T Jack Conklin (10.19.20)
T Jack Conklin:
On QB Baker Mayfield being sacked four times:
“We just have to be better in protection. There were some lapses in protection. That is a good front. We have to play better and keep him upright.”
On both Browns’ losses coming to division opponents by a significant margin and how the Browns can close the gap between those teams:
“It is still the beginning of the season. We are a new team, a new coaching staff. We are still figuring stuff out. Obviously, you do not want to get beat like that anytime, but there is a lot of learning experience. You obviously do not want to be in this position, but it is the position we are in after this game. Luckily, we get two more cracks at those teams. We have a lot to learn from. We are still in a good spot and still are getting better every week. We just have to keep that mentality.”
On if the significant loss causes the team to question any of the momentum gained during the four-game winning streak:
“No. It is definitely tough. It is hard. This is really what shows what good teams do. Rarely the teams that make the playoffs… I think the average last year is five losses. You have to figure what you can out from your losses and learn each week. It is a long season. We are sitting at 4-2, and we just have to take what we can and learn from this and not let it affect us the rest of the year.”
On if Sunday can be considered a setback for the Browns OL:
“We have to play better. That is a good front. We knew that. We had to come out and set the tone, and we never really got in a rhythm, and that is on us. When he can’t get it out to our playmakers and let them do what they can do, it immediately falls on us. We have to be better. I would not say it is a fallback. We still believe in ourselves, and we are going to take what we can from this and learn and get better.”
On if it took a while to adjust to playing without G Wyatt Teller:
“(T) Chris (Hubbard) stepped in and did great last game. I trust him there. It definitely hurts not having Wyatt. Obviously, he is playing great and it is a bummer not to have him there, but I trust Chris.”
On if WR Odell Beckham Jr. was directing his frustration towards the Browns OL on the sideline midway through the game:
“No. Odell is a competitor. He got the whole offense together and was just trying to get everybody going and ignite something. We went flat, and he stepped up as a leader and was trying to get everybody going and get some juice back.”
On Steelers LB Bud Dupree coming free off the edge on a few plays and if that may happen because the Browns’ blocking scheme is set wider at times:
“Occasionally, we have situations where we are going to be hot or the back is going to be in an unfavorable situation. We try to minimize that as much as possible, but you do have those occasions where you are going to be hot and we do not have enough guys to pick up everybody”
On what he has seen from Mayfield that makes him confident Mayfield will shake off the result:
“I think just the competitor in him. He is able to learn and take like what he can from games like this in the short time I have been here and not let it affect him. You are not seeing a dark cloud going over him and him getting down himself. I think you see him staying positive and wanting to learn, wanting to be better and become better, and still, he has trust us. A lot of his success has to do with our success, and we can do better.”
On what the Browns learned after bouncing back from the Ravens loss:
“I think you really just see the resilience in this team to keep on learning and keep on fighting. This is just another bump in the road. Obviously, you do not want this to happen. You want to win. You do not want to get blown out like we did, but when you can come back in on Monday and take criticism, have that thick skin and really try to figure out how you can get better, that is going to be huge for going on the rest of the season. We have to take and learn what we can from this game and not just flush it away – figure out what we did wrong and how we can fix it.”
On if there was something schematically different with the Steelers defense that made it difficult to have success in the run game:
“A lot of it comes down to the game and how it played out. When you fall behind against a team like that with how good of an offense they have, too, you get put in a position where you are going to have to throw the ball a lot more and you really can’t get to that run game. When you can’t get into the run game, that takes away a lot of our scheme. We really needed to step up and do a better job of setting the tone there, and we did not. We just have to figure out when that does happen how we can better protect and get ourselves back in the position to get back into our gameplan.”
On the mood in the Browns OL room today:
“Obviously, after losing like that, guys are not happy. You want to be better, but I think everybody did a good job of coming in and being positive in the fact of trying to learn and trying to figure out, ‘Hey, what do I have to fix here to get better at this? What did we see here?’ Looking at ourselves more. Figuring out, ‘Hey, this happened. It is over with. We have to take what we can from it.’ I think everybody was pretty positive in that aspect and are ready to get back onto the field Wednesday and address those issues.”
On learning Titans LT Taylor Lewan tore his ACL in yesterday’s game:
“I texted him this morning to see how he was doing. He had not gotten back to me. Figured he was going through a bunch of MRIs and different things. I saw right before I got to this that he did tear his ACL. He is a friend of mine, and I am going to be there for him. I have been through that situation. I have been there, and I have done that. Taylor, he is a resilient guy and he is going to work hard to get back to where he was. I trust that he is going to.”
On the significance of the Titans losing Lewan:
“Obviously, losing your Pro Bowl left tackle is going to be rough. They have a good o-line there and I know those guys will step up.”
On if the pressure is mounting on QB Baker Mayfield and if Mayfield feels increased pressure when struggling against the better teams:
“I do not think so. I think he has taken it as a positive. We are still 4-2 – you can’t forget that – and we are playing well. It is a new team, a new coaching staff, and the strides we have made, we obviously have a lot more ways to go but I do not see him getting down on himself. I see him taking the positives and learning, still trying to perfect this scheme and doing a great job keeping his head up. Obviously, you do not want to get beat like that against division opponents at their places, but those are good teams. If we want to be a great team where we have the capability of be, we have to take what we can from these losses and learn from it, and the next shot we get, put it into effect and take it to them.”
On if he draws on his experience from last year when the Titans started 2-4 and advanced to the AFC Championship, given the focus on being 1-0 each week and that it is a long season:
“Yes, definitely. We were in a lot worse position at that point in time last year with Tennessee. I think that is the biggest thing and that is the difference good players and good teams and great teams and great players is being able not to dwell on this stuff. You have to be able to figure it out. You have to be able to see what the issues were, take from it and learn from it and not sit there and get down on yourself. If we can do that as a team, we are going to make great strides throughout this season. Our best ball is still in front of us. We have a lot to learn from and a lot to, do and I am extremely excited to see the capability this team has and what we can do moving forward.”
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