Head Coach Hue Jackson:
Opening statement:
"Good first day back. I did not like our tempo. I did not like the way that we practiced. I told them that. We kept starting over. That is what we will do until we get it right. Keep working and keep getting it right."
On if it was WR Damion Ratley's day to receive more reps in practice:
"No, (WR Antonio) Callaway had a little rib, he will be fine. He got a little but more than normal, but he made some plays, which I thought was exciting to see."
On if Callaway's rib was impacted during the preseason opener:
"I am sure it was. He tried to fight through. I am glad that he is out there trying, competing, going and catching. He has to learn that sometimes you have to play with those things a little bit. We will get through it."
On the Browns running game against the NY Giants:
"Not good enough. There is nothing else to say about it. It was just not good enough, not to our standard. We will get better."
On why the Browns running game was not successful:
"We did not block them good enough. Just that simple. That is what it was."
On if the inability to establish the running game was partially due to the second team OL playing a majority of snaps:
"Probably so. The ones did not have many opportunities to run. We threw it with that group. There were a couple of runs that we had. Overall, we did not run the ball the way we know that we can. We will get better."
On if OL Kevin Zeitler is expected to return by the season opener:
"I do expect him back. Yes."
On OL Desmond Harrison returning to practice and playing LT:
"He just has to get back into practicing, playing football and just learning the system. Hopefully, we can get him up and ready so that he can go compete this weekend. We need to evaluate him in a game setting, but he is out there practicing. We will see how the day went. We will see if he is sore or whatever and then kind of go from there. I anticipate him being up this week and having an opportunity to play."
On DB Denzel Ward's taunting penalty at the NY Giants and if it appeared to be a flag:
"They threw the flag. We have to abide by those rules."
On why the flag was thrown:
"Because he stood up over the guy."
On if the preceding hit may have been a penalty, as well:
"They did not call that. I know what you are saying because of the way that he went in to go hit the guy. I think that it was more of the taunting. I did not think that they felt that it was a helmet-to-helmet collision. They called it because of him making the gesture over the player. I get it. We have talked to our team about it, and we will do away with those."
On DB Damarious Randall:
"He is a solid football player obviously. He has really solidified the middle of our defense. Down the middle is where you have got to be strong. He has the foot speed and the ball skills. I believe that he will tackle. I believe that he would be the first to tell you that he could have taken a better angle on the first run of the game. He is back to playing safety for the first time since he was in college. There are some things that he has got to continue to work at, too. But, I am glad that he is back there."
On if the team did not conduct joint practices due to not finding the right fit or not wanting to continue them:
"Probably did not find the right fit. I called around. Sometimes, I do not think that people want to practice against us. We have a mad scientist on defense (laughter). I think that people get afraid that he is going to unearth everybody over there. We tried. It just did not fit into the schedule."
On a coaches meeting featured on Hard Knocks involving a discussion about players getting days off from practice:
"I am glad that you brought that up. Let me explain it. Was it you [News Herald beat writer Jeff Schudel] that told me that we do a great job, and why have we not had any soft tissue injuries? Thank you. For the last two years, we have not had any soft tissue injuries. I think I said that day it was because our medical staff and myself we put a plan together to make sure that the guys – we have very good data that says that if a guy is very close, and people do not get that two days from then they are going to pull and there is a good chance that they will pull. We have done this now for two years, and we have had really good success. I do not think that (offensive coordinator) Todd (Haley) meant anything by it. I just think that he meant from his feeling, he has been at different places and everybody has a different way of doing things. It is just how we do it here, and it works for us. The most important part is that we keep our players healthy. If we end up losing somebody, they will not be out here practicing. There was no animosity or anything like that. It was not a back and forth between Todd and myself. Todd gets it, trust me. That has never come up again. I want our guys to ask questions about those things. Once I explain them, then we move forward. That is just the way it works. It is a great thing."
On if the Browns coaching staff is able to express their opinions:
"Absolutely, I think that my staff will tell you that they are able to ask or say whatever they like. At the end of the day, there is a start and a finish to anything. There is a finish. Let's move forward. Let's keep going."
On quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese:
"He is a developer of quarterbacks. I have been with Kenny. We have been together for quite a few years. That is why I brought him here. I wanted to feel comfortable that if I were not able to be around that room as much that they would be in great hands. My relationship with him goes way back. I know how he goes about it. We kind of learned together and have been together. That is why Kenny is here. He has done a great job. I think that you can see we have some very talented players in that room, but also, they have been coached. He has done a great job that way."
On if he was a believer in the sports science analytics when he first came to the Browns:
"No because I did not understand it. Zebra [Technologies] has gone to a whole different level. That is the one piece of analytic information that I really like. I think that the data really shows. I had to learn that it is not the day that affects the player, it is two days later. All of a sudden you lose a player and then all of a sudden they do not practice guys and here we go. We have been fortunate. We have had a really good staff that has given me the information. We trade back and forth and make those decisions on what we think is right. I think that the most important thing is that we only have one or two guys that are down every now and then. It is really spaced out so we make sure that we get the practice that we need but also make sure that we take care of our players the best we can."
On players receiving days off as it relates to WR Jarvis Landry's speech about players not practicing:
"With Jarvis, I think he is coming at it from a different angle in my opinion with his room and his unit. I understand that because in order to play receiver, those guys have to run all day. Let's just be honest. I think that is where he was coming from. I do not think he meant it for the football team. I think he meant it for his room in general because he knows receivers have to fight through some things so they can come out of the other side of it. At the same time I have to watch him, too because we have to keep him up and running, and I think that is important because he is going to be very vital to what we do on offense."
On if the Browns would consider signing WR Dez Bryant despite the young WRs developing:
"It is a discussion. I think we have a lot of good things going, but at the same time I do not think you can ever have too many good football players as long as they fit and as long as it is the right fit for the organization, for the locker room and for all involved. I think that is (General Manager) John's (Dorsey) charge. That is what he is trying to do. I think we will continue to do that in a number of different positions. If we can get better, we still need to continue to get better, and I think that is how he sees it."
On building mental toughness as mentioned in the coaching discussion:
"It is how you practice. It is the environment that you create in practice. I think you see we go hard. We bump into each other. We run into each other. That is the other side of it for me. I have never been one where we patty cake at practice. We go after it. That is the other side. You have to practice physical and tough, but you also have to take care of them because you can't have it both ways. If you do both, then players are going to break down. I think that is when the locker room goes, 'What are you doing?' I think our players understand that I am going to push them, but at the same time, if they are close and if something says there is an issue, we are going to take care of them that way as well."
On if the QB situation is any different following the preseason opener:
"Nothing has changed. (QB) Tyrod Taylor is our starter. (QB) Baker Mayfield is a young talented player who we have a bright, bright future ahead with that young man."
On clarifying his Zebra Technologies reference:
"There is some technology that tracks everything that a player does out here on the field from a running standpoint. All the yards they cover in practice, we know at the end of practice. I get a report from our sports science guy that says, 'OK, this guy is in the red. This guy is in the green. This guy is in the yellow. Be careful, be cautious, be this or be that.' Then we get together and make a decision based on where they could be. Sometimes that is because someone might be down in a group or there might be a player missing. It could be because a guy just had a lot of work in his unit. It could be special teams combined. A lot of different things lead to that."
On if guys in the red typically receive rest:
"Oh yeah, look out because normally those guys are going to break down."
On if the DL Carl Nassib viewed on Hard Knocks is the 'real Carl Nassib':
"That is the real Carl Nassib. There is no doubt about it. Do not let him fool you. That is who he is."
On being annoyed with the tempo at practice today:
"I was. We have to go faster. We have to play faster. I think when the offense plays fast, it makes the defense plays fast. I think our defense has to get down in their stance and beat the offense to their stance, and I think the offense has to go push the defense. There is a time when you play methodical, when you are going line up and smash the other team and you are a little bit better than they are. That is not who we are yet so we have to play with a tempo at all times. We have to continue to find our tempo. It is normally the quarterback's tempo. We play the way our quarterback likes to play, and that is how you go about it."
On OL Joel Bitonio's performance in the first preseason game:
"I think he did a good job. He kept himself between the rusher and the quarterback. From that standpoint, it was good. I think there are still some fundamental things he has to continue to work at – he will be the first to tell you that – where he places his hands, his sets and those things. It was great that we made the decision when we did. He got to play a tremendous rusher last week. H will play another one this week. He will play another one a week after that. Hopefully, by the time we get to the regular season, if that is the situation we are still in, we are ready to go."
On OL Austin Corbett playing many snaps and his performance:
"He did. I think it was good to have him out there. I thought he battled. I think he is tough. He has some things he can improve on, as well, but I was happy. I did not see a bunch of pressure on the quarterback from his side so that was good. When I watched the tape, there are some fundamental things that he has to continue to work at. As a young player playing in his first game, I give him a thumbs up for that, but he has to improve over the next several weeks."
On WR Antonio Callaway playing into the fourth quarter and if that was discipline related:
"Absolutely. That was the plan. It was. I was trying to make him play the whole game if we could. I did not want him to come out."
On why he did not want Callaway to come out of the game:
"That was part of the consequence of what he has been through, and he knows it. That is what it was. Either you sit him or make him play. I thought it was better to make him play. Make him play as long as he could. There were a couple of times he kept waving to come out, and we said, 'No, stay in.'"
On how Callaway persevered and if he liked the response:
"I did. He worked through it. There were times he had his hands – I am sure you saw it – he had his hands on his head like this, and he was ready to go to the sideline. We said 'Uh-uh, you are back in there.' He fought through it, came out the other side of it and made some plays. That was good."
