Browns 14, Vikings 7
MIKE ZIMMER: It was a good game today. They've got a really good football team. They're stout defensively. They've got a great system that they do offensively in the run game. We made a couple too many mistakes to win the game, but I firmly believe that this is a good football team. We've got -- offensively we can move the ball. Obviously we didn't very well today, and defensively when we're playing good, we're pretty darned good. Special teams, same thing.
We've just got to stick with it, I believe. We've still got a lot of time left, we've just got to get going and got to continue and win some games?
Q. Offensively what did you see today?
MIKE ZIMMER: Well, I thought they did a really good job of pressuring us today. They didn't allow us to get the run game going very well, so that played a part into it, as well.
Q. What kind of adjustments did they make after your opening drive, and are you surprised how much you guys were shut down on offense after you guys' opening drive?
MIKE ZIMMER: Yeah, we moved the ball really well that first drive, went right down the field and scored. The second part of it, they started pressuring a little bit more. Those two No. 1 draft picks were a pain today on our guys. But they did a good job in the run game especially, and that allowed them to rush the passer.
Q. What happened on the extra point with the time-out?
MIKE ZIMMER: Yeah, apparently somebody was in there, and so one of our guys called time-out, which no one should call time-out but me. That was a mistake that we made.
Q. How much of this is fixable of the issues that came up today?
MIKE ZIMMER: Like what issues?
Q. Like the offensive line seemed to get pushed around a little bit, defensive line wasn't able to stop the run.
MIKE ZIMMER: Yeah, number one, I think each game is going to be a little bit different. Did we get pushed around today? Probably. But I'm telling you now, they know how to run the football, and those two backs run hard. I'm not discouraged one bit about the lack of stopping the run. At the end of the day they scored one touchdown against us, and I still believe offensively we can look like we did a week ago, two weeks ago, as well.
Like I told the team, I've been doing this 27 years. I know good teams and I know bad teams, and I know that this team has a chance to be pretty darned good. We may not look like it right now because we're 1-3, but even like Kevin said to me before the game, you've got a really good football team here.
They do, too. They were just a little bit better than us today.
Q. What makes you not discouraged with the run game right now? What do you see that you can build upon there?
MIKE ZIMMER: My experience. I feel fine about it. It'll be fine. You guys worry so much about stats and not about how things look and how things are.
Now, we gave up a 30-yard run on 2nd and 30 in the two-minute drill. I'm disgusted about that, yeah. But for the most part that was a lot of good things that happened today.
Q. With your running game how much was Dalvin's ankle still an issue?
MIKE ZIMMER: I don't think it was an issue. He came out during the game one time a little gimpy, and we took him out for a while, then he said he was good and he went back in.
Q. Kirk was obviously under a lot of pressure, but how do you think he did today?
MIKE ZIMMER: It's hard for me to tell. He's getting whacked quite a few times, so we'll just look at the tape -- they had a couple times we had some maximum protection and I know the tight end got beat a couple times, so we've got to look at that protection when we're doing that.
Q. What happened with Michael Pierce having to leave, and is there any concern about that moving forward?
MIKE ZIMMER: Yeah, I don't know, he's going to get an MRI.
Q. Do you have a prognosis for Bashaud Breeland?
MIKE ZIMMER: He was sick.
Q. Were you able to see how Cameron Dantzler did at all?
MIKE ZIMMER: Not really. I don't know.
Q. With the run game, to double back on that, was it more of an issue with just not opening up holes for Alexander when he got in there?
MIKE ZIMMER: I think we -- typically when you're running the wide zone like we are, typically you start them one way and you get the backside cut off. I don't think we did a good job of getting the back side cut off today.
Q. What was it like coaching against Kevin Stefanski and what was your interaction with him before and after the game?
MIKE ZIMMER: Typical.
Q. What's the number -- you said 17 you look for for your defense to hold a team, and you feel strongly about winning if you keep it at that number?
MIKE ZIMMER: Probably one more than they have, I guess. But I mean, in today's NFL, typically if you hold them to 20 or less, you've probably got a chance to win. It used to be when I first got in the league, it was -- the goal was always 17. But this is a team game. Offense didn't lose this today, and the defense didn't lose the game. We all lost the game.
Q. In that final drive, eight seconds left, the ball is thrown short to Conklin who runs out of bounds and takes like five seconds off the clock. Is that a play where you're --
MIKE ZIMMER: We were just trying to get a little closer to throw the Hail Mary.
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