BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – If defensive coordinator Steve Wilks had a vote, linebacker Joe Schobert would be heading to Orlando in January.
“If I had a vote, I would say yes,” Wilks said.
Schobert leads the team and is ranked second in the AFC with 110 tackles. He is tied for third in the NFL with four interceptions this season.
Schobert, who made the Pro Bowl in 2017, has also added nine passes defensed, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
“I’ve tried to push for me and other guys on defense for the Browns to get there because it was a great experience,” Schobert said earlier this week. “I’d want anybody who deserves it to be there to be able to experience it. I guess you’ve got to see what happens. Can’t get too caught up in it though.”
The linebacker, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, has played every defensive snap in 12 of 13 games.
“My No. 1 priority is to play the season out and do the best of my abilities and control what I can control,” Schobert said. “At the moment I let my agent handle all of that stuff. I can’t really control what’s going on, what’s being said upstairs to my agent and them. I trust my agent. He’s going to do what’s best for me. I trust the Browns are going to do what’s best for the organization. In my perfect world, yeah, I’d be in Cleveland.”
Kyler v Lamar – The Browns will face two of the NFL’s most dynamic and elusive quarterbacks the next two weeks in Arizona’s Kyler Murray and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, meaning Cleveland’s defenders are going to be virtually on skates with their hands full trying to slow them both down.
Schobert had a perfect way of differentiating between the two young rising stars.
“I think Kyler throws a lot of balls away when he looks on the edge and doesn’t get a read, makes the smart play and throws it away,” Schobert said. “Lamar is out there playing like he’s in Madden running around, juking, spinning and making people look silly. Kyler scrambles to throw, then he’ll throw it away when people get close.”
Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson joked about preparing for Murray helping them get ready for a rematch with Jackson Dec. 22.
“Yeah, losing weight, that's about it honestly,” Richardson said. “Running around chasing skinny people all day, that's about it.”
Honest Mike – Don’t fault special teams coordinator Mike Priefer for honesty.
Priefer was asked Thursday morning about rookie punter Jamie Gillan being a candidate to the Pro Bowl and his answer was as candid as they come.
“No, I do not think so. No, I am just going to be honest,” Priefer said. “I would let you know if I thought he did. I think Jamie is a very good punter. I think he is going to get better and better and better, and there are better punters than him right now out there that have performed better this year. You just have to be more consistent. Is he a Pro Bowl talent punter? Absolutely. Is he ready to be on the Pro Bowl roster this year? I do not think so.
“I think there are two or three out of AFC punters that have probably had better years than him. Honestly, we have to protect better for him, we have to cover better for him, and he has to perform more consistently, and we will get him to that level.”
Gillan is tied for eighth in the NFL with 24 punts inside the 20 and he is averaging 46.2 yards with a net average of 40.7 per punt.
Heart-to-heart – Kitchens spent a good portion of practice Thursday talking to receiver Rashard Higgins, who did not get a single offensive snap in the 27-19 win over the Bengals after averaging 29 snaps the previous four games.
“We've got to go off what we see,” Kitchens said. “That's what we make every decision. Every week is different depending on who we're playing, how we're playing, what type of game we're playing. We make the best decision each week.”
Kitchens maintains that Higgins, who caught arguably the most important pass of the second half of the season – the game winner against the Bills with less than two minutes to play – is not in the doghouse.
“I don't hold grudges,” Kitchens said. “I don't have a problem with Higg. I actually love Higg. I love being around him, love him being out there.”
In eight games this season, including one start, Higgins has four catches for 55 yards and a TD.
MVPs – Richardson praised receiver Jarvis Landry’s leadership after Landry was named the Browns’ Walter Payton Man of the Year Thursday.
“Between him and Chubb, they're the MVPs of the team to me,” Richardson said. “That's just my opinion. No matter how stale the offense is, those two keep it going no matter what, the juice is always found between one of them two.”
Chubb currently leads the NFL in rushing with 1,281 yards.
Injury report – DNP JC Tretter (knee)
LIMITED: WR Odell Beckham Jr. (groin), WR Jarvis Landry (hip), DE Olivier Vernon (knee), RT Chris Hubbard (knee), S Eric Murray (knee)
FULL: LB Sione Takitaki (illness), TE Demetrius Harris (shoulder), RB Dontrell Hilliard (knee), CB Greedy Williams (shoulder), CB Denzel Ward (ankle), TE David Njoku (knee), WR KhaDarel Hodge (Achilles)
