QB Baker Mayfield (11.17.21)
On how his body and knee are feeling:
“Pretty sore. Just that time of the year. One day at a time at this point. I will be good.”
On if his body and knee feel better than it did Sunday after the Patriots game:
“Yeah, a few hours removed.”
On typically being emphatic after a game that he will physically be ready for the next matchup, having a different tone after the Patriots game and if the injuries are wearing him down some:
“This is probably the most beat up I have been in my career, and it is not like it is one particular thing; it is multiple. It is just that time of the year, and things add up. Just a couple of things after another. It is what it is.”
On what the Browns need to do offensively to bounce back from last week’s performance:
“All around, we just have to execute. Go out there, play for each other, execute the gameplan and find a way to make the plays and make enough plays to win the game.”
On why the Browns passing game is not where desired at this point of the season, including potentially injuries and other variables:
“I think there are a lot of factors, but we are working on it and doing whatever it takes to get it fixed.”
On if opponents are potentially catching up on the Browns following the team’s offensive success last year:
“I would not necessarily say that because each year, you try and change things up. It is just a week-to-week league. We just have to find ways to make plays.”
On the challenges of not necessarily being able to do everything he wants to in the offense due to the injuries:
“There are definitely a couple of plays where I look back and say maybe I would have used my feet here or there, but I have to adapt. Nobody is going to feel bad for you. It is not an excuse. You have to find a way to make a play.”
On if the Browns have used less play action, boots and keepers recently due to his injuries:
“In a game like last week, you are kind of having to just go from the shotgun and you are not able to keep in front of the chains, and you have to just run the plays and try to keep up. We obviously did not make enough plays early on to have that be an equal game.”
On if a week of rest would be beneficial to him and allow him to recuperate from the injuries:
“At this point, I am just taking it one day at a time. I have plenty of time until Sunday. We will see what happens.”
On if the Browns’ energy and focus are still good as the team returns to practice today:
“It will be refocused. I know that. I know we will handle business. That is what matters.”
On if he is definitely planning to play on Sunday at this point of the week:
“Yeah.”
On if he will be able to practice today:
“I do not know yet. Go inside, gather the troops and talk about it, but we will see. We just had walkthrough, and Wednesdays are a lot of mental stuff, considering how guys are banged up right now anyway. Get all of that done and see what I can do. There is no reason to make things worse if I do not need to.”
On how his Monday went and if he had to have further evaluation on his knee, given it seemed difficult for him to walk after the Patriots game:
“Monday was a little difficult to walk, as well. A little bit more sore. It is one day at a time. Keep getting better, keep getting rehab and treatment and move on.”
On if he was concerned that the knee injury could be significant after the Patriots game:
“No, on the field, (University Hospitals Chairman, Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Head Team Physician) Dr. (James) Voos checked it out and nothing structural. Had the X-ray after the game, and there was nothing structural, like I told you guys, with the bones or anything like that. Caught the nerve on the outside of my leg and it made it go numb so the outside of my knee is sore and tender, but that numbness where you can’t feel your leg is pretty scary. I had not had that before, but another new thing for me.”
On if the knee numbness is gone now:
“It is.”
On the mental challenges dealing with injuries and the team not performing as desired recently:
“It has been tough, but I do not think anybody gives a damn. There is no reason to get into that. Nobody cares. Nobody wants to feel bad for us. It is what it is. That is alright.”
On if the Browns offense has discussed new elements to potentially add:
“We do not need to reinvent the wheel. Yeah, changes need to be made, but execution and there are plays to be made that we have not. That is where we are right now. It is not, ‘Oh, we have to sit down and do everything completely different.’ We need to be able to execute and put the ball in our playmakers’ hands and let them go to work.”
On WRs Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins not receiving more opportunities to produce in recent weeks:
“When you play a team like the Patriots, they take your strength away. Things like that and the running game, they are going to try and do just that. We will find ways to get Jarvis involved back in the gameplan. There is no doubt about that. He is a tempo-setter for us. He is an extremely good leader and locker room guy for us. Everybody knows that. When it comes to Higgy, just going through my reads and putting the ball in a position where he can catch it and make plays when it is necessary but not trying to force it and overdo it. Like I said, we will find ways to get the ball into No. 80’s hands and get going again.”
On how players keep each other accountable during the week:
“Tough conversations. Realization and being honest with yourself. It is a humbling process. It is very easy to look around and try and find excuses, but when it comes down to it, we have seven more games right now to be able to figure out how to make it work. We have a lot of division games in front of us, and that is the most important part.”
On if the Browns have and are willing to have those tough conversations to keep each other accountable:
“Yeah, I think a lot of our guys are ready to do that. Everybody who I have spoken with has had the same idea that we just have to go make it work and find a way to do it. Now, I have not spoken to everybody, but on offense, we are ready to roll and ready to get back out there. I do not think Sunday can come quick enough.”
On if the tough conversations around accountability occur more in a team setting or individual conversations, including if someone needed to get in front of the whole team to share that message after the Patriots loss:
“It is not necessary to have some rah-rah speech. Everybody knows we got our ass kicked – 45-7, it is pretty blatant. It is what it is. You have to swallow it. You have to move on. You have to get better. You have to own it as a team because we lost as a team. It is not on one person. Handle it that way and move forward.”
On his recent conversations with Landry, given their relationship:
“There is a lot that we can go left unsaid, but these are the times where we are counting on Jarvis to be the leader he is to grab extra guys in the locker room and to make sure everybody has that focus on this week and to realize that it feels like our season is over, but we are sitting here at .500 with a lot of division ball left and an opponent that is playing pretty well right now and had a lot of close games. I know their record does not indicate that, but they play really hard. They are led by a (Lions) Head Coach (Dan Campbell) who epitomizes toughness, accountability and effort. We have to be ready for that. We are counting on all of our leaders to step up and do those things. That is what you bring these guys in here for. That is a part of the accountability that we talk about is holding that standard and living up to it everyday.”
On the significance of multiple Browns players giving back to the community during the holiday season, including him, Landry and Higgins, among others:
“I have said it multiple times, we have a really good locker room with a lot of great human beings. It just shows the type of people we have in this locker room, and who they are outside of this field, it goes far beyond football. The life after that is much longer than the period you play. They have a true caring mentality and want to give back and help people. Jarvis has always been like that. Higgy wants to help. There are a ton of guys who do all of that stuff that the list could go on and on. It is great to see things like that.”
On his message to Governor of Oklahoma Kevin Stitt regarding Julius Jones, who is scheduled to be executed tomorrow unless Stitt intervenes:
“Yeah, that is pretty rough to be honest with you. That is not something that is easy to talk about. I have been trying to get the facts stated and the truth to be told for a while, but it is tough to think about. Tried and tried. It is a shame that it has gotten this far. We are 24 hours away. It is tough. Hopefully, God can intervene, and handle it correctly and do the things he needs to do.”
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