Kevin Stefanski shocked fans; I’m leaving after…
Kevin Stefanski on loss to the Giants, Deshaun Watson, injury updates, and more: Transcript
Cleveland Browns vs, New York Giants, September 22, 2024
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski talks to back judge Steve Patrick in the first half. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
Opening Statement:
“Okay, injury front. Wyatt’s (Teller) got a knee injury. We’ll get an MRI on that tomorrow morning. James Hudson, shoulder injury, we’ll MRI that as well. Obviously very, very disappointed to play like we did and not be able to put ourselves in position to play good enough to win. So, I got to get it fixed. It’s really disappointing on a bunch of different levels. I know we can be better, and we will be. That’s the truth of the NFL. Got a game next week versus an AFC opponent and that really will be our focus very quickly here, but very, very disappointed. That’s not good enough from a player standpoint, from a coaching standpoint, you name it. Just not good enough and you’re not going to win games when you play like that. So, with that, I’ll take any questions.”
Kevin, you mentioned two of the three offensive linemen that were injured. Do you have any update on Jed Wills who went out with a knee?
“I don’t have an update yet on him. He’ll get an MRI.”
Kevin, how much do you think — you had an interception there but called back because of that roughing penalty. What affect did that have on this game?
“I mean, obviously anytime you can get the ball in advantageous field position, I thought that was a great play by our guys. My look at it, I did not believe it was forcible to the head. I know you can’t hit the quarterback in the head, but obviously the referee saw it differently.”
Can you talk about the way Deshaun (Watson) scrapped, and fought, and fought to try and pull this thing out…?
“Yeah, I mean, it’s not for lack of effort and obviously Deshaun gives you everything he has. He can’t get sacked that many times, can’t get hit that many times. It’s just…that’s not good enough and that’s on me and that’s on us to get that fixed.”
Kevin, were you always going to go forward on fourth down there? That last sequence.
“I was, yeah.”
What was that decision? I guess what was kind of your thinking at the time? I guess there was like 3:56 or so left, you took three timeouts, the defense is playing well. What goes into that decision?
“Yeah, so third down, we got into what I thought was sneakable, move back to a long one. Liked our call, felt good about that and then ultimately, if you don’t perform in those short yardage moments, that’s on us. And so, I’ll take responsibility for that.”
Kevin, can you explain what happened to (Jack) Conklin late in the week?
“Yeah, like I kind of told you guys all week, you have to take how guys are feeling throughout the week before you make decisions. Ultimately had, I’d say, a minor setback on Friday, but I don’t think it’s something that will hold him out weeks but held him out this week.”
Kevin, the pressure that New York (Giants) applied all afternoon long. Could you touch on just the effect of that and then the problem being compounded by having to shuffle the entire offensive line the remainder of the game?
“Yeah, they did a nice job. They pressured our quarterback early. We didn’t do a good enough job in a bunch of different areas to negate that pressure and credit to them.”
Was Dawand Jones struggling a little bit? I know you took him out there at the beginning of the third quarter. I mean, physically struggling.
“I think he was physically struggling, yeah.”
Like he had a knee…?
“He had a knee injury going into the game and I don’t think he performed like we’re used to seeing him perform.”
Kevin, by the time you moved down to your only healthy lineman, did you ever practice with those five guys in those five spots?
“No.”
How difficult does that make everything?
“It is what it is. Guys, they all know when and where they’re going in, if there’s an injury. But just, yeah, that’s no excuse.”
How about Myles (Garrett)? I mean, he went into the tent, I think, twice, and then really it looked to be in some pain out there.
“Yeah, foot injury. Will MRI it.”
What went into the decision? I know it’s obviously hindsight, but, you only has three kind of traditional offensive tackles. I guess, was there any thought and maybe having a fourth tackle up?
“Yeah, Jack Conklin was unavailable due to injury, so that’s kind of who we have.”
Is this the same foot stuff that’s been bothering Myles the last few weeks?
“I’d say it’s all related, yes.”
Did Amari (Cooper) get hurt there at the end?
“I’m not sure. I don’t have an update.”
I mean, we talked about his struggles the first two games, had a huge day today. What did you see out there?
“Yeah, obviously, first play was a great throw and catch. I thought there were — the disappointing part is there are opportunities out there and we just did not capitalize on those opportunities.”
Kevin, you guys, in practice on a daily basis, you work on those handoffs from just about every position imaginable. What did you see on the…
“Yeah, there’s no excuse. It’s a simple handoff. We have to be able to execute that. And honestly, you aren’t going to win games when you do stuff like that. That’s the truth. So we’ll get it fixed. Disappointed overall, understood that the effort was great, understood that we can be better next week, but ultimately you got to knock out those plays that get you beat.”
The defense, Kevin, played well in the second half, but that stretch at the end of the first quarter, through the second quarter. Why do you think they were so effective, (Daniel) Jones to especially (Malik) Nabers?
“Yeah, not up to our standard, really. Again, give them credit for what they did, schematically, they have good players, but we have to play better.”
Was there any shift in the second half, though, defensively?
Yeah, and that’s, again, we played to our standard for a good bit of that game, but we know we could be better.”
It seemed like early on the (New York) Giants were kind of taking advantage of the defense pressing, a lot of screens, misdirection. I guess as a defense, what can you do to stop it?
“Yeah, the screen game. We get a lot of screens, we get a lot of different plays because of our style, and we understand that. And we need to — there’s plays, there’s things that we can do to knock those screens out, but they obviously did a nice job with those.”
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