*Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy addresses the New England media during his conference call on Wednesday, November 3, 2010. *
Q: Where does the Browns' quarterback situation stand this week?
CM: Well, I'm approaching it the same way I always have since I got here, since the season started. I'm going to prepare. I'm going to practice and I'm going to have my mind ready just like I'm going to be the starter - that's in the meeting room, that's interacting with my teammates, that's working with my coaches and just really understanding the game plan. Jake [Delhomme] and Seneca [Wallace] did not practice today, but the coaches will ultimately make that decision. [I have been] just really preparing and focusing and we know that New England has a really tough defense. They do a lot of things. They are very, very well coached and we have our hands full.
Q: Has not knowing whether you are going to start from week to week been a difficult adjustment for you?
CM: It is, and I would say just coming to the NFL is an adjustment. Coach [Mike] Holmgren said from the very beginning that I wasn't going to play this year, so in your mind, you have to not approach it and not embrace the role as a backup. You have to come in there and push yourself, do the work. I know I'm not the starter, but I'm going to prepare like I am. I'm going to get better and I'm going to use this year to be the best I can be and get on the field sometime. Obviously, the situation changed when Jake and Seneca both got their ankles hurt. For me, since I was approaching every game like that, it made it a little bit of an easier transition. [I'm] not saying that it is easy, but that my mindset has been the same over the whole year.
Q: Can you talk about your growth as a player since the preseason?
CM: Well, I think just really working hard. You have to understand that the preseason was really my practice. I didn't get reps in practice and the times I did make my mistakes or did good things - all that happened in the preseason. I would treat the preseason games as a real game. That was the only reps that I got so my mind would have to be right and I made my mistakes in the preseason. That helped me improve. I learned from them and I studied them and I studied the way Jake and Seneca were playing. Then I got my shot and I got my reps. Then I started playing and I got into a groove. I've got a long ways to go as a quarterback. I'm a continual learner. I learn every day and I want to get better and I just really work as hard as I can because on Sundays I have to be the best I can be for my team to go out there and win.
Q: How much interaction do you have with Mike Holmgren?
CM: Well, obviously Brian Daboll is my offensive coordinator and Coach Carl Smith, he's my quarterbacks coach and I spend a lot of my time with them. But I think it'd be foolish not to be able to take advantage of Coach Holmgren and all the quarterbacks he's coached and all the knowledge he has. So yeah, I talk with him and sometimes he's around at practice and just watches from a distance. Coach Smith and Coach Daboll are my coaches, but I obviously take a lot of advice from Coach Holmgren and always expect his coaching.
Q: What has been behind the struggles for the Browns offense this year?
CM: We just need to be more consistent. A lot of it is taking care of the football. In the first couple games at the beginning of the year we killed ourselves with turnovers and we really just beat ourselves. We were in all the football games; they were close. We really need to do a better job of being consistent - from running to passing, staying on the field longer to help our defense. Those are all things we worked on during the bye week and we're trying to improve on as we come back for the second half of the season.
Q: What has happened to the Texas Longhorns this year?
CM: I don't know if you all heard, but that was our off week, so I went down to the game and that was the first game I was able to watch. Up here in Cleveland, we don't get to watch much of the Big 12, especially way down south in Texas, so I haven't really been able to watch them play. They're just not executing. I don't know. It's the same guys and the same coaches. I feel like we have the greatest coaches in the country at Texas. Obviously I'm biased, but I don't know. It's a struggle. It's hard to watch them.
Q: But losing to Baylor?
CM: I know, I know. Trust me. Phil Dawson is here. Shaun Rogers is here and we just scratch our heads. But a lot of those guys were my teammates last year and I know they're working hard. I know they are very well coached. The ball is just not falling our way or something.
Q: What have you seen out of Benjamin Watson?
CM: Ben Watson is great. He's one of the leaders on offense. He catches a lot of balls. He is great at blocking. He is just really a core player in our offense. A lot of things are based around him and his skills and his strengths. He's great to have on our football team.
Q: Are you wary of Bill Belichick's track record against young quarterbacks?
CM: I completely understand Coach Belichick and all the success they've had. They've won three Super Bowls and they're always in the playoffs. I heard so much about Coach Belichick before I even came into the NFL. You hear his name. You watch their defense. They're tough. They really are. I respect them 100 percent and I know the guys in the locker room do, too. I know a lot of our coaches have coached with Coach Belichick and I know this game means a lot to them. Like I said, they're a tremendous defense and they have a heck of an offense. With Tom Brady, they stay on the field a lot, move the ball and score a lot of points. I think they're leading the league in scoring and we have a huge challenge in front of us with them. I know they're going to come after us and blitz us. They're going to pressure us and it's up to us to see how we handle it and that's what we're working for. We're working to handle the pressure, handle the blitzes and be able to stay on the field.
Q: Patriots DL Brandon Deaderick played at Alabama. Will seeing him on the field this Sunday bring back memories from last year's BCS Championship Game?
CM: I think both our minds are consumed with the NFL and what we have to do to help our team. I might try to find him after the game and say congratulations again. They played a heck of a game that year. I just wish I was able to play.
