FLOWERY BRANCH – Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine, who's set to face the Atlanta Falcons at 1p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome, spoke to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.
He started his NFL coaching career as a video assistant with the Baltimore Ravens back in 2002 when Falcons coach Mike Smith was the linebackers coach and Mike Nolan was the defensive coordinator.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
In his first season at the helm, Pettine has the Browns off to a 6-4 start.
Here’s what he had to say:
Q: What kind of boost do you expect from wide receiver Josh Gordon’s return for his 10-game drug suspension?
A: Anytime that you have available to you a guy that's a Pro Bowl talent it can be very helpful. (Wednesday) was just his first day back. He's been in the building but hasn't been around kind of due the rules and the circumstances of his suspension. ….We'll have a progression for him and we'll see where he is as we approach the weekend.
Q: Any idea of how you long expect it to take for him to get in football shape?
A: That's tough. You can run, do a lot of that and be in good shape and have an overall level of fitness that's very high, but at the same time football shape is very different. It's near impossible to simulate the contact part of it. It's been 10 regular season games. It was the fourth preseason game that he also missed. It's been over 80 days so that is our concern; not to rush him back too quickly.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Q: How has cornerback Buster Skrine (Etowah High and Chattanooga) been playing for you?
A: Buster is one of my favorite guys. We have our saying 'Play like a Brown.' We want guys that are tough, competitive, passionate and productive. He embodies all of that. He shows up and practices his tail off every day. He's just a guy who has a great mentality about the game. Sometimes it's very difficult as a corner, especially the corner opposite of Joe Haden where you're going to get a lot of footballs thrown your way. Buster has been a big part of the success that we've had in the secondary. We are very fortunate to have him there.
Q: How has Isiah Crowell (Ex-Georgia, Alabama State) evolved in your running back situation?
A: Crow is a really a big surprise for us. We were very fortunate to be able to get him after the draft. I thought that Ray Farmer, the (general manager), had identified him and did a heck of a job of getting him here on campus. Then he was a guy when we first got him we saw the explosive ability. We saw the vision and the power. Then he got dinged up in the spring. We really didn't have a great sense of where he was from a fitting into a NFL style offense. Then when we got him in training camp, he was solid with that. Then it was one of those things where we thought we'd have to get him on the practice squad for a year or be the 53rd guy on the roster and essentially red-shirt him. Then he had a big game in the fourth preseason game. He kind of had a breakout game against the Bears. He rushed for over 100 yards. Then it just really started to click with him. We ended using him in the Pittsburgh game and he scored two touchdowns. We are really pleased with where he is and we're looking for much more of the same.
Q: How big of a loss is Jabaal Sheard and what are you all expecting from Barkevious Mingo?
A: Ming is going to need to step it up. His rep counts will go up for sure along with Eric Martin, who's another of our outside backers who's been primarily a special teamer. Those guys will have to shoulder some of that load with Sheard being out. That's a big loss because Jabaal was starting to play well the last couple of weeks. The last two games were his two best games of the year.
Q: Are you pleased with your balance?
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
A: That's our formula for being successful. I think it starts with the run. I feel like we have one of the better offensive lines in the league. Losing (center) Alex Mack was a big blow. But I think we've been able to start to regain some of that chemistry and continuity up front. When you can run the ball well, that sets up everything else. It sets up the play-action game. It keeps your third downs manageable. It keeps your defense off the field. I think all of those things make it very important for us to be able to run the football. That's been one of the keys to our success. I think defensively, we've been improving. We have to overcome some injuries this week with (Karlos) Dansby out and Sheard out. But that's life in the NFL. It's next man up and we have to be ready to come down there and play.
Q: How has Brian Hoyer handled the situation with Johnny Manziel being around?
A: It was tough on him early when we came out for training camp. We kind of had all of the excitement surrounding Manziel and here was Brian getting his first real repetitions coming off a season-ending knee injury. He'd spent the entire offseason rehabbing that (knee). Then you put on top of that he's essentially the front runner for the quarterback position in his hometown. . . .It was a lot for him to deal with.
Q: What do you see when you look at the Falcons, who are in first place in their division?
A: That's the craziness of the NFL. You look at our division where we are 6-4 and we're in last place. The Falcons have four wins and they are in first place. That's typical though. That's the way the league is built. I've played games in the Dome before. I know that it's very difficult place for an opponent to come into. We're expecting a very hostile environment. For me, it's all about being there at the end. It doesn't matter how your season starts. If you can win your division, you can get in. I think it's a credit to the perseverance of the coaching staff and I'm sure that's permeated the roster. I got a chance to work with Mike Smith in Baltimore in my first NFL job. Mike Nolan was the (defensive) coordinator and Mike Smith was the linebackers coach. I'm very familiar with those guys and can't say enough about them. They've been very instrumental in my development as a coach. I consider them very good friends and I look forward to competing against them.
Q: What do you see when you look at the Falcons offense?
A: They have some explosive athletes. I think they do a good job of getting the ball to them in space. Steven Jackson is playing well, but I think it's kind of a three-headed monster at running back. They have three guys that all have different skill sets. It's a scary group to look at on paper. We're going to have to play our best game defensively. I think that we're going to have to do our best job tackling. …It's a huge challenge for us.
FALCONS FAN MAILBAG: We take your questions from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
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