Opening statement:
“Injury front, I think you guys got the update on (CB) Troy (Hill), which is good news. He is on his way back from Boston. He has a neck sprain, but all in all, good news with him. (WR) Anthony Schwartz and (CB) A.J. Green are in concussion protocol. (QB) Baker (Mayfield) is day to day with his knee, but feeling good about where he is this morning.
“Yesterday, like I told you guys after the game, we got beat and we got outcoached and outplayed. Just really not much we did well yesterday, and they did a nice job. Credit to them. We have to make corrections. We have to identify things that we can improve and then we have to move on because we have to find a way to get a win this week versus Detroit. That has to be where our focus is when players walk out of the building today.”
On factors into the Browns inconsistency after losing yesterday to the Patriots following a significant win against the Bengals:
“That is a very good question. That is the frustrating part because we are way, way too inconsistent as a team right now. I have seen it. I have seen some good moments from our offense, from our defense and from special teams. We just have to put it all together, and that is what we are going to work hard this week to do. We have to identify those things that we are doing well and find those things that we are not doing so well and improve them. I do not think there is any magic wand when it comes to that. I think we just have to identify and then work at it so that we can play to our full potential.”
On if everything is correctable following yesterday’s game:
“Any time you give up 45 points and only score seven on offense, you need to be critical of everything. We just did not do a good enough job in any area – playing, coaching or you name it. That is where we have to be honest with each other and be accountable to each other and then find ways to fix it. Again, no one feels good about how yesterday went.”
On DE Myles Garrett’s postgame comment about not making sideline adjustments and if he has spoken to Garrett about that topic:
“As I mentioned before, any time you have a game like that, there is a lot of frustration. I have spoken to Myles about that, and I will keep that conversation between Myles and myself.”
On if the Browns need to improve in-game adjustments:
“Again, you give up 45 and you score seven, we just did not have a good enough plan, we did not make enough adjustments and we did not play well enough. It is all the above when you get beat.”
On S John Johnson’s III comment about New England capitalizing on what the Browns defense had not done well earlier in the year:
“I do not know specifically what John is referring to. I think it is true in football when it comes to defense and when you struggle with a particular play, it keeps showing up until you stop it. That is the copycat part of this league. There are things that we have to identify and fix for sure. To specifics, I do not know exactly what John is talking about.”
On what New England did on defense differently that was able to stop the Browns:
“They did a nice job. We came back to a couple of runs that hit in that opening drive, and they did not the second time around. They played physical. There were a couple of opportunities we had, but ultimately, I would tell you that the big thing for us was third down and not being able to continue drives and stay on the field and then on the other side not being able to stop them on those third downs. That was the key to the game.”
On if it feels like the Browns have lost the tough, smart, accountable signature with the number of penalties and mistakes:
“I think we need to be better there, truly. I think we need to be accountable to our teammates when it comes to the penalties, and it is really the pre-snap and post-snap penalties are the ones that we are looking really to avoid and then we have to play with clean technique. We are grabbing too much in the back end, and that is really allowing some of those third downs to turn into first downs.”
On Johnson’s performance if Johnson could have handled more responsibility yesterday:
“I think D’Ernest played how we feel like he is capable of playing. I think he did a nice job for us. We got behind there and turned into a three-score game – I do not know exactly when – but we had to throw it in those instances. He played hard throughout the day, as you would expect.”
On if Mayfield can keep playing through injuries:
“I know I mentioned to you guys, he had the knee injury yesterday. He is fighting through it. We will always make smart decisions with our players with consultation with the medical staff and with the player, but he is fighting through it.”
On not overreacting to yesterday’s loss:
“Win, lose or draw, you always want to properly react. You want to make sure anything that came up short, you want to own it and understand why. As we all know, sometimes you win those games and there is something you did not do so well, and you can’t let that slide. Even after a win, you have to make corrections. That is what today is about. That is what Mondays are always about: owning it, learning from it and then we have to move on.”
On if the Browns gave up on the running game too early, including after the interception when the score was 14-7:
“I would have to look at those seven plays. I think we had some decent gains in the pass game. Ultimately, I think third down was where we did not come through.”
On why it was difficult to get the ball to Browns WRs yesterday:
“They did a nice job a bunch of times in their coverage. Ultimately, we want to have a productive day in our pass game, whether we are throwing it to our tight ends, our receivers or our backs. We are looking for explosive plays any which way we can get them.”
On if the Browns medical staff has identified that Mayfield’s knee injury is specific to a contusion, rather than the potential for additional damage:
“Yes.”
On RB Kareem Hunt’s timeline to return from the calf injury and if Hunt could return this week:
“We will see over the next couple of days as we go. He is progressing. He is working through his rehab. We will see.”
On if there is an update on Browns players on the reserve/COVID-19 list:
“I really do not have an update. As you can imagine, we are hopeful, but we have to let the process play out.”
On if the Browns are planning any procedural changes to the team’s gameday coaching operations and if the staff needs to do anything differently moving forward:
“We just need to talk as a staff and make sure that we are all doing our parts during the week, during the game and making sure that we are giving our guys a chance to succeed in what we are putting them out there to do. Just like any week, we will have those conversations.”
On the Browns not throwing downfield much in yesterday’s game and if the Patriots’ pass defense and interception totals played a factor:
“It is some of that. Like I said, the first thing I will do is tell you that they outcoached us. We need to do a better job of finding some explosives [plays] in the pass game. They were not going to be a team that was going to give up a lot of downfield plays so some of those underneath plays that we could turn into 10-11-yard gains, that was going to be how you were going to play for a lot of the game and then try and find one of those explosives, if you can.”
On the Browns defense seeming to play not as aggressively as the Bengals game last week when facing a rookie QB this week:
“First of all, I give credit to their quarterback and their offense. They made a bunch of plays. We did not apply pressure. Whether we rushed four, five or six, we just did not apply enough pressure. Really, third down was not good enough – rush or coverage.”
On if there was a sense that Mayfield felt extra pressure to force plays with the absence of Chubb and other offensive players:
“I did not get that sense in terms of pressing because of Nick being out. We have to take care of the ball. That was an uncharacteristic interception that Baker had there. We have to continue to make sure that we take care of the ball, and we have to take the ball away.”
On the Browns’ sideline adjustments during a game and if the team needs to make adjustments to that process:
“I think it is pretty typical across the NFL that when your players come off, you get together as coaches and then you sit with your players and you go over the pictures. That is our process. That is how everybody does it. That is how we will continue to do it. We just have to be better at it. We have to be better with the gameplan. We have to be better at executing the gameplan. We have to be better at making adjustments. You name it, we have to be better.”
On if the team matched New England’s physical toughness yesterday:
“Again, we gave up 45, and we scored seven so we did not do anything well. That is a good team. They run a physical run type. They play physical on defense. We just got beat.”
On if the Browns’ preparation was potentially lacking last week following a significant win:
“I do not think so.”
On if the number of targets to WRs is where desired:
“I think we certainly want to get our wide receiver group going. I think we did it a couple of weeks ago. Did not do it well enough yesterday. The truth is we just have to be better. I do think there is something to us playing as much 13 [personnel] as we play. It keeps only one receiver out there, and we do that quite a bit on first and second down. We have to make sure we put our guys in position to make plays, and of course, I want our wide receivers to be making plays.”
On if the Patriots showed things in yesterday’s game the Browns had not yet seen:
“They did a very good job, the Patriots, on offense, defense and special teams. They did a nice job with their offense. They schemed some things up they we just did not do a good enough job throughout the course of the game so I give them credit. Defensively, one of their hallmarks is they adjust really what they are doing week to week. You have to be ready for anything when you are playing that defense, but ultimately, we just did not get it done. Credit to them. We have to find ways to be better.”