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Joe Flacco, Duron Harmon among Browns to provide testimonials ahead of AFC Wild Card game
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- Joe Flacco, Duron Harmon among Browns to provide testimonials ahead of AFC Wild Card game
BEREA — One of the first team activities the Browns did in preparation for Saturday's AFC Wild Card game at the Houston Texans was a team meeting Monday. It's wasn't just your ordinary team meeting.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski turned the meeting into a series of testimonials on players' experiences in the playoffs. It wasn't a surprise that quarterback Joe Flacco was among those to share a thought or two about the subject.
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"Everybody puts so much thought into what it takes to win these games and it's doing the simple things the best you can and just playing good fundamental football," Flacco said Tuesday morning. "This is the time of the year where that stuff shows up. Obviously there's going to be plays made and guys are going to make a name for themselves, something's going to happen over the next five weeks that we're going to remember forever, and those are the things that you kind of see.
"But it's just about playing fundamental, physical football and playing a full 60 minutes. And no matter what's going on at the moment, being able to keep the blinders on and keep moving forward."
Flacco has the playoff resume to speak loudly on the subject. When the Browns (11-6) play in Houston, it'll be his 16th career playoff game, including his 13th on the road.
FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2013 file photo, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game in New Orleans. Flacco was the Super Bowl MVP and the NFL's highest-paid quarterback just a few years ago. After injuries shortened his last two seasons, Flacco is now in New York with a new role: as a backup to Sam Darnold.
Two of those came when Flacco led the Baltimore Ravens to the win in Super Bowl 47. Those are two of his seven playoff road wins, tied with Tom Brady for most in NFL history.
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"I'm sure there's a level of importance to it in terms of letting the football game come to you," Flacco said of playoff experience. "Not necessarily riding too high and riding too low when things happen, realizing that it is another football game, but ultimately the most important thing in playoff games is executing your fundamentals to the highest degree. And I don't think that that necessarily takes experience to do. It just takes you staying levelheaded and playing within yourself."
Flacco is one of four players currently on the Browns' active roster who have won a Super Bowl, joining safety Juan Thornhill (Super Bowls 54 and 57 with Kansas City), safety Duron Harmon (Super Bowls 49, 51 and 53 with New England ) and defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (Super Bowl 5r6 with the Los Angeles Rams ). Safety Rodney McLeod , who is on the injured reserve, was on the Philadelphia Eagles team that won Super Bowl 52.
The meeting, though, wasn't just about those like Flacco who have climbed to the mountaintop. Even those who had only played in the playoffs before, which includes more than a dozen who were on the Browns' 2020 playoff team, had messages powerful enough to resonate with those who will be making their postseason debut Saturday.
"That's what you work so hard for," said Harmon, the 11-year veteran who was added to the practice squad in November before being elevated in Week 15. "Not just during the regular season, but the offseason, OTAs, minicamp, training camp, then the regular season. You do all that work to get to this point where every play matters.
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"Just, me personally, as an older guy, I'm super appreciative because at certain points in my career over the last three years I didn't know if I would ever get back to this point. And to be able to be a part of this team and this journey, it's truly amazing. It's a blessing."
Stefanski didn't want to dive too deep into the meeting when asked about it Tuesday, saying "I think for all of us, as you get started on the second season, I think it's important to hear from different perspectives. That's all it was."
The players, though, thought it was much more than just hearing from different perspectives. The ones who have never played in the postseason before found extra power and meaning in the words of their playoff-tested teammates and coaches.
"That was probably the best team meeting that I've been a part of, just in reference to the focus, in reference to the emphasis on making sure that you take every opportunity with intensity, with intentionality," linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said. "I think that that's the important part going into this, this whole week has to be intentional. I believe it was (defensive coordinator Jim) Schwartz that said that when you have a great play, it can make you a legend, but if you have a great mistake, it can worsen the cases for you. But I think that's the idea this week in the process to make sure that we correct all the mistakes and figure out what we need to overcome."
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Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Joe Flacco, Duron Harmon, among Browns to provide playoff testimonials
