On QB Josh McCown being available on Friday at the earliest due to concussion protocol or because he was symptomatic:
"No, that's the quickest you could go through it."
On if it is status quo with McCown:
"Yeah, it's really the same as yesterday from a practice standpoint."
On if doctors decided Friday was the earliest McCown could practice:
"No, that's just a product of the league protocol."
On if McCown has been able to exercise yet:
"I have not gotten with (head athletic trainer) Joe Sheehan yet. I will get my update when I go on the field. I do not have that information."
On being comfortable starting McCown on Sunday, if he practices on Friday:
"We've discussed it. To me, I think it still will be our decision based on how practice goes. I don't see an issue if he's cleared and practices fully tomorrow. I don't see, barring anything unforeseen, a reason why we wouldn't play him."
On expectations for RB Isaiah Crowell:
"Take a step for us. He'll admit it. He missed some runs on Sunday. Some of it was tough sledding. The one thing I've been just kind of going back and forth with Crow about, good naturedly, is I want to see him break tackles. I want to see him make a guy miss or run through a tackle, be that back that guys don't want to tackle. That's our challenge to him, but we're confident because he's preparing so well that he'll show up and be the back that we want him to be."
On if that kind of physical back was what the Browns wanted to see when Crowell was signed last year:
"Yeah, I don't think he's changed. Part of it is we need to block better in front of him, but I don't think his style of running has changed. Running backs, a lot of times their statistics are going to depend on the scheme and how well plays are being blocked. Just like all of our backs, we need to get… Crow's had some big runs when he's gotten into the secondary, but that's the job up front to make that happen."
On if the Browns are running fewer wide zone blocks, compared to last year:
"The run game has its subtle tweaks, but Monday was the time to ask that question, not Thursday (laughter)."
On the mood of the Browns defense after last week's loss:
"Overall, I think they're ready to bounce back. I don't want to speak for them. I'm sure you can ask them all individually. There were some good performances in there, but I think overall as a unit, they didn't play up to not just the standards that we set for them as coaches but the very similar standards that they set for themselves as players."
On wanting to see anger from his players after a loss:
"To me, when you lose you should be upset. That's to me an indication that it's important to you, you're passionate about it, something you put a lot of time in and came up short. You get guys that are motivated by what winning brings to you, the feeling that you get when you're in. You get guys that are also motivated by the fear of losing. It's a coaching cliché, but when you lose you want guys to remember the feeling. To me, if losing doesn't bother guys, they have the wrong make up to be in your locker room."
On Titans RB Bishop Sankey's progress based on Week 1:
"Yeah, and some of the work that he's done before that. He was impressive. I think he runs low. He's gaining positive yardage. They used him as a receiver, as a kick returner, but it's clear that he's elevated his game from his rookie year."
On the opportunity for LB Nate Orchard this week after a good training camp:
"We're all looking forward to Nate getting out there. This is a big opportunity for him. He didn't put up big numbers, but he got a lot of pluses [on the grade sheet]. He did his job. Very much looking forward to having him get out there. It's his first NFL game. I think we're all curious to see how he'll respond. If it's how he's practiced, how he's prepared himself, then I think it'll be a positive result."
On WR Dwayne Bowe's status for Sunday:
"Dwayne seems to have progressed from the hamstring. He put in a good day yesterday so we'll see how the rest of the week plays out."
On how important it is for McCown to practice Wednesday and Thursday before a game:
"I think potentially that could be the case but when you over-install for the opener and you're playing similar defensive styles Week 1 to Week 2 – there are a lot of plays that are up for this plan that he has already gotten multiple reps on, whether it was this week or even towards the end of training camp – when we game plan for the first quarter of the season and started to works some of that stuff late in training camp, it carries over. If this was a completely different plan and it wasn't this close to coming out of training camp, I think the situation would be different, but he's gotten quality reps on a lot of the elements of the plan that we have up."
On if McCown's opening drive before his injury gave him more confidence in his QB:
"You look at it, that's one of the reasons you lie to defer. You put your D out there first, I think it's difficult for the offenses to come right out and piece together an opening drive. That's why you see so many teams deferring. To go out there and [17] plays and to convert the third downs the way we did, sure it was encouraging, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish."
On who will evaluate McCown after he potentially practices on Friday:
"He has to be cleared to practice so he would already be cleared. There is nobody that would evaluate him after practice Friday. There's no practice once and then go back again. It would be the final step of the protocol would potentially be tomorrow morning."
On being optimistic that McCown will be cleared:
"There's no PhD after my name. That I do not know. We're hopeful. To me, these situations, you learn over time they're just impossible to predict."
On DB Donte Whitner apologizing to fans after the loss:
"That's a product of his competitiveness, his pride, how important it is to him. For it not to go the way that we wanted it to go, it was disappointing. Being from here, he knows what it means to our fan base. I just think it's a product of all those things."
On if Manziel tones out all of the outside criticism:
"I think it would be very difficult for him to try to get too caught up in that. When he is in the meeting, outside of the breaks, they are all business. You get a limited amount of time to get a lot of stuff in. He doesn't strike me as the type of guy that would read it and let it affect him one way or another."
On K Travis Coons 48-yard extra point:
"Has anyone looked that up? Is that a record? To me, I laughed about it then. He got three great reps. We were worried about a kicker getting live game experience. He got three reps. One at [the distance] of an extra point and two at field goals and was 3-3. That was the positive to take from it."
On if maintaining momentum of a positive offense drive is something he focuses on as a defensive coach:
"That is something we talk about, whether it is sudden change after a turnover or you get a momentum from a score. It is always important to stop the opponent. If you want to put it on added importance, those are times where you do want to step up. That is where we have to be great. Unfortunately in the game, we were unable to do that."
On explaining why opposing offenses are having success scoring in the last two minutes of the first half as noted in a statistic stretching back to last season:
"I don't know if I have an explanation for that. This is Thursday of Titans week. I am not into looking back at 2014 statistics. It is regrettable. I don't know how you want me to answer that question. We talk about wanting to be good in crunch time. We have to be. That is how you win football games. You are good in the red zone, you are good on third downs and you are good in the two-minute."
On if the run defense needs to be altered or if the Jets game was an aberration:
"I don't know how much schematically we have to change. There were a few minor details in the game. You look at each run and you figure out the why and where the minuses occurred or they out executed and were better on a certain play. We know teams are going to continue to run the ball until we show that we can stop it."
On the play of DL Armonty Bryant:
"There was one play where he got hung on a block a little bit long and the ball ended up bouncing outside. Outside of that, I thought he handled himself pretty well. He played more than because of what you just said. Because of (LB) Scott (Solomon) going out, he played more than what we expected him to play. He stepped in and knew what to do. It was good experience for him to get. With (LB Nate) Orchard up now, those reps will get spread a little bit more throughout the room. He was solid."
On how Bryant's transition from DL to LB is going:
"I think it is pretty good. He has lost some weight. Last year, we would have said he was better rushing over guards. We will still do that some with him, but we will be more inclined to keep him on the outside now."
