On if he feels good about DB Damarious Randall playing on Sunday:
"I do."
On Randall playing through injury and playing mostly CB last week:
"It matters to him. Football matters to him. His teammates matter to him. Winning mattes to him. He knows that we are a better football team when he is out there playing. He does everything all week to get himself in positon to play. He will go play and play well."
On OL JC Tretter potentially playing on Sunday:
"I feel good about him."
On Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster's improvement in Year 2, including as it relates to teams looking to contain Steelers WR Antonio Brown:
"I think he is good player. I think teams are focused on stopping (Steelers WR) Antonio Brown, and rightfully so. He is one of the best players in the league. I think JuJu has carved out his role on the football team. Year two in his progression. He is doing a really good job."
On the emphasis on Steelers LB T.J. Watt, given his performance Week 1:
"A huge emphasis because he can do it again. We have to make sure that does no happen. He is a really good football player. Plays hard. Obviously, can rush. Plays the run well. They even ask him to drop from time to time. He is an all-around football player. There is no question that we have to know where No. 90 is."
On what Watt warrants:
"He warrants attention."
On if the NFL's trade deadline is in the back of his mind and if he has discussions with General Manager John Dorsey about it:
"Always. John is always searching and looking, trying to improve the football team. Tuesday will show itself as we get closer. We will see what happens."
On WR Breshad Perriman will be able to contribute more following another week of practice:
"Yeah, we hope so. He will have packages again where he is out there. We have to throw it at him and let him go make plays. The one ball that we threw to him last week, he caught it and turned up the field. That is a start."
On how much Perriman's AFC North background helps when playing the Steelers:
"I think it helps. The weather is starting to turn now so I think that he has been through that part of it. He knows the defensive backs that he is facing. From that standpoint, it helps. I think him getting more comfortable with what we do and how we are doing it is what is going to help him the most."
On Steelers DB Joe Haden's performance:
"Good. He looks healthy. He is playing well. He has done a good job. I think that he is the guy that they turn to when they what to shut people down. I think that (Steelers DB) Artie Burns is a fine player, too, but I think Joe is their catalyst back there right now."
On if Haden will shadow WR Jarvis Landry:
"I do not know if they are just going to let him travel that way. We will wait to see. I think that they are going to play their sides like they did last time."
On if he would like to see a system similar to the NBA where the officiating is 'more publicly held accountable', specifically referencing the recent dismissal of an NFL official:
"I hate to see anybody lose their job over things like that. To me, there has to be a way to have everybody be more accountable so that we can make it right. I said it the other day, I just think that if there was an opportunity to review all of those things that are really obvious not borderline, I think maybe we can make a lot of it right. I do not know exactly how to do that, have not thought about it and have not thought through it that way. I am sure that there is a way if we put all of our heads together to figure it out."
On if league officials and coaches could come together in the offseason to propose a new system:
"I hope so. I just think it is too important. I think it is too important to teams, organizations, players coaches and everybody – obviously, officials now, too, where you get it right. I am sure if we all get together, we could figure out a way."
On more reviews adding time to the game:
"Oh yeah. No, I do not disagree, but what is more important? Is it the time and length or is getting it right and making it a game? There are fans that are upset. Everybody is upset. Let's see if we can get it right. That is the way that I feel about it."
On if interruptions in play for reviews bother him:
"No. No."
On minimizing penalties:
"Obviously, fundamentally, we have to do some things better. I told our team that there are some things that we do have to iron out, but there are also some things that we were again unfairly flagged per se and we have to work through those the best we can. That is the difficult part. When you have to stand in front of the team and have them see that this is not what it is, that is hard. They get the holdings. They get the things that they are doing that we are harping on week in and week out. It is the calls that they get a chance to see that are very questionable. That makes it tough."
On Buccaneers Head Coach Dirk Koetter's comments about the helmet-to-helmet hit and mentioning taunting:
"That disappointed me. I did see that."
On if he heard anything related to taunting:
"No. No. To me, the guy should not hit our player in the head first of all. Obviously, our guy got up, and he tossed the ball to the official and obviously the guy was close by, but the bottom line is our guys should not be getting hit in the head. I do not care about some taunting foul. We are talking about our quarterback taking a shot in the head and sliding. I think that is wrong. Totally wrong."
On if he heard one of the flags was potentially for taunting:
"No. No."
On DB Jabrill Peppers establishing more of a rhythm as a returner, despite the fumble last week:
"I think the unit has started to get better. I think he is a huge part of it because he is returning the ball, but in order for him to return the ball that way, there has got to be some blocking. There has to be guys on people. I think we have done that part better and I think he is fitting the ball, hitting it and being very aggressive with the football. I think the unit as a group is starting to turn the corner. We need to continue to get better."
On disappointed in the Koetter comments:
"It is just that. We are talking about a second flag. The biggest thing that happened was the quarterback getting hit in the head. Taunting? Does that really matter? Really? That to me made no sense."
On Browns players recently commenting about officiating:
"I think we handle that inside with us. We can't make our focus about that. We do not get to determine that so we can only control what we can which is playing well, doing our jobs to the best of our ability. We have to let other people handle that because we do not get a chance to – we are not going to reverse calls. We do not get all of the bad calls back, and they change the score. It does not work that way. I think throughout the league, people are trying to do the best they can of alerting everybody what is going on. Let's voice our frustrations behind closed doors, deal with it but let's move on because the key to any victory for us is going to be how we play. It is going to be hopefully not about the flags all of the time."
On fan theories that the Browns are being directly targeted for more penalties and are getting 'shafted':
"I am not going to say that we are getting shafted or anything like that (laughter). I do not want to feel that way. This is the National Football League. Obviously, I think everybody is trying to do their jobs to the best of their ability. I know we have had some very questionable calls that have not gone our way. I do not think I want to even get involved that way, and I do not think players do. We appreciate that our fans see the things that we see, but at the same time, we have to find a way to win those games because that is just what we do. We are out there to play them. We have been in some very close games. We have been in four overtime games out of seven games. That is a lot. We have had some chances to have a better record than we do so our focus is truly going to be on how do we finish games and how do we continue to get better."
On Browns players understanding the magnetite of the game and signs of it during the week:
"I think they are ready to play. I think they understand what is at stake. You guys put it out there pretty clearly. We have not won on the road. We have not won in Pittsburgh. They hear it all. It is no question. We understand that we are in this race. You go win this game, you are way in this race. It is a huge game. It is a tremendous opportunity for us, and it is a huge stage so let's go conquer this. Let's go to Pittsburgh and play the best football game we have played all year and go win the game."
