Berea, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Christian Kirksey was back on the field Friday for the first time since suffering an unspecified chest injury against the New York Jets Sept. 16.
Except he wasn’t in uniform or practicing.
Kirksey, voted a team captain for the third straight year, helped get practice underway with his ‘Dawg check’ chant and he’s doing all he can while sidelined to be there for his teammates.
“I want to be that voice still,” Kirksey said. “Because of my teammates, I don’t want to check out and worry just about myself. I still gotta worry about my brothers.”
Kirksey, who was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 21, remains undecided about whether to undergo surgery to repair the injury or just allow it to heal on its own.
“I’m still talking to some people about what’s the best solution, that’s really where I’m at right now,” Kirksey said. “I’m just taking it day by day.”
The veteran linebacker also wasn’t sure if he will play again this season
“I can’t make no predictions,” Kirksey said.
In the meantime, Kirksey plans to do what he can behind the scenes to help the defense, and his replacement, rookie Mack Wilson. The two have struck up a friendship and exchanged Tweets too.
“It’s a brotherhood, man, and I’ve been a rookie before and I had great guys that were in the linebacker room with me,” Kirksey said. “I just want to do the same for him, just be a big brother, help him out with any questions he asks me and just try to help him become all that he wants to be.”
Kirksey has watched film with Wilson and lamented the close call the rookie had against the Rams that saw him nearly come up with an interception.
“He’s flying around,” Kirksey said. “He’s got to grab that big play that he almost had. He’s a good player and you want to see guys like that succeed.”
Cage the birds – The Browns allowed the Ravens to rack up 296 yards rushing – quarterback Lamar Jackson had 90 of those yards – in the 2018 season final that saw Baltimore hang on for a 26-24 victory that clinched another AFC North title for the franchise that used to reside in Cleveland.
“I don’t see that happening again,” defensive end Myles Garrett said. “But you gotta go out there and do it. It’s a new year, a new time and I feel like we can get after these guys pretty well. I don’t think they can. I think the plan is too good for us to let something like that happen again. We’re too prideful to have something happen like that again.”
The Browns are vastly improved against the run through the first three weeks allowing an average of 60.3 yards on the ground per game, ranked third best in the NFL.
Baltimore enters the game as the NFL’s top rushing team at 216.7 yards per game led by Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards and Jackson.
“They’re all three great rushing threats,” Garrett said. “Even though [Jackson] doesn’t want to be called a running back, that’s his main talent right now, his elusiveness outside of the pocket and then getting the ball off as well. Those two [running backs], they both run downhill, one-cut guys, can go through you and can make one move and try and get some separation on you and get to the end zone.”
What’s the secret to stopping Jackson on the run?
“You have to cage this guy, make sure he doesn't scramble up the middle,” Garrett said.
Flag fest – The Browns have been flagged an NFL-high 46 times with 35 of those being enforced. The 11 declined penalties are also tops in the league.
Cleveland also averages 3.7 pre-snap penalties per game.
“They are brought on by lack of focus and concentration,” Kitchens said. “We try to practice the fact that you are really not concentrating or focusing if you get a pre-snap penalty. We only ask them to count to one, two or three. If it is after that, it is just lack of focus.”
Double the fun – Sunday’s game in Baltimore carries tremendous weight and could set the course for the remainder of the season.
“It’s just important because it’s a division opponent,” linebacker Joe Schobert said. “If we win this game, it really counts for two, giving them a loss, giving us a win, being head-to-head up on them. If we can win this week, the first quarter of the season we’ll be on top of the AFC North Division. That’s where we want to be. It would be huge for us to get a win.”
A win, and the Browns move into a tie atop the division at 2-2. A loss and they’ll have quite the hole they’d need to climb out of at 1-3.
“Division games count twice, really because you get the win of course, but you also hold a tiebreaker,” head coach Freddie Kitchens said. “They are more important.”
“It goes through Baltimore because they are the last division champions. They have had a heck of year so far. They are playing very well on each side of the ball and on special teams. I do not know what there is not to like about Baltimore. They are tremendous in all areas.”
The Ravens secured the North crown with that Week 17 win over the Browns a year ago in Baltimore while Cleveland came in to this season hoping to end a 30-year divisional title drought.
“The goal is to win the division,” Garrett said. “It’s a short-term goal. They’re the defending champions in that regard so if we want to do that, then we have to beat them. They’re the best team in the division right now.”
Injury report – Out: OT Kendall Lamm (knee)
Questionable: CB Denzel Ward (hamstring), CB Greedy Williams (hamstring), S Morgan Burnett (quadriceps), S Sheldrick Redwine (hamstring), RT Chris Hubbard (foot), WR Rashard Higgins (knee)
Expected to play: LG Joel Bitonio (abdomen), LB Adarius Taylor (ankle), WR Odell Beckham Jr. (hip), LS Charley Hughlett (shoulder), S Damarious Randall (concussion), K Austin Seibert (hip), DT Devaroe Lawrence (not injury related)
