Jerome Baker – November 24, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 24, 2019
Postgame – Cleveland
LB Jerome Baker (transcribed by Cleveland Browns)
(On the disappointment of the loss…) – “It is just like any loss. It hurts to lose.”
(On playing from behind…) – “It is hard. It is very hard. That is what happens when you do not execute. It is what it is.”
(On moving forward to finish out the season…) – “We will try to go back to work and get better every day. That is all we can do. That is all we are going to do.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – November 24, 2019 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Postgame – Cleveland
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (transcribed by Cleveland Browns)
(On whether or not he had a happy birthday…) – “I mean I wish we would have won the game, but at this point, we’re about to fly back and I get to see my family. So, it’ll be a good day.”
(On the run game…) – “That’s a good question. It’s something that we need to continue to try and figure out. Obviously, today, we had a couple three-and-outs, and I think we had a six play drive. I mean, we really didn’t play well, but I thought at the end of the half after getting a field goal, we came out with a bit of momentum and got a touchdown. We felt a little bit better about it. We didn’t make plays. I just have to continue to do a better job of just getting the ball in our playmakers hands.”
(On maneuvering through the pass rush…) – “It’s one series at a time. We’re just trying to chip away at the lead a little bit. We had some personnel issues with two receivers going down. We were just trying to get guys situated in the right places. I thought we had some challenges in the second half, and not just with the score. Guys stepped up and did a nice job of getting in the right spots and doing the right thing. Overall, I think we need more consistency, and that has to start with me at the quarterback position.”
(On the Dolphins’ scoring drive…) – “It’s hard to get in the end zone in this league. So when you get in there, you have to celebrate. You have to enjoy it. It’s just one of those things. It was a third-down. We knew we needed that one to try and claw back into the game. That was a big moment for us. We thought we could rally back from that point on. It just didn’t happen that way.”
(On the importance of continuity…) – “Continuity is a big thing. I think we had talked about that when we started playing better after that first bit of the year. It was all about familiarity and continuity. When we’re plugging and playing guys, we have to make sure everyone is on the same page. With guys like (WR) DeVante (Parker), I have to do a better job of getting him the ball more. (WR) Allen (Hurns) did some nice things today. (WR) Albert (Wilson) did some nice things today. I just need to continue to work with those guys, lean on them and get better.”
(On his 200th touchdown pass…) – “It’s pretty cool. I remember when I was in Tennessee and I threw my 100th touchdown pass to Chris Johnson. I remember just how crazy that was for me to think about…the accomplishment, everything that I had been through and the teams I had been on. We lost the game today and all of that, but it’s still a cool moment for me. It’s a cool moment for me to share with my parents, kids and wife. It’s a neat thing. When I’m done playing, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it even more.”
(On what he plays for…) – “I think everybody is different. Everybody’s ‘why’ is different, and have to figure it out, especially in trying times. That for me, over the years has changed from trying to prove that I belong to trying to lead a football team. There are also other reasons why I play. Every guy is different. I’m just going to continue to go out there and try to put as much energy as I can into it and enjoy the ride. I enjoy playing this game. It gets hard when you lose and put so much into it and have a day like today or a day like last week, I don’t know any other way than just giving everything that I have to this team and this game.”
(On his ‘why’…) – “I’ve got a few different ‘whys,’ but I’ve got two boys at home that watch everything I do. That’s a big one for me. And, again, I just have passion and love for the game. I love being out there. I love going out there and seeing my teammates succeed. Those are a few of mine.”
(On what he wants his boys to see from his career…) – “I just want them to enjoy watching me play. I don’t tell them anything about the things that I do. Who I am on that football field, I just want that to rub off on them.”
(On the rookie running backs…) – “(RB) Patrick (Laird) stepped up this week and had some more good things last week. I thought he did a nice job. (RB) Myles (Gaskin) did the same thing. During the last few weeks he’s gotten some more snaps. I think sometimes it’s hard to tell until they get thrown in there. Both of those guys have been working extremely hard in practice. I’m always excited to see what the young guys can do.”
(On Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki’s first career touchdown) – “I mean that’s huge. That’s a neat moment. In all of the talk about number 200 for me, that’s number one for him. That’s a pretty neat moment to be a part of. He’s worked really hard this whole year. He’s a guy that certainly deserves it. That’s going to be one of hopefully a lot more to come. I’m really close with Mike, and that was a good moment for him.”
(On if his kids realize football is a team sport…) – “They’re upset when we lose, and they’re mad at me. I don’t need to explain that stuff to them. I want to show them that on every single play, whether we’re up by 28 or down by 28, I’m going to give everything that I have. I’m going to continue to try and put the team in the best position to win. I’m hoping that that rubs off on them a little bit whether it’s in football or just life.”
(On what he’s taught the younger players…) – “You’d have to ask them. I got a lot of comments and jabs about being 37 today, but I just ask most of them, ‘Where do you think you’re going to be when you’re 37?’ It’s cool for me to experience this with all of the young guys.”
On if he’s surprised at the length of his career…) – “Not really. I feel great, and I still love playing.”
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Brian Flores – November 24, 2019 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Postgame – Cleveland
Head Coach Brian Flores (transcribed by Cleveland Browns)
(On the inability to run the football early in the game…) – “I think early it was everything – it was run game, it was pass game, protection. We couldn’t get anything going. We have to do a better job.”
(On QB Ryan Fitzpatrick as the leading rusher and getting the run game to where it needs to be…) – “I think we have to keep the score competitive, and it wasn’t that way. When you get down two, three scores, it’s hard to run the football. There’s a lot that goes into it. We’ve got to play better across the board – offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game. They got out ahead of us, so we had to turn it into a passing game to try and get back into it. We’ve got to do a better job.”
(On Fitzpatrick’s performance…) – “I think we got ourselves somewhat back into the game in the third quarter, but when you’re digging yourself that type of hole, it’s hard to get out of it. We couldn’t string enough plays to really get back into it.”
(On why it was difficult to guard Browns WR Jarvis Landry and WR Odell Beckham, Jr.) – “They’re good receivers. I think we had good coverage on them a lot of the day. They made plays. That’s what they do. They’re good receivers. We’ve got to find a way to get the ball out, knock some of those out, and get a better pass rush. They made a lot of plays.”
(On making adjustments when the lineup changes…) – “We have the guys we have. We coach the guys we have. I think those guys work hard. We go through the week and we try to put them in positions to play well. We didn’t do a good enough job of that as a staff. We need to do a better job. We’re not going to sit here and talk about who we could have or who’s not here. We have the guys we have and we’re going to play with them. We’ve got to do a better job.”
(On how Cleveland was able to get out to a 28-0 start…)- “We came out and we didn’t make enough plays early. That’s it. Offensively, defensively, kicking game. We didn’t make enough plays.”
(On whether a quarterback change was considered after the Browns got out to a 28-0 start…) – “Nope. I didn’t. I felt like we had a good drive at the end of the half. We came out and put some points on the board in the third quarter. We just needed one, two more stops and we didn’t get them. But no, I didn’t.”
(On the pass rush…) – “They were getting the ball out quickly so it is hard to generate a pass rush when it’s coming out in one, two seconds. When they did drop back five to seven steps, we didn’t generate much rush there either. We’ve got to be better from that standpoint. We’ll try to do that.”
(On the Browns having multiple players suspended or injured on the defensive line, but coming up with four sacks against the offensive line…) – “There is a lot that goes into it. We could talk about this player or that player. There are 11 guys on the field that play together. Their guys played better than ours. Players do make plays. I think they made more plays than we did today.”
(On why he was very emotional and upset during the second quarter…) – “I don’t [remember]. In the second quarter I think it was 21-0 or 28-0, so there’s a lot to be upset about. Offense, defense, special teams – pick one.”
(On the fake punt…) – “We were trying to get a spark. I felt like we needed one so we went with it. We didn’t get it. It felt like we needed a spark. I don’t think anyone could argue that. It didn’t work out though.”
(On if he has a status of WR Jakeem Grant and WR Albert Wilson injuries…) – “I don’t. It’s too early. I haven’t even seen them yet. I saw them on the field, but they’re going to get evaluated and go through that process. We will check on those guys throughout the week.”
(On whether he will consider changing to a zone defense…) – “I thought we played a lot of zone today. I think you have to mix both man and zone.”
