Todd Monken Press Conference — Week 6 vs Baltimore Ravens

[0:00] All right, what can you say about our guys, man? [0:06] It's been the last five weeks. [0:09] It's been an unbelievable credit to our team, [0:12] especially our defense early on after 10 points, [0:18] shutting them out, and constantly getting us the ball [0:22] back and giving us a chance to win. [0:26] I thought offense responded better in the second half, [0:31] had a couple of drives where we had second shorts [0:33] and not good enough, but for some reason, [0:41] just the way our guys work and the way they believe, [0:45] there's just something about this group [0:46] that makes them special and pretty impressive. [0:52] And we have a lot to work on, and we'll go back to work tomorrow. [0:57] And that was pretty cool, just the way the guys fought [1:01] and to get that big completion at the end, [1:03] because there was a lot of things that weren't clean enough, [1:07] and coaching or playing, but our guys are a scrappy group, [1:14] and they play their rear ends off for 60 minutes, [1:18] and that will always give you a chance to win. [1:22] Kirsten, you know, he's got the ankle injury, [1:28] doesn't practice until Friday, but comes up with, [1:31] not just comes up with the play of the game maybe, [1:34] that strip of Derrick, but, you know, 13 tackles, [1:38] just how much does he sort of epitomize this overall team, [1:42] the grit you've been talking about? [1:45] Well, we had a lot of guys that were fighting to get back. [1:48] You know, you had Quinn Sean, Mason, Derrick Barnett. [1:53] You know, he was hurting and was able to play. [1:56] And I know I'm missing some guys. [1:58] Who else? [2:00] You know, Mike Hall. [2:01] We had a number of guys that were fighting to get back. [2:04] And Carson, what's interesting is early in the week, [2:06] the trainers, they were semi-optimistic, [2:12] but they said, well, it's Carson. [2:14] And every time I'd see Carson and I'd ask him, [2:17] he would get this silly smirk on his face, [2:19] like, do you know who you're talking to? [2:21] Like, you know, if I can go, I'm gonna go. [2:25] And then we worked him out Friday, [2:28] and he was going through the bags, [2:30] and he was like, well, how do I look? [2:31] Like a little kid, you know? [2:34] Of course, what did I say? [2:35] Oh, you look great. [2:36] I've never seen you better. [2:37] That ankle looks like, I mean, a million bucks. [2:41] And you could just tell he was, [2:43] if he could play, he was gonna play. [2:45] And we had a number of those guys [2:48] that tried like heck to get back, [2:50] and they just couldn't. [2:51] And we'll get them back going forward. [2:55] All right, it's division game at all, [2:57] but what does it mean to you to beat the Ravens? [2:59] Means it's a division game. [3:01] I got a ton of respect for that organization, [3:03] and the players, and the coaches from top to bottom. [3:08] And like I said, I owe a lot to Coach Harbaugh for hiring me there. [3:14] Kirby Smart, for three years previously, you know, [3:17] changed my career path in a lot of ways after here. [3:21] And then John took it to another level there of hiring me, [3:24] and I wouldn't have this job without them, without the Ravens, [3:28] and without the players, and the coaches that were with us, [3:31] and the players that Eric DaCosta and those guys have drafted. [3:34] And I saw a lot of them afterwards. [3:36] And, you know, it was a lot better with a win, [3:40] I'll tell you that, seeing them afterwards. [3:42] But I wish them nothing but the best as individually. [3:46] I sure as hell don't want them to win every game. [3:49] That's not it. [3:50] But, you know, I had a good talk with Eric before the game, [3:53] and we both know from afar, we wish each other well. [3:56] There's no ill will there. [3:58] It's a divisional game, and this is all about the players. [4:02] Can I talk about, oh, I'm sorry, I was going to ask you about Andre Schmidt, [4:07] just coming back and making that kick after what happened on the previous kick [4:12] and just how cool was that to see. [4:14] No, I mean, when you think about he misses an extra point against the Jets. [4:22] So I don't know how many kicks in between there. [4:24] What do we have, one field goal? [4:25] I guess we had an extra point, a field goal, an extra point, [4:30] then he had the miss, right? [4:32] So then you get the block, which ends up being like an ice, right? [4:35] So it's like all your rhythm's off, right? [4:37] They jump, they get the block. [4:39] Yeah, we get to move up five yards, but you've got to refocus, right? [4:43] It kind of gets you off a little bit. [4:44] Like, boy, the last one just got blocked. [4:46] I know they jumped, but, man, good for him, good for us, right? [4:53] You know what I mean? [4:54] Talk about when you've got a kicker that's now, right, [4:59] made a couple of game winners and what that means to your team. [5:03] Because whether he makes it or not, it wouldn't have meant we won or lost the game based on that. [5:08] But the way it's looked at from a kicker's perspective, you know, it falls squarely at that moment. [5:14] And that's so cool for him and for our team. [5:18] It's hard to really put into words. [5:21] You talk about that last drive. [5:23] Sean did off the mat, he didn't have the greatest game. [5:26] But again, last drive came through. [5:29] I don't know what to say. [5:31] I really don't know what to say. [5:33] I mean, we go a half feeling like, you know, did we even meet this week coaching? [5:40] I mean, did we just take the week off and show up frickin' today? [5:44] I'm joking. [5:45] But when you put a lot of work into it and you do that, forget the players as coaches. [5:50] You're like, boy, we could have just rolled out the same damn game plan last week and done that. [5:56] And Deshaun, he knows he can play better. [5:58] We can play better around him, but he's just got something in him, you know, [6:03] the ability to make a play when needed. [6:05] We just kind of flatten out, you know, some of the other, you know, ups and downs that we have. [6:11] And it starts with me. [6:13] It starts with our offensive staff. [6:14] And that's going to always be the case. [6:16] It's a we thing, not an individual thing. [6:19] What do you think the biggest difference offensively was first and second half [6:23] where you started to be able to do something? [6:27] If I knew that, we'd have changed it then. [6:29] I mean, we just never seemed to get in a rhythm, whether it was, you know, [6:38] sometimes we weren't running, we ran it a little bit better, you know, [6:41] and then you're trying to get Harold the ball and you run a screen and, well, they play it good. [6:45] Well, then you dump it. [6:46] Well, that's screens are great, but you got nowhere else to go, right? [6:50] So everybody says the screen game, which is, I'm a big believer in it. [6:54] But when there's nowhere else to go with the ball, it guarantees what? [6:57] Frick, you're at second and 10. [6:59] And when you're not running it as well as you like and you're not throwing it as well, [7:03] that's not a great down and distance to be in. [7:06] And we've found ourself in a number of those. [7:09] And either by scheme, by call, by execution, it's always, it's all of the above. [7:16] And, you know, you're going to give them credit. [7:21] Jesse Minter's a hell of a coach. [7:23] And their staff, they have a great staff. [7:25] And they got really good players. [7:27] And when you don't, when you're just a little bit off, you just, you just, [7:31] you don't get any rhythm and you don't get that first, first down. [7:34] And you just don't feel like you're, you've got any of that momentum. [7:38] And we got to look back and like we do every week and look at it and say, [7:41] where do we go from there? [7:42] Because it felt like two weeks in Pittsburgh, we kind of felt we'd gotten a little bit of a rhythm, [7:46] run and pass and what we were doing and, and again, credit to them and their defense. [7:51] They got good players, good coaches. [7:52] And, but did we turn it over today? [7:58] In four games, four of the last five games, [8:00] we haven't turned it over until Deshaun at the end of the game last week. [8:02] So that's what, that's what's winning us games, right? [8:05] I mean, now Pittsburgh, we turned it over a couple of times, but we were, [8:08] we were able to move it offensively. [8:10] So if you're going to scratch and claw your way in these games, you, [8:14] you have to go where you don't turn over because their turnover, right? [8:17] Change the game, right? [8:18] We've had that, right? [8:19] Had a chance two weeks ago for Carson, right? [8:22] To change the game, right? [8:24] And that's, that's what it comes out. [8:25] You just look crossed up the league in terms of what it is. [8:30] Thursday night game with Denver and Seattle, right? [8:32] Three turnovers. [8:33] I mean, it's just keep fighting. [8:36] Don't turn it over. [8:37] See if we can get it right and find a way to win in the fourth quarter. [8:41] And like I said, a huge credit to Rudy, the defensive staff and the players, [8:46] because after the first 10 points, did a heck of a job, really. [8:50] What about just Jerry? [8:52] And, you know, you talked about him sort of accepting a different role. [8:55] I'm sure it takes a level of like swallowing your pride to do that. [8:57] But, you know, what does he mean to this team, to this group, [9:01] that in those moments, he's always coming up with a big surprise? [9:04] I gave him a game ball and he deserves it. [9:10] We're better on offense when Jerry's a part of it. [9:16] And I can certainly do a better job of incorporating him in it. [9:20] And, you know, you can see a difference in his juice in practice and on the field. [9:29] And that credit goes to him, you know, and his decision to, all right, [9:35] this is where it's at, I'm going all in. [9:39] And what I mean by this is where it's at with KC and 12, right, does that make sense? [9:43] Like, okay, this is where it's at. [9:45] And as a man, he said, I'm going to battle and I'm going to fight. [9:52] And I want to be a part of this team and I want to help make plays. [9:55] And it builds confidence for us to continue to play him. [9:58] And he made a bunch of plays. [9:59] He's working every day at catching the ball. [10:01] You can see a difference in that. [10:04] And like I said, we're better on offense when we're able to utilize Jerry [10:11] and what he can bring in terms of his explosiveness. [10:14] Carson's play to punch the ball and kind of change the game. [10:17] You're an offensive guy. [10:18] I think you normally think about sparks coming from skill guys. [10:21] But what's it like to have a linebacker that can spin it like that? [10:25] Gave us a chance last week. [10:27] We just didn't take it from there, right? [10:30] We went three and out and then had the unfortunate deal on the snap. [10:34] But, you know, that's everything. [10:36] Those momentum plays, like, and how about the defense as a whole? [10:41] I don't know what Derrick Henry had on the first drive. [10:43] I think he ended up with 58 yards in 17 attempts. [10:47] He might have had 30 yards on the first drive. [10:50] What do you have? [10:51] You said maybe or you know 38. [10:53] You said it like you knew it, Scott. [10:55] There wasn't a guess. [10:57] You're 17 and 11. [11:00] What's that? [11:01] You're an 11 and a 17. [11:04] Well, that's pretty cool, man. [11:07] To hold that guy to that, I mean, that's where it starts, right? [11:10] Stop their old line in the engine. [11:13] And Derrick Henry is their engine. [11:15] He is the guy that makes it go. [11:16] He was when I was there and he is now. [11:19] And for us to do that and to hold them where they were at, man, it's so cool. [11:28] So cool when you're the head coach. [11:30] Not so much when you're called offense. [11:32] But really cool as the head coach. [11:33] But for our team, you know, for those guys and to keep battling. [11:38] And at times it just takes one or two stops, you know, and we've had that happen to us. [11:46] We haven't started fast on offense, which is an understatement. [11:49] Okay. [11:50] And then defensively, we've given up touchdown drives, right? [11:54] But it hasn't scarred them. [11:56] And it seems to have not scarred our guys on offense. [11:58] Like, I don't know what to say, right? [12:01] Like, let them go score. [12:02] We don't do anything. [12:04] And then all of a sudden we get stops and all of a sudden we figure it out. [12:07] I don't know what to say in a lot of ways other than we got a lot of work to do on the offensive side of the ball. [12:17] And we'll continue to work at it and get better. [12:20] What can you say about the contribution that Jaleel and Audrick made? [12:25] We saw Quinchon try to work out before the game and get back out there. [12:28] What can you say about what those guys did? [12:29] Yeah, he fought to try and get back. [12:31] And, you know, hopefully we'll get Sam back this week and we'll get Q back. [12:35] You know, we're hopeful to get two. [12:36] Heck, we didn't have those guys. [12:38] But J-Mac ran hard. [12:39] Man, he ran hard. [12:40] He ran with a passion and a mission. [12:43] And I thought that's hard on Audrick. [12:44] The guy just showed up this week. [12:46] Hell, I remember just like it was yesterday, like putting up, hey, welcome to new additions. [12:53] Usually you're not counting on them playing. [12:56] They're going to practice squad and hanging out and giving some reps. [12:58] And all of a sudden, oh, no, you're in the show, man. [13:00] Let's go. [13:01] And you get a touchdown. [13:02] How cool is that for him, right? [13:04] Like whenever he's on a practice squad in Minnesota, we call you up. [13:08] And all of a sudden, you're scoring touchdowns. [13:10] I mean, you talk about it's almost as cool being the head coach of the Browns. [13:13] I mean, maybe not even close probably, but it's almost as cool as that. [13:17] I mean, is it any better than this, I mean, to work your whole life and have wins like that? [13:22] I mean, none like that locker room. [13:24] But I know it turned into me. [13:26] I'm not wired that way to turn it about me. [13:28] Because it's really about those guys and next man up. [13:32] And we just, I'm really, really proud of the guys and the way they battle and their toughness. [13:40] And now it's time to, I'm going to enjoy tonight. [13:45] And that's what you have to do in the NFL is these are the nights that you don't ever want to end. [13:51] Because you know tomorrow it's on to the next game. [13:55] And so I sit there, I know it sounds really goofy, but you sit there in bed and you don't want the night to end. [14:01] It's 1030 and you're tired as hell and you want to be up another 15, 20, 30 minutes to enjoy it. [14:07] Because you know tomorrow I've got to look at the offensive tape. [14:11] And then you've got to move on to the next game. [14:14] And you know, until we get things squared away and move in this direction offensively, [14:21] every game is going to be a scratch and claw like this. [14:24] And I love that type of game with the guys we have. [14:27] We're wired for that. [14:28] Our guys are wired for that. [14:31] I prefer the other, but more wired for that. [14:35] And man, so cool. [14:37] Last one here. [14:38] Given what you just said about, you know, the offensive struggles. [14:41] How do you feel about being four and two in the top, the AFC North, despite not playing your best football? [14:46] Well, I think our defense is playing really good. [14:50] I told that, but we haven't played our best football in offense. [14:54] And we've had moments on special teams where we've let some things slip. [14:59] I love the way our guys play. [15:01] Like, we got the right guys. [15:03] But we just, we do too many things on the offensive side of the ball that hurts us. [15:10] That doesn't allow us to stack plays. [15:13] Coaching and playing, collectively. [15:15] Who we're going to be, what we have, what they do best. [15:19] Which is still, we're under construction, man. [15:22] All you have to do is look at some map where you got all these damn signs and stop. [15:27] And there's a Tonka truck and there's a digging up dirt. [15:30] And there's a building and you're like, okay, how do we manage this? [15:33] And get ourselves to where we want to be at the end of that path. [15:38] And that's what I love about our guys. [15:41] Because it wouldn't matter if it's one side or the other. [15:43] Because after the Jacksonville game, our defense, you're working to fix it. [15:47] And so that's what I love about our guys is they love that path. [15:52] They love everything that goes into that path. [15:55] And then you have a chance. [15:57] If you have the coaches and the players that realize where we're at, there's no blame here. [16:03] There's owning it and fighting like hell to fix it. [16:05] And when you have that, you've got a special group. [16:08] Now we just got to clean some stuff up, starting with me. [16:11] Starting with me. [16:12] Starting with me.