On whether defenses have been playing them differently with QB Joe Flacco's passing yardage slightly down the last few games:"No, not really. They haven't. I mean, every team makes adjustments, but we're not seeing anything drastically different. You know, our execution has just got to get better. Third down, we've been hot and cold on third down. And obviously, this week third down becomes huge, because this team is tremendously improved on third down from where they were earlier in the year."
On how much he looks at the Browns' defensive statistics: "They're coming off a bye week. They've got good coaches. They've got coaches that know defense, and so, you don't go into any game looking at stats. You glance at them, look and see what the validity is as it relates to the tape, but I look at the last four weeks, and defensively on third down, they're playing extremely well, which if a team is playing pretty good on third down, they've got a chance. And we've got to play better. Really – and we talked earlier this week – it didn't matter who we were playing this week, we had to improve offensively, and that's been our mindset."
On whether establishing a team identity or personality is an overblown concept: "No, I think over time, when a group is together, you do. You adapt an identity, because you do certain things better than other things. We're so much different than we were a year ago, because we've got Ray [Rice] is different, Michael Oher is a rookie tackle, Joe [Flacco] is in his second year, Kelley Washington is new, Matt Birk is new. So, what we want to be known for is a team that takes care of the ball, a team that can score points and a team that wins and uses those things. And then after that, we really don't care to be known for running or throwing, but you better be able to find a way to run the ball and you better find a way to protect the quarterback. If we're looking for an identity, those would be the things that we want to be known as."
On why they struggled on third down last week after being pretty successful before that: "Well, I think you've got to give Cincinnati credit. Did we put our best foot forward? No. But that doesn't mean they didn't have something to do with it. The opportunities were there, and we basically performed completely differently than we did the week before, which as we all know –we've said it every week – you've got to reinvent yourself on third down every week, no matter who you're playing. And we've done a lot of great things this week in practice to get those things addressed."
On if he sees the no-huddle as a way to jump-start the offense: "Absolutely, it can. Just so you know my feelings on that, the last thing we want to be is a rhythm offense. How hard is it to be a good offense if you get in rhythm? That isn't hard to do. So, what we've got to do is – it starts with the guy calling the plays – you've got to have an ability to get the job done when a good defense doesn't allow you to get in rhythm. You can't use no-huddle offense as some kind of security blanket to solve all your issues of rhythm. I've never bought into that. I've heard it talked about a lot, and it's obvious when teams aren't in a rhythm. I hope we don't have to be in rhythm to be a good offense. If that's the case, then we won't be a very good offense. We've got to perform at a high level in any type of rhythm, any type of circumstance, to give our team a chance to win – whether you're getting a ton of plays or whether you're getting a few plays. That's just the way I look at it and that's the way, offensively, we're going to approach it."
On if it is the mark of a good offense to get the job done even when it isn't in rhythm: "That's what I think. That's the way I look at it. The last thing we want is a rhythm quarterback, and we don't have one. Last year, I look back to the Philadelphia game, or the Redskins game, where we handed it off 10, 12 times in a row, and bam, hit the one pass we had to hit. The great quarterbacks that I've been around are guys that are good whether you throw it a bunch or whether you run it a bunch. When it comes time to throw it, they can throw it. Thank goodness we've got a guy [who can do that]. Regardless of what people think, Joe does not have to be in rhythm to be a really good quarterback, even at an early age. I think that stuff is totally blown out of proportion."
On if there is a correlation between the losses and RB Willis McGahee not getting as many touches: "A lot of different circumstances are played into there. The fast few [games], we wanted to get other people into the game. Ray Rice is playing so well. When you're getting a lot of snaps, one back can't carry the load. When you're not getting a lot… If Ray were playing poorly, then obviously Willis would play more. What we've done, I think I stated last week, we'd like to get Willis in there for two series in the first half because, I don't know if you guys have noticed, he goes in, for the most part, the third series of every game. Every two series he goes in there, but he can also – if it was a long first drive, which we haven't had many – he would go in, in the first series. So, it's been a snap issue more than anything, and it's been a Ray Rice level-of-play issue as well. We like all our backs, and the more snaps we have, the more they all are going to play."
On if discipline is the reason for so many penalties:"I think the biggest penalties that we've had, obviously, have been the pass interference penalties. I think it's guys just trying to make plays. When you look at it, you don't go into the film room and say, 'Boy, that was a really, really dumb penalty.' It's a guy being aggressive, and it's a guy trying to make a play on the football. I could go through each one of them in the last game. The bad thing is it comes at times when you're off the field, or you have a chance to get off the field. We have to eliminate them, there's no question about it. For us to get our three-and-outs, and for us to get off the field like we want to, we've got to make sure we don't give them free ones."
On if he's optimistic DT Haloti Ngata and CB Fabian Washington will play on Monday:"I don't know that. They've been out there running around, they've been working. And again, like I said before, that's the trainer's deal. He comes and tells me each day that they're doing better, they're doing fine, and I just don't know what it will be like until game time."
On his feelings about S Ed Reed health-wise and playing-wise:"I think he's healthy. I think he's a warrior. I think anything he's doing out there, Ed Reed's going to go as hard as he can and do whatever he can do to help us win. I don't think there [are] any issues that way. Again, that's a trainer's deal. Ed Reed's been a great football player, and he does everything we ask him to do. There [are] times that you hate to see it happen, that a guy will miss a tackle. That's where you've got to get everybody else rallying to it to make plays."
On his impression of CB/RS Lardarius Webb playing for Washington:"I saw a young kid playing real aggressive, making great tackles, playing football. That's what his M.O. has been, whether it's baby steps, whether it's bigger steps, everything along the way he is just getting better and better and better. He had an opportunity, he went in there, and he played. That was great."
On how S Dawan Landry is playing and if Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski will get more playing time:"I think Dawan is playing as well as he can. I think he's… Again, he's in a position, and the secondary is all in position where if you don't make the right step, if you don't do something perfect, it's glaring. To answer your second question, we're going to try to work in a lot of guys. We're going to try to get more guys playing, give guys a little bit of a break, and just let some other guys get a chance to play, too."
On facing Browns QB Brady Quinn again after his first performance in Baltimore:"I know Brady from being with him at Notre Dame. He's a very, very talented quarterback. He's a competitor. I know we're going to get everything he has. I've seen him do some good things. It's our job to make sure that he doesn't."
On his level of concern for stopping the run:"When you look at it, again, you start off that ballgame at Cincinnati, and you just own the run. What's happened is one or two guys will get out of their gaps, and those runs, instead of being five and six yards, end up being 20 yards. I think the last game there were two 20-yard runs and a scramble. That's a good chunk of what they got for the number of times they ran it. I think our guys are taking strides to improve it. I think they are addressing it. But, we've got to keep them from getting the 20-yard runs. In this league, guys are going to get some runs. That's what we've got to do. That's our job."
On how close OLB Terrell Suggs is to play at 100 percent of his capacity:"Terrell, the key thing is consistency. The sky's the limit for him, and you've seen him over the years, and you've seen him this year play tremendous football. I think what we're looking for, and I know he's looking for the same thing, is him to play every snap as well as he can. That's what we've got to get him to do. I think he understands that. He's that important to us."
