CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Post season awards season is upon us, and a pair of Browns were honored by their peers while their prolific pass catcher remains on the mend but is ready to go Saturday.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from Wednesday.
Ready to roll – Receiver Amari Cooper said Wednesday he could have played at Cincinnati if he had to with a heel injury that kept him from practice again and he is ready to go come Saturday afternoon. “It's getting better every day,” Cooper said. “I'm running around now. So it's just a typical injury that you have to work through.” Cooper put together the third-highest receiving total in Browns history this past season with 1,250 yards and five touchdowns while finishing second in catches on the team to tight end David Njoku. Cooper also rewrote the franchise record books on Christmas Eve in Houston when he racked up 265 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 36-22 victory over the Texans. “I mean records are meant to be broken,” Cooper said. “At the end of the day, it's just numbers. I don't take it for granted, but I mean it's the past and I always tell myself, I want to look back on my career in that nostalgic type of way that I think you're alluding to after I'm done.” It’s expected that Houston will pay even more attention to Cooper, who made multiple contested catches at their expense on December 24, Saturday afternoon. “They're not really a man team, so I think the chances of them using a player to shadow me is a little bit less than what it would be if they were a man team,” Cooper said. “But you never know for the playoffs. Like I said before, teams game plan and they're willing to do whatever they have to do to win. We'll just see. But from past experiences, yeah, I mean obviously if you are dominating the team generally in those division games, that's when it happens. If you're dominating in your division, you see those teams a lot throughout the course of the year, of course, they're going to make changes.”
Peer All-Pros – Left guard Joel Bitonio and defensive end Myles Garrett were named All-Pros by their peers in voting conducted by the NFLPA. “It's a cool honor,” Bitonio said. “Those are guys you compete against… I think they started it last year and so it's a cool new one. I think it's a great way to get the players' input because with the Pro Bowl you get fans, players, coaches. AP All-Pro is the writers and the media and I think it's just a different way to get guys' opinions on who's playing good football. So it's always cool to be recognized by the guys you go against.” Bitonio was named to his sixth straight Pro Bowl and Garrett made his fifth. “He has been everything that we expected,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said of Garrett. “He affects the game every single time he's on the field. He's played well against the run, he's played well against pass. One of the best players - I said this a few weeks ago, probably one of the three best players I've coached in 31 years.” The AP All-Pro teams will be announced Friday at noon.
Designated to return – Safety Grant Delpit was back at practice Wednesday after being designated to return from injured reserve earlier in the day. “It’s good first step for him,” Schwartz said. “He's been working extremely hard. I mean, you talk about a driven dude. I mean, he's been really driven to get back. We'll see where it goes.” In 13 games Delpit, who was named a Pro Bowl alternate, racked up 80 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, three pass breakups, an interception and fumble recovery.
Buckeyes are best – Texans quarterback CJ Stroud has put together an incredible rookie season and the Browns will get their first look at him Saturday. “He's a Buckeye, so all the Buckeyes are great,” Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward said. “He's a great quarterback though. Very accurate passer, puts the ball on the money, can make all the throws on the field, gets the ball to his play makers, goes through his progression. He's been having a real good year and is going to bring a challenge to us that I think we're up for though.” Stroud has thrown for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions, but he’ll face the top ranked defense in the NFL – Cleveland. “Obviously a rookie, but has command that goes beyond usually the scope of a rookie,” Schwartz said. “Decisive with the ball, accurate passer, buy some time, makes big plays down the field. I think when it's all said and done, the fact that he's passed for as many yards as he has without turning the ball over is really impressive for a young guy. Usually the cost of doing business if you're going to throw a lot of yards is you also turn the ball over a lot. It's been impressive what he's been able to do. We're going to have to play tight coverage. We're going to have to stay after him in the pass rush. We're going to have to limit run after the catch because he does a good job of giving his guys opportunities to run after the catch, including Nico Collins. That's one of the things he does best.”
12 is No. 2 – Jeff Driskel will be the backup quarterback for the playoffs. “Jeff is our backup moving forward,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “Thought he did a good job last week, put in a tough spot, come in and just go after a week of being around. It wasn't always perfect, but he did some really good things.” Driskel completed 13 of 26 passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions with a rating of 63.9.
Missing Hopkins – With kicker Dustin Hopkins “unlikely” to be available this weekend, it will be up to Riley Patterson to make critical kicks but assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone explained why he feels Patterson is up to the challenge. “He's actually hit a pretty high percentage in his career and he has playoff experience,” Ventrone said. “Last year he actually hit a game winner against, I think it was the Chargers, in the first round of the playoffs. So he's done a good job.” Patterson has made his only field goal try and is six of seven on PATs the last two weeks.
Quote of the day – “A great play can propel you. A missed opportunity, a drop pass, a dropped interception, a missed assignment can send you home. It's high stakes and I think our guys are ready for that challenge.” Schwartz on the playoffs.
Injury report – DNP: WR Amari Cooper (rest/heel), K Dustin Hopkins (left hamstring), WR Cedric Tillman (concussion); LIMITED: S Juan Thornhill (calf), TE David Njoku (rest), CB Greg Newsome (knee), DE Myles Garrett (personal/shoulder/hamstring), RB Pierre Strong (back), RB Kareem Hunt (groin), S Grant Delpit (groin), LG Joel Bitonio (rest/knee/oblique), Mike Ford Jr. (calf), WR Marquise Goodwin (knee), Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral/groin), C Ethan Pocic (shoulder/stinger); FULL: Jordan Kunaszyk (calf), S D’Anthony Bell (back), P Corey Bojorquez (left quadriceps), QB Joe Flacco (calf), DT Shelby harris (shin), Duron Harmon (ankle), CB Denzel Ward (shoulder)