OC Todd Monken (11.7.19)
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken:
On the impact RB Kareem Hunt returning will have on the Browns offense:
“Well we will see. Being out basically nine weeks – although, we did get him back the last couple weeks for practice so he has looked good – we will just have to see how it goes. Obviously, having (RB) Nick (Chubb) back there, he has been having a good year. Obviously, though, Kareem is an explosive guy that you would like to get involved if you can.”
On if Hunt’s skillset allows the Browns offense to play with both Hunt and Chubb on the field:
“We will have to see. Again, depending on the flow of the game, depending on what we see as we continue through the week, but sure, anything is possible. We have had (WR) Jarvis (Landry) in the backfield at time so it is just a matter of how we get our best players on the field.”
On if having two RBs on the field with no lead blocker can pose from a blocking standpoint:
“There are certain things that make it more, I would not say complicated, but in terms of what you do… We can’t get too far away from what we have done already up to this point. We have not done a lot of that so again there are some things you can do and some things you certainly can’t scrap that you do offensively just for one player.”
On G Wyatt Teller’s performance against the Broncos:
“Played fine. He had not played really extensive minutes throughout the year. You could definitely see his bulk, his strength in pass protection in terms of the pocket. He obviously has a little more pop when he comes off the ball. I think he will be better each week that we get him in there.”
On Teller’s personality off the field:
“I am not really around him as much as our offensive line guys, but I like his personality.”
On correcting mistakes in the red zone to generate more points:
“It is always going to come back to execution. Let’s start with this part of it. Scheming the ball better, running the ball better when you get down there, executing it better. Sometimes thinking players not plays. There is a lot to it, but obviously, we have to get better down there because those are the core statistics that keep you from winning games. Turning it over, being explosive, and scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Last week, we did a lot better job in some of the areas discipline wise – not turning it over and penalties – but when you do not score touchdowns in the red zone… We had seven out of ten possessions that we had opportunities and just did not take advantage of it.”
On T Greg Robinson’s response against the Broncos after not starting the previous week:
“I thought he responded really well, and I thought he handled it the way we hoped he would. Now, let’s hope moving forward that he understands what the expectation of any pro is and what the team expects from him.”
On what makes the Bills defense so productive:
“I think they have surrounded themselves with similar players by nature and makeup. They have a number of players that maybe at someplace else were not thought of as impact players that have impacted their roster. They play awfully hard. They force you to protect both edges run and pass because they will bring any of their defensive players from safeties to corners. I think that is probably the biggest thing. They play hard, they play well off each other and you have to protect both edges.”
On QB Baker Mayfield’s confidence and if he can do things from a gameplan standpoint to help Mayfield:
“Oh, sure. First of all, I think he is a very confident young man. I do not think there is anything from that end. There is a frustration, sure there is, from all of us. How do we do it better? That is what we are paid to do. Starting with us, how do we do it better each week? How do we get our guys to do it better? That is what everybody tries to do in the league. That is what every staff is paid to do. Every team has talent so that is the main goal is how do we get all of our guys on the same page to do it better. That is everybody. That is us and that is the players so we show the product on the field that we are capable of that we have shown in spirts. We just have not done it well enough consistently like we are capable of.”
On finding the balance between not forcing the ball to WR Odell Beckham Jr. but getting him more opportunities:
“When you have a great player like him, and we have a number of those guys skill wise, we are always looking for ways to involve him in the office. Sometimes it presents itself, and sometimes it does not. Obviously, we go through this every week – there is only one ball. That is the way it is. When you give it to Nick, it is not going to one of those guys, and Kareem (Hunt) adds to that. The bottom line is that frustration comes from losing and not scoring points in the red zone. I do not remember that early in the year. It will come the better we play.”
On why Beckham is not getting more opportunities in the red zone:
“Again, good question. I would refer back to some of it is that some of it is what they are doing and some of it is obviously what we are doing. I am talking about collectively schematically. It is not like we are purposely looking one way or we are looking away from somebody. Obviously, when you have that few of targets to somebody like that then you got to take a look at it and say, ‘How do we get our playmakers the ball?’ That is at every part of the field. That is really not just there, but obviously with our struggles there, we have looked at that and we will continue to look at it as we move forward.”
On WR Rashard Higgins not getting a higher number of plays or targets, given Higgins’ production last season:
“First off, it is tough for Rashard just the way the year started and in terms of I thought had a really good preseason and camp, then had a real good start to the year and then he got hurt. I would not say it was a setback, but it certainly does not help when you are not practicing and you are not out there. Obviously, last year, they also did not have Odell. That is part of it as well. You had some other guys that were more role players. All of a sudden a player’s role changes and he is trying to find a niche, and we are, too. It is a little more complicated than that, but obviously, he is a guy that Baker has real comfort in. We do have to get him more involved. We do. You are right. Have him a bigger factor in what we do. It is only so much you can do. Like I said before, one ball, but it has been frustrating I am sure for him and for us.”
On the main teaching points on the fourth-and-4 in the fourth quarter:
“I take from it that we did not execute the play from start to finish from the way we did it. It did not look like what we wanted it to look like. That is the bottom line. It falls on me. It falls on us. We did not execute it.”
On Kitchens calling offensive plays and if a transition to him calling plays is ‘easier said than done as a solution’:
“It is not because I came in here knowing that I was not going to be calling the plays. It is really a non-issue. Like I always say, when you an assistant coach and you take on a job that that was discussed before I came. The bottom line is I came knowing those parameters. In the end, like any assistant, you do exactly what the head coach asks you to do, and this is what we asked me to do on a daily, weekly basis. That is what I do. At this point, that has not even been discussed. It has been discussed more outwardly than it has been inwardly, if that even makes sense. It is not part of it going into the season.”
On if he is able to have a good sense for when a player is ready to return after missing time and contribute, specifically in reference to WR Antonio Callaway’s performance against the 49ers:
“Each player is different. Each player is different in terms of their mental makeup, their ability to comprehend the gameplan and situations that arise in terms of the mistakes they make. Some mistakes come up that hurt your team more than others. In the end, a player being away is never good because if you can say you are dialed in and you are dialed into the gameplan, but unless you are playing, it is very difficult to maintain that focus. You ask guys to do that. We anticipate everybody that we play in the game to play well. Otherwise, we should not be playing them. In the end, do I think Antonio has gotten better each week? Yes, and that has helped, obviously, coming back from where he was initially, but we would expect Kareem and the things that we put him on the field for, we would expect him to execute and make plays for us.”
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