After two very respectable performances by the San Francisco 49ers defense, the team appeared asleep at the wheel again, allowing almost 500 yards of offense by a Cleveland Browns team that has had trouble moving the ball all season. Isaiah Crowell was a wrecking ball, with 20 carries for 145 yards and scoring both of the Browns rushing touchdowns, doubling their total for the season. Johnny Manziel returned to the field and only recorded one run for 15 yards but scrambled plenty completing 21/31 for 270 yards. After the game both Gerald Hodges and NaVorro Bowman talked to the media about the performance of the defense.
We have the transcripts below and you can watch the videos here.
Gerald Hodges
Can you explain what happened out there today?
I think we just started out slow. I feel like we just didn't come out here and hit all keys on our cylinders and things like that. I mean that's the only way we can put it. We just weren't hitting all cylinders all together and when you do that, that's when you find yourself having seams and things like that. We gotta get back in the classroom, fix things up see what's going on and get back out there next week and try to get a us win.
Did you like the team's mentality coming into this week? Did you overlook the Browns?
No. In the NFL you never overlook any team because we all know how hard it is to win in the NFL. I just feel as though we came in a little flat and they took advantage of it. Like I said, we have to get back to work and we'll show guys who the real 49ers are next week.
What stood out were the big plays that the defense gave up. What does that tell you?
Like I said earlier, we weren't clicking and when you're not on all cylinders then that's when you find yourselves having seams and then all it takes is one mistake for them to get a big seam and go. Like I said we gotta get back in that film room and get things dealt with.
On the road this team has come out flat, why does that continue to be a problem?
I'm not quite sure. That's something we all have to dig down as players and coaches and question ourselves, you know, what's the real reason. When we figure that out, we will come together and be a great team but until we figure that out we are going to keep having our bumps and bruises.
NaVorro Bowman
How do you fix the problem of not coming out with energy on the road?
I think it starts with you, as a person. This is your job, you must be prepared, you must be ready, you know the games are coming every single week. The answer to your question is I don't know. I mean, individually, that's an individual thing to come bring your own energy.
Is that the biggest intangible that you've had to deal with this season?
Well everyone is new, you know and you want to install the consistency and understanding that you have to come ready to play every week in the NFL and it's obvious that we don't understand that consistency that you have to have in the league. Until we understand that, we will continue to have these problems.
Is a loss like this personally embarrassing?
It's embarrassing everytime you...It's embarrassing the way we lost. Yeah. It's embarrassing the way we lost because we go to work every single day, we spend all these hours at work, obviously we get the corrections right as the week goes on and for us to not come out here and execute the way we have during the whole week, I don't know the answer to that. We're doing what we're supposed to do and I'll leave it at that.
How do explain the big plays made by the Browns including two runs of 50 yards.
I'm not into pointing fingers after a game. There's 11 guys out there and we have our defensive staff. If something happens, we all have to live with the results and it's our job to get it right. I'm just going to be ready to go into work and correct it and do what the coaches ask me to do.
What do you think about the direction of the team?
I think the team is going in the right direction, I just think we fell short in the games that would possibly get us over the hump, convince everyone that we are going in the right direction. You see it, you see the spark, you see the talent that we have, but every game that we get to where we can get over the hump, we fall short. I think we'll just continue fighting, throughout the season, not let this happen next week, so yeah, you might ask if the team is going in the right direction. Just gotta keep at it and stick together as a team and not point any fingers.
A couple guys said they may have overlooked the 2 win Browns. Did you overlook the Browns?
I'm not going to say that. That's how they felt. I didn't overlook the Browns personally. You never can overlook any team. It's hard to win in the NFL. Johnny came back today for his first game, you know that the team was going to rally around him. We just didn't do the little things right today, one of those things is to keep Johnny in the pocket and I think he completed probably every ball he got out of the pocket or made a play.
About the penalties:
Yeah, you know, it's been going on all season. We can complain all day to the refs and things like that, but their defense is going through the same thing. You can't point the fingers at the refs but you would like to see them held to a certain standard so that everybody would try their best to make the right calls.