Todd Monken Press Conference — November 9th, 2026

[0:03] Still, it makes me look like the jump pass, [0:06] like that's the picture you have taken, right? [0:11] Let me get one of you jumping up and throwing it, you know. [0:19] I can unmute if you're ready, Coach. [0:22] I'm good. [0:38] I am not. [0:52] I really haven't thought through it [0:54] other than getting through this morning's tape. [0:57] We just got done meeting with the guys. [0:59] They'll flush the game, [1:00] and then we'll have a chance to meet offensively, [1:02] more extensive a little bit later today. [1:05] We went through the tape, immediately had to break, [1:09] go with personnel, then the team comes in, [1:12] and we haven't had a chance to circle back as an offensive staff. [1:22] I think I've answered the question. [1:24] I don't. [1:38] It's week to week. [1:40] A player doesn't lose or win a job. [1:43] I don't know what that means. [1:45] Each week we put the best players on the field [1:47] that give us a chance to win. [1:49] Well, I'm awfully proud of him. [2:11] It's been 10 weeks, you know, since he had reps with the ones. [2:15] I think it showed up, the reps that we gave him in camp, [2:19] but that's not like, you know, over the last couple of months. [2:23] I thought he battled. [2:24] I thought he showed composure in the pocket, [2:28] getting to his check downs at times. [2:30] He made plays with his feet and escaping. [2:34] He made the scramble play to Jerry. [2:36] He made a couple other, you know, [2:37] he made a big third down conversion early, [2:40] and he made one right there in four minutes, you know, [2:42] right before the holding call that gave us a first down. [2:45] So that's what you wanted to see. [2:47] I thought our operation for the most part was clean. [2:50] We had a couple times, but we didn't have a delay game. [2:53] We didn't have to use timeouts. [2:55] I thought our guys took that to heart. [2:57] So there was a lot there to like, certainly a lot to clean up, [3:00] and that would be expected from a player that, you know, [3:02] hasn't really had three days with the ones, [3:04] and I thought there was a lot to build on. [3:24] No. [3:25] I mean, I don't see it that way. [3:27] Do I think it'll be then? [3:28] No. [3:30] I just said we hadn't really circled back as an offensive staff. [3:43] No, our routes got disrupted. [3:45] They did a good job with their corners of disrupting us at the line of scrimmage. [3:50] We didn't get to the spots we needed to get to. [3:52] So, sure, Kareeva sat in there a little bit, of course, [3:56] but we got disrupted, and that threw us off a little bit. [4:18] Well, when I took it before the two-minute warning, [4:21] I wanted to process in my own mind. [4:22] It was a third down, if I remember right. [4:24] I thought it was going into a third down, and I wanted to think that bought me [4:28] some extra time to think about what I wanted here as a third down call [4:31] because we certainly needed a touchdown, right? [4:33] I mean, we needed a touchdown there, [4:36] and I was trying to make sure that I got us in the best third down call [4:38] in my mind that we could, and we did end up converting. [4:42] So that's where it got to that. [4:44] It really wasn't that I was trying to drain the time. [4:46] I was just trying without taking the time out. [4:49] I was trying to process what call I wanted to get to. [4:51] But once we got to where it was down to a minute, [4:56] the way they have the overtime rules now with 10 minutes is, [5:01] at that moment in my mind, is we were not going to get the ball back, [5:06] and we were either going to tie or we were going to lose. [5:09] And the way the new kickoff rules are, [5:10] I don't think people take that into consideration. [5:13] Like the ball could end up on the 35 or the 40-yard line with a kick [5:17] or the 30-yard line. [5:18] And with the kickers nowadays that can make 60-yarders, shoot, [5:22] you've got to go 25 yards to kick a field goal to win the game. [5:26] And at that moment, I liked the play that we had. [5:29] We didn't execute to go and win the game. [5:55] Well, that's a great question. [5:56] I wouldn't say it altered it. [5:58] That's a really good question, Darrell. [5:59] Like it didn't alter it. [6:01] I was thrilled. [6:02] I was happy for him. [6:04] Every player wants to go and play and play well. [6:06] And there were moments I didn't coach well enough [6:09] and he didn't play well enough. [6:10] But there were moments at the end of the game where he made plays, right? [6:14] He got it in the players' hands, did a really good job. [6:17] He was in command. [6:18] So I was really pleased for him. [6:20] And I was hopeful he'd play well. [6:21] I thought he had a great week of practice. [6:23] And there is no guarantee that that will carry over. [6:26] So I'm really happy for him. [6:28] And does it give me confidence from what I saw in the fall? [6:32] Sure it does. [6:33] You bet it does, Darrell. [6:33] It gives me more and more confidence at what I saw in the fall [6:38] that there's something to build on, for sure. [7:36] Well, that's, again, between the penalties [7:40] and our detailed execution, our mental stamina play-to-play [7:48] is below the line. [7:53] And it's been Browns hurting Browns. [7:56] And we have survived in games by not turning it over [8:00] and our guys playing their rear ends off and competing at a high, high level [8:05] and finding a way at the end to make plays. [8:08] Where we've been falling below the line is when it comes to elite detail, [8:15] communication, and Browns hurting Browns. [8:18] And that's been from a penalty standpoint. [8:21] That's been from an execution standpoint. [8:23] That's all the above. [8:25] And we're going to fight like hell to fix it. [8:27] And it hasn't been good enough. [8:28] Am I happy with how our guys play, their effort, their physicality, [8:34] their connection, of course, their ability to fight for each other [8:38] and continue down after down, yes. [8:41] But until our discipline and our mental stamina increases, [8:47] we're going to be hurting ourselves. [8:49] And that makes it very difficult to stack plays and stack drives. [8:52] And at times on defense, then it's harder to get off the field. [9:09] Yeah, I think so. [9:10] Saw him today. [9:10] He looked healthy. [9:14] No, I don't think so. [9:15] I did the old method, Jeff. [9:17] I said, how many fingers do I have up? [9:18] And he said, two. [9:19] I said, fine, you're cleared. [9:22] It's a joke. [9:23] It's a joke, Jeff. [9:24] He's out of concussion protocol. [9:25] He's good. [9:26] Yeah, I would just say that on that play, we didn't coach it well enough [9:59] and we didn't execute well enough. [10:00] It's always a we thing. [10:02] But I would say we had no intention of Shadour running a tight zone play [10:07] on third and two or three by himself. [10:09] But we've got to do a better job coaching. [10:11] We've got to do a better job of executing. [10:39] Well, you are what your tape says you are. [10:43] So as much as I preach it, as much as I believe in eliminating, you know, [10:51] blank football, you are what your tape shows. [10:54] And we had six penalties in the first quarter. [10:58] We're number one in the NFL in penalties, but we're like 20th in yards. [11:02] And what does that tell you? [11:03] It tells you that it's all – a number of it's pre-snap. [11:07] A lot of it is undisciplined. [11:09] And it starts with me as the head coach. [11:11] And it's not one phase. [11:15] It's offense. [11:16] It's defense. [11:16] It's special teams. [11:17] We had three of them on special teams. [11:19] And a number of it is our top guys. [11:23] So it's not like it's, oh, this is an outlier. [11:26] But collectively as a team, it's not good enough and it falls directly on me [11:31] and we're going to fight like hell to get it fixed because it's not sustainable. [11:35] You know, the lost yardage plays, the sacks, the penalties, [11:38] the Browns hurting Browns is what's stopping us from really taking a giant step. [12:04] I thought we'd get it. [12:06] I thought it was a great opportunity. [12:09] When we did a different snap count to get us to fourth and two, [12:12] the whole point is to go for it. [12:14] Otherwise, you might as well punt it from where you're at. [12:16] So we did it to get us to within reasonable. [12:19] And we didn't execute the play. [12:22] We. [12:23] And that's all of us collectively. [12:24] We didn't execute the play and didn't give us a chance. [12:27] And that's what happens. [12:29] But from the 40-yard line, I think it was about the 40-yard line, fourth and two, [12:34] chances are I'm going to go for that every time. [12:58] Well, the game went that way. [13:00] You know, when you end up really, we tried to keep it balanced early on. [13:06] And when you're not in rundowns, we're in get back on track a decent amount. [13:11] We're in third downs a decent amount. [13:12] At the end of the game, we're in two-minute to win it. [13:15] Really, even when we got the ball back in overtime, [13:18] you eventually got to where you wanted to throw it to have as much time. [13:21] And that's going to put Dylan in the game because he's our third down back. [13:25] It probably lends itself more that way by the way the game went. [13:29] We did have a number of plays. [13:31] And we did have scenarios we wanted Dylan in there. [13:33] But the more you stay on track, the more you're going to see 10. [13:36] And the more you're not and you're in two-minute, the more you're going to see 22. [13:39] Well, for sure, I think we've got a really resilient group, guys that like to play, [14:13] like to play with each other and for each other. [14:17] So that makes it easy for them to come back to work. [14:20] Like I told them, I said, this was not easy to play six of your first nine games on the road. [14:26] I had Peter look it up. [14:27] That's only happened two other times in the NFL. [14:29] Do I think it will harden us? [14:30] I do in terms of what – and we come out of it five and four. [14:33] Now, you know, before the season, would I have said, man, I'm jacked if we're five and four? [14:38] Yeah. [14:38] Well, it doesn't feel that way when you're five and two. [14:40] I said it to Andrew Barry. [14:41] I said, it's like saying when you're 30, man, would you take being – would you take living to 78 and have a great life? [14:49] And probably a 30- or 35-year-old would say, you bet. [14:51] Well, I don't say that shit when I'm 60. [14:53] You know, I want to live till I'm 85 or 90. [14:56] You know, and that's what we did. [14:57] We don't like it where we're at once we got to five and two. [14:59] But we've earned being five and four. [15:01] We're right there in the mix. [15:03] I do believe our best football is ahead of us. [15:05] And I wanted our guys to know that. [15:06] We made it through a pretty damn hard grind of having six of your first nine on the road. [15:12] We're 3-0 at home. [15:13] Guess what? [15:14] We have the next four at home and a bye week. [15:16] It's all right there in front of us. [15:18] It really is. [15:53] Well, I said that, you know, even all the way back in the spring [15:56] where you could see the improvement, which led to the competition in fall camp [16:01] and made it to where it was a tough decision. [16:04] You know, it came a long way. [16:06] That's a real credit to him and Mike Bajekian and Matt Baker and our offensive staff. [16:11] And Shadur likes playing football. [16:13] He likes the game. [16:14] He's a confident player. [16:16] He's confident in his ability. [16:17] He's gotten better at communicating what he sees, what he likes, right, [16:22] communicating with the players, the message that he carries to the other players, [16:29] that when you start sounding like a coach, right, that's a starting point. [16:33] As a quarterback, are you carrying the message? [16:36] And we're all on the same page. [16:37] And he's come a long way in that regard. [16:40] And you talk about operation, what a great job he did during the game. [16:44] I mean, I'm really happy for him. [16:46] I'm disappointed we lost. [16:47] I mean, there's no way I'm sitting here saying a loss. [16:50] But doesn't every player want to play and give themselves a chance to play well? [16:54] And I'm happy for him. [16:55] And we'll see where it goes from here. [17:20] Yeah, first of all, he's another one that loves to play football [17:22] and always has a smile on his face. [17:25] You can tell, like, the players love him. [17:29] Like, as a guy they want to be around, knows he brings it every day, competes, [17:35] you know, great disposition. [17:37] Like, he's fun to be around. [17:38] I mean, it just – and we got a lot of those guys. [17:40] He's not the only one. [17:41] We got a lot of those guys. [17:42] It's fun to come into work every day and work with. [17:44] And it kills him when he doesn't play well. [17:49] He's got that in him. [17:51] He's got that mentality of, like, I'm going to get it right. [17:55] And that's what you want. [17:56] And we got a lot of those guys. [17:58] These last few. [18:03] Good luck with that. [18:32] Well, yeah. [18:33] So, Joe, that's a great question. [18:35] You only get one, so you can't piggyback off of that, okay? [18:38] But understand this, that with the limited amount of time is the advantage of taking it first [18:46] is if you think you're going to get it again, right? [18:50] That if you believe you're going to get it again, then the advantage falls there. [18:54] If you're not sure of that, then the advantage falls on that you get it second [18:58] because you get to see what you need, right? [19:01] What is necessary in the game? [19:04] So, you're right, and really it balances out. [19:07] I think the numbers basically come out about even, that the teams that take it first [19:11] and the teams that take it second. [19:13] So, it's basically at that point, it's dealer's choice. [19:16] What do you feel like? [19:17] Like, where are you at? [19:18] Where do you feel like you are throughout the game? [19:21] Is it a low-scoring game? [19:22] Do you feel good about your defense? [19:24] Do you feel good about your offense taking it? [19:26] In that moment, I wanted to make sure I knew what we needed. [19:30] And the way it turned out, it turned out that way. [19:33] We knew exactly what we needed, and when we scored with a minute left, [19:35] we went for two and didn't get it. [19:37] And it doesn't always play out that way. [19:39] It didn't play out that we won, but the scenario played out the way that I wanted it to. [19:45] And just like on the fourth and two, when we went with the extra cadence [19:48] to get it from fourth and seven to fourth and two, [19:51] it played out exactly the way I'd hoped. [19:53] We just didn't get it on fourth and two. [19:55] And that's all you can do with the scenarios is hope it plays out the way you wanted it to. [20:00] And then you've got to scheme it better. [20:02] You've got to coach it better and give yourself a chance there at the end. [20:34] Well, some of it was that way. [20:36] Early in the first drive, we had to play targeted for him, [20:39] and we didn't end up going his direction. [20:42] And we should have. [20:43] And there's others where, yeah, we needed him to chip some, right? [20:46] We used a single receiver. [20:48] We used Denzel to chip. [20:49] We used out of one-by-three sets. [20:51] We used, you know, we felt Chase Young, deservedly so, as a game wrecker. [20:56] How are we going to stop him from getting to our quarterback? [20:59] And does it limit your spacing a little bit? [21:00] Of course. [21:02] And so Harold was a part of that. [21:04] And we just didn't find a way to get him involved early. [21:07] Even in four-minute, we had a screen that they kind of sniffed out [21:11] that we didn't want to throw an incompletion [21:12] because we needed to take a sack there. [21:14] There was a situation where we needed the clock to run. [21:17] So it just happened, and we weren't really in two-minute a lot. [21:21] Like in the Titans game, we were in two-minute before halftime [21:24] and at the end of the game, which lends itself to more targets. [21:27] But we certainly know Harold is a weapon, [21:29] and we need to get him involved earlier in the game. [21:46] Well, he's a great football player. [21:48] And if you do this enough and you're self-aware [21:54] and you have expectations of your play, [21:58] you're going to be disappointed when you don't play up to a standard [22:01] you've set for yourself. [22:03] But if you do this enough, you're going to have tough games. [22:07] I mean, you're going against the best in the world. [22:09] You're going to have games where you play. [22:11] And to me, Carson's played about as steady as you're going to get [22:14] at such a high level. [22:15] And every now and then, you're going to have one of those [22:18] where you feel like, I didn't feel that way. [22:21] He felt that way. [22:22] It just says a lot about him. [22:24] And we have a number of guys that are like that. [22:25] He happens to be one of them. [22:26] I say that because we do. [22:28] Where they have a high expectation of their play [22:30] and they're disappointed when it doesn't go that way. [22:33] And at times, the opponent has something to do with that. [22:36] The flow of the game has to do with it. [22:37] But his ability to get around the football, chase the football, [22:42] his instincts to punch the ball out, to make game-changing plays [22:45] is who he is. [22:50] And so it's been fun not only to watch but see him continue to develop. [23:32] Oh, my goodness. [23:33] Way to get me going, Elvis. [23:35] One of the last questions of the day. [23:37] We certainly have to start faster. [23:39] And we've been our own worst enemy. [23:42] Whether it's been penalties or we've had a turnover [23:45] or lost yardage plays. [23:48] But certainly it's not a recipe for success to start the way we have, [23:54] whether we've deferred or whether we've taken the ball. [23:57] So we're fighting like hell. [23:58] We're looking at what we're calling. [24:00] We're looking at what – obviously in the fourth quarter [24:03] it's a little bit different because we're throwing it a ton [24:05] and we're getting it to those playmakers. [24:07] And so you've got to look at that. [24:09] What are our play calls? [24:10] How are we scheming it? [24:12] What are we doing early in the game? [24:13] But certainly it's been on both sides. [24:16] It's been offensively and defensively at times our inability to start the game off fast. [24:23] And certainly we're going to fight like hell to fix it. [24:50] Well, he hadn't really taken any of the reps. [24:54] And I know we did that with Titus the week before. [24:58] But I think it's different with a right tackle. [25:00] That's my opinion. [25:01] In that he got no throws with our skill. [25:05] The only thing he would have gotten was off to the side. [25:08] And the only time he could have taken team reps would have been Saturday. [25:12] And you're playing on the road. [25:14] Going to be loud. [25:15] The high priority was on operation, which I think Shadour did an elite job of. [25:19] We kind of made that decision. [25:21] He wasn't even on the field for the first three days of practice. [25:26] So it was like we just ultimately made that decision. [25:29] And to maybe keep Deshaun out of the fray, you know, should he go in? [25:34] Is he really completely cleared? [25:36] He was cleared. [25:37] But, you know, the bottom line was didn't practice. [25:40] Quarterback had been through concussion. [25:42] And we just felt like the best thing was at that moment without all the reps to go with Dylan as our backup. [25:47] And we just felt like the best thing was at that moment without all the reps to go with Dylan as our backup.