QB Jacoby Brissett (10.12.22)
On if his familiarity with Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots will help him this week:
“Hopefully, it does. Have some understanding of the defense. Obviously, it has been a couple of years since I have been there. Hopefully, it pays off a little bit.”
On if he has faced Belichick before when with Indianapolis or Miami:
“I got a quarterback sneak versus him one time. That was probably about it.”
On his time in New England:
“A lot of good memories. I got my first start there. Some of the guys there are still on the same team so I know those guys. Obviously, great coached, good players, good vets and good guys who understand the system that they have been running for a while. A really good team.”
On what he remembers from Deflategate and the next season:
“I wasn’t there for that season. I came the other year. I got a chance to play and won a Super Bowl. Good memories for me.”
On if Patriots QB Bailey Zappe having to step in for Patriots QB Mac Jones is similar to what he experienced in New England:
“For sure, definitely. Kind of seeing that transpire a little bit – obviously because I am friends with some of the guys on the team so I follow them a little bit – and seeing their third guy end up playing some games and winning, it brought back a couple of memories for sure.”
On how Belichick helped him succeed at QB when in New England:
“I think it was just playing good football around the quarterback. I know it was helping me out in that way as far as not asking the quarterback to do everything for him, and that helped me when we played.”
On if he is preparing more for Belichick than Patriots players given the coach’s NFL experience:
“He has been doing it too long for me to prepare for him. It is more so obviously the system and then the guys who are playing because they are out there doing it. I think that is the focus is just focusing on the team. Obviously, he is the coach and he is running the show but definitely focusing on the team.”
On if Head Coach Kevin Stefanski is using the same approach as Belichick in terms of utilizing a strong supporting cast to assist the QB:
“I think that is the mindset of any coach, but yeah, definitely here. It is play good football and play good football on defense and special teams, and that is playing good complementary football. People think it is like a mind-blowing thing, but don’t you want to do that? Don’t you want to play good defense, special teams and good offense? I think it is kind of stating the obvious but making more of an emphasis on it.”
On if feels like the Browns offense is stopping itself from being successful in certain circumstances:
“For sure. Just look at our drives from last game, a three-and-out on the second down that I could have had (RB Nick) Chubb on a big play and a pick in the red zone. Just things like that where that has nothing to do with the defense but everything to do with us. I think that is still the case. When we self-scout throughout the year, it has always been us that stopped us. We have been an inch away, a play away or an assignment away from not being stopped.”
On if those type of self-inflicted mistakes can be corrected moving forward:
“Definitely, and I think that is a good problem to have. I have been on the other side where it has been other teams are stopping what we are doing so we have to reevaluate a bunch of things, but that is not the case right now for us here. I think the guys understand that, and we are scrapping to find a way to get that play or that assignment. I think that is the mindset going forward is just focusing in on each task and each play and seeing what the results may be after that.”
On Patriots LB Matthew Judon and the Patriots defensive personnel:
“He is obviously a freak. He is everything that Belichick wants in a player. Does everything well the tasks that he needs to do. Can move him around everywhere. Tough and physical, but that is their team. That is the model of their team. That is evident when you turn on the film that it is still the mindset there.”
On how he learns to not be hard on himself after throwing a late-game interception and not gaining more than 10 yards on the final drive to attempt a potential game-winning FG:
“Well, we did get it more than 10 yards. I was talking about this to A-Walk (LB Anthony Walker). It just hasn’t bounced our way yet. Obviously, the interception had nothing to do with the defense; it had something to do with me. Just focusing in, that is really all it is is just focus and concentration. I think doing that helps the outcome of games.”
On taking accountability for mistakes and how he ensures he is not too hard on himself:
“That is not being hard on myself. That is just the facts. That is obvious. I threw the ball.”
On how to not let those mistakes mentally carry over into the next week:
“It is over now. The game is over. I can’t go back and do anything about that so I moved past that a long time ago. Excited for this opportunity and this next one we have.”
On if he is playing some of his best football despite the late turnovers in recent weeks when defenses are opposing the team in a different manner:
“Definitely, I think we are playing very well on offense, making a lot of plays and playing clean. Obviously, in those critical situations, still no excuse no matter when the situation is. Just have to find a way to continue to play good football and understand that we can’t give another team easy possessions where they don’t do anything but we do everything to stop ourselves.”
On if he was disappointed when traded by the Patriots:
“Unless you ask for a trade, I don’t think anybody is happy that you are traded (laughter). I definitely was disappointed, but I moved past that so long ago in my life.”
On how he learned he was being traded from the Patriots, if someone explained to him why the trade was being made and if Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick was the one who informed him:
“It was a mixture of both. There is no really explaining to do. It is not like you are going to plea out of it. It was more of one of those things where I had to kind of grow up fast in this league. That was my welcome to the NFL moment.”
On if he has a relationship with Buccaneers QB Tom Brady and 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo:
“I would say we are still friends, yes.”
On expectations for how Belichick and the Patriots will gameplan for the Browns this week:
“I think he is trying to stop on us on offense and score on us on defense, right? I think he is basically focusing on, ‘Hey, look, we have to go and play clean.’ They have to come in and prepare to play clean, but I think even more of the focus is we have to go and play clean. The known fact is that the Patriots don’t beat themselves. We can’t go beat the Browns and beat the Patriots at the same time. That is the mindset of just focusing in on this plan and the team that we are playing against and just taking it one play and one day at a time.”
On questions around roughing the passer penalties across the NFL in recent weeks:
“Keep protecting me as much as possible (laughter). As many times as I can get one, I will take one. I am not going to complain about that.”
On the staples of a Patriots defense under Belichick:
“Tough. Smart. Fast. Guys who know what they are doing. Guys you won’t find them misaligned much. You won’t find them beating themselves on defense. I think he has kept some of the core veteran guys who understand his mindset and his system to the point where they are kind of extensions of him on the field. I think that is pretty much what it is – a tough, sound group of guys.”
On the Patriots typically aiming to take away an opponent’s No. 1 option on offense and if their approach this week will likely be to limit RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt:
“Yeah, I would think he would try to, but so is everybody else. It is just about us focusing in on our plan, screening, having complements off of that stuff and keeping them on their toes and giving them things that they haven’t prepared for. Then it just comes down to playing football and see where the chips lay.”
On how much he has evaluated mistakes in critical situations this season and what the benefits of it can be:
“There is no like scientific answer. It is just don’t do it. Just really focusing in in those moments because the ball is in my hand, and it is not like I lost trust in myself or anything of that nature. It is more so just focusing in.”
On if the main hurdle to get over are those mistakes in critical situations, given he has played well this season outside of those moments:
“We have more than that to get over. I have more than that to get over. It is something that is part of the game that obviously trying to work on and get better at. Listen, clearly I haven’t lost trust in myself or confidence in myself to go out there, continue to make plays and being smart and taking care of the ball, which I feel like I do.”
On if the Patriots may place an additional LB on the field if the goal is to sell out to stop the run:
“I have no idea. I think he would do something that he doesn’t think I would have an idea he would do because obviously, I wouldn’t be able to prepare for it. I am excited to see what it is going to be. They are a tough team. We are a tough team. Let’s just see how it goes.”
On QB Deshaun Watson returning to the facility this week:
“It has been cool to see him. Haven’t seen him in a while. Normal.”
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