CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The banged up Browns are back in town after picking up a pair of losses in Denver and Los Angeles.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from the head coach Kevin Stefanski’s zoom video conference Monday afternoon.
Keeping the faith – Kevin Stefanski did not trust his defense late in Sunday’s 36-19 loss to the Rams. With all three timeouts plus the two-minute warning, Stefanski opted not to punt and instead went for it on fourth-and-5 from their own 30. Rams safety Russ Yeast broke up the throw intended for tight end David Njoku. L.A. needed five plays before Kyren Williams punched it in to put the game out of reach with 1:56 remaining. It was an odd decision not to play the field position game, but Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford carving up the secondary all afternoon likely was a factor. “I think those decisions in game are always just based on what you think is best in that moment,” Stefanski said. “Obviously there's things that we can do better on defense. We know that there's plays that we can clean up and that's really our focus. Our focus is finding those ways in game to make a play here and there.” L.A. racked up 399 yards of offense with ease, including 279 yards passing with Denzel Ward sidelined for the second straight week. “Credit to the Rams, they did a nice job,” Stefanski said. “We really got our hands on really one throw by Stafford there down in the red zone, but he took care of the ball, they got the ball out quickly. And then there's plays that we feel like we can do a better job and that's what we're going to do. We're going to identify it and correct it this week.”
Shut out – Myles Garrett, who played 57 of 64 snaps, didn’t even register in the final box score while playing with a sore left shoulder. “[The Rams] did a good job yesterday,” Stefnaski said. “Tip your cap to them and then it always, as you know, it opens up plays for guys and we expect them to make plays when they have a one-on-one.” Garrett has been neutralized since suffering the injury in Denver, but what is concerning is that his teammates aren’t getting home either. “Myles has gotten attention probably since the very first snap of his career,” Stefanski said. “That's just how it works. Teams are always going to slide to him. They're going to put tight ends over there, running backs and he knows that he fights through it.” The Browns did not record a single sack defensively and they had just two QB hits, two pass breakups and just one tackle for loss. “As you know close doesn't count, but just keep applying pressure,” Stefanski said. “We're always looking to apply pressure. I know sacs is the thing that a lot of times people get hung up on that number, but we're trying to just apply pressure to the quarterback.”
Non-committal – Stefanski, which is customary for Monday’s, did not commit to Joe Flacco as the starter going forward. “I'm not going to get into those type of things on Monday,” Stefanski said. “We'll work through that.” Flacco completed 23 of 44 passes for 254 yards with two TDs and an interception with a 75.4 rating. It was the second-best QB performance of the season. “Operationally I thought Joe did a nice job,” Stefanski said. “We were sharp getting in and out of the huddle. We weren't perfect. There were a few things that we did alignment wise that weren't great, but I thought Joe did a nice job in the huddle, which you'd expect from a veteran like Joe.”
Fillin’ more shoes – Losing Amari Cooper Sunday and the receiver in concussion protocol was the latest blow for the injury-riddled Browns to deal with. “When you lose a player, it opens up opportunities for other guys. Sid got some opportunities. Obviously Elijah slid into some of Amari's role and that's why it's really important for all of our players to be ready to step in any role. Sometimes you're playing out of position, so to speak. So those guys have to be ready to roll.” Cooper departed early in the second quarter when he took a hit from a pair of Rams defenders after he dropped a third down pass. Stefanski was happy with the ball distribution in the passing game after Cooper departed, led by Elijah Moore, who caught four of 12 targets for 83 yards. “I think we had nine guys with receptions” Stefanski said. “And I think if we're doing our job, that should be what it is because the ball always goes where the ball goes based on the defense. So I thought Joe got through progressions... Elijah oftentimes was first in progression and made some nice plays and then got through it and really found a bunch of guys in the pass game.”
False start – Center Ethan Pocic was called for moving the ball forward prior to a snap late in the fourth quarter drawing Stefanski’s ire on the sideline. “I'll get more clarification this week on that,” Stefanski said. “We're not in any way trying to move the ball to gain an advantage there. I understand the officials have a very difficult job because there is a heightened awareness of that play in short yardage where the league really does not want the centers to gain an undue advantage. It's unfortunate.” Pocic was flagged for the second time in as many weeks for the foul. It was a critical penalty that moved the Browns from a third-and-inches just shy of their own 35 and made it third-and-six from their own 30 with 2:37 remaining. “I don't know that the movement of that ball was much different than what Ethan does on a lot of those snaps,” Stefanski said. “So I'll talk to the league about it again, disappointing, frustrating, but we'll just play within the rules and whatever they are.”
Injury report – Stefanski declined to give any injury updates following Sunday’s game.
