Defensive coordinator Ray Horton
On his comment about players receiving extra fuel when playing their former teams and if that holds true for him:
"No, what fuels me is the next win. You know people, and you know people around the league, obviously, but for me, every week is critical that you get an opportunity to get yourself in the playoffs. For us, it is an opportunity to get our win and keep growing and take strides to get better. I don't look at it as anything personal or I have been there or been there or no people. It is just the next opponent that we want to beat."
On a primary football aspect that stands out from his time with Titans assistant head coach/defense Dick Lebeau:
"No, I think what it would be is the way he treats people, if that is one thing, whether it is players, coaches, management or fans. He is a remarkable man in how he makes other people feel. I have been with him so many times and on so many occasions from football to off the field to banquets to scouting combines, and he is pretty much the same everywhere. He treats everyone probably the way you want to be treated."
On his process when deciding he wanted to return to Cleveland from Tennessee:
"I didn't have one. I don't remember what it was. Where I am at right now is where I want to be. I am very happy here. I have made that point very clear that I love the city and I love what Hue is doing and the direction that we are heading. I am very happy with where I am at."
On if the decision to return to Cleveland was about the opportunity to individually call the defense:
"No, it was an opportunity to come to Cleveland. It is that simple."
On his appreciation for Cleveland and its fans and if it provides him a different perspective in regards to handling losing games better as he is back in this environment:
"No, no I don't sleep well. The thing that I am encouraged about is that every day that I come in – not every day – most days that I come in, my drive in I think that we are one day closer to the playoffs. That is what absolutely fuels me here is that we are one day closer to the playoffs. Hue has been an unbelievable head coach as far as structure, excitement, energy and passion. It trickles down, and it is going to be an unbelievable event when we do. That is really every other day, we are one day closer because we are."
On how the Browns can limit opposing TEs' production and Titans TE Delanie Walker as a player:
"He is an awesome competitor. He falls right in line with every tight end that we have played this year. (Redskins TE) Jordan Reed, I think had 65-70 yards in catching but he had two touchdowns. Last week against New England, that was on us. Is Delanie that same caliber of tight end? Yes, he is. Their offensive weapons have our respect. How do you limit them? There are four other guys who can potentially catch passes. You cannot double everybody. We just have to step up and play better, and that is part of the production thing that I have been talking about. It is on us. It is not really who you play. Everybody is going to have a tight end on the field or two if they want to. It is just a matter of what we do, how we stop them and how we limit people."
Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor:
Opening statement:
"Another good special teams unit. We have to cover some guys. (Titans WR) Marc Mariani is the kick returner and punter returner and a 2010 Pro Bowler. He is a guy who hits the ball north and south and catches the ball really well. We have to do a great job in coverage to eliminate any big returns against us. The punter, he is excellent, (Titans P) Brett Kern and is an excellent directional punter. (Titans K Ryan) Succop, I think he has 14 touchbacks on 22 kickoffs. He has kind of eliminated kick returners in that area and then he is kicking really well in the field goal department. I think he has only missed one and I think he has a long of 48. We have our work cut out for us, but we are really concentrating on the Cleveland Browns getting better fundamentally and getting our execution where it needs to be."
On RB Duke Johnson Jr.'s performance at punt return and if he will receive more opportunities:
"Yeah, he will get more opportunities. He is averaging 12.7 yards. The last time we discussed punt return, we have gone up statistically the last couple of games. We are making strides there. Obviously, not where I want it to be or it is not at the level that the Cleveland Browns' return unit should be, but my glass is not half empty. It is half full, so to speak. Duke is doing a nice job for us fielding the ball cleanly, and I expect that area to improve."
On how long it takes a player to develop as a punt returner when he didn't do it in college:
"Every guy is different. You are going through practice and watching how guys are catching. You can kind of see fundamentally about how far away a guy is just really after the first couple of catches. Duke has kind of been a natural guy. He is getting better and better each week. I would say that with all of our punt returners with regards to catching the ball. It is just that when we get the opportunities, which I think when we have had opportunities we are starting to get… What I always say is we need to get 10 yards first. We need to get the first first-down, and then after that, everything is gravy. I know everyone would like a 65-yarder or 75-yarder and so would I, but at the end of the day, if you say the Cleveland Browns average a first down after they catch the ball, you are helping field position."
On the Browns' talk during the practice week about focusing on winning compared to getting ready for the game:
"The process leads you to winning. That is where we are all heading towards. It is about winning. There is no doubt about it. With that comes if you want to win, I say three things: assignment, alignment and technique. If you can master those three things, which really what you are taking about is fundamentals, and through that process helping guys improve in those areas and going back so that when times do get tough, they go, 'This is what I need to do. I am going to go right back to my fundamentals and execute those fundamentals.' That will give us a chance to win."
On Head Coach Hue Jackson stating he doesn't want young Browns players to get used to losing games and how the Browns carry that message forward when the team hasn't won a game this season:
"You stick to the process. I will be honest with you, when you are in the midst of a season, my head is down and I am focused in on Tennessee and what can we do better in our area to help us win. There is no doubt about it, no one wants to lose or likes losing. I just beat my daughter last night in checkers and loved it. In order to win, you have to do things right, and we are teaching them. The culture here is great. What Coach is instilling in the players has been unbelievable. We are going to stick with the process and keep working the process. I love the process. I love game week. I love preparing for an opponent and getting the players ready to go. When we get that taste of winning, it will be infections, no doubt about it."
Running backs coach/run game coordinator Kirby Wilson:
On how the Browns run game plans to rebound after the Patriots game:
"That is a great question because you sit there and you ask yourself – how do you rebound from such a demoralizing defeat? We have a lot of competitors on this team, and the great thing about working with these young men is that they desire to be great. They have a lot of resiliency, and they are going to bounce back and show what they are worth. We are proud of them. We are proud of the way they work. We are proud of their efforts. We are proud of the way they prepare. We are looking forward to the next challenge."
On the main struggle with the run game last week:
"Two things: No. 1 we lacked a lot of execution. We left some things out there that we could have done better, and that is each unit to a man. We think we could have done some things differently from a scheme standpoint, as well. You are always learning, and the game of football, as we all know, is a game of adjustments. You have to take it one at a time and adjust quickly. The next factor was they did a great job of game planning us and executing their defensive assignments. Our hats off to them. They won that one. We learned some things about ourselves, and we are moving forward to this week's game."
On if the changes on the Browns OL is a challenge for the run game and RBs:
"Injuries are always tough on everyone and every team. Once you make the initial adjustment and you get over the shock of losing someone, you kind of dial in because the group is being coached the same whether you are a starter or a backup. They are all receiving the same coaching and the same technique. Once you get over the initial shock, you are excited for the next man up, you work together as a group and you look forward to executing with that man. We kind of all take that philosophy. Next man up. Let's go. We are not going to miss a beat."
On how RB Isaiah Crowell responded after last week and his mindset going into Tennessee:
"He was upset, and he was upset during the course of the game that things weren't going the way that he wanted them to go. He is such a competitor. He couldn't wait to get back to work to find out what exactly went wrong. When you calm down and you look at the film, you grade it and evaluate and then you move forward. He couldn't wait to get back to work to prove that he is better and we are better at what we do. I'm looking forward to watching him perform on Sunday."
On the Browns losing OL Joel Bitonio to injury and if that hurts the run game to lose a talented player:
"We are going to miss Joel, but the next man has to perform at a high level for us to be successful. It doesn't matter who that person is. Our expectations is there is no difference. There should be no drop off. Let's go."
On Titans DT Jurrell Casey:
"He is extremely active. He is powerful. He plays the game the way it should be played, and that is violent and fast. You can tell that he is a student of the game, that he understands blocking schemes and that he understands back field sets. He is well prepared, and obviously, he is well coached. We have our hands full with him. He is a handful for everyone."
On if he's concerned that New England might have given the rest of the league a snap shot of what it takes to stop the Browns run game or if things change week to week:
"That is a good observation, as well, because usually, it is a copycat league. When someone sees that something was successful on either side of the ball, you want to try to build that into what you do so I'm sure we will see some form of that. If we don't, then that is OK, too, because Tennessee has an outstanding defense and a legendary defensive coordinator (Titans assistant head coach/defense Dick LeBeau) who know what he's doing. We expect to see his best."
