Head Coach Todd Monken (8.10.26)
Did you guys decide on some changes that we’ll see out there today?
“Yes. Spencer Fano will be with the ones at left tackle, and you’ll see Denzel (Boston) a lot with the ones at X receiver starting today.”
What was the reason for the change in plans at quarterback on Saturday?
“It really was that Shedeur (Sanders) took the ones Saturday, so I anticipated him being with the ones. When I walked out, the guys grabbed me and said, ‘hey, the last couple days we’ve been looking at it and Shedeur’s got a few more reps with the ones’, that’s all it was. I wasn’t even at the moment, I was like ‘yeah, sure we’ll flip it and then next week we’ll go the other way.” I sure as hell wasn’t thinking about coming back in here to tell you guys, I was changing my mind, because I really don’t have to. Being the head coach, I can do that. Ultimately, Shedeur is going with the ones today, unless on the way out I change my mind, and then he won’t. It’s just like any other player in terms of how we rotate them. The bottom line is, the speculation, which I find kind of funny, is that as long as we’re still sharing reps, it’s a competition. It would not make any sense, that’s what we’re doing with Spencer and upping Denzel’s reps. I promise you I’ll tell you when I know what we’re doing, you’ll know. So as far as I know, Shedeur is going with the ones today, then Deshaun (Watson) the next day, and Shedeur will get Wednesday with the pads on.”
Have you decided who will start at quarterback?
“I have not. I anticipate the next couple of days, I’m going through, they’re each going to start a game. How do I want it, that’s something we’re working through. They’re each going to start a game. We’re going to go through this week, and next week we’ll have to decide when we practice against the (Buffalo) Bills, because you’re not going to give just one practice, you’re not going to give one of the quarterbacks the ones, you’re going to have to rotate those guys some in the preseason practices. After those two games, I think we’ll be closer to having a better idea. One’s going to start one game, the other one will start the other.”
Todd, Watson had seven interceptions in his first seven practices and just one in the last four. What’s been responsible for the turnaround?
“As I said, a little bit of it is that the install has shrunk. I don’t want to say anything because we practice today, so I wouldn’t want to jump in that. But it’s part of it, sometimes it comes in bunches. A couple years ago with the (Baltimore) Ravens, we had eight interceptions in one day, and he went on to have 41 touchdowns and four picks, I don’t know. It’s part of the learning process. Not all of the interceptions are going to be on him, but ultimately it falls on him to make sure we take care of the ball.”
Was it also the case that Deshaun was taking more risks or experimenting with things earlier in practice?
“Some of that. Some of that could be true, for sure. Sometimes it’s a lot of things, taking more risks, poor decision, protection, and then he’s trying to move and make a throw. That’s true with all the quarterbacks. But that’s part of the learning process, I wouldn’t say taking chances but learning from the throws and the decisions you make on an everyday basis.”
Why the decision to give Spencer more reps with the first team, and what did you think of the way he held his ground in the fight with (Jared) Verse and then after that?
“We were already leaning that way, and Saturday solidified it.”
What did you think of him not backing down to Verse? He took him down.
“Saturday solidified it.”
So, you liked it?
“Saturday solidified it.”
With a player like Spencer, is that what you need to see?
“You did what Tony (Grossi) just tried to do and took it the other way. 100%. Don’t you want to see a player, especially on the O-line, not back down? As your starting left tackle, all your hopes and dreams. The ability to move the football and protect, your left tackle to not back down against a Pro Bowler. Of course. That builds a little bit. It’s just one day. Hell, we’ll be indoors today, it will be a fast track. You want to see the competition part; you want to see a guy not back down. If they don’t stand up for themselves, then you’re really concerned.”
Was that planted? Was Verse instructed to start something?
“No. I mean, I think I’m pretty smart, but that’s a pretty good idea, but I did not do it that way on purpose. It just turned out that way organically.”
In the very next play, they went head-to-head again without missing a beat.
“That was really cool, and hopefully we’ll get that today and Tuesday. That’s what you want, if it’s all one-sided, that’s a bad deal one way or the other. You don’t want your left tackle dominating every edge rusher, and you sure as hell don’t want him to be a leaky faucet, because it’s a convoy to the quarterback. I thought it was really really cool. With everything out of that practice, their competitive spirit was the number one thing. And I know we’re beat up on defense inside and at corner, but just the way we functioned offensively, irrespective of who was at quarterback, they were better. We had one delay of game where we were taking too much time, and that was Deshaun’s. So, it just felt better. We’ll see how it goes today, every day is different.”
Todd, understanding that some of these scuffles come with the territory this time of year, and you’ve said you like some of that in practices. How do you balance the right amount of that with the competitive spirit and where it boils over?
“We were on the ground too much. I told the team, we had a chip, Isaiah was off balance, and we’re not going to do that to our own guys. There were times on the sideline, Nate tried to make a play and fell into the group on the side, or some of contact down the field. I like it, I want us to be aggressive, but Browns have got to take care of Browns. That’s just the way we’ve got to do it. Knowing that it’s competitive, we try to stop ourselves at times from getting emotionally hijacked, I can be that way, and our players can be in the moment, to do something we regret later.”
Todd, when you watched film yesterday, did you come away feeling the quarterback competition is still even and that either guy could still run away with it?
“Run-away is a stretch. But I’ll say I’ve been impressed with our whole quarterback room, but I’ve been impressed with both players and the way they’ve handled the back-and-forth of the reps. We’re trying as best we can to balance the reps, so we give both of them an opportunity to showcase their skill set. It’s never going to be perfect, and they’ve handled that great. Shedeur was great today. I wasn’t sure, maybe Saturday would’ve preferred to be with the ones, and I’d be pissed if he wasn’t, because all of our guys should want to be with the ones. But they’ve been great, and I think they’ve both improved – I’ve always said that about Shedeur. But even over the last week or so, Deshaun has played better, he’s looked better, he’s made better decisions. I think some of that grows, like all of us, as they have success. Their confidence grows with the success they have every day.”
To go back to the O-line, is Dawand (Jones) still competing to be one of the starting five up front? I know he has been competing with Spencer.
“We’re always competing, so he’s been competing the whole time. I’ve been awfully proud of Dawand, what he’s done in the offseason to get himself into shape and his body looks like it is. But at this point, Spencer is playing better. Now, once that happens, you’re not just competing to maybe be the right tackle if something happens, maybe I’m still competing there. And you’re also like, alright, once that happens, you’re also competing for a roster spot. That’s what you’re doing at that point. Once you get to that point and you’re thinking you should start competing your rear end off to get a roster spot. When you end up rotating with the twos, now you’re fighting to make the team.”
What went into the decision to move Boston to the first team?
“He’s made a bunch of plays. I’ve seen it, you’ve seen it. He’s made a bunch of plays. We want to move Jerry (Jeudy) around; I think Jerry is at his best when he’s on the move. He’s elite, he can separate. And I think Denzel has shown that when he’s in the boundary, and you contested catches, a lot of our three-by-one stuff may go to there. So, it’s like, it’s not final; we just want to see where we’re at with that mix. We also want to get KC (Concepcion) more involved because of what we’ve seen. Hell, IB (Isiah Bond) made a great play yesterday on a glance and slant. So, I really like where we’re at. I like those guys, and Tylan (Wallace), where do we get them in the right spot to function at a maximum level. That’s what we want to see for this week.”
With some new faces still gelling, how has the team responded in the meeting room after some of those heated on-field moments?
“Some better than others, but that’s part of it. Sometimes it takes five minutes, sometimes it takes an hour, any emotional moment, any scuffle or argument, we’ve all had them. Sometimes it’s five minutes and ‘I’m sorry’, sometimes it’s an hour and ‘I’m sorry’, sometimes it takes a day or two or three and you’re still not talking to your significant other. It’s like s***, better clear this up. It’s the way life works, we’re no different than that. It’s the same as in any relationship. So, you work through it. It’s just a speed bump, unless you let it be more than that. That’s part of it. Just like any team or any relationship”
As far as Saturday, any idea how many snaps the starters will get?
“I’d like to get our starters out there for the first series together. I would like that to happen. That’s all pending, medical, where guys are at because we’re not going to put anybody at risk, so that’s also subject to change. I would like our starters to take the field together for the first time, and then we’ll see. If we’re going to evaluate the quarterbacks, we’ve got to make sure we can protect them, we’ve got to play the guys up front. We want to evaluate the quarterbacks as best as we can, irrespective of who else is in the game, we’ve got to evaluate the quarterbacks on how they’re able to function and score points.”
Todd, you mentioned how you liked the way the offense functioned on Saturday. How much does it help Deshaun as he has been doing this for almost ten years?
“It does help, but it’s still new for him. It’s new offense, new coaching staff, new players, and he hasn’t played a lot of football over the last however many years it’s been. So, there’s still improvement there. When you haven’t done something, even for someone who’s played relatively well or at an elite level like he’s done, and then there’s a gap, there’s still work with his body, getting that back to moving, processing and executing at a high level. I think there’s still improvement there for him, and for all of our quarterbacks.”
To clarify what you said earlier, when Mary Kay (Cabot) asked if they were even and then you mentioned Deshaun’s better, did you mean he’s gotten better since camp started, or that he’s better than Shedeur?
“I said he’s better? I don’t think I said he’s better than Shedeur. I appreciate you trying to trap me in that. I’d just say, in general, they’ve all gotten better, and you’ve seen it, you guys are out there even though you don’t see the tape. Did we look better? Yes. Were there a lot of reasons for that? Yes. Installs, some banged-up defensive players, which helps that. You’re going to function better. You just are. Our operation was better, our cadence was better, we got the defense to jump offsides a few times, those are part of it. Those are all little pieces you keep trying to stack. I thought both of them played really well. After the first series that Deshaun went, Shedeur went in there, ripped, held glance and ripped three or four throws, was confident, had a good base underneath him, and got the ball out. It was fun to watch, irrespective of the defense, just the decision-making. So, no, I wasn’t saying he’s better. Each of them is better at certain things than the other. That’s just the way it is. All players have certain skill sets that they do, and they’re all trying to maximize their strengths and minimize weaknesses. That’s what we’re trying to do with every player.”