QB DeShone Kizer:
On takeaways from watching the film:
"Overall, the same things that we were discussing after the game kind of just came out with a little bit of film to back it. Holding onto the ball a little too much in the pocket, that doesn't put my offensive line in the best position to hold off and a lot of those sacks go onto me. I have to do my best to make the proper adjustments and make the sure I move the ball to the check-down when I need to."
On how long it will take to improve his internal clock to where it needs to be:
"Hopefully, this week. It needs to happen fast. Obviously, in this last game, that changes the game. Those sacks are moving us out of field goal range. Those sacks are moving us to third-and-extra-long. It is my job to make sure that we at least throw the ball away and keep the ball where it is."
On having an NFL franchise 'riding on his shoulders':
"It is awesome. This is my dream job. I have understood the responsibilities that an NFL quarterbacks have since high school when everyone kind of tells you all of the different things that you have to do and how there is always going to be another step and how there is always going to be a bigger task at hand in front of you. Now that I am here, having a guy like (Head) Coach (Hue) Jackson, who is going to guide me along the way and tell me all of the things that need to be done for us to have a successful locker room, I am taking it all head on. I think I have done a decent job with taking on all of the different things. all I am doing right now is just trying to learn more and more as we go and what it is going to take for us to continue to experience some success."
On encouraging the defense and special teams throughout the game:
"Oh, absolutely. When you have a defense playing as well as ours, it is easy to cheer for them. Obviously, those guys are out there playing well and obviously, we have had a little bit of adversity with guys coming in and out of injuries and things like that, and the way that we have been able to step in and not skip a beat is something that I am very proud of and to consider myself on a team who is doing that. I will continue to cheer those guys on, and they are going to keep doing a good job of getting the ball back to the offense. Now, it is time for us to go up and put up as many points as we can."
On observations from the film:
"All the things that we talked about after the game, specifically holding onto the ball a little bit. I have to make sure that I am throwing the ball away or at least checking the ball down."
On if receivers were open on some of the sacks:
"Yeah, there was a back who was out a couple times I have to get the ball out to. When you have the ability to run with your legs and extend plays, you never feel as if you ever should be sacked. Right now, I am trying to do my best to continue to get that feel that you need in the pocket to understand when it is time to go down and when it is time to escape the pocket and throw it away or to find someone who is in an underneath spot where I can drop the ball off or at least throw it at his feet so I am not taking sacks."
On the importance of inspiring all of his teammates to play for him, given Jackson's comments:
"Yeah, the quarterback position is supposed to be the ultimate coach on the field. There is supposed to be a direct connection to the message that the head coach is saying so obviously, coach is out there inspiring us every day to go out and work hard and become better. It is my job to continue to push his message and take on all responsibilities that I need to take on as the starting quarterback."
On missing the long pass to WR Kasen Williams along the sideline:
"Yeah, I put the ball 2 yards inside and he walks into the end zone. Obviously, he tracked the ball the way he was supposed to, and it ended up in his hands and caught the ball. That is his job. It is my job to make sure that the ball is in bounds for him so that when he does track it, it leads him into the end zone, not out of bounds."
On his chemistry with WR Corey Coleman:
"Corey and I have created a good relationship off the field that has allowed us to connect quite well on the field. I have been able to gain some trust with him and he has been able to gain some trust with me since the first day I have stepped here. Coach has done a good job of allowing us, even when I was in the third-string spot, to go out and get some extra work with him. That relationship has been something that has been building for the last couple months and now obviously, it is out there on the field."
On if the game is beginning to slow down for him:
"I'm becoming very comfortable. I think that the speed is obviously up and the talent is as good as everyone has warned me that it was going to be, but in my position, I think I'm starting to develop and gain some confidence in myself that slows the game down a little bit. That all comes with preparation. That was one game in which I had multiple weeks to prepare for. Now, we have in my mind kind of a shorter time period to prepare for Baltimore, and I need to put myself in the same position that I was in for Pittsburgh: to have that comfort in the pocket to make sure that the confidence is still there."
On if the speed of the game was noticeably faster in the season opener compared to the preseason:
"Absolutely. Everyone is playing. The only experience I had before that was preseason games where you might get a couple guys out there who are the stars, but when you have everyone out there and obviously a really good defense in Pittsburgh, you get to see how it all interacts. There is never a weak spot within a defense in the NFL. Obviously, that is a challenge for me to make sure that I'm stepping up my game and preparing myself to the best of my ability to make sure that I can take what the defense is giving me."
On what Jackson is like behind the scenes:
"He is awesome. He has high standards. He coaches hard, but we have a good relationship outside of football that I think allows us to work well together. He has kind of taken me under his wing. I have been at his hip for the last three months. He has kind of pulled me along in the way he wanted to, and it is kind of leading me in a direction that is putting us in positions to win games."
On Jackson's comment that he 'is a young man that gives us hope':
"That I'm doing my job (laughter). That everything that he is asking me to do, I'm either working towards it or doing it."
On the challenge of beginning the season with Pittsburgh and at Baltimore:
"This is the National Football League. Everyone you play is going to be tough. Obviously, our division is a very tough division. It is played in the trenches. It is really tough and it is gritty, but no matter where I am going to be and no matter who we are playing against, there is going to be a high talent level than I have played against, and that requires me to step my game up every time I step out there."
On how to improve the Browns running game:
"We just need to execute our jobs. Every guy on the team understands that within the run game, we all have a duty. From the quarterback carrying out his fake to a receiver who is blocking a guy down the field, all of us have to understand our gap and understand our job. If we can all go out and execute, then we will be able to run the ball the way we want to."
On what specific plays stood out as ones he liked:
"There were quite a few. Quite frankly, we are in a position now where I am just trying to learn from my mistakes more than being excited about all of the good ones. There is a lot of room for improvement. In that game, I think we were some things to key in on for this week. Obviously, a big thing we are focusing on is making sure that I'm getting rid of the ball as fast as I possibly can and trying to continue to have some drives that keep our defense off of the field. They are playing as well as they are, and it is our job on offense to make sure they get the proper rest on the sideline before they get back out there."
On if there were throws besides the deep ball to WR Kasen Williams that he wishes he had back:
"There were quite a few. There was a basic right across the middle to Corey that if he catches and it is up in his face, he is going to come out of the backside with speed and play well with that. There are a lot of things on the precision side of things that can adjust a play. A ball that turns (TE) David Njoku around that doesn't have him running full speed or a ball that is a screen where I want to make sure that the ball is in his face, every time you throw the ball, you want to make sure it is exactly where it needs to be."
On if Sunday's game gives him hope for his potential in the NFL:
"We are just trying to go one day at a time. Obviously, we were three points short against a very good team in Pittsburgh. That is our job now to do whatever we can to put ourselves in the position to go win this weekend."
On if his phone blew up last night after the game:
"I'm worried about Baltimore. Yeah, there were probably quite a few texts, but we have been able to put that behind us and move forward."
On his TD celebration:
"Kicking the heels – something that I did at Notre Dame that I'm trying to bring over to the NFL now."
On if it is good luck:
"No, just a little energy (laughter). Sometimes you need a little momentum on offense."
DL Myles Garrett:
On his ankle and the timetable for a possible return:
"It is feeling better, and I will just be back as soon as possible."
On how disappointing it was to miss the season opener due to injury:
"It is rough, but I know that when I come back, I am going to be a boost to my defense. I am going to do whatever I can to make a difference."
On if he has to be cautious about not coming back too quickly:
"I do. Knowing myself, I want to get out there as soon as possible. I want to test my limits. I want to go out there and play right away, but I know that I will be hurting the team and myself if I go out there too soon."
On if he learned something from returning from an ankle injury last year at Texas A&M:
"It was just the same… I think this one is a little bit lesser than the one I had before so just making sure I take my time and fully recover and don't get out there too quickly."
On what he learned from watching the defense play yesterday:
"I really learned that we can stop the run. We can go out there and stand firm against anybody. We have to get after the passer a little bit more, and we have to get some more sacks and a little bit more disruption and pressure back there. I feel like I can help."
On what he is doing with his time during this injury:
"I am definitely in here rehabbing most of the day. If I am not doing that, then I am trying to get some upper-body or a little bit of conditioning, just whatever I can to keep my body in shape. When I am not doing that, watching film on the next opponent, trying to get my guys ready because if I can't play, I have to make sure they have full knowledge of who they are going up against."
On what he is able to do to stay in shape during his rehab process:
"What can I do on it? We are not standing up on it. They are just making sure that everything upper-body I can get done, but if I don't put any pressure on it, just making sure I am working my other muscles."
RB Matthew Dayes:
On being used in the run game yesterday:
"It just shows that they really trust me right now, and I am trying to give them more reason to trust me playing the running back position right now."
On what could have been done differently protection-wise on the blocked punt:
"It was just a miscommunication by me and the long snapper. We looked over it, and we will fix it. We know what to do from here on."
On what should have been done differently on the blocked punt:
"I would rather not say. We will just keep that between us."
On if he has been a personal protector before:
"Yeah, I have done that before. I have done it all preseason."
On if it took a while to get over his missed assignment mentally after the blocked punt:
"It was rough, but I was over it. I was ready to move onto the next play. I didn't think about it at all until after the game so it was over with for me."
WR Ricardo Louis:
On QB DeShone Kizer's performance:
"I thought he showed great poise in the pocket. With all of the things going on around him, it is really easy to get distracted and lose focus and make mistakes, but he had limited mistakes. He made some decisions that propelled him to make more plays, and I thought that showed a lot of confidence in his preparation."
On what Kizer showed on the 29-yard completion up the seam:
"Confidence. He had a coverage look and said, 'I know where I am going with the ball.' As soon as he made his drop back, he saw the defense declare itself, and he made a great throw."
On if he knew he was going to take a hard hit on that catch:
"The safeties were on the backside hash and I had confidence that DeShone was going to look them off, but the safety, he is smart. He has been in the league for a little while now, and he just came in with a big hit. Knowing that you are going to get him across the middle like that, you have to make a play."
On if he had ever taken two hard hits in succession like he did in Sunday's game:
"I have been hit like that before when I got hit in college, but it is what it is. You just have to be tough out there, and I prepare myself for that knowing that those safeties – (Steelers DB Mike) Mitchell, he is a strong, hard-hitting safety – I knew that coming in. You are prepared for that. It was tough, but at the end of the day, you have to make plays."
On if he had to talk his way back onto the field after taking those hard hits:
"We have a concussion protocol. They asked me a lot of questions. I answered them. I showed no signs of being concussed. I was hurting, but I wasn't out of it. We did the protocol, came back out and I was ready to go."
