On how surprised he is by the past 48 hours:
"You have been in the league as long as I have, you learn that there are no surprises. Obviously, just from my position, you should always stay ready. The Head Coach (Mike Pettine) and the guys made a decision, and you move forward with it. Obviously, things have changed and we will adjust accordingly."
On the mental shift to starting QB when he wasn't in the same position before the bye:
"I said yesterday, the reality is you always are one play away. Definitely, you prepare as the starter, but when you are the guy, there is a different feeling. You just have to get into that mode. You never want to regain a job this way, so to speak. Obviously, you have to serve your team and do the job that the coaches ask you to do. We will move forward and do that. As far as preparation, that doesn't change because you have to be ready because you are always one play away."
On being disappointed in how things played out for QB Duke Johnson Jr.:
"It is not just Johnny, any teammate, if they were to go through that, you would be not disappointed in them, but for them. You don't want to see anyone going through something like that. That is how I feel about it. We are in that room together, and we want the best for people. When they go through something like that, you want the best for them, and when you feel like the best thing is not happening it doesn't give you a good feeling. It is just hard to process."
On the QB room now:
"I'll say this and it is a credit to Johnny: he came to work this morning, and obviously, it is not the best circumstances. He came in, took notes and did everything he was supposed to do. Given everything that has happened, it was the right response. I appreciate that from him. Obviously, it isn't the easiest situation, but we work through it. Like we have said from Day 1, we are together, we are in this thing together and we are in there to help one another. Things are good."
On how exciting it will be to play again, returning from his injury:
"As the game approaches – tomorrow is Thanksgiving, that in and of itself, spending the day appreciating the blessings in life is a good thing. We get to stop and do that. I think that gives you great energy in and of itself. We will move towards the game Monday night. All of those things, we will pull from those things and we have to. I have said this before, turn the lights on and put the stripes on the field, you have to go play and have fun and realize how special it is to get to play this game. That won't change. I feel like we will have good energy and we will go out there and play well."
On what the Browns can do during practice to get the running game going:
"Everybody coming out of this bye and kind of taking inventory of where we are at with things and more attention to details with those things from us as players and doing everything we can to make sure we have exhausted everything to get more out of that because it is certainly something that we want to do. That starts from the practice field and how we prepare and practice those runs and then getting to the game and executing them and calling them and all of those things. Everybody has to have a hand in that in getting that done. I feel like for this last day of practice and today there is a focus on it. There is plan in place to get better so hopefully we can see that come to fruition."
On if playing on Monday Night Football adds to the excitement:
"I think so. Obviously, neither team is having the season that they want, but I think all of us as players have so much respect for the game. When you grow up – it's Monday Night Football and the music and we just appreciate it. I do think, with the different teams I have been on, there is an added energy to it. I would think that would be no different Monday. Understanding the history of this division and these two teams, like we talked about the first time around and what it means to this city, from our end of it, there is a lot of excitement for us players."
On how much it would mean to sweep the season series with Baltimore:
"It would mean a ton from all angles – No. 1 because it is your next game, and you need to win your next game, especially when you are 2-8. For us moving forward and the feeling we need to have in our division, if we want to become the type of team that we have talked about, you have to win these division games. To be able to sweep a team that has played at such a high level in this division for so many years, it would be a very good thing for us just from a confidence level and from where we want to go and things we can hang our hat on."
On his previous performance against the Ravens providing him a boost:
"Absolutely. Anytime you go out and win the game, perform well on both sides and have (K) Travis (Coons) kick a field goal like that, just everybody coming together and doing their part to win that game, I think there is certainly value in that for sure when you see an opponent a second time around."
