(Photo by Al Pereira/Getty Images)
Head Coach Freddie Kitchens:
Opening statement:
“I thought our show team today did an excellent job of giving us good looks. I thought we had a good day of preparation. We will finish strong this afternoon with meetings and then finish the day. It was good to get Hub (T Chris Hubbard) back on a limited basis today at right tackle. I do not know yet if he is going to make it [to play Sunday], but he did show some progress so that is a good sign.”
On updates on the status of CBs Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams:
“They are still kind of day to day. We will see if they progress any tomorrow.”
On factors determining whether or not Hubbard will be able to play Sunday:
“Just to see if he can go. We will build him up tomorrow and see how he is tomorrow, but he will probably be a game-time decision.”
On if WR Rashard Higgins had a setback with his injury:
“Higgins is kind of day to day, too. We will see how it feels tomorrow.”
On Higgins practicing earlier in the week:
“On a limited basis but he had not done anything significant since a couple weeks – significant enough.”
On TE Ricky Seals-Jones:
“First of all, (assistant general manager) Eliot (Wolf), (General Manager) John (Dorsey) and those guys do a great job of getting guys who are available. Of course, when you have knowledge of someone, it definitely helps. Ricky works hard, he is a good athlete for the position and he has good hands – a lot of good qualities that you like to find in tight ends.”
On who is the Browns’ emergency QB:
“It would probably be me (laughter). We have a plan. I just do not want to say anything about it. We have a couple of receivers that can throw the ball.”
On WR Jarvis Landry being a QB in high school:
“He was. (WR) Odell (Beckham Jr.) was a quarterback before. (WR KhaDarel) Hodge was a quarterback before. We have several receivers. We can always go three running backs and do the wishbone. There are several options we can do. We do have an emergency plan, though. I am not going to give you all of my secrets.”
On if the Browns are ‘playing with fire at the tackle position’ given Hubbard’s injury and available backups at T:
“We kind of are, but that is the reason the position is so critical. We have got a plan for it if anything happens. You always have to have a plan, and we have a plan. You do not expect it to happen the first game so we had to maneuver at that point, also. Those guys did an excellent job of being prepared from a knowledge standpoint. Same thing would happen.”
On what the Ravens defense does well:
“They are aggressive. They only know one speed and that is full. They are very sound in what they do. They are very well coached. They are good at what they do, and that is present pressure and present different looks in the secondary. All around, a good football team. Offensively, defensively and special teams, they are solid all the way around. They are coached tremendously. There is a reason why they are the division champs.”
On what makes the Ravens DL so difficult to run against:
“They are big inside and active, the first thing that you just notice. They are always finishing plays, hunting the ball and things like that that good defensive lineman do. They play with good sound technique from a leverage standpoint and then they fill the gaps that they are supposed to be in.”
On Beckham saying it is a personal battle for him to be a leader:
“I feel like Odell has and everybody has their own way of leading. I think he does a good job of he came in and kind of gathered those guys around. I think him and Jarvis are great to have in that room. I think both of them are tremendous leaders, different but tremendous leaders in their own right.”
On S Damarious Randall implying he did not sustain a concussion yet was placed in concussion protocol:
“The only thing I would say to that is that is out of my hands. I do not have anything to do with that. Once they go into the protocol, they have the whole system that takes place at that point and it is out of my hands. That is all I really have to say about it. I was just told he had a concussion and he is out until they release him from the protocol. I can’t do anything about it.”
On if it is almost impossible to replicate Ravens QB Lamar Jackson in practice:
“Yeah, I think so. There is a reason he was taken in the first round. He has been so productive since he has been in the league. If you can find guys like that everywhere, maybe it would not be such a phenomenon. It is hard to replicate what he does in practice, and you do not really get to the speed of it until you actually get in the game. I think the guys that are here realize that from last year. He is a tremendous challenge to handle, especially now that he is throwing the ball better.”
On if he viewed Jackson as one-dimensional last year:
“Him working out in college, you knew he had it in him. It is just getting the consistency out of him. I think they are getting more consistent play from that aspect out of him now, which makes him more dangerous and harder to defend.”
On who played Jackson on the Browns scout team this week:
“We had a couple of different guys play him. I was not one of them, no.”
On the comparisons between Jackson and former NFL QB Michael Vick:
“Michael was definitely dynamic, and he is, too. I think the comparison is definitely there. He is bigger than Michael, and that makes it even more difficult. Odell played him in scout team quarterback (laughter). You just do not believe me, do you?”
On if the Ravens run game’s physical play is striking:
“Yeah, that is their game. That is their team. They want to turn everything into a physical game. That is how they have been successful, and that is the way the game of football is played. Baltimore plays football the way it is supposed to be played. It is definitely going to be a challenge. (Ravens RB) Mark (Ingram II) and those guys, all of them, carry the ball physical.”
On goals when scripting plays besides scoring points:
“Just success. Get people started off fast. Keep everybody into the game, which sounds weird, but you always play better if you know the ball could come to you, the ball could be handed to you or you could be throwing the ball or the right tackle knows that the first play is coming over his side. You just try to take all those factors in, try to factor it in and try to get everybody involved and go from there. Ultimately, you are just trying hit plays that you think are going to be successful or to do things for later in the game. I think that is the case across the board with every coach.”
On if he is looking forward to seeing Mayfield appear confident and comfortable while playing with his moxie again:
“I always look forward to Sundays. Like I said before, I am not worried about Baker. Baker is going to get right. I go back to the first game. He was… No, I am not going back to the first game. I am not worried about Baker. He is going to be fine.”