Select Browns Players (9.22.24)
WR AMARI COOPER
Talk about the way you started. You went into this game hot. Can you talk about that first touchdown pass after the fumble recovery?
“Yeah, it was a great first play of the game. [Deshaun] Watson said to go out firing, and I think we did just that. It felt good to get a start out of the jump. When we got in the huddle, we knew as an offense we were going for the endzone on play one, and we were able to do just that.”
Obviously you had a great performance today, but obviously not the outcome you wanted. How does it feel with the performance and outcome?
“It is very disappointing. A loss is always disappointing in this league, especially when we had an opportunity like the one we had. Because opportunities are all you ask for in this league. We definitely had one there and missed out, so we just have to bounce back.”
There were good offensive strides at the start and end of the game. What was missing in the second and third quarters?
“You know you can blame a lot of things. [Kevin] Stefanski said at halftime that the plays don’t matter. We gotta just go out there and want it more than them. We gotta give that team their credit. They were hungry and desperate for a win, and they got it. They came out and outplayed us, so that is what I would attribute it too.”
G JOEL BITONIO
With multiple players going down, does the muscle memory kick in pretty quickly when switching positions?
“No, but you gotta do what you gotta do. When you see a player go down, you know guys on the line are going to have to move around. And when the coaches point the finger at you, you know you are going to move.”
Before the injuries, it was a tough day for the offensive line. What was going on out there?
“We definitely were not good enough. I do not know exactly what happened, but guys were not winning their one-on-ones. There were way too many hits on Deshaun [Watson]. We were trying to pass the ball a little but we did not execute upfront enough. I do not know exactly what happened on every single play, but I just know we can not give up that many sacks.”
It seems that there has been a problem with players getting through the line this whole season. Is there a deeper problem going on?
“We just got to block better in the problem and issue. We know that they have good players over there, but we have to step up to the plate and make those blocks whatever the situation is. We can not have him keep getting hit. We know [Watson] likes to extend the plays but we have to continue to do a better job blocking and pick up blitzes if they do blitz and make sure we are all on the same page as well.”
CB Martin Emerson
The second half, it seemed like your normal selves, what in your mind changed? Was it an adjustment or just as simple as saying we played better?
“Just looking at ourselves in the mirror. Knowing that’s not us in the first half. We just gotta start fast. When our backs are against the wall we tend to rise to the occasion for the most part. I feel like we just gotta start faster, and choke guys out when we’re up.”
Facing (Malik) Nabers on the field, what did you see on the film that, when you get out there on the field you notice almost immediately that’s different
“Tape don’t lie. Everything we saw was pretty much accurate. Everything we saw they ran.”
CB Greg Newsome
When there is a penalty like that, that’s questionable, but then they put in an 81-yard drive, how tough is it to recover when you guys think you have the ball?
“It’s definitely tough, but at the end of the day you have to keep playing. A lot of calls are gonna be 50/50, you can’t get everything right, you can’t get everything wrong. At the end of the day we got to find a way to win, and plays like that, you got to find a way to keep going.”
It doesn’t really seem like you guys lost any confidence, especially now heading out west
“We never lose confidence. It’s the third game of the season. We got a lot of football left to play. At the end of the day every team has playmakers. We got playmakers. We just gotta find a way to make that one more play to get our team to win.”
You guys always say respect every team, but the Giants were bad last year and they’re 0-2 this year. How do you not take a team lightly?
“It’s the NFL. They got playmakers, they got guys making a lot of money. There’s not a bad team in the NFL. Record can say 0-2 but there’s not a bad team in this league. You always treat everybody with respect.”
WR Cedric Tillman
It was a tough play, but what happened on that attempt to you that you didn’t come away with?
“Just didn’t make the play. I let the team down. I make that play most of the time, but unfortunately didn’t make it today”
G Zak Zinter
How tough is it to have to shuffle like you guys did on the fly?
“A lot of us cross train. It’s not ideal for guys to get hurt, but we make the best of it. Guys can move around. We make due with what we have.”
What do you think it says about Joel (Bitonio), to be able to kick out to left tackle and play that position in a pinch like that?
“It’s impressive. We joke about it when clips come up in meeting rooms of him playing left tackle. He’s able to go out there and do a hell of a job.”
How big has Wyatt Teller been to your growth and how sad are you to see him go down?
“You never want to see that from any of your teammates. Wyatt has been nothing but great to me, as an older vet, trying to teach me and help me everyday at practice. Devastating to see.”