CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – After watching his unit give up a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that nearly shifted momentum in Sunday’s win over the Colts, Mike Priefer has seen enough.
Priefer revealed Thursday he plans to make some personnel changes.
“We are going to find the right match of guys,” Priefer said. “We have talked about it before, we were the No. 1 or No. 2 kickoff team in the National Football League last year, and we do not all of a sudden get bad overnight. There are some things we are doing or personnel we are putting out there that are not good enough, and we are going to make those changes.”
That kickoff return snuffed out the momentum gained by Ronnie Harrison’s 47-yard pick-6 that gave the Browns a 27-10 lead and cut it to 27-17 in mere seconds.
“That is what is so disappointing is we let them back in the game,” Priefer said. “That could have been a completely different outcome. Obviously, we won the game, we won by nine and we did a lot of good things on teams, but you can’t give up that play. It to hurt the momentum.”
Priefer’s kickoff coverage team is allowing just under 35 yards per kick return and 8.8 yards per punt return this season.
“We have got to do a better job schematically,” Priefer said. “We have to do a better job of kicking, getting off blocks, covering and tacking to be quite honest. We will be better.”
One change will be to use linebacker Sione Takitaki more but he might not be the only linebacker to get more reps.
After the kickoff return against the Colts, Mack Wilson offered his assistance on special teams, which did not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
“We have to be better in that phase. That is no mystery,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I know our players know that, and I do appreciate guys like Mack and I do appreciate a lot of guys on this team that really just want to help us win. I point out a guy like Takitaki, who did not have a ton of plays on defense this last game – I want to say he had 15 or so – but he was outstanding on special teams. He affected the game. He helped us win. That is a great attitude that I think permeates throughout our building.”
Landry still out – Receiver Jarvis Landry missed his second consecutive practice with rib and hip injuries.
The hip isn’t the concern, it’s Landry’s ribs after he took a big hit that saw him crawl off the field against the Colts following a 32-yard completion on their opening drive.
“That was a big shot he took there on an explosive play. He did a heck of a job, ran a great route and then got hit as he was going down,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “Jarvis is one of the toughest guys on the team. There is no question about that. He was the captain last week for a reason. We knew that was going to be a tough, hard-hitting game and he fit right in. He took the shot there on the sideline, missed a few plays and then came back and still did some really, really good things in the pass game.”
Landry caught four passes for 88 yards in the win but had two drops in the second half that would’ve gone for first downs.
“The two drops, I am sure he will not tell you that it was due to the injury, but he would love to have those back,” Van Pelt said. “The things he did after the fact, the toughness in the run game, him going down and digging out guys and blocking down the field, that is the Jarvis that we all love. He is one of the toughest guys on the team for a reason, and he showed that on Sunday.”
Landry hasn’t missed a game in his NFL career.
Need for speed – Overall, Priefer has been satisfied with Donovan Peoples-Jones, who has taken over as the primary returner since JoJo Natson went on injured reserve, but he also believes experience will lead to improvement.
“He is a confident young man, but he is a cerebral young man,” Priefer said. “He needs to see it. He needs to experience it. He has never been a kickoff returner before. He did a nice job on the last one. He broke a tackle and got out to the 32-yard line before our last field go drive to go back up by nine. That was a huge play. The one punt return opportunity we had the other night, he let the ball hit the ground and he did not feel comfortable – the ball was spinning weird or whatever. I would like to see him at least fair catch that, but we had a lot of room on that one. We end up getting 5 yards off the bounce. It could have been a 15-20 yard return. The more he experiences it, I think the better he will get.”
Peoples-Jones is averaging 21.5 yards per kick return and 8.3 yards on punts and the expectation is those averages will improve.
“He does need to play faster. He needs to return faster, like he did on that last kickoff return,” Priefer said. “I tell him he has to cut it loose – believe in his talent, believe in his ability and cut it loose. He understands that when the balls in his hands, he is the most important man in our organization because ball security is so huge for everybody. He understands that aspect of it. I am confident in Donovan. I think he is only going to get better.”
Notable quotable – “I was just letting it grow for the quarantine time when we were social distancing, and then I kind of got here and it was pretty long so I just kind of let it flow, and everybody was like, ‘You can’t cut the beard.’ I just kind of let it go. No exact decision.” – Left guard Joel Bitonio, who hasn’t shaved since February, on his beard.
Injury Report – DNP: WR Odell Beckham Jr. (illness), CB Kevin Johnson (not injury related), S Ronnie Harrison (concussion), S Karl Joseph (hamstring), WR Jarvis Landry (ribs/hip), LB Jacob Phillips (knee), RG Wyatt Teller (calf); LIMITED: LB Tae Davis (elbow), RB Kareem Hunt (thigh), QB Baker Mayfield (chest), DT Larry Ogunjobi (abdomen), C JC Tretter (knee), DE Olivier Vernon (groin); FULL: DT Sheldon Richardson (elbow), DT Jordan Elliott (ankle)
