RB Carlos Hyde :
On stating QB Baker Mayfield 'is a different breed' and when he realized that about Mayfield:
"When I first saw the video of him dancing when he was in college at OU, that is when I knew that Baker was a different breed. He is not like most quarterbacks. He has some swag to him. I love it, especially from the quarterback position. I say that because of the way he plays and the way he carries himself – a guy who has been here and done it before like it is nothing new to him."
On how hard he is running and if he can feel how much the fans need the Browns and him to play well:
"I am just doing my job. Just going hard and helping my team be in position to win. When I am running the ball, Coach depends on me to make a play. I am just trying to do my job."
On if he feels anything can happen with the Browns this season and if the Browns can compete with any team this year:
"Most definitely. I think we can compete with any team in this league. We have a really good group of guys and things are definitely going up for us. As long as we keep fighting the way we have been fighting and keep working the way we have been working, things will work out in our favor."
On balancing running patiently and aggressively:
"Being a running back, patience is definitely a big part of it. The aggressive part, you just have to know the down and distance. When it is third-and-short or second-and-short, you need a first down and you do not need to be patient. Go get that yard and we can get the chains going. Then you can get back to playing how you want to play. You need patience pretty much every run, unless it is short yardage."
On RB Duke Johnson Jr.'s impactful runs in OT:
"I gave him a little bit of a hard time for the 15 yarder. I told him he should have broke it and should have got the walk-off right there. I was giving him a hard time, but I am happy for Duke. He puts in a lot of work. He is another guy that works so hard and continues to get out there and [work hard]. It is a good feeling."
On the atmosphere during Browns home games:
"The fans have been a big help. They have been really loud when the other team has the ball. When it is crucial time, they get really loud. I kind of had a feeling about of how Ohio fans can really be at football games from Ohio State. There they get really loud, and the defense can feed off of that and everybody in the building can feed off of that except for the other teams. They do not want it to be like that. The fans have been doing a hell of a job during home games."
On confidence heading into the game as the Browns are 2-0-1 at home this season:
"We have to protect our house at any cost. We are doing a good job so far, and we just got to keep building on it. We have to protect our house at any cost."
On challenges running against the Ravens defense and the Browns producing a scoring drive when needed:
"You can't take anything away from that Baltimore defense. That was a good defense. Definitely one of the toughest defense we have faced so far this year, but on our side of the ball, we just kept on fighting. We knew it was only a matter of time for somebody to step up and make a big play for us. When it counted, guys started stepping up and making those big plays for us."
LB Joe Schobert:
On the emotions in FirstEnergy Stadium after Sunday's win:
"Obviously, it is why we are competitors and play the game. You want to win, and Cleveland has been starved of winning the last couple of years. Just from everybody – the fans, the players – there was an overjoy and lots of emotion and something that we look forward to experiencing many times in the near future."
On limiting the Ravens offense and not surrendering a TD:
"Yeah, it is huge. As a defense, I think that we have been trying to establish our identity this year – smash mouth, get after the passer, create takeaways and be able to limit what the other team does well. For the most part this season, we are playing some pretty good offenses, and we have been able to do that. Especially playing at home, we have been pretty lights out so far this year. It is definitely a source of pride, and it is something that you look to continue improving upon."
On the importance of establishing a home field advantage:
"I think it is very important. When you go other places where people have been successful for a long time, you kind of see how their home field advantage has been built just with the crowd and the energy of the stadium. Just being successful at home and getting lots of people out to the game and have the Dawg Pound be rocking when we are doing well is a huge source of pride for us as a team. It is important for us because when the other teams are on offense and our fans are being loud and disruptive, it makes their communication harder and it is easier for us to do our job. Being able to be successful at home and keeping the fans and the city excited to come to the games is definitely something that we look forward to having better this year."
On DB Denzel Ward's performance:
"Denzel has been doing a great job as a rookie this year. He had another big time interception in the low red zone at a time when we really needed it. To get that blocked field goal that saved the point, that really allowed us to go into overtime at a tie ball game was huge. He is a great athlete, and he is a good kid. He is learning, just like all NFL rookies are learning, but he is doing it I think at an accelerated pace. He has been huge for us this year."
On the Browns LBs' high tackle totals being in on tackles:
"I think that is just how the Ravens set up their offense. They use a lot of big personnel – two, three tight ends at a time on the field. They do a lot of running, a lot of exotic formation run game and a lot of their passes and pass concepts go through their running backs and tight ends, as well, which the linebackers are in charge of covering and taking care of. I think just the way that the Ravens called the game, we had three linebackers on the field more often than not and because of that, we were able to make a lot of plays."
On his forced fumble and the Browns creating a high number of takeaways this season:
"When I think Kirko (LB Christian Kirksey) had the initial hit on him, the running back, it cause him to kind of trip up. Then (LB) Jamie (Collins Sr.) came over and secured the tackle just as I was about to get there, too. The running back was going down, and he was kind of bracing his arm out there with the ball. I just tried to tackle him and also punch at the ball. He had it kind of exposed because he was bracing his body for impact. That is just something that we have been working and preaching this whole offseason, OTAs and training camp is getting more takeaways. Last year, obviously, we did not have nearly enough or as many as we should have had. It was not because we did not get our hands on the ball. We did force some fumbles. Just the ball never bounced our way. There was an added emphasis of when the ball is on the ground in practice, pick it up. When the ball is in the air in practice, go for it. Try to make plays. I think that you are seeing that pay off. Obviously, as a linebacker, being in the heart of the defense, I think all of our guys are doing a better job this year of just being keyed into what the offense is trying to do and being able to try to jump some plays. I know that Jamie Collins does not have a takeaway yet this year, but he has been extremely close on four or five opportunities, that I know that he is going to. He is always kicking himself when he does not get there because he is the one that preaches it the most on defense. He is the one that kind of sets the tone in practice. I am excited to see where it goes."
On how rewarding it is for the Browns defense to have 15 takeaways through five games:
"It is very rewarding because it is the thing that we have focused and preached about most throughout the whole offseason. To be able to preach about it, practice it, be able to do it in practice and then be able to take it over to gameday is extremely rewarding. It is what you do as a professional. You try to take stuff from the practice field to the game, apply it and be able to contribute and do it. The fact that we have been able to do it just shows how hard and how focused everybody on the defense has been this whole offseason and in training camp. We are just starting to see the rewards of our hard work."
On the impact of 15 takeaways and it being higher than imagined despite the emphasis:
"I think so, but I also think that the part of having a healthy (DL) Myles Garrett and (DL) Larry Ogunjobi has taken a step up in the pass rush, (DL) Emmanuel Ogbah, all of the guys getting after the quarterback are making them hurry some throws or throw it into coverage before they feel comfortable with letting the ball go. Then just having a bunch of new guys like (DB) Terrance Mitchell, Denzel Ward and the secondary being able to poach off of a (DB) Damarious Randall on the back ends being able to read the quarterbacks eyes and do some jumps on some balls. I think that all has been the biggest aspect. I do not think that anybody on our team is surprised with how many takeaways we have been getting because I think as a group and as a unit, we have been pretty stressful in training camp and when we had our preseason games when the whole first unit was on the field for the set of time that we were able to do that, as well. I think it is just kind of what we expected and what we work for."
