Freddie Kitchens frustrated by bad attack against Bucs: "Not even where we want to go"

TAMPA, Fla. – Freddie Kitchens was not scared that Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, David Njoku, Antonio Callaway and others witnessed the 13-12 loss to the Bucs as Baker Mayfield struggled against reinforcements in the first half.

"Not at all, these guys are trained to perform," said Kitchens after the terrible performance of these in the first half. "These guys are trained to do their jobs and we did not really prepare these guys to do their job and they did not do a good job.

"The execution was not there and it was before, these guys have already played in other games, they played in practice and are expected to happen. . "

With Rashard Higgins, Jaelen Strong and Derrick Willies as receivers, Demetrius Harris for the tight comeback and Kareem Hunt for the starting back, Mayfield struggled to connect with his talented players and score touchdowns. table in his seven possessions in the first period. . He completed only 10 attempts out of 26 (38.4%) for 72 yards without any touchdown and an interception for a score of 30.6.

"It was just a frustrating night," said Kitchens. "We did not run, we did not run, not even where we want to go."

Mayfield, not getting the help he needed, got a 11-over-11 win and a 0-to-2 loss in the Redzone. Austin Seibert scored three goals in the first period (4 vs. 4 at night) despite an average field position of 43 Cleveland players, and tee shots at 46 and 49 in Tampa. .

He also got what he wanted – a chance to play all the first half, but could have done it without that final possession with eight seconds to play. Former Browns defender Carl Nassib stormed Chris Hubbard and was about to hit him. Mayfield was picked up on a deep left-side ball aimed at Jaelen Strong.

At half-time, Kitchens told News 5 that the shots were there, but the catch and the protection were not there. After the match, he blamed everyone, including himself.

"I just know that he has not been executed," he said. "It was not very good all the time. We must see what (the band) says, but I promise you that it will be corrected. We had people around the quarterback all day too. It was not just a position. & # 39; & # 39;

The Browns reduced penalties this week, scoring only three goals in the first half, but leaks were generated everywhere else.

"It will not be acceptable and we will understand why it happened – bad technique, poor execution, bad games, bad call," said Kitchens. "It could be anything. We will not start to blame tonight, we are together in this business. "

It was not the effective training camp offensive, nor the one that hit the Redskins pitch in the preseason game and easily scored on a 24-yard pass between Mayfield and Higgins. The three starting receivers combined for seven catches on 19 targets for 45 yards: Higgins 3 of 7 for 18, Fort 2 of 7 for 11 and Willies 2 of 5 for 16.

"I'm not happy with some of my throws, but we'll see," said Mayfield. "We just have to deal with all the little details and whoever is there. We must be able to click. "

Mayfield could not even achieve the usual magic with his favorite, Higgins, who left one in the endzone and broke the pass.

"Just the real connection we normally have [wasn’t there tonight], '' Said Mayfield. "It's the frustrating part."

The defensive backs of the Bucs played a tight blanket and split a lot of passes, especially during the third run. Ndamukong Suh also got his hands on a third-handed ball aimed at Harris.

"We can watch the film, learn from it and use it," said Mayfield. "In two weeks, it's the real thing."

Mayfield was much besieged, but he was sacked once, largely because he can escape trouble. In his first round, he dodged a sack and converted a third goal on a short pass to Willies. But he seemed to put the ball out of range several times, including once in the end zone for Harris and a few times for Strong.

"The attack kickoff and defense were pretty much the only things that were done well tonight," said Kitchens, who lost to his former Cardinals boss Bruce Arians. "Everything was offensive, with the exception maybe of a few throws and a few consecutive shots, the execution was very mediocre. I badly prepared them for this third preparatory game. "

The kitchens cited poor third game and red zone statistics and said, "You will not win as many games of this type. I'm glad that this one does not count. Everyone is happy like hell every time we win these games. I am happy when we lose them because they do not count. Hope we will all go out now. "

Despite the horrible offensive result, Kitchens was not shocked enough to turn the tide and face some of his starters on Thursday night against the Lions in the pre-season finals at FirstEnergy Stadium.

"No luck," he says. "Not even remotely possible."