BROWNS CONFERENCE CALLS
DECEMBER 5, 2006

 

HEAD COACH ROMEO CRENNEL

Bill Cowher's not a fan of these short weeks. How about you?

 

I'm not either. It makes it a little tough to get things done, to get guys healed up to be able to play on Thursday. You have to cram too much into basically a day.

 

Did you get the MRI results on Charlie Frye?

 

There are no breaks. He has a bone bruise and a sore. We're going to put him into a splint today and rest him. The doctor will look at him tomorrow and we'll make a determination then.

 

So you won't tell the Pittsburgh people what the decision will be?

 

I'll tell you what I told our people. I told our people that if Charlie cannot play then Derek Anderson will be the starter.

 

Would you be more readily apt to go with a backup if it weren't the QB position?

 

Some people would say quarterback is different. It might depend on the experience of the player. The more time a guy has been in the league, the more that he's seen, he might be able to handle it easier than a younger guy.

 

What did Anderson do because that was an impressive performance to come from behind?

 

Definitely it was. I'll tell you what, I think it surprised everybody the way he was able to go out and run that team. We saw him in the preseason and he was able to move the team in the preseason. But in the preseason you have backups in the game. The defenses are basic because they're evaluating players. He was able to move them in the preseason. For him to go into a game like we had against a good football team, being down by two touchdowns, rallying the team, being able to get two scores on the board to get into overtime, then engineering the drive in overtime to get the field goal so that we can win, says a lot about the guy's composure and his ability to run the team after sitting on the sideline for most of the season.

 

That was the opposite of what happened against the Steelers?

 

That's right, exactly the opposite. Last year in your place, Ben (Roethlisberger) was hurt and your backup quarterback (Charlie Batch) engineered the drive to get you ahead and we couldn't catch up.

 

Is it a big boost to come from behind?

 

Definitely, a boost that I think we needed. This team needed it because of the way the season was going. Then being at home and doing it at home helps also because when you lose nobody is happy. They start throwing darts and all those good things. To be able to win a game like that, it helps tremendously.

  

It looked like there was some turmoil on the team. How did you quell that?

 

I've been in this league for a little bit and I've seen some things. I just had to pull on a little bit of that wisdom. We're dealing with young kids here. They don't know what they don't know. You have to try to educate them, coach them up, tell them what's important, teach them how to be a professional, then we have a chance to move forward. If the behavior continues, we'll have to take harsher measures and make more of an impact or impression on the player.

 

Outside of the QBs, are you getting healthier?

 

Leigh (Bodden) was able to come and play. That will help us on the backend because it's one area we've struggled all year with. This time of the year there are a lot of guys beat up and banged up. Orpheus Roye is doubtful and he's a pretty good player for us. We have some other guys with nicks and bruises, just like you guys have.

 

What did you take out of the last time you played the Steelers?

 

That they were able to come back and win. Ben went to that no-huddle, and Ben was probably the guy that was the most impressive because he was making all kinds of plays to move that team. There were several times that we had our hands on him but we couldn't get him down. If we just get him down one time it might win the game for us. But we couldn't get him down. He was able to execute and make plays and win the game for his team. That showed a lot of leadership ability on his part.

 

Was there a play where one of your players pulled up to not take a roughing penalty? It looked like that same scenario worked for you last week with Anderson running down the sideline?

 

I don't think that it was quite the same situation. They thought Anderson was going to run out of bounds and he was able to spin back in. When Nick Eason, in our situation with the Pittsburgh game, he thought that Ben threw the ball. Ben went with a follow through but Ben held onto the ball. He thought the ball was thrown. He said if I take him down and the ball is thrown then I'm going to get a penalty. So he pulled up but Ben still had the ball and was able to throw it away. So instead of second-and-20, it ends up being second-and-10, which that 10 yards made a big difference in that game.

 

Is your approach to take it week-by-week?

 

That's the only approach that you can take when you've only won four games. We're just trying to win one. If you can win one, then try to win another one. It doesn't do you any good to look down the road, or look back and cry about the spilled milk. Let's look at the game at hand and play the best you can this week.

 

Did it mean anything to you getting that vote of confidence from the owner?

 

I've been in this business a long time. I appreciated that vote of confidence but we all know that if you don't win games, that confidence goes down the drain pretty quick. The rest of the season will be important.

 

Some times the votes of confidence can be kisses of death too, right?

 

I've seen that before too.

 

 

TIGHT END KELLEN WINSLOW

 

Do you feel better about yourself after that win on Sunday?

 

Real good, we needed to get a win. Find a way to get a win and we did that.

 

What was the difference in the game? Was it the new quarterback?

 

No, I don't think it was that. We knew it was going to be a close game. We just didn't quit. This team never quits. That's what this teams all about, fighting to the end.

 

Did the Chiefs do something to take you out of the game?

 

Yeah, every week they try to. They doubled me a couple of times. They ran some zone blitzes and tried to jam me up a little bit. I only had two balls thrown my way. Sometimes it's going to be like that. Sometimes I'm going to be a decoy and get other people open. That's fine with me as long as we win. I'm cool with that.

 

Can you talk about Derek Anderson? All we know is his 17-shoe size.

 

He does have some big feet. He's a good guy. He's a leader on the team. He came in upbeat and was ready to go like he was the starter.

 

He's seems pretty mobile?

 

I think he was just running for his life. I don't think he's that mobile of a guy. He did a good job on that one run, but that was just wanting it more than they did. He's more of a pocket-passer type so we're going to have to do a good job of protecting.

 

Have you gotten a whole lot of work with Anderson in practice?

 

No, we haven't but I'm sure it will come in the game as the game progresses. He knows where to throw the ball. Read the defense and whatever's open, throw it.

 

Is it tough when the quarterback is uncertain?

 

It is difficult. I'm not going to lie. Whoever is in there can lead this team to victory so we're not too worried about it.

 

What was the difference with the Steelers in the last game? How did the game change?

 

I think the difference was that we went three-and-out and they had the ball for 75 percent of the fourth quarter. We couldn't get anything done. We couldn't hold them on defense. They made more plays than we did in the fourth quarter. Not this time. We're gong to finish them out. Hopefully, we can do that.

 

What do you think about the Steelers?

 

Great defense. I respect them. They have all-stars on defense and good players on offense. They're going to bring pressure. They do a good job of zone pressure, zone scheming. I'm sure they're going to come after us. We have young quarterbacks in Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson. I wouldn't blame them. They do a good job and that's why they're the defending champs.

 

Do you have fun with a guy that talks like Joey Porter?

 

Oh yeah, I love it. It makes me play better and, vice versa, it makes Porter play better. That's just being competitive and making it fun. That's how the game is supposed to be.

 

Don't you feel like laughing at Joey sometimes?

 

Yeah, he's hilarious out there. He's a character. He's a great player so it's fun playing against him.

 

Do you need that to keep you motivated?

 

I don't need that but I have fun when it happens.

 

Who should be the next coach at Miami (Fla.)?

 

It should be (Larry) Coker but things happen when you lose. We dropped off a little bit but we'll be back and everything will be okay.

 

Do you have confidence in Anderson?

 

Yeah, a lot of confidence. Especially since he came in and dominated the game. We're proud of him. He came in upbeat and we didn't lose a step at all. He's going to be fine.

 

How is he different from Frye, is he more mobile?

 

He has a stronger arm than Charlie but he's not elusive at all. Charlie is like Michael Vick. (Anderson has) a good strong arm and he uses that to his advantage.