Included below are select quotes from interviews with the following Browns players during today's media availability:
- WR Corey Coleman
- OL Spencer Drango
- QB Robert Griffin III (full transcript)
- DB Joe Haden
- QB Josh McCown (full transcript)
- WR Terrelle Pryor
- DL Danny Shelton
WR Corey Coleman:
On if he could have practiced Saturday and why he didn't practice:
"Yeah, I could have practiced. Sore hamstring, just we don't want to make it bigger than what it is. Taking little steps."
On if he'll practice today:
"I went a little bit today in the walkthrough. I'm going to do whatever the trainers want me to do, if that's me going or if that's me just sitting out just resting so we're going to see."
On if he first felt the sore hamstring on Saturday during warmups:
"It was really Friday. I felt it a little bit just after, just fatigued. Nothing serious, though."
On if the Browns offense is entering a new phase of training camp now that QB Robert Griffin III has been named the starting QB:
"I think it's the same. We're still trying to reach our goals trying, trying to get through camp and trying to have a better football team."
On what he's seen from Griffin since the beginning of training camp till now:
"He has been doing everything the right way. He's stepped up as a leader. As a quarterback, he's making sure that everything is going smooth, making sure everybody knows their assignments."
On how Griffin throws the football:
"He's the starting quarterback. He throws the ball just as good as anybody. Deep ball is beautiful. He has a lot of touch on it. He knows where to put it. He has a really strong arm."
On WR Andrew Hawkins saying that he plays like Ravens WR Steve Smith:
"It's unbelievable to even get put in that category with Steve Smith as much as he's done for this game. I got to talk to him a little bit. He's a real good dude. Like I said, he is one of the guys I look up to and his game of play. It's just exciting to even be put in that category."
OL Spencer Drango:
On having the opportunity to play at RT:
"It's been going well. It's definitely a big learning curve going from the left to the right. Technique is a little bit different, but you just have to get better every day."
On if he previously played RT:
"Other than in the spring, I played two years at right tackle in high school. Everything else has been left so I just have to overcome those tendencies I have at left and put them on the right side."
On what it's meant to practice with the first team:
"It's just a great opportunity. I have to take advantage of it. They put me there to make plays, and hopefully, I can step up and make them."
On what he would tell Browns fans he brings to the table in terms of skillset, style, attitude and demeanor:
"I think of myself as a technician. Technique right now is a little lacking on the right so I just have to keep working every day to keep that up. As we go forward, that's what I pride myself on."
On if he thought the opportunity to compete for a starting job had closed:
"The coaches are always evaluating guys. I think the starting job is always up for grabs until that first regular season game. Other than that, I think you just have to keep working. Everyone out here is busting their butts trying to get on the 53."
On if he has a history and bond playing with QB Robert Griffin III at Baylor:
"I was there for one year when he was there. His Heisman season was my freshman year or redshirt freshman year. I got to practice with him. Never got to play with him, but we did develop that [bond]. Whenever he came back, he'd always say hi and things. It's pretty cool getting to play on the same team as him now."
On Griffin being named the starter:
"I'm happy for him. He has worked his butt off to get to where he is right now. I know he's not going to take anything off. He's going to keep working to be the best quarterback that he can be."
DB Joe Haden:
On being cleared to practice and if he will ease into it or go right into team drills:
"No, they're going to ease me into it. I'll probably do a little bit of just individual and things like that today."
On if he has set a goal on which game he wants to play in:
"September 11 is the only game I'm really worried about. If they let me get in into any preseason, that would be sweet, but my main goal is just getting back by September 11."
On if he's surprised that he's going to be able to practice extensively before September 11:
"No, this is all, just the work that we've been putting in, everything has been going pretty good. This is just another part of the process."
On if he was reluctant to say that he'll be practicing before the end of summer:
"Yeah, I didn't want to put myself in a bind. I'm just working to get back as soon as possible so whenever that happened I was ready for it."
On playing now as a precaution knowing there is time before the season opener:
"I think they're doing a really good job of just taking their time. I think a lot of it is precaution, just making sure that they know there is no rush right now to get back. I'm trying to get back as soon as possible, and whenever I'm ready at like full percent to be able to go, then they'll put me back in there."
QB Josh McCown:
On his reaction to QB Robert Griffin III being named the starter:
"Obviously, as a competitor, you want to play. You want to be the guy, but I understood the direction we were going. I'm excited for our team. I said this last time that I talked: I've been on both ends of it. When the quarterback competitions kind of drag out through training camp, I don't know if you're any better off because then you have two guys that kind of had half reps. I think it's great that we know who it is. Moving forward, we're behind that guy. Our team can rally around that guy, and we can move forward accordingly. Robert is certainly plying at a high level right now, and that's exciting. As a competitor, you want to be on the field, you want to play, there's no question about that. At the same time, it's so much bigger. It's about the team. Now, that question is settled and we can go move forward in our game planning this week for Green Bay and ultimately for Philly Week 1."
On if there is any sense that he didn't get full chance to compete due to the higher number of reps Griffin received:
"Not necessarily. I've been in the league almost 10 years longer than Robert. The evaluation process for he and I are different in the sense that they kind of know what type of player I am and so on. It's relatively knew for Rob and learning the system and all of that stuff, I think the reps were necessary [for him]. Not in any shape do I think it was unfair. It was exactly how it needed to be to fairly evaluate things. I trust their judgement, I trust their evaluation and then we move on. It's both. As a competitor, you want reps, you want to play. That's what we do this game for, it's to play. Ultimately, they have to make judgements that are best for our team and best for them to evaluate situations. That was no more than that, and I understood."
On saying Griffin is playing at a high level:
"Just watching him these last few days, he's throwing the ball really well. He's just running the offense. I think that bodes well for us. Obviously on any team, if the quarterback is playing at a high level, you feel like he's playing well, you're giving yourself a chance. I just feel like the last probably five, six days of camp he really settled in and he's starting to stack one day after the next of good days where you're just running the team and doing the right thing with the football and throwing the ball accurately and just everything you'd expect. As a member of this team, it's encouraging because you want that out of your top quarterback."
On the best way he can help Griffin III moving forward:
"The best way? That will kind of evolve as we go just on what he needs. The cool thing about Rob is we sit down and get ready for Green Bay or whatever opponent and he says, 'Hey, what's your process? What are you going to do? How do you break these guys down? What's been your methods over the years?' That's what makes him special is he's willing to learn. Through that, different things will come up with ways I can help him. For me, it's kind of being another set of eyes and as he's focused on maybe this thing over here, saying 'Hey, don't forget about that.' You might get so caught up with adjusting this or doing that or telling this guy what to do, don't forget you have to handle this, too. That's give and take, too. That's not just me. It's (QB) Austin (Davis), it's (QB) Cody (Kessler), it's all the quarterbacks helping each other do that. I think that's the biggest part. Rob has been great about asking those questions, asking about my process, how do you go about something and what can you take from my process that may help his and vice versa."
On how Griffin III fits in with the team and the locker room:
"He's done a great job just because he's come right in here and he's been himself and just worked hard – got right in with every guy on the team and done what he's been asked to do. More than anything, the way you earn respect is you get on the field and you know what you're supposed to do. He's certainly done that. A very hard worker in the weight room and certainly pushes me. I think that in and of itself earns respect because guys see you working, they see how you go about it and he does it in the classroom and he does it on the field. Ultimately, we have to go out there and do it in games. That's coming, but everything he's done so far has warranted the respect of his teammates and certainly allowed him to assimilate very easily."
On if he senses a hunger to play within Griffin III because of what happened last year in Washington:
"Absolutely. Anytime as a competitor you go through something like that and you don't get a chance to play, you kind of step back and refocus, but that will certainly ignite a new fire and I feel that with Robert. He's definitely got a focus, and to have (associate head coach – offense) Pep (Hamilton) and to have (Head Coach) Hue (Jackson) and this group of guys and the talent we have around him, just the confidence that they're placing in him I think is awesome. As a player, when you come out of a situation like that, it's easy to kind of wonder what happened and maybe second guess yourself. To have the support that he does from the head coach and the coordinator and just our room in general is huge. I think it'll allow him to play at a high level."
On if he has heard anything else in terms of a possible trade or if it's quiet on that front:
"It's quiet in that regard. Like I said, the first day, when those things come out, your family members or people think that you like you sit at a table and it's like lunch, you know (laughter)? Like give me your sandwich if I give you my cookies. That's not happening. As a player, you just go to work and every day is the same, and all of that is done by other people. If that happens, it happens, but my focus is here and doing everything I can to help this team. I'm having a blast at this camp. This has been one of my more fun camps so far just being around these guys. I look forward for that to continue."
On what WR Corey Coleman showed Friday night during the live scrimmage, including body control, awareness and deep-ball ability:
"Yeah, just the stuff that we've been talking about the whole time. When he touches the ball, does he do the things that you picked him for and/or when the ball is in the air, in a receiver's case? You see that. He's able to track balls in the air, make plays on it. He catches the ball and knows where he's at in space and is able to turn up and make plays. That's what you want in a guy that you picked that high. Obviously, that's what you have to have in this league. You have to have playmakers and guys like him that can score the football whenever they get it in their hands. We certainly hope that Corey is that. We've seen some of that, and that's very encouraging. For us, it's just he has to continue to grow and keep grinding on the playbook because the regular season is coming and the speed is so different. We try to articulate that as best we can to the young guys. Now, you go through a scrimmage to preseason and that speed is different. Then you go from preseason to regular season and that speed is different. It's getting them ready, and he's doing a good job of studying and learning. It's just continuing for him to digest the playbook and internalize it and really feel good about it so that we can see more of what he's been doing, but certainly so far, so good."
On what it means to have the Browns coaching staff value him as a mentor to a younger QB:
"For me, it just means like the things that I believe in on a day-to-day are worth it. That's that no matter your circumstance, you try to help the person next to you as much as you can to help their journey in life, whether it's outside of football or inside of football, be better. Ultimately, when you're on a team, if you get people that are doing that, then you have a chance to be successful. There's a sense of appreciation when a different regime comes in and does that. At the same time, it just more than anything reaffirms that belief and want to do that and carry that out even better. We still have a long way to go, but it's been a lot of fun to be around these guys and very satisfying to be around these guys and to work with them every day and to get to help them and to get to pass on some of the things that I've gone through. It's a fun room. It's a good room to be around. Pep Hamilton does an awesome job with us. I'm thankful to be here."
WR Terrelle Pryor:
On QB Robert Griffin III being named the starting QB:
"He's earned it. It could have gone a different ways, too. RG definitely earned it. He's been awesome like I've been telling you guys. Our other quarterbacks are doing well, too. Definitely hats off to (Head Coach) Hue (Jackson) and (associate head coach-offense) Coach Pep (Hamilton) getting those guys ready. We're happy with RG and looking forward to moving forward."
On how comfortable he is with what he's done to prepare to play at WR:
"Like I said before, every day I just try to pick one thing and work on it. I can't think of 30 things and then go on the field and expect to make that expectation. That's how I depend on [improving]. There's one day, the scrimmage, I went without catching a ball, but my whole going into that, my whole mentality was blocking and getting on the angles of blocks. I thought I got better that day for me. That's what this game is about – picking things, one or two things and going out there and trying to execute it."
On how nice it is to see his work in the offseason translating on the field now:
"All through life, no matter what's going on or what your job title is, it's hard work. You have to work hard to accomplish the things you want and that's just what it is. I know that and I know the time that I put it, I want to earn something and make something out of it. That's why I bust my butt every day."
On how Griffin runs his game:
"I'm thinking of the best ways to put it because there are so many different things. He's very, very intelligent. What I really like most about him is he's protecting himself. He's working on sliding and hitting the ground, feet first sliding and giving himself up because we know that we need him not just for that play right there. We need him for the whole season. We need him all the time. I think just for him working on that and knowing that was one of his weaknesses is not sliding. He's a tough guy. He's tough. He runs tough so for him to know that we have to get to the next play, he's getting better and I like seeing that."
On what Griffin is like in the locker room and as a leader:
"He's chill. He's really relaxed. He FaceTimes his daughter and his wife a lot. He's a family guy. He's teammate first. He's awesome. You guys would love him as a teammate or somebody that you work with. He's awesome."
DL Danny Shelton:
On the first weeks of training camp:
"It's pretty good. I didn't realize it's only the second week. It feels like it's been five weeks already, but it's been awesome hanging out with these new guys, new staff, new facility. Everything's been awesome. I'm just excited to be out here playing."
On differences from last year to this year:
"I think everybody is on the same page. I think that's the biggest difference. That's the biggest thing people can see is that we have every position group, everyone as far as class from rookie to two years to 13 years, everybody is on the same page. Everybody has bought in to (Head) Coach (Hue) Jackson's system. It's going great."
On the difference of playing in pads at his new weight:
"The first couple days, we were adjusting alright, but now that I've been maintaining it for the past month, it just feels normal now. I feel a lot lighter. I feel a lot quicker. I'm able to have more fun again. I'm able to just be me."
On if it's difficult to see his progress and how he's improved from year one to year two:
"As far as losing weight, it's always going to be something that a player notices right away. For me, it was just lighter on my feet, just feeling more quick. Then just going off of last year's camp and this year's camp, it's been different for me in a sense of just taking on a new role and trying to be more focused and more serious about the game. I'm still out here trying to have fun and everything, but at the same time, I want big things to happen for the Browns."
