After the Cleveland Browns’ close loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, head coach Kevin Stefanski and quarterback Deshaun Watson addressed the media. The two shared their thoughts on the offense in the 33-32 loss.
Here are the main takeaways from their press conference.
Browns supportive of Cade York
It turns out the organization was just shielding him while working behind closed doors. He has since been cut as the team traded for Dustin Hopkins.
Cade York has had an awful preseason this year. Thankfully, the preseason is not the regular season. Unfortunately, Cade York has yet to show accuracy after the Cleveland Browns drafted him in the fourth round in the 2022 draft. Kevin Stefanski said he was confident in the twenty-two-year-old kicker.
“… With young players, you constantly try to get better every single practice, every single game. You know, taking, and as we talked about, taking that practice feel to the game. So, he’s obviously going to continue to work at it. I know he wants to finish that kick right there, finish it for his team. Like I know he’s working very, very hard.”
Deshaun Watson spoke in defense of Cade York telling reporters that the entire team had Cade’s back. The quarterback did a good job of displaying some leadership by not throwing the struggling rookie under the bus.
“We’re all here for Cade, and we want to continue to encourage him, continue to build his confidence. You know, me as a quarterback and as a leader of this team, I’m behind Cade, and I think if you ask anybody else in that locker room, they’re behind Cade, and we’re gonna continue to pull him on.”
The Browns locker room is showing a unified front defending their teammate, but the front office could see it another way. I believe the Browns will bring in multiple kickers after the roster cuts on Tuesday, August 29th, as they move on from Cade York.
Cade playing defense
After the game reporters were able to ask Cade York a few questions following his game-winning miss and Cade York gave some raw responses.
#Browns Cade York said "I hate pity. Pity pisses me off."
Said he knows he can be a weapon and that's what he wants to provide to this team, frustrated that he's had struggles this preseason.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) August 26, 2023
“I hate pity. Pitty pisses me off. I want to be a weapon”
Here’s part of Cade York’s locker room availability after today’s game vs KC.
S/O to @DarrenSmithWHB for the video. pic.twitter.com/sNehMoeExW
— Mikey McNuggets (@MikeLucasTV) August 26, 2023
This situation is a bit of a catch-22. One wants to see that players care, but one can be concerned if players care too much. It’d be an unfortunate exit interview if he is cut later this week.
First team offense showed out
“Yeah, you know, I don’t think it was about 20 plays, and it felt like we saw everything in those 20 plays. We lived a lifetime in those 20 plays. It was up and down the field. There was scramble drill, there was, you know, third down, there were some really good balls, some things I’m sure that he wants back. But we got into a bunch of different situations there, which is really, really helpful for Deshaun and that entire first-team offense. So, I thought that was good about DTR. We had three series and three months.”
— Kevin Stefanski
Kevin Stefanski noted that the offenses saw a lot of different looks during the nearly hour-long first quarter on Saturday. It’s important for teams to see diverse formations, personnel, and game scenarios during the preseason. These diverse looks allow units to better correct mistakes for later in the season.
Steve Spagnoulo, the Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator, is highly regarded for his blitz packages and an affinity for cover 2. His blitz packages made Deshaun Watson speed up his processing and play out of structure. It’ll be important for the Browns to find answers to plays that troubled them as fast as possible. Bengals’ defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is well known for his creeper packages out of cover 2.
Browns happy with the defense
“It’s great. I like when the defense scores. Yeah, write that down, double underline, exclamation point. Yeah, I mean, that’s what we’re about, that ball. And, uh, anytime it’s in the air, it’s we got a mentality that belongs to us. We’ve been ball-searching, so we like to score points any which way we can.”
— Kevin Stefanski
I like when the defense scores!
It’s reassuring to hear that the annoyingly stoic coach Stefanski can feel human emotions under his marble-sculpted mask. The Browns need the defense to show up this season. In 2022 the Browns were near the bottom of the league with 20 takeaways on defense producing zero points.
This preseason the Browns’ defense has scored in every game. The Browns look to continue the streak into the regular season.
