Head Coach Freddie Kitchens Transcript
Opening statement:
“I thought these guys did a good job of coming back off after an off day and getting something done from an effort and enthusiasm standpoint. That is encouraging. Hopefully, it continues.”
On if his view of playing time for the third preseason game has changed over the years:
“I do not think it is necessary that you have to play guys a certain amount. I just think that is what everybody else did, and people like to just maybe not go off of what they feel and think and go off of what everybody else does. That is like how we do a lot of things, right? We are just going to go with what we feel.”
On how he feels now:
“I feel good right now (laughter).”
On if the NFL still needs four preseason games and if that is valuable:
“That is over my pay scale. It does not matter to me. My job is to go with what we have, make the most of what we have and get something out of what we have right now as we speak until something changes, if it does.”
On incorporating several new players with the Browns:
“In today’s NFL, you always have new parts. Of course, if you do not have a good season, then you are going to have more new parts than you do not. That is part of life right now as far as the NFL’s concerned. Yes, it is definitely a hurdle you have to get across because you have to get everybody to buy in, create buy in and create a sense of togetherness. Whether you have new guys or not new guys, you still have to do the same thing every year because no two teams are ever the same. Even if you have every player back, they are not going to be the same. They are going to be at different levels as a person and they are going to be at different levels as a player so no two teams are ever the same, even if it is the same individuals.”
On if this is a ‘do or die’ week for the K competition:
“Hopefully, they have been treating it like that because you know this is the only industry in the world that you hire 90 guys to fire half of them. Everybody is fighting for a job right now. That is what they are doing, and that is what I told them at the beginning. I am not talking about just the kickers. I am talking about everyone. You are fighting for a job. As we go along this thing, we will start building a team, and at the end of all it, we will have a team but not until then. You just got a bunch of individuals trying to get a job.”
On if K Austin Seibert has been missing kicks due to being rattled or a mental component:
“I do not know. He has to get it figured out. If I make him nervous, I plan on being at the game (laughter).”
On Seibert and K Greg Joseph both making four of six FG attempts in today’s special teams period:
“Like I said, I want the ball to go through and not outside those yellow poles.”
On if there is a special caveat for attempts of 50-plus yards:
“No, as long as they can get it there. As long as it was not short, I am fine. I think both of them had plenty of leg. When we send the field goal team out there, I do not want to send the field goal team out there thinking, ‘Maybe we will make it.’ I want to know that we are going to make it. I will tell you a story, (Former Alabama Head Coach) Coach (Gene) Stallings used to tell me all the time when I step up into the pocket and I throw the ball, he wants to be able to close his eyes and know that it is made and that it is completed. That is what I want. I want to be able to send them out there, turn around and go talk to the offense and hear about the score.”
On if there has been a repetitive problem in missed FGs:
“I think it is an individual basis. Everything they do is just like any other position. It goes down to technique and having the confidence to go do it. Sometimes to get that confidence, you have to do it correctly. You have to do it with success. I can’t kick it for them. I can’t tackle for anybody. That is just not the only position. I can’t kick it for them. I can’t tackle for them. I can’t pass protect. I can’t throw it for them. I can’t catch it. They have to do that. The only thing we are going to do is put them in position. This game is about players. It has always been about players and always will be about players. Coaches like to make themselves feel important by making it about them sometimes. Some coaches make it about them. This is about the player and putting the player in the best situation to succeed. Now, if it was too long, we just need to know if it was too long. Again, that goes back to what I said originally. I just want to know what I am getting when they go out there. I want to know what I am getting on kickoff coverage. I want to know what I am getting on punt return. I want to know what I am getting on offense. I want to know what I am getting on defense. I just want to know and then we can plan accordingly. That is it.”
On if part of the problem at K is because there are not many Ks who are unsigned and available:
“No. Is that a problem? I do not know. Probably, I do not know. It will be soon, I guess. I do not know. We are not trying to bring in a new kicker right now if that is what you are asking. We have two guys right here that can kick the ball a long way. We need them to get their act right. We are not looking to replace them right now. We are looking to getting these guys better and continuing to get better. The process of evaluation and the process of judging them has not concluded yet. When it concludes, then we will make that decision.”
On TE Seth DeValve returning to practice:
“I saw him out there today. My expectations is for him to pick up where he left off and keep getting better, just like everybody else. We can’t do anything about what happened to Seth. The only thing we can do about it at this point moving forward.”
On TE Demetrius Harris’ best attributes:
“His size, his range, his toughness and his ability to block the point and still give us something in the pass game. He is a big target, a long target and a pretty dependable target.”
On QB Baker Mayfield’s success with a quick release inside the pocket last year:
“I don’t know. That is just something that I feel like we believe in is getting the ball out. You eliminate negative plays that way as long as the quarterback is making good decisions. I fully expect him to make good decisions. The shots down the field, we will protect up and throw it. There is no secret to what we did. We are going to do the same thing this year. When we do ask him to get the ball out, I want the ball to come out. He knows that, and our offensive line knows that we are going to take of them. When we ask them to hold up a little longer, we are trying to change the game.”
On Mayfield’s ability to escape the pass rush and if that helps the Browns have confidence in how the OL will perform this year:
“I do not know how to answer that, but whatever direction our team goes or our offense goes, I think we need to be able to adapt. That is the sign of a good offense is adapting. What you do well, if it is running the ball, you run the ball; if it is passing the ball, you pass the ball; if it is protecting and hold the ball for five or six seconds, you do that. We are going to do whatever it takes to give us the best chance to win.”
On if some coaches may get fixated on doing what they want to do versus what the team is capable of doing:
“Hopefully, this coach does not. I can promise you this coach won’t. I can’t answer for other coaches.”
On if WR Jaelen Strong was out of bounds or lost possession of the football on the ground on the last play of practice:
“I think he lost it when he hit the ground. I am not sure. I have not been inside yet. I do not know for sure so do not hold me to that.”
On Strong not being able to complete the catch:
“That is the only thing I worry about is seeing the result.”
On if the Browns offense did pushups at the end of practice due to not completing the catch:
“No, they did the pushups because it was fourth-and-5 from the 5, and they either stop us or we get it.”
On WR Damion Ratley and what Ratley needs to show during the next couple weeks after returning from injury:
“I like his range and his length. I like his speed. He has deceptive top speed. I just need to see consistency. I need to know what I am getting when he gets on the field. I need balls caught that are put on him. I need him to make catches that are contested catches. just like everybody else. He was doing that leading up to his injury. The contested catches were not on display, but in the spring, he was making those.”
On QB Drew Stanton’s intelligence and Ratley saying Stanton was the ‘smartest football guy he has been around’ :
“Second smartest (laughter). Drew is very valuable to the quarterback room, which is the most important room in the building to have continuity in there and to have the ability for everybody in there to check their egos at the door and to get the starter ready to play. That is their job every week. Everybody in that room is going to have a job. It may be red zone breakdowns. It may be third down breakdowns. It may be play action breakdowns. Everybody in that room has a job on a week-to-week basis, and Drew does a good job of organizing that and making sure they stay on track. It is good to have a young guy with Baker to have somebody like that in the mix, especially with someone who has been with me for so long.”
On if Stanton learned everything from him:
“You will have to ask him that because I know what I would say (laughter). I am just kidding.”
On if Stanton is still the same caliber of quarterback as he was in Arizona, despite that being a few years ago:
“Yeah, I think so. I think once a quarterback gets to a certain point in their career, they have to start doing it with their mind a little bit more than their legs. He still has an arm, and he is still pretty accurate. The last 16 games Drew has played, he is 10-6. It is a production business. I do not care what anybody says or anybody thinks they see. It is a production based business and getting the job done. It is either yay or nay.”
On if competition at CB has brought out the best in CB Terrance Mitchell:
“I do not know if it has brought out the best in him or not because if it has, I do not want that to be his best. I want his best to be tomorrow, and then after that, I want his best to be the next day. I want him to keep getting better and better. If it brings out the competition and somebody needs competition to get better, then yes, I think that is what it did. That is the way everybody should react.”
On if he likes the way Mitchell has responded to competition at CB:
“Definitely, no doubt. He has kept fighting, kept his head down, kept getting better at his technique, kept getting better at his tackling, kept getting better at his coverage and just kept getting better. He has stayed in there in a positive manner. Money Mitch is a team guy. I like those guys.”
On why WR D.J. Montgomery was not at today’s practice:
“He had a personal deal.”
On if Montgomery was excused from practice today by the team:
“Yes, definitely.”
On if the Browns will bring UFC Heavyweight Champion and Cleveland-native Stipe Miocic to practice:
“I would love to get him out here. I am going to need some help from you guys (laughter). I would love to get him out here.”
On if he watched Miocic’s fight this weekend:
“I did not watch the fight. I saw the highlights of the fight. I did get a rundown of it, and it seems like he really never gave up and just kept fighting. Sometimes the best ability is reliability, availability and dependability, and I think he is a great demonstration of that.”
On why TE David Njoku went through individual drills without a helmet:
“We are trying to build toughness, man (laughter). I am just kidding. He has a cut on the back of his head ,and the stitches would come out [if he wore his helmet]. It is nothing major. He just can’t have his helmet on right now.”
On Njoku’s practicing in individual as an indication his knee injury has progressed:
“Oh yeah, he feels great. He feels really good.”
On if he made a trade to get his old Browns shirt:
“You know what? I am sure I did at some point. I do not know what I traded yet, but I did at some point. Do you like it?”
On S Damarious Randall’s new blue hairs:
“I will keep conversations with the players between me and the player, I will say that. I like it, though. I would rather it be orange.”