Browns coach wants his own players to take beatings

The Cleveland Browns are eager to prove their naysayers wrong and field a competitive season. The Browns have an uphill climb to do so, with so many question marks surrounding the team, including at the quarterback position, where a starter still has yet to be named.

If the Browns actually want to make a playoff push, they’ll have to be one of the most disciplined teams in the league to make up for deficiencies elsewhere on the roster. However, against the Carolina Panthers in Cleveland’s first preseason game, one major mental mistake was made that head coach Kevin Stefanski wants left in the past.

Browns player Rayshawn Jenkins threw a punch in self-defense in the contest, and Stefanski would rather his players just take the beating from opponents and let the referees sort things out.

“We never, ever, ever, ever, ever want to throw a punch,” Stefanski said, per Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot. “It gets you thrown out immediately. I saw the whole thing happen. They were locked up. Their player got off, I think, three punches before Rayshawn threw a punch.

“And that’s a great opportunity for them to lose their guy, we keep our guy. It’s our advantage. We negated that advantage by retaliating. So that was not a smart play by a smart football player, a smart man, who I have a ton of respect for, but we got to learn from that, and we can’t let another player, their aggression bait us into getting thrown out of a game.”

Fans reacted to Stefanski’s take on social media.

“When you can’t win straight up, you try to get other players kicked out for the game. Wimp talk,” one fan wrote on Twitter.

“Throw the punches as you tackle or stiff arm, kids. Avoid the helmet and other hard surfaces. You can even pretend like you’re trying to cause a fumble and shatter a hand or wrist,” somene esle advised.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Browns remember their coaches stance in the heat of the moment.