CLEVELAND, Ohio – Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski answered questions from reporters about the season-ending loss to Green Bay, Luke Wypler’s injury and more on Saturday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Below is the transcript from the Browns press department:
Opening speech:
“Okay, as far as injuries go, you saw Luke Wypler, that was tough, he broke his ankle, that’s going to have to have surgery and I’m disappointed for the kid. Obviously the goal in these games is to come out as healthy as possible and unfortunately he went through that. And then there’s a lot to learn, I mean, a lot for everybody out there. There were some things we can definitely do better. Too sloppy in a lot of areas, but as I reminded the team, we’re still in training camp so we’ll keep working on it. And with that, I’ll answer any questions.”
Do you know if the Wypler thing means the end of the season?
“I won’t go into that. I’m just saying that he needs surgery.”
What positive things did you take away from this evening?
“Yeah, they’ve been involved. A couple of young guys have been able to get some work done or take what we’ve seen in those games or, excuse me, in practice into the game, so that’s been good. It’s a good experience for these young guys going out there for the first time. I mean, everything is new – coming into the stadium, into that dressing room, warming up before the game, all that is new for these guys, so I’m glad we’ve got that experience behind us.”
Kevin, do you think you’ll add another center given Luke’s injury?
“That’s a good question. These are things we’ll work through in the next 24, 48 hours.”
Kevin, on the other injured, Ronnie (Hickman), David (Bell). Any news on them?
“We have things that need to be worked on. We do MRIs of the things that need MRIs and then we work through everything.”
How do you think the operation went when you were calling the plays and (Ken) Dorsey was on the sidelines?
“Yeah, well. I think the offensive team did a good job. A bunch of new coaches on the offensive team, so just the communication, whether it was Dors, myself, Duce (Staley), Andy (Dickerson), Roy (Istvan), Tommy (Rees) or anyone else. I think everyone got a feel for the communication first and foremost.”
Did you call the moves in this game?
“I did.”
Kevin, if everything remains normal in a warm-up game like this, is it more difficult to assess the players’ game?
“I don’t think so, no. I think most teams try to keep it boring, like you said, Jeff (Schudel), just so the guys, I mean, you don’t want to show too much, but also so they can play fast. Sometimes when you overwhelm them with schemes, they don’t play as fast as they could, so that’s all part of the evaluation.”
Was it planned for these kickoffs to take place in the end zone?
“It wasn’t. Yes. I was disappointed. We wanted to see the guys score. I was very disappointed, but Cade (York) obviously made a nice field goal there.”
Overall, how do you think the team has handled the new rules regarding kick-off returns and kick-off coverage?
“Well, we didn’t see as much of a kickoff as we would have liked. Kickoff return is a different game. And we’ve replayed it over and over, but to do it live against another team was really, really important. I think we got some good replays that we can learn from.”
Kevin, Dorian (Thompson-Robinson) seemed to provide a little spark, especially in the fourth quarter. What did you see after you put him in?
“Yeah, he made a couple of plays. Obviously that play on fourth down was very impressive when he went left and got the first down. So he made a couple of plays, a lot that he can do better. But you know, the goal for that quarterback is obviously to get him in the end zone.”
Can you say something about (Jameis) Winston with five passes?
“Yeah, I thought he operated well. I know we talk about the word ‘operation’ a lot, but it’s about getting your team from the huddle to the line of scrimmage, making the right run and pass checks and things like that. I thought he did a good job.”
Coach, Jamari (Thrash) made some nice plays in the second half. What did you see from him?
“Yeah, Jamari did some good things catching the ball in some contested or noisy areas, if you will. I thought he came down with the ball and did a good job.”
When it comes to a player like Amari Cooper, who is being talked about as a transfer and maybe a little upset, he posted something on Instagram last night, have you spoken to him? How do you approach that?
“I think you probably know me well enough to say that I don’t discuss my conversations with players.”
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