Kevin Stefanski says he's comfortable about keeping himself as the offensive play-caller and he received a vote of confidence from his quarterback. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor’s note: Tony Grossi is an analyst of the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from Browns practice and interviews ...
Everyone agrees the Browns can’t keep doing what they’re doing on offense and expect different results. That’s the definition of insanity.
So they say they’re doing things differently this week. But one thing that won’t change, apparently, is the play-caller.
Kevin Stefanski said the play-calling operation won’t change, which means he’s still the man voicing plays into Deshaun Watson’s helmet earpiece.
“We look at everything every week,” Stefanski said, “and whether it’s scheme, whether it’s personnel, whether it’s how we call it. So there’s things that we’ve looked at this week and things that we know we can do better.
“I’m comfortable with the amount of collaboration we have right now on the headset and how we operate. So that won’t change.
“But I do want to emphasize that it’s — number one, we’re constantly looking at things that we can do better. But number two, this is a collective effort from players and coaches to make sure that we are playing better on offense.”
Watson said, “We’re adjusting to a lot of different things within the offense and the way we do things. But, yeah, we’re making adjustments and trying to find ways to be better.”
On Sunday, I asked Watson if Ken Dorsey should call the plays because his mandate was to tailor the offense more to Watson’s liking. Watson answered then, “That’s a Kevin question.”
So now that Stefanski said there will be no change in the play-calling process, how does Watson feel about it?
“I mean, we believe in Kevin,” he said. “He’s been doing play calls for multiple years in this league. Two-time Head Coach [of the Year], while doing the play calling. So there’s no faith or love lost in Kevin calling plays.
“We think he’s the best player-caller in the league. So, at the same time, as overall and as the leader of this offense, I got to make sure everybody’s around so we can execute those plays that he’s calling, so we can show that he is that guy that we believe in and that the NFL world knows that he’s one of the best play callers in this game.”
Got that?
Giddyup and go
In their first practices of training camp at The Greenbrier, the Browns practiced a lot of quick screens, RPOs, and up-tempo offense. I asked Watson why haven’t we seen it in the games?
“I think this is more of the coaches’ kind of question,” he said. “But I think, if I had to answer, just the rhythm of the game. We got to catch that flow, we got to stay positive. We got to get a first down on the first drive or when we are first and 10 we got to get that first first-down before we can catch that rhythm. And we just got to make sure we do that before we can play on the ball and play up-tempo.”
Keep your head up
Watson is routinely taking hits nationally for his, ahem, slow start. But he said his teammates continue to support and encourage him.
“I mean, they just telling me that, ‘Hey, I mean, you still one of the top guys in this league, believe that’, ‘Have that confidence when you step on the field’, ‘Lead us to where we need to go’, ‘We all support you’, ‘We all are motivated for what you bring to this table’, ‘We know that things got to click overall’, ‘Everything got to work in place,’” he said.
“So, yeah, all those guys are making sure that I’m keeping my head up, staying locked in and focused and not getting down on myself and not being too hard on myself. And at the end of the day, I just have to continue to just put in that work and trust them, trust myself and go out there and perform at a high level.”
M.J. ran out of gas
Cornerback M.J. Emerson said he was gassed when he got beat by Washington receiver Dyami Brown for a 41-yard touchdown in the second quarter. It increased the Commanders’ lead to 24-3 right before the half, putting it totally out of reach.
“I can’t make any excuses on that play,” he said. “Just have to find a way to be better.”
After a scintillating training camp, in which he dueled Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson in the two joint practices against the Vikings, Emerson admits he hasn’t played up to his standard.
“Not at this point, no. I’m not playing the ball I want to play right now. Of course not. My job is to eliminate whatever receiver I’m covering at that moment,” he said.
The solution?
“It’s simple, just come in and keep working. Everything happens for a reason and you learn from it,” he said.
Brownie bits
Rookie defensive tackle Michael Hall was reinstated from his five-game league suspension on Monday and worked for the first time with the team since the season began. Stefanski said he wants to see Hall get through the week before determining his game status ...
Long snapper Charley Hughlett was put on injured reserve with a rib injury which Stefanski said was caused by “friendly fire.” That will snap a streak of 152 consecutive games played for Hughlett since 2015. He ranks 14th on the Browns career games played list. Local product Rex Sunahara was re-signed to be the long snapper for at least the next four games ...
Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst and linebacker Mohamoud Diabate were designated for return to practice. That opens a 21-day window for both players to return to the active roster ...
Of 20 players on the Browns’ injury list, nine did not practice. They were: receiver Amari Cooper (rest), safety Grant Delpit (concussion), running back D’Onta Foreman (ankle), defensive end Myles Garrett (Achilles), safety Ronnie Hickman (ankle), offensive tackle James Hudson (shoulder), tight end David Njoku (knee, ankle), center Ethan Pocic (knee), and cornerback Denzel Ward (hamstring). Game statuses to be determined.