Cleveland Browns head coach Pat Shurmur met with the local media on Wednesday and was asked 14 questions about Colt McCoy, much of which netted the same type of answers we've been accustomed to. I did not highlight those responses after the jump, but I did highlight some good nuggets about the playing time of Carlton Mitchell and Montario Hardesty, how right tackle Tony Pashos is doing, and whether his team will retaliate against linebacker James Harrison. [Read full press conference transcript here]
(On some sacks this season coming from the right side of the offensive line and Tony Pashos’ pass protection)- "Tony has fought through this season. He’s had some injuries he’s fought through. I think Tony has battled hard this year and we played each week against some guys that are pretty fine pass rushers. I wouldn’t say we’re getting more pressure at the right tackle spot than we are other places. There’s times our right side or their left side gets the sack, but it could be because there was pressure someplace else. I appreciate Tony. He’s very tough. He has to miss some time during the week so we can keep him going. When he plays on Sunday, he’s a very tough and a very physical guy. He’s fighting."
(On if parts of Carlton Mitchell’s game have taken long to develop than expected)- "I don’t know. He’s a player I’m getting to know a lot better. He had an injury during training camp and missed some very valuable time because he would’ve gotten a lot of snaps in the preseason. That’s where a guy that’s a role player trying to make the team gets a lot of work. I think if you ask him he’d probably say that maybe set him back a little bit. Through the practices, he runs fast, he’s a big target and he had an opportunity to play last week. He caught two and dropped one."
(On Montario Hardesty being active and not playing for the second week in a row)- "Peyton (Hillis) was going real well and we spelled him a little bit with Chris Ogbonnaya. There’s nothing to that."
(On if Hardesty’s calf is keeping him from playing)- "He’s still coming back. He’s not 100 percent, but if we put him in the game I’m sure he’ll do well."
(On if he would like to see his team retaliate to guys like James Harrison)- "Do you mean start a fight? A bench clearing brawl? No, what I want my guys to do is play fast and physical from the snap until the whistle. That’s what I want my guys to do. We’ve seen around the league and we know that when you do stuff that’s beyond the whistle and you do things that get outside yourself, you end up hurting the team. I don’t think we want that. Take care of your business between the snap and the whistle."
(On if there is a way to retaliate legally)- "You get after them based on how you play the game, based on the rules of the game. If you’re assigned to block a certain player, you block that player. If you’re assigned to tackle a certain player, you tackle him. If you’re designed to defeat a block, you defeat the block and go get the ball carrier. If you’re designed to cover somebody, you cover that guy. If the ball goes your way you either pick it off or break it up. That’s what we do. I think that’s how you handle it. I think I understand where you guys are going with this, but I think it’s very important you play fast and physical within the rules."