Brendan Gulick reports all the latest news and rumors from the Browns practice facility in Berea on November 9, 2023.
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00:03 Well, hi, everybody, and welcome to the Cleveland Browns
00:09 practice report live from Berea.
00:11 Brendan Gulick with you on Thursday, November 9, 2023.
00:15 Getting ready for the Baltimore Ravens
00:17 this weekend as the Browns head out to the East Coast
00:20 to take on a Ravens team that is frankly probably playing,
00:23 if not like one of the best teams in the NFL,
00:27 maybe one of the top three.
00:29 They are certainly as good as advertised.
00:31 And the Browns are anxious for a chance
00:33 to go out and knock off a team that is playing really well
00:37 because frankly, Cleveland's playing pretty well too.
00:39 And they're coming off of a terrific performance.
00:41 We had a chance to talk to a number of guys
00:43 that played well in that game this past weekend,
00:46 the shutout win over a rookie quarterback
00:49 led Arizona Cardinals team.
00:51 All right, we talked to Denzel Ward, Grant Delpit,
00:54 Joel Betonio, and Amari Cooper in the locker room.
00:57 I also spoke off camera with Leroy Watson, one
01:02 of the team's tackles that they have recently signed
01:04 because there's obviously a lot going on on the offensive line
01:08 that will continue to be part of the conversation this week.
01:12 As we shoot this, the team is out on the practice field
01:14 right now.
01:15 I can tell you that I saw Greg Newsome back at practice today
01:18 and saw Pierre Strong back at practice today.
01:20 DeJuan Jones was not practicing this afternoon.
01:24 Don't know what that means about his status for this weekend,
01:27 but I know he was not on the practice field
01:29 for the second day in a row.
01:30 So we'll keep our eye on DeJuan Jones.
01:32 That means that there's a lot of moving pieces
01:35 on that offensive line.
01:36 I have to think that James Hudson is
01:39 going to play in some capacity.
01:41 But in what capacity and at what position, I guess we'll find
01:45 out, seems logical that given that he seems like the next man
01:49 up in the last few weeks as a reserve,
01:52 that he would probably be a starter this weekend.
01:55 But I think that's just an educated guess.
01:58 The team certainly hasn't said that.
02:00 In talking to Joel Batonio, he acknowledged that, look,
02:04 he's basically one of their emergency tackles.
02:06 And if he has to move, he will.
02:09 I don't think anybody wants to necessarily change the five--
02:14 or I should say the interior three linemen.
02:17 But Joel Batonio said they're trying
02:19 to get the five best linemen, the right combination out
02:22 there on the field this weekend.
02:23 And he'll play whatever role he needs to.
02:25 He also spoke really highly of his time
02:27 so far with Leroy Watson, who when
02:30 I asked after some of the formal interviews were over,
02:33 I went over and spoke with Leroy.
02:35 Really nice kid.
02:36 And I am hopeful that he enjoys his time here.
02:40 He said he's settling in nicely.
02:42 He really likes the offensive line room.
02:43 And he said immediately upon getting here,
02:46 Joel Batonio was one of the guys that kind of took him
02:48 under his wing.
02:49 Because you never know if your number's going to get called.
02:52 And he said, I've had some interesting experiences
02:54 along the way.
02:54 In Atlanta and San Francisco.
02:56 And I'll be ready if I'm asked to play here.
02:59 So we'll see if Leroy Watson is potentially
03:03 part of the Browns equation at offensive tackle this weekend.
03:07 Amari Cooper, well, the highlight from what he told us
03:09 was that I think, at least in my opinion anyways,
03:12 he said the second deep ball that Deshaun Watson threw him
03:16 this past weekend, the one that by now you probably famously
03:20 have heard they drew up in the dirt,
03:22 he said that was probably the best deep ball he's ever
03:24 caught because the pass was so perfect.
03:27 I thought Deshaun Watson threw a number of really, really good
03:31 balls this weekend.
03:31 But nobody would argue that that one is probably
03:34 at the top of the list in terms of its length,
03:36 and its accuracy, and its timing.
03:38 It was just perfect.
03:39 So it was fun to hear Amari Cooper acknowledge that too.
03:42 And he also said that the reality
03:45 is when you put those kinds of plays on tape,
03:49 it makes an opposing defense have to respect the fact
03:52 that you can't even if the Browns haven't
03:56 had a tendency in recent weeks to do that a lot.
03:59 So it was important for them to make sure
04:01 they connected on some of those to get those on film.
04:04 Denzel Ward, boy, an interesting thing for Denzel
04:07 because he's playing terrific football, maybe
04:10 even the best of his career.
04:11 And he said he's relishing the fact
04:13 that a lot of these other defensive backs
04:17 are looking to him for leadership.
04:20 And he said it's a little weird because he
04:23 hasn't been in the league that long
04:25 in the grand scheme of things.
04:26 He's not necessarily like an old, savvy NFL veteran.
04:31 But he's a pretty darn established player.
04:33 And obviously, he's being compensated like it.
04:35 He's had a fabulous start to his NFL career.
04:39 And the hope is that he's going to continue to play
04:41 like that for a long time.
04:43 But I thought it was pretty cool, his perspective.
04:45 Like, hey, man, I'm not that old yet.
04:47 But guys are looking to me to lead this room.
04:51 And Juan Thornhill called him the best defensive back
04:53 in football, which I thought was pretty cool.
04:55 And Denzel certainly seemed to appreciate that high praise
04:58 as well.
04:59 And for Ohio State fans, Denzel acknowledged the fact
05:02 that his time in Columbus really helped
05:05 solidify his work habits and his readiness
05:08 to not just play in the NFL but to excel here.
05:11 He really-- he spoke very highly of his time in Columbus
05:15 as he tried to launch his professional career.
05:18 So I thought that was cool, too.
05:20 And then lastly, we talked to Grant Delpit.
05:22 And we're going to play something here for you
05:24 from Grant.
05:25 I had a chance to ask him about the fact
05:27 that they are obviously under a defensive coordinator change
05:31 this year.
05:32 And I wondered if his personal success and the team's success
05:36 at large was due to more of a schematic change
05:40 or perhaps more due to a change in attitude.
05:43 Here's what he had to say.
05:45 Yeah, that's two peas in a pod, man.
05:47 So you've got to have both to be an elite defense.
05:52 We have the right coach for it.
05:53 You know, Schwartz, he preaches that, playing with attitude
05:56 and knowing your assignments.
05:58 So in order to be a great defense,
06:00 man, you've got to have that chemistry.
06:02 You've got to have the attitude and swag.
06:03 So I think we have both, man.
06:05 We've got to keep it rolling throughout the season.
06:06 Is attitude the biggest difference this year?
06:08 Or is it something different?
06:10 Well, I don't know.
06:11 It's a lot of little differences that make a big difference.
06:14 You know?
06:15 So I can't pinpoint each one of them.
06:17 But I do feel like we have the attitude
06:19 that nobody's better than us.
06:20 So that always helps.
06:23 I love that they had that attitude.
06:24 They should have that attitude.
06:25 If you want to win in the NFL, you've
06:27 got to believe you're the absolute best,
06:29 especially if you're on the defensive side.
06:31 And I can tell you, the Browns certainly--
06:33 that's not just lip service.
06:34 That's something they truly feel.
06:37 And look, they've played like it largely this year,
06:39 which is great.
06:40 They've backed it up.
06:40 But there's something to be said for having
06:43 that mentality when you go into a game.
06:46 There were a lot of questions asked today
06:48 of players and coaches about the fact that, hey, look,
06:52 you might be a defensive player.
06:54 You don't play against the other team's defense.
06:56 But do you feel like maybe there is
06:58 an element of this that is your defense against their defense?
07:02 And everybody kind of said no.
07:05 It's recognizing that there are two elite defenses going at it
07:10 this weekend with two offenses that certainly
07:13 have some capability and two offenses that
07:15 look a little bit different.
07:16 Lamar Jackson, certainly one of the best players in the NFL.
07:20 And when he's at his best, he's really tough.
07:23 The Browns feel like when they're at their best
07:25 that they can beat anybody.
07:26 And we've already seen that this year.
07:28 They beat San Francisco.
07:30 And this team is obviously showcasing right now
07:34 a pretty impressive stretch of football.
07:37 I know they ultimately slipped once against Seattle.
07:40 But this last month has been really, really good.
07:42 So I get the impression that the Browns are certainly
07:45 not afraid of going into Baltimore
07:47 and trying to cause a little chaos.
07:50 We'll put it that way.
07:51 All right, we did have a chance to talk with all the coordinators
07:53 today as well.
07:53 There was an open locker room earlier.
07:55 And then all three coordinators spoke.
07:57 Bubba Ventrone obviously said, look,
07:59 the couple of special teams penalties last week
08:01 weren't good.
08:01 But we'll work on getting those fixed for sure.
08:04 And he was extremely complimentary
08:06 of Baltimore's special teams unit, as he should be.
08:10 Because frankly, over the last 10 to 15 years,
08:15 there are not many special teams units
08:18 that have been more consistent than what
08:20 we've seen from Baltimore.
08:21 So he certainly said he admires what they've done
08:25 and wants to model a lot of what he's seen in New England
08:29 and in Baltimore.
08:30 Because he really admired their commitment
08:34 to fundamentals, in particular, on special teams.
08:37 And we have his full press conference for you here
08:39 on our YouTube channel if you're interested in that.
08:42 Alex Van Pelt also spoke.
08:43 And I thought he was pretty straightforward in saying
08:48 it was nice to have DeSean back.
08:50 Felt like there were a lot of really good moments
08:53 there that made it feel like DeSean
08:54 looked like his normal self.
08:56 But maybe he wasn't perfect.
08:58 But looking forward to seeing the leap that he takes this
09:00 week.
09:00 That was probably the biggest takeaway there from ABP today.
09:04 And then as far as Jim Schwartz goes,
09:07 he was asked about the last time they played the Ravens,
09:10 where defensively, they ultimately
09:12 were good enough in a 28-3 loss.
09:15 He was asked, what can you do better this time around?
09:17 And he kind of laughed.
09:18 And he said, I'm going to let the Ravens figure that out
09:20 on their own.
09:21 I'm not going to give them any ammo
09:22 that they don't need from us.
09:24 But he did also go on and talk a little bit
09:27 about the play of the defensive line, specifically at tackle.
09:31 The defensive tackles this year maybe
09:33 have gotten a bit more spotlight than you normally would see.
09:37 But in particular, Shelby Harris and Delvin Tomlinson
09:39 played great this past weekend.
09:41 He was quick to point out the depth on the line.
09:44 Here's what Coach Schwartz had to say about those guys.
09:46 All of our tackles played well.
09:49 Those guys stood out a little bit more on the stat sheet.
09:51 But Jordan played very well, as did Mo.
09:57 So we're at our best when we stop the run.
10:02 Those guys have a lot to do with that,
10:03 being physical, knocking blockers back,
10:07 being able to turn a game one dimensional is big for us.
10:12 And I just go back and you watch all the games
10:15 that we've been able to control the first and second down
10:18 run game.
10:19 We've played well on defense.
10:21 And we've been able to get sacks.
10:22 If you don't control the first and second down pass game,
10:26 you're not going to be able to get after the passer the way
10:31 that we want it.
10:31 Those guys have a lot to do with it.
10:33 Dalvin, it's hard.
10:35 Defensive tackles generally don't get--
10:38 Aaron Donalds aside, generally don't get a lot of sacks.
10:42 But to get 2 and 1/2 in that game
10:44 and be around the quarterback and make the plays that he did,
10:49 you guys understand how respected and how valuable
10:55 a guy Dalvin is, not just on the field, but in the locker room.
10:59 And it was really fun to watch him have success in that game
11:05 and lead us to a win and sort of the unsung heroes of our team.
11:09 I think a couple of weeks ago, I might
11:11 have said something to the effect of Dalvin
11:13 didn't fill up the stat sheet, but he had a lot
11:16 to do with us having a good game.
11:18 Well, this game, he was able to fill up the stat sheet still.
11:21 So he's a valuable player for us as all those tackles.
11:24 We're getting really good contributions out
11:27 of all those guys.
11:29 They're not selfish.
11:31 They split reps, but it keeps them fresh.
11:34 And production is the only thing that we really worry about.
11:39 Well, they've gotten great production
11:40 from that group for sure.
11:41 And the reality is they're going to need it again this weekend
11:44 if they want to beat Baltimore.
11:45 Because this Ravens team has done such a good job
11:48 the first nine weeks of the season
11:50 of controlling the line of scrimmage.
11:51 So I think Cleveland's defensive line probably
11:56 should put a lot of this game on their shoulders
11:59 and say, look, we are going to clamp down
12:01 when we get to Baltimore and try to control the line
12:03 and give the offense good field position
12:06 and not let Baltimore just drive up and down
12:09 the field against them at will.
12:11 So nice to see the appreciation for the big guys.
12:15 That's for sure.
12:16 OK, tomorrow at 1020, we'll have a chance
12:18 to hear from tight ends coach TC McCartney
12:20 and from defensive line coach Ben Bloom.
12:23 They'll address the media again around 1020 tomorrow morning.
12:25 Practice is scheduled for 1130 tomorrow.
12:27 And then as is usually the case on Fridays,
12:31 Kevin Stefanski will come in and speak immediately
12:34 after practice.
12:35 And then the media will be allowed
12:36 to go into the locker room after that.
12:38 Ordinarily, we hear from Miles Garrett on Fridays.
12:41 We've historically also heard from Elijah Moore.
12:44 We'll have to see who else is available tomorrow.
12:46 But would expect that those guys are likely
12:48 going to be available to us.
12:50 And when I say us, tomorrow I don't mean me.
12:52 Spencer German will be here tomorrow
12:54 to give you all the latest from Berea.
12:56 OK, thanks for joining us here for the Cleveland Browns
12:58 practice report from Berea.
13:00 I'm Brendan Gulick.
13:01 For all the latest news and info on the team,
13:02 please subscribe to this YouTube channel
13:04 and check out our content over on BrownsDigest.com.
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