GM Andrew Berry gave coach Kevin Stefanski a hearty endorsement despite the team's 3-5 record at their mid-year bye week. (Cleveland Browns)
Regardless what happens the next three games, Browns will turn over the team to Deshaun Watson in Game 12 upon reinstatement
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
As the Browns hit their mid-season bye week, they are tied for sixth in the NFL in scoring at 25 points a game. They “couldn’t be happier” with quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who “has been everything that we had hoped when we signed him,” said GM Andrew Berry.
But when Deshaun Watson is reinstated from his 11-game NFL suspension, the Browns expect the $230 million man to be their starting quarterback Dec. 4 in Houston.
“Yes, we would,” Berry said on Wednesday.
Per terms of the NFL suspension for sexual assault violations of the league personal conduct policy, Watson returned to the team on Oct. 10. He has been attending team meetings and working with the team’s strength and conditioning staff and “is getting the work that he needs to do to get prepared,” Berry said.
Watson may begin practicing with the team on Nov. 14. If reinstated on Nov. 28, Watson will be eligible to make his first appearance for the Browns Dec. 4 against the Texans in Houston – the city in which allegations of sexual misconduct against massage therapists in 2020 and 2021 resulted in 26 civil lawsuits filed against him. Twenty-three were settled this summer, one was dropped and two remain active.
The Browns, 3-5, have three more games with Brissett at the helm before Watson’s debut. And though Berry expects the Browns to be in the AFC playoff hunt at that time, he cautioned that it would be unfair to expect Watson to shoulder all the responsibility of leading the team to the playoffs.
It will be 700 days since his last regular-season game with the Texans when Watson debuts with the Browns on Dec. 4.
“In a couple of weeks, we will be in that world where we are getting him ready to play, and we will handle it appropriately,” Berry said.
Berry was pressed on several other topics at his annual mid-season press conference.
Berry sought to buy, not sell
Berry came closer to acquiring a player at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday than trading running back Kareem Hunt.
“It didn’t come to fruition from a compensation package,” Berry said.
Berry said the Browns’ 32-13 win over the Bengals on Monday night had “a mild impact” on not trading Hunt, or anyone else.
“We feel really good about the team we have and feel really good about the guys in the locker room,” Berry said.
He praised Hunt, who asked for a trade in training camp, for continuing to work hard and putting the team first during “difficult challenges and difficult circumstances.”
Stefanski not on hot seat
Berry was hired as GM after Kevin Stefanski was named Browns head coach in 2020. On the Browns’ organizational chart, both report directly to owner Jimmy Haslam. So Berry doesn’t have the authority to decide Stefanski’s future as Browns coach.
But he heartily endorsed Stefanski, who is 23-20 overall (counting postseason) and 11-14 since his inaugural coach-of-the-year season in 2020.
“Kevin has had to navigate some pretty unique circumstances and some pretty difficult circumstances during his tenure as a head coach,” Berry said. “Our belief in Kevin is just as strong as the day that we hired him. He is smart. He is a servant leader. He is creative. We know he has the ability to lead our team to wins. We feel really good. We feel like the locker room is in good hands. We know he pushes our guys. We are looking forward to playing good football in the second half.”
Berry declined to say whether he was concerned with Stefanski’s 5-10 record in the last 15 games and dismissed the idea that Stefanski might be more effective as a head coach if he handed off offensive play-calling duties.
“I think that Kevin has shown that he has the ability to both manage the game and call the offense,” Berry said. “I think he has done a nice job under a variety of circumstances as the play-caller, and he is organized and bright enough where he can manage the broader aspects of the job. I think he is acutely aware, as really we all are, that as the head coach it is not just about running the offense or calling the plays; it is about managing the entire team. He takes that responsibility seriously.”
Why 3-5?
Berry attributed the unsatisfactory mid-season record to inconsistency.
“I think probably just the biggest thing from the first half of the season is consistency,” he said. “Every organization and every team has guys who can make great and can do really good things, but it is the teams that do it consistently and lean in to their strengths, those are the ones that play well week in and week out.”
How does he feel being 3-5 with “all that talent” on the roster?
“Every team has talent,” he said, “but we still do have to be more consistent, whether it is being sound with our assignments, communication and things of that nature. Those things matter because the margins really are so small. Playing good situational football. Ultimately, it is not just about one phase. It is about playing complementary football offense, defense and in the kicking game because it really is a team sport. Leaning into those strengths and allowing those strengths to ultimately drive winning, that is ultimately what we have to do in the second half.”
On being a 3-5 GM
I asked Berry bluntly, “What errors did you make in building a 3-5 team?”
Naturally, he wasn’t pleased with the tone of the question. Interestingly, he didn’t take full responsibility for the record.
“Look, the reality of it is the first eight games of the year were not where we want to be,” he said. “I think that responsibility really falls on all of us within football operations, but the good thing is we have more than half of our season left, and we have nine more opportunities because ultimately, it is how we end the year. This is a snapshot in time. The reality is we have to improve the consistency of the team from week to week quickly. That is really going to be everybody’s focus during the bye week.”
On the over-emphasis on speed on defense at the expense of size
“I think that it is no secret that our scheme and our defensive philosophy in how this system is designed is more predicated on speed than size, and largely because of what we will ask the defensive line or the second level to do in coverage, or how we really kind of move the front,” he said.
“Look, I think quite honestly there are just different philosophies in terms of how you can defend. There are some teams that prioritize size and more of like a two-gapping model, but I think it is probably less about how you do it but more do you do it well and do you do the details well. I think that is really what has probably changed a little bit over the last couple of weeks on that side of the ball. I just think we have been a little bit more fine tune and consistent in those areas.”
Do the Browns want to be known as a physical running team – or not – when Watson gets on the field?
“I don’t think that let’s say running the ball or passing the ball has to be mutually exclusive,” Berry said. “Realistically, you have to do both to be an effective offense in the NFL. I think over the first half of the year, both phases have performed well on that side of the ball.
"Look, I think we are one of the top scoring teams in the NFL, we are one of the most efficient offenses and we have been able to throw the ball and run the ball proficiently. We obviously have who I think is the best back in football with Nick Chubb and one of the best offensive lines, and Jacoby has played really, really well for us, as have Amari Cooper and David Njoku. I think we can have a well-rounded attack and we can be versatile enough to attack opponents based on their weaknesses from week to week.”
Oh, those special teams
“Look, I think that as we look at special teams, we realize we can play cleaner there,” he said. “We can play a bit better situationally there. I know that is certainly a focus for [special teams coordinator Mike Priefer] during the bye week, and he has been working tirelessly to make sure that we can play good football in the kicking game. I will give a lot of credit, he has done a really nice job with [kicker] Cade York and [punter] Corey Bojorquez, and we are looking forward to more consistent football there in the second half.”
