LB Anthony Walker Jr. (12.6.21)
On all of the team’s goals still being in front of it in the AFC playoff race heading into Week 14:
“You play the game to win. You play the game to go to the next level as far as playoffs and giving yourselves a chance to be in the final race. To say we still have a shot – we have not played our best ball yet, and we all know that – and we are still in the mix, it just makes coming to practice just a little more worth it. We understand that all of the goals that we had to start the season are still out in front of us. We just have to take care of business.”
On if the team feels recharged after the bye week:
“Yeah, you can see it at practice today, just the energy and guys just happy to be back in the building. You get so used to be being around your teammates that when you are not around them, it is like you are missing something and you are missing a part of your life. Then you come back and it is like seeing your family again. You see your brothers and everyone you go to war with every day and you are in meetings with every day. It is that sense of brotherhood and that sense of love that you miss for a couple of days. You are used to seeing the same person every day, and now you go three or four days without seeing them. I hit up (S) John Johnson (III) on Sunday like, ‘Dude, when do you get back (laughter)?’”
On how the Browns can play more consistently down the stretch of the regular season:
“That is what you want to focus on – just being consistent at this point. Like you said, the roller-coaster start, and now, just trying to hone in on little details and finish strong. Let’s see where everything falls after that, but all we can control is what we can control on the defensive side of the ball. That is executing our gameplan, getting off of the field on third down, winning in critical situations and getting takeaways. We will figure out everything else after that. Just try to find a way to win.”
On if he believes defensive coordinator Joe Woods will ‘tighten the menu’ for the defense during the final five weeks of the regular season:
“We trust in whatever he calls. Coach Joe does a great job of game planning, along with the rest of the defensive staff. All we have to do is go out and execute, and we understand that. The menu is what the menu is. Obviously, great coaches want to keep the menu smaller for the guys on defense so we can go play fast. Coming off of the bye week, you are able to do a self-scout and see what you did well and what you did not do well, what calls you like and what calls you do not like and what the guys can execute. Sorry, I know I sound like my dad at this point (laughter). Just getting that mindset of ‘I want to give the guys the best gameplan possible so they can go out and execute.’ As a player, you love when a coach does that, but as a coach, you love when your guys go out and execute. Again, we trust in whatever he calls, and we just have to go out and execute. You talked about the offense earlier, there are game when the offense has carried us, and there are games we have played well and the offense did not play so well. At this point, it is all about finding a way to win. It is not going to be pretty. This is the AFC [North]. It is pretty rare that you are going to have a dominant top-down performance. You are going to have some games where you have to fight, claw and scratch and block a punt or whatever it takes. Like the Pittsburgh game yesterday, just find a way to get off of the field on a two-point conversion and all of those little things like that. However we have to get it done, we have to do it.”
On his reactions when watching Ravens QB Lamar Jackson yesterday against the Steelers, especially during Baltimore’s final scoring drive:
“Obviously, you are preparing for the next opponent, which happens to be the Ravens again. To get a TV copy of it live in-person is always good just to see the differences in how they attacked us, how they attacked Pittsburgh and different ways they tried to get the ball in space and all of that stuff. We are kind of a different scheme than Pittsburgh as far as first of all the defensive set. We are a 4-3. They are a 3-4. Being able to get to the quarterback, putting pressure on Lamar and all of that stuff, that is something we have to do. I thought we did a good job last time. We have to keep him in the pocket a little bit better and not let him get outside. At the end of the day, he gave his team a chance at the end to go down and go to the two-point conversion to win the game. A great play by (Steelers LB) T.J. Watt to be able to get hand in Lamar’s face. The two things that I have talked about of finding a way to win and just the winner that Lamar is. He is able to put his team in position after what we would say is a not so great game by him but still to have a chance at the end to win the game. That is what we have to do. We have to find a way to win. I am pretty sure Pit would have taken a 3-0 win or however they got it done. We have to find a way to do the same thing.”
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