference this week.

There are two separate branches to the discussion. One is to keep the current QBs, or at least one of them, completely isolated from the rest of the team and pretty much anyone who could possibly infect him with the coronavirus. The other is to identify a veteran free agent QB and stash them in a quarantine version of “break glass if needed” type of situation.

Stefanski answered the question based on the first scenario, the idea of isolating Baker Mayfield or Case Keenum away in practices and not risking any possible COVID-19 outbreak that would leave the Browns shorthanded at QB.

“We are going to put a plan in place that we feel really confident in keeping all of our players safe. Obviously, I understand the quarterback position and a lot of people are discussing that, but I feel very strongly that the protocols that they have given us, we have adhered them to a tee,” Stefanski said confidently.

He continued while also laying out the practice plan,

“The truth is we have gone past them. We are doing things in an abundance of caution that we do not even have to do. For example, we are going to split the squad next week, and we are going to go with calling it a ‘brown’ and ‘an orange’ team. We are going to have a workout in the morning and a workout in the afternoon. We are going to do that just to limit the people in the building. We are not going to have in-person meetings until, I think, August 9. We are going to just stay virtual.”

He did not broach the idea of having an emergency plan on the outside in case Mayfield and/or Keenum, or third-stringer Garrett Gilbert, tests positive for COVID and needs to sit for an extended period. Some fans have suggested that Drew Stanton could be a good option. The veteran was the team’s No. 2 entering 2019 before he went on injured reserve, and Stanton remains unsigned. However, his skills do not match well with Stefanski’s offensive scheme.

[vertical-gallery id=50119]

Myles Garrett thinks the NFL ‘should have a bigger voice’ on social issues

Garrett criticized the NFL for not doing more with its platform

Myles Garrett wants to become a bigger leadership presence for the Cleveland Browns. It’s something the Pro Bowl defensive end talked about in his video teleconference with reporters on Thursday.

Garrett dipped a toe in those waters in the same interview. Part of leading is not being afraid to state positions, and Garrett didn’t back away.

When asked if he feels like the NFL is doing enough on the social justice issue, Garrett didn’t brush off the question or give a diplomatic non-answer.

This was Garrett’s response,

“I feel like they should have a bigger voice. They have so much access to resources. They should be able to speak up. I believe [Colin Kaepernick] deserves an apology. I know it’s one thing to stand behind us and supporting our efforts, but they should be standing beside us in what we’re doing, seeing as there are a lot of players – big and small in their stardom – trying to things for their hometowns, where they play and just for areas they know have been affected and I feel they should be right there beside us leading the charge.”

To his credit, Garrett has been very active in supporting causes he believes in. He paid for the funeral of a Louisville businessman killed in crossfire between police and suspected gunfire. He also offered support, both public and financial, to slain St. Louis police captain David Dorn.

[vertical-gallery id=49297]