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Q: Tom, you weren't able to run the ball much until the end of the game. What effect did that have on you?
TB: I thought they did a pretty good job of stopping the run. They're pretty stout up front. They're a good D-line. We knew that going in. We were effective at certain points in the passing game and at certain points not so efficient and not so sharp. We'll just learn from those mistakes and hopefully they won't come up again.
Q: Can you comment on Troy Brown? It seemed like every time you needed something, he made it.
TB: Troy's been doing it all year. Troy's the leader of this team, the leader of the offense. He continues to give us his best effort every week. He's a terrific player.
Q: What makes him so good? What does he possess?
TB: He's always very determined. That's the way he plays every day in practice, so it's not surprising to us when we see him out there doing the things he's been doing. He's so dependable and consistent and that's what you can look for in a football player.
Q: One of the things that has been your hallmark since you've taken over here is that you haven't made many bad decisions out there. That being said, how long did you think about your pass when you went down and threw the ball into nowhere?
TB: It was just a bad play. Just a bad play. And sometimes taking a sack isn't all that bad, especially on third and long. Just coming out in the third quarter… that was a bad play. You hope those things don't happen again. I think there was another play in the game where something similar could have happened and I just held the ball. So, those things come up and when they don't happen all that often, sometimes you gamble and it just doesn't work out how you planned it.
Q: You did have to take a few sacks today. Was it more a case of what their defense could do or was there just a stretch of the game where you weren't finding people open?
TB: I think there were a few times when we were taking deeper drops and letting guys get deeper into the routes. On those, you've got to step up and find spots to throw from and I think that's just part of the passing game. They had a good front four, and Jamir Miller is a heck of a pass rusher, too. I credit that to them covering us and having to hold on to the ball.
Q: what are your general impressions of having Terry Glenn back in the game today?
TB: I think Terry obviously brings a lot to the game. He runs those comebacks on those guys and they're thinking we're going deep, so they're bailing way off of him and he just turns out of it and you just throw it right to him. The quarterbacks always anticipate him coming back out there just because he's such a threat to the defense.
Q: When he was booed after his first reception, did he say anything coming back into the huddle?
TB: No. I think he was excited to be out there. He enjoys being out there. He enjoys being out there with the guys and being part of the camaraderie of playing football. Without him being out there, I'm sure there's a part of him that misses the guys and winning football games. It was good to have him back and he contributed an awful lot today.
Q: It seemed like you were able to come up with big plays when you needed them.
TB: There were a lot of plays in the second half for our offense where we really could have taken control of the game and it just so happened that we left it for the second to last drive of the game for us. As you come down the stretch, you've got to start eliminating mistakes. I thought the defense played very well today for us. But it's about making those critical plays at critical times, whether it be a bog third down play or a big play on the goal line like Antowain [Smith]'s run. Both times on the goal line those were very hard runs. Antowain, you just can't say enough … how hard he runs, how hard he's run all year and the types of plays he's been making for us.
Q: Cleveland is a team that you're battling with for the playoffs. How significant was this game?
TB: It was a huge game for us. There were four games left to play and this one was really … now we're at 8-5 and just continuing to make progress with this team. If we just keep doing the things we're capable of doing – not turning the ball over, being efficient in the red zone, efficient on third downs. When the defense continues to play the way they do, we're really going to be something to reckon with.
