Head Coach Todd Monken (11.4.26)
How do you proceed with Watson (Deshaun) in the protocol? Is he out for this game, or not necessarily?
“Wouldn’t say that yet. What I would say is credit to Deshaun, after the game, felt fine. Monday night, started feeling a little bit, little bit of a headache, and came in Tuesday and, you know, reported. So, credit to him for someone who really loves playing the game. And so, he is in the protocol. And Shedeur (Sanders) will take the reps today with the ones.”
And are you just at the mercy of the protocol, or do you sort of feel like Shedeur will start on Sunday?
“I would say it’s a little more difficult for a quarterback than it was for, say, Tytus (Howard) last week, but we’ll let it play out. But Shedeur, again, he’ll take the reps today with the ones.”
So, all along you said that, you know, Shedeur, as a backup, doesn’t get a lot of reps. So how do you accelerate that process?
“Well, he’s going to get all the walkthrough reps, all the team reps. We’ve had our Hungry Dawgs group that gets reps after practice, some of the young guys. That’s a limited amount. He’s been in all the meetings previously. He’s seen all the game films. I mean, but we’re going to have to get some extra walks in, some extra meetings in with him as we proceed. But he’s been working diligently each week, with the expectation there’s a chance he could play, which was true in any given game. He was going to have to prepare. Just like what happened last game when he went in the game.”
Todd, how involved has he been in the meeting rooms, maybe behind the scenes, offering, you know, his perspective from what he’s seen during the game on the sidelines? Can you describe some of those interactions and what he’s been able to provide in that regard?
“Well, every quarterback sees it a little bit differently, especially when they’re not playing. So, I do think he’s been diligent. He’s been involved on the sideline. He’s right there when we come off the field with Coach (Mike) Bajakian and Shaun (Deshaun Watson). And what he sees, again, it’s a completely different perspective, right? The man in the arena has it a heck of a lot harder, right, with the other guys trying to get him on the ground and seeing the coverage. It’s a lot easier for all of us to look at it from that end, but he’s done a great job, week-to-week, preparing like he’s going to play.”
You called in unfair, the situation he had to go through in Pittsburgh. So, how do you think the week, however many days with the ones will practice help?
“Man, I can’t wait. It’s so cool. I mean, that’s an opportunity. If it goes that way, then he gets a great opportunity, right, to go play, right? And for us to see him go play. And, you know, again, I don’t know how Deshaun will feel tomorrow. I’m excited for today. I’m excited for us to go out there today. We’ll be indoors because of the rain. Hell, we’re playing indoors, so that happens to work out. And I can’t wait to see him let it rip today and see where we’re at. I mean, that’s what you do. That’s why you build depth. That’s why he got a ton of reps in fall camp. I mean, that’s really the benefit of all this, is when we opened it up as a competition, he got a ton of those reps.”
Todd, when you say Deshaun’s return is a little bit more difficult for a quarterback, do you mean because of the non-contact aspect of not getting him into practice?
I just mean in terms of the mental aspect of it, just the position itself, I think is much more difficult. If you’re not able to take the team reps and the throwing reps, how do you get the timing with your receivers? I’m just saying it’s very difficult that way.”
So, unlike when Tytus could come back Saturday for walkthrough, you wouldn’t feel comfortable with putting Deshaun out there?
“I don’t know that. I’m not saying I won’t. I mean, there’s a long time between now and then, right? I mean, look where the Ravens are at. And you don’t know as the week goes on what could happen. It’s not ideal, right? It’s not ideal for any player to go through a week and not practice and then play. We know that. But every situation is different.”
Obviously, he can’t be on the field, but how involved can Deshaun be while he’s in protocol in terms of the meetings?
“He can be in the meetings.”
Film work, and what have you seen, just, you know, the last couple days?
“Felt a lot better today. I’ll just say that he felt a lot better today. And, you know, again, that’s part of what the NFL has put in place to protect players from themselves. And I think it’s for the protection of the players, right, whether that’s during the game, whether that’s after the game, to take it really out of the players’ and the coaches’ hands. And I commend the NFL for that, because ultimately, what we really want to see from our players is play again, right? And be healthy, not only each week, but when their career is over.”
Shedeur said that he feels like he’s matured. How have you kind of seen him mature, both on the field and in the locker room?
“I don’t know in the locker room. That, I’m not in there very often. But in terms of his – and I wasn’t here last year, so some of that’s a little bit more difficult. Since I’ve been here, all he’s done is work. All he’s done is be diligent and ask great questions. And in every meeting, he’s dialed in, and he’s willing to talk to me about certain things or the rest of the players during the game. He’s talking to the guys. I don’t know what about, because I’m not over there asking. There’s not a transcript, but I know he’s talking about things within the game, and that’s why I said I’m so excited to see it today. I mean, that’s what you do. It doesn’t matter. Whoever takes the field that represents the Cleveland Browns, there’s an expectation of the position of how you’re going to play, and we’ll hold him to that.”
Obviously, the work from the summer, Shedeur was able to make connections with some of the first team guys, the starters. How quickly can guys just kind of maybe pick back up on the workload from the summer, with all these weeks off?
“Well, we’re about to see.”
Todd, I’m looking at this season. I know you guys are getting outscored by like 65 to 13 in the first quarter. So, is there a commonality in some of these slower starts? And for Shedeur, what’s going to be most important in contending with that?
“Well, a couple of them, we’ve turned it over. You know, the first game and then this last game we turned it over, right? We didn’t even give ourselves a chance. There’s been others where we’ve gotten penalties that have knocked us back. There’s others where we’ve had lost yardage plays. I’m talking just offensively. And then defensively, obviously your inability, at least initially, to start the game to stop the run, right? So, you’re not putting it behind the chains. And luckily our guys have continued to fight. I mean, I’ll give them that. But, it’s not the optimal way to win, right? I mean, it’s obvious. The good news is we’re 5-3 and we have every opportunity to flip that script. That’s what’s great about it, if you want to look at that. I don’t look at the glass half full. I’m going to look at, like, the whole thing’s full, okay? Like, we have nine games left. I think that’s right. Nine games left. Minimum nine game left, okay. And we can certainly flip that script, right, of where you’re at. Where you’re at starting games, where you’re at in terms of consistency and running the football, where you’re at in terms of the product you put on the field through four quarters, which has been at times above the line and sometimes below line. And that’s part of the process. The good news is we have got the right kind of guys that like to fight and like to work. We’re doing everything we can to fix it. And that’s what you’re going to do. Our formula cannot be turning the ball over. Let’s just start with that. I mean, we’re not that type of team to be able to turn the ball over and expect to win. We got away with it two weeks ago. We didn’t this past week. And so, all the areas that equate to winning, we’re certainly working like heck to correct.”
Do you have to plan separately if it’s Deshaun starting versus Shedeur? And I guess the premise of my question has to do with getting Shedeur comfortable early in the game, getting him some pace and rhythm and things like that, whereas Deshaun’s a veteran. Do you have to plan two different ways for Sunday?
“Great question. I would not see it that way just because of all the reps that Shedeur got. But I see that part of it. You know, there’s certain aspects of – sure, it’s been a couple of months since he’s really repped, right? I mean, the first team quarterback gets all the reps. So, that’s why I said I’m so excited to see where we’re at. Like, where are we up to speed? It’s one thing to go through the walkthrough. It’s another operation, right? Getting in and out of the huddle, right? Our play calls, you know, in terms of the length, right? Being on the road, first of all our ability to operate, then execute any of the cans, any of the plays you’re trying to get to. And then I want to see him throw it. I want to see him with our guys, and I want to see his confidence level and what we have, you know, in terms of the game plan. But I do think that there’s a part of that that we’re looking forward to seeing today and seeing where he’s at.”
Do you think the offensive game plan changes a bunch?
“I don’t think so. I don’t see the way, because the rest of the guys are the same, and they’re similar in some ways. Some things, you know, Shedeur’s skill set is different than Deshaun’s, but still very similar in terms of what we do. We can’t change that dramatically.”
So just to be clear, you did the game plan on Tuesday, knowing the situation?
“We certainly had, a feeling, obviously, when he came in yesterday, I mean, obviously that it could go this way. So, we obviously game planned for the possibility that Shedeur is going to be our starter.”
With (Austin) Barber, Quincy (Williams) and Maliek (Collins), are you optimistic that they can play on Sunday?
“I’m optimistic. We’ll have to see. You know, I don’t really have an order of, like, which ones, I think, but knowing all three of those guys, they’re going to fight like hell to play. I mean, they’re wired the right way. So, each day I would say none of them are out. So, each day, that we get closer to the game, we’ll have a little bit better idea of where they’re feeling, how they’re feeling.”
Spencer (Fano) was pretty down on himself after the Steelers game by his performance, more down than we’ve seen him, since he’s been here. How did you kind of come alongside him and coach him up in a moment like this, kind of flush last game and get him through a game like that?
“Yeah, I think I said it a couple days ago. First of all, that’s what a real one ought to feel like, right? A guy that’s playing his eighth game as a rookie starter at left tackle. Like, there’s not a lot of guys that roll right in and start at left tackle. So, and he was frustrated, thought he could have played better. And like I said on Monday, you know, going against their edge guys on the road, where some of your snap count is compromised a little bit, just like we got when we played here against them, and we were ahead, right? All the hits he took when we played here, we got there and you want a guy to respond like that, you want him to feel like he can play better, but that was not a recipe to help him, which is be behind, and you’re in a drop back game. That’s not ideal. We all know that. And then you’re in a position where you can’t consistently chip right, like you’d like to, and you’re not running the football like you’d like, and you’re behind. It’s just not a great recipe for any left tackle against the rushers that they had. So again, it’s a big credit to him.”
Todd, we talked about training camp about all these different cadences, like 10 cadences. Are you still using that many? Like, how many are you using?
“Well, you can’t use them on the road. That’s a hell of a lot harder verbally. But I’m not sure we get to all of them. We’re trying, in games, especially at home, we’re trying to use them in certain situations, allow yourself to get to them at times. But like I always say, ‘you can’t lead on offense unless you lead on cadence’. And we’re certainly working on that, whether it’s an away game or a home game.”
You mentioned at the outset that you appreciated that Deshaun self-reported these symptoms. How hard might that be for a starting quarterback, knowing what could kind of happen and what the outlook could be if he doesn’t get to start this game?
“I think that’s hard for any player that loves playing football, and that’s why the protocols were put in place, be it for the games or post, to protect players from themselves and to protect from – I’m not going to say coaches, that’s unfair. But obviously, we want our best players to play, right? And so, you take that out of the coaches’ and the players’ hands and you say, ‘you’re not ready yet. You’re not there yet’. And again, I give a lot of credit to Deshaun for coming in, and that’s just where we’re at. That’s where we’re at in terms of the protocol that’s in place.”
Todd, I know you said you’re just focused on today, but when Deshaun is healthy, he remains the starting quarterback, right?
“Yeah, I didn’t assume I’d get that question. Yeah, he’s been our starter for eight games. I would assume he’s still our starter. I don’t – I’m thinking about Wednesday. But I’m not – I’m really thinking about today and watching Shedeur play today.”
Jordyn Tyson is returning to practice for the Saints today. I know you guys had him in for a pre-Draft visit. Just what did you kind of learn about him? What kind of element does he add to their offense if he’s available?
“Well, I didn’t really know him as a young man. Coach (John) Wozniak, who’s with us, was at Arizona State, did. Spoke very highly of him. And he had just had, throughout his career, some unfortunate, injuries and a history of that, and unfortunately, he had it re-occur early in training camp. So, I’m sure they’re excited to get him back out there. Did they just open the window? Right? They haven’t declared he’s up, right? They just opened the window. Is that right?”
He’s practicing today.
“He’s practicing today, right? So, we’ll see. I mean, again, they’ve got good skill without him. You know, those guys have done a great job.”
Pre-snap issues in the loud superdome are common for any opponent. Does having this quarterback situation limit your ability to work on that this week?
“Some of it. I wouldn’t say it’s just because Shedeur, because I think he’s been fine with that. I think as you said, Tony (Grossi), it’s more playing on the road in a dome where it’s loud. We’ve got to be really on point.”
How much have you and Andrew (Berry), if at all, talked about the trade deadline coming up?
“Off and on. There’ll be things that he’ll run by me and some things that pop up. I think that would be true with all 32 teams, whether it’s another roster or your roster. That’s just the world we live in, in terms of as you get closer to it. But that isn’t anything to do with the deadline, just because that’s an ongoing process throughout the year, in terms of where you’re at and whether it’s a practice squad player or someone you’re going to claim off someone else’s roster to move up. That’s just part of the everyday, the day-to-day of an NFL season, and making sure the roster is where you need it to be, not only to practice, but to give yourself the best chance to win.”
Do you have to talk to all the guys in the locker room about the trade deadline and anything that could potentially be going on?
“I don’t think it’s gotten to that, I mean, to where you, you know – obviously, I don’t get into speculation. You know, you can see out there, whatever roster it is or this player or that player, and I don’t get into that. That’s Andrew’s area. We just discuss certain things. And every general manager right now is fielding calls, right? Whether it’s players on – or they’re calling people in terms of where their roster’s at. So that’s just part of, like I said, the NFL season. But we haven’t gotten anywhere close to that in terms of where we’re thinking about. But I like the guys we have, on our roster and where we’re headed.”