CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns coach Freddie Kitchens was not happy when he saw Jarvis Landry’s quotes following Thursday’s practice about this week’s game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, but it had nothing to do with the words that were spoken.
Kitchens felt Landry’s comments were misrepresented by the media, and the first-year Browns coach let that be known when asked following Friday’s practice if he would like to join his wide receiver in predicting a win over the undefeated Patriots.
“No, but I would like to address that,” Kitchens said. "I think I do a pretty good job of communicating with you guys and telling you as much as I can from a truth perspective. I would just like the same in return from you guys when you are talking to our players.
“Everybody in here knows that Jarvis was not guaranteeing a win. He was asked, ‘What do you want to accomplish after the bye?’ and he stated, ‘we would like to go win’ or something in that realm. New England was never mentioned, so for you guys to do that, I think it was very unfair.”
Following Thursday’s practice at team headquarters in Berea, Landry was asked what the Browns want to accomplish coming off the bye week break, and the word “win” was mentioned four times.
“We’re going to win,” Landry said. “We’re going to win. I think it’s just that simple. We’re getting guys back healthy again and we’re going to win.
“The mission don’t change. It’s the same thing. We’re going (there) to win the game.”
Predicting a win over New England, especially in road games, is a dangerous proposition at best, and likely provides the Patriots with some “bulletin board material.”
Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots have the NFL’s best home record, and it is not even close.
Including the postseason, the Patriots have posted a 137-24 record at Gillette Stadium, good enough for an .851 winning percentage. The Seattle Seahawks are the next closest team to the Patriots, and they have a 107-44 record in home games.
Currently, the Patriots lead the AFC East with an unblemished 7-0 record, and are coming into Sunday’s game on the heels of a 33-0 victory over the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, which extended New England’s winning streak over first and second-year quarterbacks to 20 straight games.
“It does because we do not represent that,” Kitchens said of if it bothers him the Patriots coaches presented it to their players as a prediction. “We do not guarantee anything. These guys have never guaranteed anything. They have guaranteed that they would go out and give their best, and I think that is what they have done.”