Sweat poured off Joe Haden's forehead as he sat on a bench after Friday's practice.
Clearly, it was another busy day at the office for a Cleveland Browns team that wants to eliminate the memories of last week's season-opening loss with a redemptive performance Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
Haden fielded 12 of our questions before hitting the showers.
CB.com: You promised a "crazy week" of practice after last week's loss. How'd it go?
Haden: Just a lot of dudes wanting to prove themselves. They had a bad taste in their mouth from last week and was just hungry and ready to get out here. I think we had a really, really good week of practice. People were attentive and just paying attention to details and are just ready to get out there and play.
CB.com: What made the game so tough to stomach for the secondary?
Haden: Just because we didn't go out and perform the way we wanted to. We feel like our secondary is a strong part of the defense, myself included. I didn't play nowhere near to where I needed to be able to play. I wanted to get back out here and practice hard and just maintain my focus and look ahead to the weekend.
CB.com: How was the overall team's response?
Haden: I think everybody responded the same. Everybody feels like they definitely didn't play up to their ability. They still have a bad taste in their mouths. The offense felt the same way the defense did, so they came out and worked their butt off this week also.
CB.com: What will be the key to stopping Marcus Mariota and the Titans offense?
Haden: They get the ball out fast. Mariota is a good quarterback, a young dude. He gets the ball out of his hands really fast and he has capable weapons. When they get the ball in their hands, he allows them to make plays. We just need to make sure we're locked into our keys and at the end of the day, we have people covered up, he can take off with his feet. Just making sure the D-line doesn't do run-bys and we try to take up his running lanes.
CB.com: Is he tough to evaluate because he's in a new system?
Haden: It is a little tough but that's where you just lock in and a lot of stuff you don't really know, as long as you know your technique and your scheme, you should be fine.
CB.com: What kind of threat is Titans wide receiver Kendall Wright?
Haden: I think he's a very capable receiver. When he gets the ball in his hands, he makes people miss. He's a scrappy guy, has really good runs after the catch. I think with him, they try to get the ball in their playmakers' hands fast, throw a lot of screens to him, a lot of quick passes where he can run after the catch. You just have to make sure you stay locked in and make sure you have people paying attention to him at all times.
CB.com: You've been one of Johnny Manziel's biggest supporters over the past year. What have you seen from him this week as he prepares to start?
Haden: He's locked in definitely. He's getting a lot more repetitions. He's getting the reps with the 1's and that's the only way you can get your rhythm and get your feel. He's practicing really well this week. He was locked in and they were communicating. He was doing pretty good from what I could tell. He looks ready.
CB.com: How important is it to get a fast start on a team that dominated from start to finish last week?
Haden: It's always the best thing. We've got to come out with the energy and passion and get a couple of stops. Get some first downs on offense, get stops on third down on defense. We just basically got to come out with energy and get it started as fast as possible.
CB.com: How much of a homefield advantage is it?
Haden: It's an amazing homefield advantage. They get really loud in the Dawg Pound. We feed off it, offense and defense. The louder they get on third down, the harder it is for them to make their audibles and things like that. They do a really good job of throwing off opposing quarterbacks.
CB.com: After three straight games away from FirstEnergy Stadium, is it good to simply be at home instead of traveling this weekend?
Haden: That's cool. Just being able to play at home. A lot more comfortable. You have a routine you pull off a lot easier when you're at home.
CB.com: How do you feel about the team's overall aspirations after last week's loss?
Haden: That's why I say you always get an overreaction so you don't ever want to get too high or too low. You know how it is out here in Cleveland. You lose one game and you feel like you put away the whole season. As far as we go inside the locker room, we know that we slipped up. We lost the opportunity. We're just ready to get back out there and play better and get some W's.
CB.com: Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said the mentality has to be that this week's game is the most important because it's this week. Has that feeling been expressed in the locker room?
Haden: Exactly. You don't want to turn one loss into two losses. We know we've already put that one behind us and we've moved forward and want to get this W under our belt.
