Included below are select quotes from interviews with the following Browns players during today's media availability:
- RB Isiah Crowell
- QB Kevin Hogan
- RB Duke Johnson Jr.
- DL Danny Shelton
RB Isaiah Crowell:
On if he is ready to start the season:
"Yeah, I'm just ready to get going and get some wins. That is the main thing. Just get going and prove to my teammates and coaches how much I can do personally and just prove to the world what we can do as a team."
On if he is where he wants to be physically, given his limited number of reps in the preseason:
"Yes, I know I am where I want to be in every aspect of the game so I'm just ready to get it going."
On the importance of the running game setting the tone in the first game of the season:
"I feel like it is very important because if we can set the tone, I feel like the coaches and everyone will see what we are capable of and they will stick to that and be committed to it."
On maximizing opportunities in the running game:
"You have to take what you can get. That is how I see it. I do want more carries. Every running back usually wants more carries and get fed a lot, but you just have to maximize when you are out there – maximize your opportunity and take advantage of it and just do the best you can do."
On his expectations for QB DeShone Kizer in his NFL debut:
"I feel like he is going to do his thing. I think he is going to do some great things. Nobody is perfect, but he is going to get it done and I feel like he is going to do well. I expect a lot out of him this year."
On if Kizer seems like a rookie or if there is something different about him:
"I think there are something different about him. He is very smart with the game. He came in, worked extremely hard and has shown glimpses of excitement since he has been here. That is why he got the starting job and I feel like he will show you that on Sunday."
QB Kevin Hogan:
On being named backup QB for Sunday's game:
"It feels good just that (Head) Coach (Hue Jackson) has confidence in me to go out there and make some plays. I feel like I have done a good job in camp with preparation and learning the offense and the ins and outs of what coach is looking for from the quarterback. I am going to do my best to help (QB) DeShone (Kizer) in whatever way he needs to be ready to go on Sunday, and I am going to do the same. I am going to prepare as if I am the starter so that I am ready whenever."
On if his performance in the preseason raised his confidence level:
"Yeah, anytime you can go out there and make some plays, get some completions and put some points on the board, it just lets you know that you belong and you can play. I felt great in camp out there on the practice field moving the ball and then getting that opportunity in the games to go against a live defense and play some real football, I thought it really helped."
On the difference in this year's experience after being released by Kansas City:
"Oh, it is night and day. I love being here. Last year, I came over and I was still kind of learning the offense week by week here and then this spring and summer just being much more detailed and listening to what coach wants from each install and the way that the plays are supposed to be run was huge for me. Going through the spring and then then going through it again in the summer and camp, I felt a lot more comfortable and was able to play faster and more confidently and make some plays."
On if he is surprised at how he has moved up the depth chart:
"My mindset has always been just control what I can control. People are going to say whatever they want and for me. It is just about having the right attitude and mindset and making sure I am getting better each day and taking the coaching, being a good teammate. I never really worried about any of that stuff. I was just hopeful for an opportunity and whenever that may have come to take advantage of it. I felt a lot better this camp than even in the spring, and I think that was just going through the installs again with coach for the second time and becoming more familiar with it. I would say that it helped a lot."
On if he was nervous about getting cut last weekend:
"Oh, it was different than last year, but I wasn't nervous. I knew that I had done some good things. I felt like I did everything that I could so whatever happened was going to happen and it was out of my control and so. It was kind of… It wasn't like a negative feeling waiting around and that is good. When you know you leave it all out there and you do what you can to know that whatever happens is going to happen, but I am just so excited to still be here on this team. I love playing for Coach Hue and (quarterbacks) Coach (David) Lee and these guys in the locker room so I am so excited to get started this season."
RB Duke Johnson Jr.:
On his mindset heading into Sunday's season opener:
"I am ready. It has been a long training camp, a long preseason. Just ready to get forward to game one."
On if he has a strong idea as to how he will be utilized on Sunday:
"I am still trying to figure that out. I haven't really figured out 100 percent, but it is still the same as we are playing with just different ways to try to find ways to get me the ball and be creative."
On how worried he is about his family in Miami due to Hurricane Irma:
"Yes, to me, that is most important to me – my family and all of the families that are in Florida and what is going on. I should have more information before the game and that is what I am hoping. I will know more then."
On where is mother is currently:
"She is still in Miami trying to make it out. She couldn't make it out in time so she is prepared and my family is prepared, but we will see."
On if it is hard for him to focus on the Steelers while his family is prepping for Hurricane Irma:
"Of course, especially when it is something of this magnitude. It is always hard to focus on the game, the game, the game, but like I said, I will have more information before the game and we will go from there."
On if he is in constant contact with his mother:
"Yes, yes I am in contact. Even if it is not my mom [like] my sister, there are a lot of my family members that are in the house with my mom so I will find a way."
On if he tried to get his family to evacuate Miami and come to Cleveland for Hurricane Irma:
"Yeah, we tried, but they couldn't make it out in time. She was supposed to be up here yesterday, but the flights got cancelled."
On if both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma are talked about in the locker room:
"Yeah, we talk about it, but we try to keep it as simple as possible because with Harvey, we know what happened. With this hurricane, we are just going day by day and trying to see what is going to happen."
DL Danny Shelton:
On if he plans to play on Sunday:
"Yeah, if (Head) Coach (Hue Jackson) lets me."
On how disappointed he was to see DL Myles Garrett get injured:
"I'm pretty bummed because I have been out for three weeks watching these guys ball out and have fun. I was looking forward to being able to play with all of my guys, but Myles is a strong guy. I have confidence that he is going to do the right things and do his rehab to get back to be playing with the team when he is ready."
On if defensive coordinator Gregg Williams had to change the gameplan with Garrett sidelined:
"Not at all. You saw the way our defense played this preseason. We have guys on our depth chart who are capable of getting in and doing the job for us."
On what he has seen from Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell on film and what the Browns defense needs to do to slow the run on Sunday:
"He didn't have any film this preseason, but obviously, you have to respect his game. He is a patient, explosive running back. Those are the two things that make him really dangerous. We are going to focus on doing our job and executing perfectly."
On if the Browns defense has a different vibe this year:
"Yeah, I think the No. 1 thing is confidence. I see a lot of our players, young and old being more confident. Just going off of our offseason and seeing everybody put in the work, it just adds to the confidence that I have for our defense."
On the challenge facing the Steelers in the season opener:
"It is a division game so we are always going to be hyping it up and being extra ready. It is going to be an exciting game."
