Included below are select quotes from interviews with the following Browns players during today's media availability:
- DB Ibraheim Campbell & Jordan Poyer
- LB Emmanuel Ogbah
DB Ibraheim Campbell & Jordan Poyer:
On the Browns finishing OTAs today:
Poyer: "I love the game so any time I get to go out on the field and compete, it is always exciting. With this last OTA coming to an end and mandatory minicamp next week, I'm excited for another opportunity to step out onto the football field before the season really starts in seven, eight weeks. We talked about it today, it is kind of like getting that one last one degree, getting better next week with the three practices that we have and I believe that is what we are going to do."
Campbell:"You cherish every opportunity that you have to step on this field and play this game. It was a decision that (Head) Coach (Hue Jackson) made for the betterment of the team. Guys maybe needed some time off or whatever it may be, but we are going to take advantage of the time we do have on the field. We have three more practices so we are going to attack those with everything that we have."
On putting their own stamp on the secondary and safety position:
Campbell: "We realize that this is a new team so we have to take ownership of it as a safety group and as a DB group. We are looking forward to establishing an identity not only for the secondary but the defense as a whole."
On defining that identity:
Campbell:"Primarily just a dominant defense. Whatever form that ends up taking, we plan on being very physical, making plays all over the field and just dominating in every aspect of football and of the defense."
On competition among the Browns DBs, including with the team DB Rahim Moore and drafting DB Derrick Kindred:
Poyer:"This league is always competition, every day from as soon as you wake up in the morning until you go to bed. What you are doing on the field, off of the field, in the weight room, it's always competition. The guys around us can play, and we believe that we can play, too. There's always going to be competition and that is why you play the game. It is a fun getting to play and there is always competition on the field."
Campbell:"It is a great atmosphere, not only in the DB room but the entire team. That is something that Coach Jackson has stressed, just the importance of competing and making not only yourself better but also your teammates better every day, every opportunity you get to step on that field to improve yourself."
LB Emmanuel Ogbah:
On his first OTAs, given coaches' comments about his positive performance:
"It has been a lot of work, a lot of repetition and a lot practice that they are having me do the things that I have to do. Transitioning from a 4-3 defensive end to an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme is something new, but with hard work and practice and repetition, I am getting better at it. It is translating to the field."
On if he began working on that transition and pass coverage prior to the draft, given NFL teams with 3-4 defenses projected him at that position:
"When I found out at the Combine that I would have to do linebacker stuff, I started dropping and doing some coverages to get me better for when I got here to be able to do the things I can do now."
On learning to drop into pass coverage and progress:
"I would say that I still have a long way to go, but I am learning. Every day I am getting better at it. I feel like I am doing the things that I have to do and having good practices. That is key for me."
On if it is surprising the NFL stresses defense more than in college:
"It is very surprising, coming from a big, offensive-based program. In the pros, there is more defense. I feel like defense is the key to a lot of things. If you can disrupt the quarterback, you can stop the whole offense and stop whatever they are doing."
