Opening statement:
"Looking forward to the opportunity of going and playing Denver out in Denver. Three of their games have come down to last second field goals. They are a good football team. They are solid on both sides of the ball. They will be starting a good, solid, young quarterback. They have a good receiver in (Broncos WR Courtland) Sutton and a couple of guys in the backfield that can make plays. We have our work cut out for us offensively, defensively and special teams. They are top 10 in the league in several categories on defense and on special teams."
On if the Browns are traveling to Denver on Friday due to altitude:
"No, we are going out a day early just because of the time change, and it is not a night game."
On preparing for a QB who has never played an NFL game like Broncos QB Brandon Allen:
"We have to go off what we see off tape from the preseason. Young quarterbacks in the last five years, there are 42 guys who have made their first starts in the NFL. You would like to think that stats are not very favorable for them when they start, but we have to understand that out of the last 42 starts, those guys are 16-25-1, which is a lot better than you would just assume. He is going to do a good job preparing. Those guys do a good job of coaching those guys where they are prepared to play the game. The stats of those quarterbacks – 60 percent completion percentage, 200 yards passing. We have to prepare for him just like he is a starter. He is officially now an NFL starter. We have had experience with that before and guys have been successful against us. We have to prepare for him."
On if he will or has gone back to watch Allen's college tape:
"We evaluated him when he came out of college. Of course, you use every avenue that you can to evaluate him."
On how good is the Broncos defense:
"They are very good, very active. They have good active guys inside that we struggled with at times with last year. (Broncos OLB) Von Miller speaks for himself. He is one of the best in the league. The secondary is good. When they have given up 40 yards of less rushing, they have created six turnovers and they have won the game. When they did not, they lost the game and even those games came down to a last second field. This is a very, very good football team we are playing."
On if he was surprised the Browns did not make any trades yesterday:
"(Browns General Manager) John (Dorsey) and I do a good job of communicating the possibilities and all those sort of things. We are always going to look to improve our football team."
On if he feels like the Browns were close to potentially making a trade:
"I am not going to comment on that. You can ask John that."
On if there is any disappointment that the Browns did not acquire anyone to help on the OL:
"I like our O line. We are going to continue to try to get these guys better. They are committed to trying to get better. That is what we are going to do."
On who is not practicing today:
"(S) Damarious Randall."
On evaluating the Browns OL after watching film:
"I am only going to talk about this Denver game. Those guys compete on an every down basis. Every day they come to work, they are pros and they try to get better."
On if the Browns have the same plan for the OL this week, specifically at LT and RG:
"We will continue to evaluate as we go along and see where we need help."
On how QB Baker Mayfield and the team handled the Patriots' blitzes and if he noticed improvement:
"I think so. I think the same problems occurred. It was funny, we were watching… Just to answer your short question, yes, I was happy with the way we handled their blitz packages. We had a plan, and our guys went out and executed it well."
On Mayfield overall:
"I think he is continuing to get better."
On what he wants to see from the Browns and captains in response to adversity at this point of the season:
"We have identified the problems that we need to correct, and hopefully, they get corrected. It takes everybody, and everybody has to be pointed in the right direction. I feel like we are. Now, we have to go out and do it, but it starts today."
On challenges playing in the Denver altitude:
"We used to go every year in Arizona – that was the fourth preseason game. We went to training camp in Flagstaff, which was altitude also. I think there are some benefits to it in terms of recovery and stuff like that. We just have to go and play the game. It does not matter where we play the game. There are 10 other teams, counting the preseason, that go in there and play. We are just one of those 10, and we have to go in and take care of ourselves. That is it."
On the Broncos RB tandem of Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman:
"They try to get them the ball. They try to throw it to them, they try to hand it to them and they are very physical, tough. Each one of them presents a different set of problems. They are good football players."
On evaluating Lindsay coming out of college and if he liked Lindsay's attributes:
"Yeah, definitely, and he had a good game – I do not know his stats really form last year – but he was productive when they gave him the ball last year during the course of the whole season. He is a good player, a really good player."
On evaluating Mayfield through seven games:
"I think he is continuing to try and get better. Of course, each week presents a different set of problems. We have to identify those problems and attack those problems. Baker works his tail off during the course of the week, and he is prepared on Sundays. Just have to continue to try and get better."
On if he has seen Mayfield take on a bigger role in helping hold other Browns players accountable:
"I think Baker has, and I think we have several guys that have. This is a group effort, and everybody has to understand that this is a group effort. I am talking about everybody in our locker room has to understand that we are all accountable to the things that have been happening. This is a new day. We are trying to get better in that area, and I am confident that we will."
On if sees an uptick and improvement in Mayfield's performances for the second half of the season, given Mayfield's success in the second half of 2018:
"I want Baker to continue to do what he is doing from the standpoint of getting better. It is all about winning games. I do not get into stats and all of that kind of stuff. I just want to win games, and I think Baker feels the same way."
On how he expects RB Nick Chubb to respond this week:
"The same way that he responded during the game. Nick is a professional, high character and just all of the intangibles that you have in a football player, Nick has. I have total confidence that Nick is going to continue to work, and I would expect him to have a good game, just like he always does."
