[
]()
BB: No changes on the injury report. We spent some time yesterday on Cleveland's red area goal line defense. They are leading the league in that area so they are pretty good. A lot of teams have gotten down there, but they haven't been able to finish off the drives. The Browns haven't given up very many defensive touchdowns. They are at the top of the league in that category too. So getting down there is one thing, getting it in is another. Otherwise it was a pretty normal week other than the weather.
Q: How did number 88 [Terry Glenn] look yesterday?
BB: He was all right, he was okay.
Q: Any chance he might play on Sunday?
BB: We will take it day to day. We will see how it goes. He could not play, he could play a little, he could play a little more than that, I don't know.
Q: Does a lot depend on whether or not Charles Johnson can play?
BB: No it depends on how he does here today and just then a little bit the game plan too where we want to be in terms of receivers and multiple receivers and that type of thing. There is some game plan involved too that obviously I don't want to get into.
Q: Judging from the videotape that some of us saw he seems to be running pretty well?
BB: It was all right, it was all right.
Q: Last time he was out there he said he had too run too many fly patterns which contributed to his injury so I am curious if you are monitoring what patterns he runs?
BB: Nope. Whatever we called we ran.
Q: Playing Cleveland since you used to coach there, from a personal standpoint, does that get the juice flowing a little bit more?
BB: There is not much, other than the uniforms, which didn't change, there is not a lot in Cleveland that was there when I was there. The organization is different. The staff is different, the players are different, there is hardly anybody there or anything there that was there when I was there other than the practice facility. That is about it. It is a new stadium, really it is a whole new franchise. There is just not really lot of carryover other than the jerseys.
Q: Was that game at Cleveland last year the ugliest game this team has played?
BB: It was a significant low point. When you are 5-11 there are a lot of low points in the year that was one of them. Unfortunately there were some other contenders for that distinction, but that was certainly one of them.
Q: What happened in that game when you look back at it, it didn't seem like there was any enthusiasm or juices flowing?
BB: It wasn't a good performance that is for sure. I mean there were some good plays in the game, but not very many. I mean we had four turnovers on offense that is not good and when you give up a lot of third down conversions defensively that is not very good either. Cleveland's average per play and average per carry and all of that weren't that high, but they continued to make first downs and hang on to the ball so the time of possession was good. When we moved it we eventually turned it over and didn't score very many points. They scored a touchdown and kicked what four field goals and we scored a touchdown and I think kicked one field goal. The times we were down there we lost the ball and the times they were down there they basically kicked field goals so that was the game. It wasn't a very good one. The tackling wasn't real good. Third downs weren't good. We didn't play with any consistency on offense. Troy had a good punt return there early in the game, but too many bad plays.
Q: Cleveland's red zone defense, what in particular makes it so strong? Is it speed, is it a combination of things?
BB: They are a very physical front seven and they are hard to run on. They have had a lot of turnovers down there, they have had some interceptions, they stripped some balls, they have caused some turnovers and they have stopped some teams on downs. The Ravens went for it, Cincinnati, a couple of teams have tried to go for it on fourth and short and they have stopped them in those situations. So they haven't given up very many touchdowns defensively this year and they have had a number of stops down there inside the ten-yard line Seattle, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore twice. Baltimore was down there two times and came out with nothing. Once on an interception and once when they lost it on downs. So they have pretty much done it all the way through the year. A good front seven and they get on guys quickly with their defensive backs and their db's have made plays down there. [Corey] Fuller, [Anthony] Henry, [Daylon] McCutcheon, they have broken up some plays. So they have done a good, solid job all the way around. Their goal line defense is good too.
Q: Is Henry just a guy that has been in the right place at the right time or he is another one that people didn't realize how good he was when the draft came along?
BB: He was a little bit of a sleeper coming out. Kind of a tall kid that I think ran good times, showed good straight line speed, was a little hard to gauge with the level of competition that he was playing at, but he has done a good job covering and he's again, a tall kid with long arms so he does pretty good jamming the receivers and re-routing guys and he has got good ball skills. He has been able to get his hands on some balls and then pull them. You always see defensive guys drop interceptions, but he has made some real nice catches on the ball and done a good job adjusting to some bad throws. I think everybody knew about him, but not to the…I don't think anybody probably expected him to play at the level he is at now, where did he go in the fourth round or somewhere in there, so I think that is probably where a lot of people thought he would go, a mid-round pick, but he has done a nice job. So when he comes in there on third down with McCutcheon moving inside and Fuller, they have gotten good, solid play out of those three guys all year.
Q: With all of their interceptions, is it the way that they are playing or is there anything specific they are doing?
BB: Well they are very disruptive up front. A lot of those interceptions have come on tipped balls or defensive linemen or linebackers blitzing hitting the quarterback right as he is throwing the ball and deflecting it up in the air and that kind of thing. That is in combination with Henry who has had I think seven or eight whatever it is. Fuller and McCutcheon, they all have real good ball skills and their corners and their guys up front have been pretty disruptive so some of the safeties when they have been able to free up in zone or come off in coverage like a blitz situation where their guy blocks and they just kind of sit there in the middle the quarterback is under pressure and just kind of throws it up for grabs and they get it. Their front being disruptive, I think that is the heart of problem offensively, what we have to deal with. But they have a good ball hawking secondary and linebackers that have really capitalized on the mistakes that have been made against them.
Q: How big a factor has [Courtney] Brown been in that?
BB: Well he certainly is a disruptive player. He has had his plays. He missed some at the beginning of the year, but when he is in there he is a factor. But there defensive tackles [Mark] Smith and [Gerard] Warren and Orpheus Roye, those three guys are particularly disruptive and then when Jamir Miller blitzes, which he does a lot of, that is really like having a fifth defensive lineman in the game. He is a big, tall, rangy guy with long arms that it aggressive and he is hard to throw over especially when you have to have a back picking him up, which when he is a blitzer sometimes that happens and that is a tough match-up.
Q: Is Ted Johnson going to be in the lineup?
BB: I think Ted has a lot better chance to play this week than he did last week. He has had a better week practicing and he is off of the injury report so I think that he's healthy and has had a good week. So with no setbacks I am sure that he will get some playing time.
Q: And Willie [McGinest]?
BB: Willie hasn't done too much this week. Actually I probably should clear that up a little bit. When he was hurt a couple of weeks ago we thought it was a bruise and it was a bruise, but he actually had a little pull underneath the bruise so the pull is taking a little bit longer than…well the bruise has cleared up, but he pulled a muscle, it was kind of a simultaneous injury. So that has held him back a little longer than we originally thought it would. So that will probably be more of a game time call there. He is definitely getting better, but it will be close.
Q: Romeo Crennel, what are his strengths as a coordinator, how has he helped make the defense better?
BB: Romeo has a lot of experience in the league. I have coached with him for a long time. He has a lot of experience in a system that we are both familiar with. He is very good with the defensive linemen and the linebackers, the front seven group and Romeo is a good, hard-working, steady guy. He is doesn't have a lot of real highs and real lows, but is real consistent. He is very well prepared and knows the team and the personnel in this league well so no matter who we play he has got a pretty good background with having coached and competed against those guys and how to defend them or the schemes that they are in, the other coordinators that we face.
Q: Can you use his knowledge of this team, personnel anyway?
BB: Oh sure, again, they have a lot of new faces, but there is certainly some carryover and it has been good to get his insight. We have some Cleveland players too on the team that have also had a little bit of a working…on the field have seen those guys play and can help you a little bit with the strengths and the weaknesses. It is probably offset by [Chris] Eitzmann and Greg Spires. So it is a wash.
Q: Is Eitzmann on their 53?
BB: No he is on the practice squad, but being a Harvard guy and being here for a year and a half I am sure that whatever he was able to pick up he can transfer. They probably teach you that at Harvard, right
