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QB DeShone Kizer:**
On if he can apply his experience from the first Steelers game:
"Absolutely. Obviously, that was a little bit ago. I have learned quite a bit since then. Hopefully, I can apply some of the tools that we have now to that performance, and hopefully, edge out over a really good team."
On if the Steelers defense looks different than Week 1:
"Schematically, they change things up each week, which keeps you on your toes. You have to make sure that you make your proper adjustments in game. They were a very good defense in Week 1, and they are going to be a very good defense on Sunday. It is on us to make sure that we are doing whatever we can to execute our job and try to do whatever we can to try to get a win."
On if Week 1 feels like forever ago, given his experiences this season:
"Feels forever ago. At the time, I was on cloud nine kind of riding the wave of being named the starting quarterback in my first game ever in the league. Now, there have been so many ups and downs that that time is so far behind us that it doesn't make any sense."
On being drafted by a 1-15 team in last year's draft:
"That was a long time ago. I was very excited to come and represent my state and do whatever it took to turn this organization around. I will continue to do whatever I can to help out."
On how eager he is to finish the season and hit the reset button:
"Not very eager at all. I want as many opportunities as I can to go win. Unfortunately, obviously, we are down to our last week here. I have to do whatever I can this week in preparation to reward this team who has been working their butt off since the beginning of training camp."
On differences in the Steelers defense without LB Ryan Shazier:
"Schematically, they are the same defense. They don't really do much different now that Shazier is gone, but Shazier is a heck of a player. His ability to rally to tackles, his ability to be around the football at all times made him a very special player. That is why he has the respect around the league that he has. To see him go through what he is going through right now is very sad, but that defense has been able to step up since then and they have been able to replace him and have done a good job with it."
On if he won a game at Heinz Field with Notre Dame:
"Yeah, played against Pitt in 2016 and had a pretty good performance in that game."
On Head Coach Hue Jackson's record and if that may impact potential free agents' or 2018 rookies' perceptions of joining the Browns next year:
"For one, you don't have to sell rookies (laughter). With that being said, Coach Jackson has continued to implement this offense over the last few years. Obviously, he hasn't had the wins to show for it, but the direction that we are heading in as an offense and the direction this organization is heading in, if you are in the building and you get to feel it, you understand it. All it takes is for one guy to step in here to understand that. Once we get over that hump, I think the exact same system that is getting scrutinized by the day right now will be the system that everyone talks about and how the Browns were able to go from the two seasons that we have gone through in these last two years to the success that I plan on us experiencing in the near future."
On describing Jackson to a player not currently on the roster:
"He is one of the best in the league. He is a guy who brings tremendous energy to a team. He is a guy who completely understands this offense in and out and is able to talk the game from the offensive line perspective and from the quarterback perspective. From every position out there, he is able to install his things because he knows it so well. His commitment to his offense and his commitment to the success he has had in the past is going to be the same commitment that drives him to be a winner here in Cleveland."
On if his respect for Jackson has grown as Jackson has stay committed in the midst of two difficult seasons:
"Absolutely. The energy that he brings to us each week is unbelievable. Obviously, being at the quarterback position, you get to feel the weight of the losing that we have been going through. To see how he comes back and responds each week is motivation on my part to make sure that I follow his lead and do whatever I can to help out my teammates during some rough times here."
On if he understands people questioning his endorsement of Jackson, given Jackson's record during his tenure with the Browns:
"Unfortunately, we don't play this game for the people. We play this game for us. We are all we have, and we are going to be committed to the leader that we have in front of us. We know that Coach Jackson through his offense has experienced a lot of success in the past. Through that same offense is what we are going to have to do. We are going to have to do whatever we can through that same offense to experience success here."
On how Jackson has made him a better player:
"That is a very deep question. There have been so many things that I have learned from protections to mechanics to understanding how to be a leader to all of the different things that go into the quarterback position. He has been kind of my mentor throughout this year. With that, he has turned me from the immature college player I was last year to what I believe to be a professional."
On if Browns players in the locker room still support Jackson:
"Absolutely, absolutely. You walk into this locker room through 15 weeks of losing and you still see the same energy that is up and at 'em. We are practicing hard, and we are completely committed to everything he has so we can do whatever we can to win for him."
On if Jackson benching him at points during the season has hurt his development as a QB:
"I made a commitment when I came to Cleveland to listen to everything he said and to follow his lead. That is what I have done. I will continue to be committed to everything he has for me. Those decisions are on his own. It is just on me to make sure that I trust in the process of that he has in front of me."
On how to transform individual talent on the roster to become a talented team:
"That collective talent is very young, and it is going to take for us all to develop individually to get to the position to win. If you go around the league and see some of the dominant programs and dominant organizations, they are typically led by guys who have been around this league for quite a bit of time. Unfortunately but fortunately, this is a very young locker room and everyone knows it. It is going to take for us all to understand what it takes to win and start tasting winning so that we know how to hold onto it and keep it around for a while."
On if he has any doubt Jackson will return for the 2018 season:
"No, not at all. Mr. Haslam came out and said he would be around in 2018. I will continue to follow what the leaders above me say."
On a report last week expressing concerns Jackson 'has lost the locker room':
"Being a part of this locker room, I don't think anyone is lost by any means. We continue to come in and work our butt off. It is on us just to execute the things that he puts out in front of us. Every game we go into is never a situation in which we feel as if we are behind due to a gameplan. It is just on us executing the gameplan that is in front of us because he spends hours and hours and hours and pulls from all of the experiences that he has had in the past to put these great gameplans in front of us. We just have to go execute."
On how he is processing the possibility of finishing 0-16:
"I'm just looking forward to going 1-0 this week."
On if he remembers watching the 2008 Detroit Lions from Toledo and if that season stuck with him:
"No, I really don't. I really don't. I know I had a couple of upset friends, but I don't really remember any of the details of that team."
On if he expects Steelers CB Joe Haden to follow WR Josh Gordon in coverage:
"I'm curious to see how that plays out. Obviously, they are in a position where they have a lot of talent on that defense. Whether it be Joe following him around or spinning it off, it is just on me to make sure that when there is an opportunity to get Josh the ball, we put it in his hands."
On how to have success against the Steelers defense:
"We just have to take what the defense is giving us and string together positive plays, not take the risks that I have been taking the last few weeks, making sure that I'm taking care of the ball and keeping it out of harm's way and lastly, taking the big plays when they are there."
