The distance between Detroit and Cleveland isn’t very far geographically. It’s one of the few road trips where teams take the bus instead of the plane to visit Ford Field. Yet there is a pretty sizeable gulf in success lately, with the Lions a consensus Super Bowl contender but the Browns an invariable weekly underdog no matter who or where they are playing.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski sounded like someone who knows what challenges his team is facing in their Week 4 trip on Sunday to play Dan Campbell’s Lions. Stefanski offered a long and glowing review of the Lions at the start of his press conference on Wednesday.
“A terrific football team,” Stefanski said of the Lions. “Everybody sees the talent they have on the football team: offense, defense, special teams. They’re well coached. I have a ton of respect for what (Lions coach Campbell) Dan and his staff do.”
Stefanski continued,
“Very physical group. Obviously, their offense is playing at an extremely high level. I think the quarterback’s great, they have great playmakers around him, including an explosive running back that can hurt you in the run and the pass.”
Stefanski spotlighted Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley. The two were part of the same Minnesota Vikings coaching staff from 2014-2016, with Stefanski coaching tight ends and running backs in that timeframe and Fraley as an assistant OL coach.
“Terrific, offensive line. Hank Fraley is the coach of that offensive line, good friend of mine who I’ve coached with. So I know how they’re taught, I know how they’re playing uh, and they really play through them.”
The Lions offensive line is coming off a fantastic showing in Detroit’s win over Baltimore, with right tackle Penei Sewell having the best run-blocking game in recorded history. Stefanski also had a lot of great things to say about Detroit’s new-look defense under rookie coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.
“Defensively, Kelvin Sheppard’s doing a tremendous job with this group,” Stefanski enthused. “Talent at all three levels. Obviously (Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson) 97 is terrific. Gets off the ball, can rush, can play the run. Never stops. Big physical linebackers, very good in the back end. I think (Lions S Brian) Branch is as good as it gets in this game. (Kerby Joseph) 31 led the league in interceptions last year, so they can take the ball away. They can play a variety of different defenses but they do a really, really great job of it.”
The 2-1 Lions host Stefanski’s 1-2 Browns on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in Ford Field.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Browns coach Kevin Stefanski showers praise on the Lions and Detroit’s coaching staff
Reporting by Jeff Risdon, Lions Wire / Lions Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
