The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Film as ugly as live version of game
Stefanski: Own it, learn from it, move past it
Coach Kevin Stefanski did not like the movie version of the Browns’ thrashing by Steelers. See what he said.
Coach Kevin Stefanski on Oct. 19 watched tape of the Browns getting thrashed by the Steelers, 38-7, a day earlier in Pittsburgh. He did not like the movie version any better than the live performance.
“There are just so many areas we can improve,” Stefanski said on Zoom. “Defensively, we gave up some big plays early there in that second quarter, but those guys battled. We did not put them in some very good spots with the offense not being able to get a first down on third or fourth down. That was very, very disappointing. We have to be better on special teams, particularly kickoff return.
“My message to the team today is, No. 1, you have to own it; No. 2, you have to learn from it; and then once you do those two things, you have to move past it.”
The Browns know about moving past disasters. They were pounded, 38-6, by the Ravens in the season opener and then won four straight games.
“Baker is sore, but he’s nowhere near as sore as howhe was last Monday. So that’s a positive.” – Browns Kevin Stefanski, on Baker Mayfield
The winning streak started Sept. 17 at FirstEnergy Stadium when they beat the Bengals, 35-30. Coincidentally, the Bengals are next on the schedule as they aim to start a new winning streak. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Oct. 25 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
Baker Mayfield, 10 of 18 for 119 yards with one touchdown pass and two interruptions in the Pittsburgh loss, will start in
Cincinnati. Mayfield was sacked four times and hit three other times, but despite that is raring to go.
“Baker is sore, but he’s nowhere near as sore as how he was last Monday. So that’s a positive,” Stefanski said. “I’m confident in our medical staff and confident in Baker that he’s going to progress each one of these days and then get better.”
Right tackle Jack Conklin, the Browns five-star free agency signing in March, is confident the 4-2 Browns will bounce back.
Conklin played with the Tennessee Titans last sea
son. That team started 2-4 and then won seven of its last 10 games to make the playoffs as a wild-card team at 9-7. The Titans advanced to the AFC championship game and had a 17-7 lead over the Chiefs in the second quarter before eventually falling, 35-24. The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl.
“We were in a lot worse position at that point in time last year with Tennessee,” Conklin said Oct. 19 on Zoom. “Obviously, you don’t want to get blown out like we did. ... The difference between good players
and good teams and great teams and great players is being able not to dwell on this stuff.
“You have to be able to figure it out. You have to be able to see what the issues were, take from it and learn from it and not sit there and get down on yourself. If we can do that as a team, we’re going to make great strides throughout this season. Our best ball is still in front of us. I’m extremely excited to see the capability this team has and what we can do moving forward.”
Denzel Ward echoed Conklin in fewer words
on Zoom later in the afternoon.
“I feel we have a resilient team,” the third-year cornerback from Ohio State said. “We just have to refocus and do what we have to do to pull it off next week.
“Our goal going into each game is to get takeaways, and we were unable to do that yesterday. We just have to find a way to get the ball next game and help put our offense in a better position.”
The Bengals are last in the AFC North at 1- 41. They built a 21- 0 lead over the Colts on Oct. 18,
squandered it, and lost, 3127. Three losses (Chargers, Browns Colts) have been by a combined 12 points. Their other loss was dealt by the Ravens 27-3.
Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow has thrown six touchdown passes and four interceptions. He has been sacked 24 times. Cincinnati has lost four fumbles.
The Browns are plus-four in takeaway/giveaway. Mayfield has thrown six interceptions. The defense has intercepted six passes. The Browns have recovered six fumbles and lost two.