Head Coach Todd Monken (8.23.26)

 

Todd, just wondering, Deshaun Watson’s postgame press conference, how does that impact your decision on the starting quarterback, and when do you anticipate making this decision?

“It does not, and I anticipate making it tomorrow.”

 

What are the last aspects that will go into this decision?

“I still have a few things to weigh out, but I’m not going to get into that. We anticipate naming the starter tomorrow.”

 

So much has been talked about Deshaun’s headspace being right at this point and it didn’t look right after this game. Do you need to talk to him about handling the situation better?

“I talk to all of our players beyond even yesterday, postgame, or things we did in the game or each week, so I’ll keep those conversations private. I think Deshaun spoke from the heart. We all want to play well as a team, and individually, I think he was…there’s no question we were all frustrated. Certainly, could have coached better and could’ve played better.”

 

There were probably 15-20,000 people at the game after the rain and the storm. There will be 65,000 at the Carolina game when you guys come back for the home opener and that could be louder.  Are you concerned about surrendering a home-field advantage by playing him?

“I’m not concerned about that. What I’m concerned about is us playing well as a team and on offense, because when you play well, none of the other stuff matters. Just play well, coach well, score points, win games, and none of that will even matter.”

 

Deshaun said that he was asked about negativity and if he can get over it and he said he didn’t know. When you talk to him, do you think he still can play here, still wants to play here?

“I do. I haven’t gotten any of that from him since I’ve been here. All I’ve seen from him is a player who has worked awfully hard to get back to where he is now and given himself a chance to compete at the highest level. I’ve been really pleased with how he’s worked and how he’s approached every day, and listen, we didn’t play well enough collectively, and I’m sure that was frustrating for him, and it was for us as well. But like I said, we control that with how we coach, how we play. None of us like to be booed. We all like to be appreciated. I think that’s just human. I think he emptied his heart a little bit, and I don’t think that says who he is. I see the competitor, and I see the everyday work he puts in, and he wants to be back. He wants to get back to where he was as best he can, and that’s hard. I think the moment just got him after the game, and it can get all of us.”

 

When we talked to Deshaun, specifically about the quarterback decision, he’s made reference to not only you but the front office and the Haslams. With that, what input, if any, will the front office and ownership have when it comes to this overall quarterback decision?

“Well, I’ll just make reference to any decision that’s made in terms of football, we’re all involved in that. Whether it’s the draft, or whether it’s the roster, whether it’s game day, who’s up and who plays. But ultimately, the quarterback decision will be mine.”

 

I know that external noise is what it is and you guys have to move past that, but for you, is there a specific way that you can handle not letting that noise get too loud to impact or sway your decisions or impact the performance of, let’s say a quarterback, on the field?

“Well, ultimately, like I said earlier, our job is to put the best product and the best players on the field that we feel like give us the best chance to move the football, score points, and win games. So ultimately, that’s what I look at, irrespective of outside noise. I don’t worry about that. What I worry about is that we don’t play very well, then you got to pivot. But the point is how do we put the best players, the best system together, to allow their talent to shine?”

 

Off of that, when you’re making this decision and weighing this out, have you allowed yourself at all to think past week one of the decision, or is this decision solely based on the opening game? Have you thought about weeks one through five when it comes to the quarterback decision?

“Not really. I think even with yesterday, we have to take in the full body of work. That’s just one opportunity that they had on the field, both of them, just like the week before was an opportunity, just like the practices against the Bills were an opportunity to showcase their ability and other’s ability and where they’re at at this point and where we’re at as an offense. So, I don’t look at it that way. I look at what has been the full body of work, and then ultimately who gives us the best chance to win week one. I’m frustrated because yesterday, and for two weeks, we haven’t played well in the second half, and the first halves we’ve been fine. We’ve given ourselves a chance to compete, and Thursday against the Bills ones-on-ones, which I put a lot more stock into, we were fine. We’ll see as we keep going down the road and get ready for the first game. But I’m not going to let one half of football, one frustrating moment, dictate what our decision is going to be is in the best interest of the Browns moving forward, especially week one.”

 

Watching the film back yesterday with Shedeur’s (Sanders) half, what were some of your takeaways for how he did in those first two quarters?

“I thought he operated a lot more smoothly than he did the first week like handling the cadence. We had a couple of opportunities to draw them offsides, a chance for a couple free plays. I thought we got in and out of the huddle more efficiently. I think his command of the offense has grown leaps and bounds. So, there was a lot to like when we had protection. I think he stood in there and made throws down the field. He did escape one time, without the holding call, and gave us an opportunity for a play off a drop back. So, there was a lot to like about how he performed. Again, it’s been the tale of two weeks. It’s been the same each week. It just feels like we’ve played better in the first half, and then right before halftime and in the second half, collectively along with coaching, we haven’t done as well.”

 

What was your reaction to what Deshaun said, and if you do name him the starter, what can you expect the reaction to be like in that first home game of the regular season?

“I’ll go backwards then forwards. I’m not concerned about the first home game. I’m concerned about who will give us the best chance to win the first week. We’ll get to that when we get to it. My reaction was, a young man who has worked awfully hard to get back to where he is now, and he wants to, in the worst way, to play winning football for the Browns organization and the fans. It didn’t go as we had hoped or as he did, I’m sure. I think we have to be a little careful of judging someone right after he goes out to play, feeling like he’s put in the work, and then to not perform as well as he wanted. We all want to be appreciated. He spoke from the heart, and I don’t ever blame someone that speaks from the heart. If someone were to ask if I feel like he doesn’t have confidence, I don’t see that. Every day I see a young man who has confidence, and he wanted to perform in the worst way at a high level.

 

Is it difficult for you, since you weren’t here these last four years, to understand where the fans are coming from?

“No, it’s not. The business we’re in is a performance-based business. It is what it is. When we expect a service, we’re going to be disappointed when we don’t get that service. If you go to a restaurant and your soup comes out cold, you’re going to be upset. If you order from the grocery store and six of your eggs are broken, you’re going to be pissed. So, I get it, that’s what we’re in. That’s why we’re paid what we are, to perform at a high level, and when we don’t, there are repercussions. We’ve run to this smoke. This is the job we’ve chosen, so this is part of it.”

 

Stepping back a little macro on the offensive side of the ball, how do your expectations coming into camp compare to where you see this offense right now? How are those equating?

“Well, it’s day to day, because when we left Thursday with the ones and our O-line intact, I felt really good, and I still do. We’re not a finished product yet because it’s our first year together, and we have to get that up to speed and running and be ready to really get after it in Jacksonville. But I see good number of signs from the guys we’re going to be counting on to play at a high level and improve, and I like our young players. I like the way the line came together on Thursday, and I can’t wait to keep building on that.”

 

And with this next preseason game being a dress-rehearsal type game, is there anything in particular you want to see, outside of the quarterback decision?

“At this point, being Sunday, there are still roster spots to be had, and there’s still a lot to play for. Whenever you take the field in a Browns uniform, there’s the expectation of the name on the back of the jersey and the helmet, and what that stands for. So, to me, there’s always a lot to play for, the product we put out there, and our players are still playing for spots. I’m excited to see Taylen Green play. I want to see him play and give him an opportunity to build on what he showed in the limited reps that he did get against the Bills.”

 

Todd, you placed Alex Wright on injured reserve today and signed Derek Barnett. How do you think Derek fits this defense, and what can he bring you guys on the edge?

“I’ve been a big fan of his over the last few years, just watching him play with relentless effort and toughness, and what he brings to the table from what I’ve heard as a teammate. I’m excited to get out there and watch him compete. I’ve never been on the same team as him. Obviously, we’re disappointed for Alex. I would say in some ways I feel like I’ve grown close to Alex over the few months we’ve been together. I think he was all in and really starting to lead in his own way, and he certainly brings a certain style of toughness to our defense that we’ll miss. But that’s the NFL, you do lose players, and I’m disappointed for him and how hard he’s worked and what he brings to the table.”

 

Todd, is there anything the team and the organization can do knowing that Deshaun is going to venture into that stadium again where those things can happen again. Is there anything the team can do to equip him with a tool bag to manage it And do you believe he has the mental toughness required of your starting quarterback?

“I believe he does. I’ll just speak to that. I believe he does. I’ve seen it on a daily basis. I’ve been around him six months, and I’ve seen him bounce back and get better every day we’ve been out there with our offense. I know he has that in him. I’m not going to speak to where we go moving forward, but I’ve seen it in him, I know he has it.”

 

Do you anticipate Maliek Collins being activated from PUP before roster cutdowns? And do you have any optimism about any other players returning to practice this week?

“I anticipate Maliek…we’re hopeful we’ll get him back this week. I think Mike (Michael) Burton will be back this week too. (Sam) Kamara being back, Sap (Tyreak Sapp) being back, D’Angelo Ross, hopefully, he’s already started to come back a little. Carson (Schwesinger) will do a little more this week. Outside of Alex, we’ve been relatively healthy other than minor nicks and bruises. We’ve been really lucky.”

 

Do you anticipate playing the starters Thursday night?

“I do not.”

 

Even the quarterback?

“I do not.”

 

And do you think Mike Hall Jr. becomes a full-time end this year given the injury to Alex Wright?

“I’m not going to go there yet. I do think there’s a place for him there, but it depends on where the depth becomes, where Derek fits. Or are we going to add another end, right? You say that and then someone gets nicked up inside. I think with Mike’s versatility, I don’t think we’d ever say that’s full-time. But again, we still have three weeks left. We have a full week this week with our guys, another week next week, and we’ve still got a lot of football. We’re only really at the halfway point, somewhat, of getting ready for the first game, which is exciting. We’re only at the halfway point of getting some guys back, especially on the O-line, and then defensively getting Maliek back, so I’m excited. And eventually Carson back, getting those guys back practicing and working as one.”

 

Shedeur had good stats in the first half, but only 116 total yards total offense. What’s missing to boost that up?

“Well, the thing that hurt us was we really only had four drives, and the one drive right before half we went three-and-out. That was probably the most frustrating thing, not really the yards, because we only had three other drives. It was the one drive that we scored on, and the other that we had a chance to score on, we got into great field position and didn’t finish. It’s frustrating. It’s very hard to control the game and be as explosive as you want if you don’t run it as well as you’d like. We ran it well on the first drive, we really did. We had some nice runs there, and we certainly have to do that better and scheme it better. That’s probably as much as anything. If we don’t turn it over in the first half and we get a field goal or a touchdown; irrespective of yards, I’m excited to have 10 or 14 points. That as much as anything. It’s a little like the week before w playing the Bears, we got 10 points and felt like we had an opportunity. We had a drop with Harold Fannin Jr. that led to a field goal. So, we just have to clean some of those things up, and we’re certainly capable of executing at a much higher level. In the first drive I did think that third-down touchdown pass was great protection, and the guys did a good job on the route. We just have to be a little more explosive and run the ball better.”

 

And do you anticipate starting Taylen Green against New England?

“I do not.”

 

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