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QB DeShone Kizer:**
On if had a chance to learn about Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky during the draft process:
"A little bit. Didn't get to know him at all before the draft, which was unfortunate, obviously, being from kind of the same area in Ohio and experiencing some success in college ball, but I got to spend some good time with him the night of the draft."
On if he ever doubted if Head Coach Hue Jackson would keep him as the starter and his conversation with Jackson:
"We didn't have a conversation. I just assumed that obviously there could have been a decision to make after the performance I had last week, but after not having a conversation, I just went right back into my preparation stages that I typically do to come out and be the starter for this week."
On RB Duke Johnson Jr. saying it would be easy for Kizer's confidence to be rattled at this point in this season and if his confidence has been rattled:
"No, not at all. My confidence will always remain high. This is an unbelievable experience that I have been able to go through. Obviously, not winning games is not the goal, but I have the best job in the world. I am one of 32 starting quarterbacks in this league, and I'm never going to take that for granted. I have to go out there and continue to work and continue to try to earn it. I am going to continue to lean on my support staff and lean on my faith to continue to guide me in the right direction to become a better quarterback so that I can continue to stay in the position that I'm in right now."
On his individual goal for the final two games of the season:
"Just another opportunity for me to continue to prove to my teammates who I am, who I want to be and the direction I want to head in. This has been a long Year 1, obviously, a very interesting Year 1 with a lot of ups and downs. I think it would be awesome and a cool opportunity for me to go out and close it out with some positive notes. Obviously, at this point, there have been more downs than ups and let's try to finish this off with the right taste in my teammates' mouths and in the front office's mouth so that next year when we come back, I can be right back in the position that I am and grow from what I have been able to go through this year."
On not being affected by General Manager John Dorsey's comments that the team needs to find a QB:
"He is talking to you guys. Those conversations are what you guys are asking him. The conversations that I have had with him have been to stay on the path and continue to develop. I have done my best to make sure that those conversation that are happening outside of this locker room don't affect anything that I am doing within this locker room. I continue to take the word straight from Coach Jackson's mouth and straight from the GM's mouth as what I know. What they have told me is continue to work hard and continue to improve myself. That is what I will continue to do."
On understanding why he has played inconsistently from game to game this season:
"No, I think that I'm not intentionally going out there expecting to have a bad day or expecting to have an amazing day. I'm just going out and attempting to do my job. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do it to the level that I would like to have consistently. I think that consistency is something that I'm going to have to continue to work on throughout my whole career and is something that every quarterback is going to have to continue to work on. For me, it is about just doing whatever I can to put this team in position to win. When those mistakes are costly to games is when it is a big issue. There are mistakes throughout this whole league when quarterbacks go out and not necessarily make the right read or make the right throw, but they still end in victories sometimes. I just have to make sure that the mistakes that I'm making aren't detrimental to the game and detrimental to my teammates."
On how much discussion there is during the week about the importance of running the ball more to win games:
"There isn't much. That is 100 percent a Coach Jackson question. He is a guy who puts together the gameplans and makes decisions on what plays to run. It is just on us to make sure we are executing. Whether it be run or pass, there are plenty of opportunities to go out there and score points. It is just on me and my teammates to continue to go execute at a high level to make sure whatever play he calls in turns out to be the most successful it can."
On if playing against Trubisky adds extra motivation heading into this week:
"Not necessarily. I think it is just another opportunity to for me once again to prove to my teammates who I am and who I want to be. Trubisky is a heck of a player and obviously in a very similar position as I am and going through some of the same experiences that I'm going through. I'm looking forward to going out there and competing against him and hopefully putting my team in position to win the game."
On if RB Isaiah Crowell's 59-yard run last week was a play he checked to at the line:
"There are specific looks you are going to run specific plays into. That was an opportunity for me to make sure that we are in the right look. It was a little skewed, but obviously, it was the right call and he was able to make a good play with the ball."
On the difference between defenses in college and the NFL:
"Completely different look, completely different game. At this level, there are so many complex looks where defenses can be one thing one week and a completely different scheme the next. That is not how college is. Typically in college, you do one thing very well and you have a couple things that you can change, but you can predict those on offense. Here you can't really predict. You have to be able to go out there and react. This game at this level is all about reaction and trying to react properly to the situation that is in front of you, and it is about creating as many tools and taking in as much as you can so that when you are out there and you are reacting that you can react in the most positive way you possibly can. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to maximize that. I have to continue to work towards that. I will get there sooner or later. When I do get there and when I can execute at a higher level, this offense is going to go out and perform at a much higher level, and we are going to start winning some games."
On if he has uncertainty reading defenses due to a lack of experience:
"No, that's not it at all. I think I have done a really good job of recognizing defenses in front of me. Now, it is about just making sure that I'm executing and putting the ball exactly where it needs to be in the right guy's hands and with the right timing in the pass game and making sure that I'm getting a sense of the right run plays so that we can go out and have some success. I think I have done a decent job of recognizing the defense that is going against us."
On his mindset entering the draft:
"That was quite a bit of time ago. I was a college kid who knew college football and who was very confident in his ability to adapt. I am in that process now of adapting, changing and learning and taking on these experiences head on and learning as much as I can so that I can become a better quarterback. At this point, I think that in this league, whether you are a rookie or you're a 10-year vet, those experiences do add up and that does make you a better player, but the expectations are right around the same. The standard that is set to be a good quarterback in this league is not going to fluctuate from how many years you are in this league. I am starting to see that now. Now, it is about making sure that I can raise my bar to the bar of all of the better quarterbacks in this league and start playing at a much higher level and start matching their performances so I can start getting the wins that they have gotten."
On watching other QBs be selected before him in last year's draft:
"Once again, those thoughts are so far away from us right now that it is hard to even think about. At the time, it was frustrating. I thought I would be a first-round guy, but here and now, this is I think the best experience I could possibly have. I was able to go to my hometown team in a way and attempt to revive them out of a situation that we all know they didn't want to be in. Now, I'm here and part of that situation and experiencing some of the lulls that this city has experienced for a little bit of time now. It is about accepting the position I'm in now and doing whatever I can to get out of it."
On if he expected his performance and development to be further along at this point of the season:
"I had no expectations, honestly. I expected to just continue to follow the lead of Coach Jackson. We did not necessarily put a timeline on anything. We understand that we were going to have to be patient. I did foresee a couple more wins than we have right now. I expected to have a couple of more games where I was able to take them over and have a couple of more positive plays within them. As far as where I wanted to be at the end of this year, I made sure I did not have expectations so that I could learn and take the experiences for what they are."
On WR Josh Gordon not receiving as many targets the past two games:
"You have to take what the defense is giving you. I don't necessarily know what the targets are. I don't really pay attention to targets. We understand the type of player he is and that he is a game-changer when the ball is in his hands. It is about trying to get him the ball at the right time of the game when the defense is allowing you to. There have been teams who are making some adjustments throughout the game that are taking some of the things we want to do with him away. You have to go elsewhere when those times happen. We are in a position now with as many playmakers as we have with Duke, (TE) David (Njoku) and (WR) Corey (Coleman) and all of those guys who are out there making great plays for us that you have to be able to put the ball in their hands too and expect them to make plays, as well."
On how much the Browns' record has weighed on him:
"You definitely feel it. Once again for me in my position as a rookie, each opportunity is brand new. This is my first time going against the Chicago Bears as a starting quarterback in the regular season. That in itself is brand new to me. I don't see 0-14. I see the Chicago Bears. I see an opportunity for me to go out, prove myself and try to get a new win. I look forward to going out and it is Christmas Eve. I have never played this deep into the year before. This is kind of unique situation there and try to attack it head on and try to become a better quarterback so once again, I can reward my teammates who continue to work their butt off with a victory."
On if it has hit him that he potentially has experienced more adversity in one season than many QBs deal with in an entire career:
"Absolutely it has. That is what I think is so unique about it and so cool about this situation. In one year, I have been able to take what most guys get in four and five. That means hopefully once I get over this and learn from this situation, I will be able to be a better quarterback for longer than anyone who has gotten to that level has been. I look forward to this year and taking as many lessons as I can by talking to my teammates and my coaches and reflecting on what I have gone through this year to make sure that when I come back next year and as I continue to progress through the rest of this year with these two games that I can be the best quarterback that I can possibly be."
