CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders took questions from reporters on Wednesday with regard to learning from Week 15, preparing for the Buffalo Bills, and more.
Below is the transcript as provided by the Browns media relations department:
What did you see looking back in the film of the game against Chicago?
“I just gotta play better. Yeah. I just cannot make those costly turnovers, you know, and have the expectation to win.”
How do you avoid the desire to maybe try to press and get back in the game when you guys fall behind? Can you do anything to not do that?
“Just remain staying focused.”
Shedeur, on the second deep ball to Isaiah (Bond), it looked like when he was motioning, you kind of said something to him. Did you change his route at that moment or…?
“You funny, bro. You funny.”
I mean like as a whole, just like, like, how confident are you? What is that process? Like, seeing stuff on the field and making those checks and just being able to, you know, communicate and make changes on the field. What’s that process been like?
“Yeah, no, it’s exciting knowing that the mental side and the progress is there. Being able to see what they’re doing and have a understanding, you know, and mismatches and trying to get to those, you know, earlier on.”
Are team’s baiting you into making mistakes because you’re a rookie or when you look at the film, do you see anything like that?
“I think people do that to all quarterbacks. I think that’s what defense is.”
Are you finding a personal balance between building off of the things that you’re succeeding in and some of those deep passes that make you feel a little confident? And then also looking at the film and doing what you said, trying to play better.
“I just got to get more completions. You know, I gotta get more completions. And even whenever we’re down or anything, I can’t press, you know, I just gotta remain having those mental notes to myself. Just work within the game and just keep just driving the ball, get first downs.”
What do you think the difference is? You were the best at completing passes at Colorado, 70% plus. Is it just the difference in competition here? And defense is more sophisticated. What do you account for your completion percentage?
“I think I got to complete the ball more, honestly. I mean, there’s no excuse when it comes to that.”
Shedeur, when you talk about building trust with the guys, is that an area where it can go kind of up and down through a season where one week feels better, like you guys are on the same page, but it could dip the next week? Like, is it always going to be a work in progress?
“No, it’s not always gonna be a work in progress. It’s relationships. All relationships ain’t always the best, you know, but you still stick together through everything. So just because one week, you know, we’re well-connected, and then next week, we’re a bit off, that don’t mean that we didn’t have progress. You know, it’s a lot of things in that game that there’s positive things that we could take from that, you know, when it comes to trust, when it comes to different things, learning abilities and just different things that different tasks take forward, like when the game happens. So, every moment, you know, every rep, everything is extremely important on building our connections.”
What’s the great equalizer for teams when they bring the pressure? It seems to be like, that’s the game plan defensively against you. Like, last week, Chicago, I think, came in, like, pressure, maybe 30% at the time, and they dialed it up for you. So, like, as a quarterback, how do you neutralize that?
“Well, I’m just excited that I’m able to get everybody’s best, you know, I’m excited about that. You know, that makes me feel proud, you know, that I have that. You know, I’m just getting in the league and my feet settled and everything. So, I get excited knowing I’m able to face those challenges, because you got to understand, this year right here, it’s the worst it’s gonna be. You know what I’m saying? So, it’s like, this, the foundation. This is where I’m building from. This is where I’m understanding different things. This where everything’s translating for me. So I’m excited about it. You know, I’m extremely excited about it, because I know. I know we’re gonna get them. I know we’re gonna get them eventually.”
How about Josh Allen? Is Josh Allen somebody that you have admired over the years, what do you like about his game, and what are some things about his game that maybe you have tried to emulate?
“Yeah, Josh Allen, he’s a great player. He’s really good.”
Shedeur, what would be a satisfactory completion percentage for you in the NFL?
“I mean, you can’t. I’m not really looking at the numbers. I’m looking at the wins, you know, so that achieves everything. You know, I talked to Jameis (Winston), like, a couple weeks ago, and then he went crazy. He threw for some crazy yards, but he was like, ‘Nah, bro. Like, the most important thing is the wins.’ And you know, having that guidance, having that knowledge, you know, from a vet like him, it truly, like, helped me understand, you know, a little bit more. I always knew, of course, winning and that’s the final goal, that’s what everybody’s in this league to do. So, you just gotta focus on that. And the more plays you stack, the more completions you rack up, the better chance you have at winning. So, have I been playing winning football lately? Nah, I don’t think so. But it’s something I have self-evaluated and applied to my game.”
How do you know Jameis?
“I just know him.”
What do you guys connect over? How do you relate to each other?
“We both people. Jameis not here right now, so I don’t think it’s respectful, you know, to speak on his behalf in a locker room full of other great teammates and other quarterbacks that’s here, you know, that’s helped give me wisdom also. But that’s just a person. That’s just a thing that triggered me to just speak his name because that was a conversation we had at one point.”
Shedeur, you talk about progress, and you’re hard on yourself for those interceptions. But what progress did you make in that game last week?
“Kept playing, kept playing. That’s progress. Of course, it’s not the result we want to do. And I definitely take that to heart because I understand when I play winning football and when I don’t. So, it’s kind of like understanding that, evaluating that and just moving forward.”
We talked to Jerry (Jeudy) about teams showing you certain looks at the line of scrimmage, simulating a blitz and dropping into coverage. You always talk about your self-evaluation and trying to get better each week. How do you feel like you’ve gotten better at diagnosing some of those things and recognizing some of those things pre-snap?
“I think as weeks go on – I mean, you gotta understand I’m comfortable under pressure. We just gotta all be together. Like, my whole career I played under pressure – externally, on the field, off the field. Like that stuff doesn’t faze me, you get what I’m saying? It’s just the only thing is, we just gotta be able to make it translate. We all gotta be on one accord, we all gotta be more of a team when it comes to that. So, like, it’s just work in progress, and I’m excited about that.”
What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed between college defense and NFL defense so far?
“It’s more structured. Structured as in its more organized.”
How have you adjusted to that?
“Great. I mean, I recognize, I see what they’re doing. Each and every rep is helping, is very helpful. It’s knowing what exactly I’m looking at pre snap. But a lot of that comes with trial and error. That comes with getting reps, that comes with practicing, playing. Like, that’s what it comes with. You know, mine just so happened to be in the game, so it’s cool and I’m excited about it. But that’s just each and every week, each and every day I feel like I get better.”
Kevin (Stefanski) said that Cedric (Tillman) should be able to play more than the seven snaps that he played last week. So how much might it help you guys to have Ced out there?
“Ced’s a great player for sure. But whoever’s on the field, on the field, whoever’s not, not. Like, I just focus on my job and what I got to do, and I know they going to do their job and what they got to do. So, I’m excited that he’s back, I’m excited a lot of people are back this week, but I just gotta focus on completing the ball.”
I know you take it one week at a time. But what are some of the things that you’re looking to leave on tape as the season wraps up?
“Wins. Yeah, that’s the main thing, that’s the thing that excites us all, at the chance that we get to go out there and play football.”
Jerry was just talking about your ability to throw the deep ball and what that does for the offense and opens things up. How much pride do you take in the ability to throw an accurate deep ball like we saw on Sunday?
“I just feel like it’s just a throw. I try to anytime we throwing the ball any distance, I want to complete it, and those been getting completed lately. But that don’t mean that I stopped working, I stopped doing everything just because we have some type of success with it. But you gotta better well rounded, all the way around. We can’t just be a deep ball thrower, we gotta be able to complete stuff when it’s not there, when the deep ball not there. So, that’s what I’m trying to get better with in my game.”
Is that other stuff tougher for you?
“No, it’s not. That stuff requires more like same page. Deep balls is more like…you can anticipate a little more, because you know the area around where they’re gonna be, the margin of error you have for them in those reps. It’s easier, but you just gotta always be on the same page and you always gotta, like…for example, and what game was it? It was the Tennessee game. Like, the dialogue me and Jerry have, the dialogue me and all the receivers have when it’s a different type of game. ‘Hey, get your eyes around a little quicker, we’re gonna have to get to these spots a little faster,’ because I may be there, but then it may have not developed fully yet. But then it’s just playing on the same time, like thinking the same thing. So, all that stuff comes with understanding each other, and that’s just a tough thing. It’s just a tough thing we dealt with.”
Shedeur, the Bills have one of the better pass defenses in the NFL, one of the worst rush defenses in the NFL. How beneficial would it be for both you and the offense if that run game could get going this week against Buffalo?
“Yeah, whatever’s called, called. Run, pass, anything, speed option, I’m ready for it. So, whatever it takes to win, I’m excited for it. And like, having those challenges, going against the Bears, going against all these great teams, like, I’m excited for it. I never ducked challenges and I’m thankful for it because I’m able to see, I’m able to see everything.”
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