WEEK 17: BROWNS CONFERENCE CALL
Head Coach Mike Pettine
On whether he will make an announcement about who will be the starting quarterback before Sunday: "I probably won't make an announcement. It'll just be … You'll know if Brian [Hoyer is] inactive; then, everybody would know at that point. But we'll see."
On whether the Browns relish an opportunity to spoil a division opponent's playoff chances: "I don't know if that's a big part. We relish the opportunity to go out and compete, play another game. We only get 16 [opportunities] in the regular season. This isn't Major League Baseball where you get 160-some opportunities. We cherish these moments. When you're out of the playoffs, people call these games meaningless, but they're not meaningless to us. [It is] just the chance to go out and compete. I think it's a great rivalry, and I know our guys will be up for the game. And I certainly know having been in Baltimore and a big part of that environment, I know the Ravens will be ready to go, too."
On whether the Ravens' offensive line injuries will affect the Browns' preparation: "It doesn't change much. We have to go out and play. Just look at the injuries the Ravens have had in the secondary and still have been able to play at a high level. So, we don't get too wrapped up into that. We know that they'll be quality NFL players out there. Having been there for the amount of time I was there and knowing the quality of the personnel department and the quality of the coaching, whoever is playing, like I said, is going to be a good player. We have our own issues to deal with, so we don't get too wrapped up in the other team's injury reports."
CB Joe Haden
On the season WR Torrey Smith is having and how he plans to defend him:"Torrey, he's one of my really, really good friends, so I'm super happy for him to be able to go out there and be performing at such a high level. With our defense, my thing is I just need to make sure I stay on top. He's a big, big vertical threat. One of his biggest things is that fade ball. With Torrey, I like to play him high to low – just try to disrupt him at the line and make sure I play top down."
On having an opportunity to spoil the Ravens' hopes of making the postseason:"That's something that goes into it, but at the end of the day, we're really trying to keep it on us. We don't want our season … We know we're out of the playoff hunt, and we don't want our season to go down the way it has been. So, we're going to go out there, play well, play live and just have us going [in the right direction] for next season."
On what positives he takes from the Browns' 2014 campaign:"We know we're building something special. This is my fifth season. This is, by far, just the best that the whole organization – from the coaching staff, the owner, to everything going down – it just feels like an organization that's going in the right direction. We kind of know what we want to do. I feel positive. We didn't end like we wanted – nowhere near how we wanted the season to end. But at the end of the day, when you look back at it, you can see that we're heading in the right direction. Our defense is solid; I really like our coaching staff, management, everything. You have to take the good with the bad, but we just want to end it on a good note going into next season."
