Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron met with the media for the first time in a couple of weeks, and many of the questions reporters asked had to do with the potential absence of cornerback Joe Haden (who has not practiced all week, including this morning). I've pulled some highlights from Jauron's press conference after the jump. [Read full Jauron press conference here].
(On what kind of blow it would be if Joe Haden can’t play)- "It would be a big blow obviously, there’s no way around that one. Joe has played at a very, very high level so far this year and is a very enthusiastic player. He’s important to us, but like every team in the league, it’s a rough game and people get hurt and they sometimes they can’t go. We will just have to wait and see with Joe."
(On if Dimitri Patterson can just slide into Haden’s spot and get it done)- "Dimitri’s done an outstanding job too and he is a very competitive guy. You never have enough of those guys, you probably never have enough of any kind of guys really. You don’t have enough coverage corners so you don’t want to lose any of them. Again, we will just have to wait and see what happens with Joe and if he can’t go then Dimitri goes out."
(On Patterson saying that there are only a handful of players that can play well both outside and inside on the slot)- "I definitely think he’s got a point. It’s a very different game inside, when you’re playing in the middle of the field on a wide receiver that’s got all that space on both sides and you have to have a feel. Not everybody can do that, not everybody can make that move. Certainly there are a lot of guys that can, by a lot there’s probably 20 or more, maybe 32 who do it pretty well, but it’s not easy. It’s definitely not easy."
(On how Buster Skrine will react getting more playing time if Haden can’t play)- "I think Buster will be a very happy man. Buster likes to play. He’d be certainly disappointed for Joe (Haden), but Buster Skrine likes to play football. I’m really happy with his development. If he’s got to go then he will go out there and fight for you. He’ll play every down as hard as he can play it and he’ll probably cover kicks too and do whatever else you ask him to do. If it goes that way, it will be a great learning experience for him and I think he’ll represent himself well."
(On if it is accurate to say that the Raiders seem to go deep a lot)- "It is, they will definitely take shots at everybody. They have skill people that are not only talented but fast so they can stretch the field and they want to do that. They will take shots."
(On if Scott Fujita is slowing down and if that’s why the tight end got behind him)- "No, I don’t think so. I think first of all that tight end is very talented and very fast, extremely fast. I think I put him in not the best situation on that down and distance."
(On if he blitzed on the Jared Cook touchdown play because the front four was being handled)- "No, it was still at a relatively early part of the game if I remember, it was still in the first half. In the course of that game it became apparent they were not going to hold the ball, even that throw, that was a crossing route, but the ball came out on rhythm. The odds of us getting there were not very good. They did a nice job with the call and the execution and we didn’t. It was just a play in the game, it’s a play in a course of a year. It happens and it kind of just breaks your heart when it does happen. You don’t mind him catching it, you’d like to not seeing it go for 70. They’re going to get some 18-20 yard plays, those things happen, but you’d like to tackle a guy and get him on the ground and snap it again and make them bleed a little before they go the length of the field."