Head Coach Hue Jackson:
Opening statement:
"An OK practice. Have to keep pushing. A lot of situational stuff, which is good. Have to keep working through those things, working through those situations so we can continue to get better."
On practice getting 'testy' towards the end:
"I like a little testy. Testy is good. I am surprised that it is just now getting testy. They are fine. Those things happen. We have men that are competing every day. Both sides are competing. That is just part of football."
On balancing 'fiery personalities' of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and offensive coordinator Todd Haley:
"I balance. I have [a fiery personality] myself. I get to have the supreme fire. That is going to happen every now and then. That is just football."
On if the exchange occurred due to QB Baker Mayfield getting hit during practice:
"I am not going to say hit. He probably got touched, knocked into, whatever all that is. We have some competitive guys. I like that, but I want the defense to play well, I want the offense to play well and I want the special teams to play well. That is what we have to do."
On if he had to tell the team to 'calm it down' after:
"I did. I get to be head master. They did. They understand. I love the fire in both of them. Both of them are very competitive. That is what you want."
On if the team needs to play with more of a 'fire in the belly' this season:
"I think that you have to play this game that way. You have to have the fire in your belly to play. This is a hard-driving business. Everybody can't do it. It is tough. I think that is the way that football is played. I am glad both of those guys are here. They do a good job."
On if there were issues with QB contact at practice today:
"No, I do not think that anybody is intentionally trying to. Every now and then, those things may happen. We do not want them to happen. I tell the guys to stay off of the quarterback. We do not want to take a chance of any of those quarterbacks getting hurt doing something like that – somebody just making a mistake or being stupid or anything like that. At the same time, we know that this is football. It does happen. We just have to work through that."
On OL Greg Robinson receiving reps at LT with the first team offense with OL Joel Bitonio at LG:
"Bitonio is still our starting left tackle. We just have to keep working combinations and things. It means nothing. It just means that every now and then, I am going to stick Greg out there and make sure that Joel keeps playing some left guard. I told you guys, if we find an answer in house, then great. If we do not, then I feel good about Joel being out there."
On Robinson's performance against the Giants:
"I thought that he did some better things. He did. He played with some urgency, understood the system better and did not give up pressures and did those things right. He is just learning our system. He has to continue to work at it."
On if he has seen an increased number of players not wanting to be held out of practice, specifically in reference to WR Jarvis Landry's speech featured on Hard Knocks:
"No (laughter). There probably were one or two guys that said, 'Hey, Coach, I am good,' but I think the guys know their bodies, and we know their bodies pretty well. He is a new guy here, too. He is working through it. He is learning about how we go about it. We want a tough football team, but we also have to be smart. We have to have all of these guys out here to become a good football team. If guys are in the training room, that is not going to help us. I think that everybody understands that."
On if it is important for Bitonio to receive more reps at LT on Friday night:
"Absolutely, no doubt. He is not going to get more than he is supposed to, but he is going to keep playing that position, if that is what you are asking."
On how much more Bitonio will play:
"They are going to play a little bit more. It is the second game so I expect those guys to play more. That will be good for them."
On if a player can decide to practice after the team recommends a day off:
"It is up to them in that situation. These guys know their bodies. We have data, and the guys know how they are feeling. We do not just say, 'Hey, you are off. You are down, and you better be.' If a guy decides he wants to go out there and practice… Trust me, it is not like I think that you guys think it is. This is not a whole mass exodus of guys off practice. Please. That is what it sounds like when I hear everybody talking about it. We are talking about a few guys who have had a history, a history of pulls. We have not had that happen. We do this to make sure that we do not have that happen. That is all it is."
On DB Denzel Ward's status:
"He has a little bit of a sore ankle. We have pulled through it. He has been out there practicing, competing and doing some good things. He just has to keep pushing through."
On if OL Kevin Zeitler's is getting closer to returning to play:
"Getting closer. Absolutely, getting closer."
On how the communication in the run game has been in the past couple of days:
"Not good enough (laughter). We have to keep working at it. I think what happens is when you have so many moving pieces… (OL) JC Tretter who was off today, he was down today. Last year was the first time JC Tretter played 16 straight games. That was a tribute to that, but JC Tretter being out sometimes and you have (OL) Kevin Zeitler who is out so there are some moving pieces in there. We will get the group back and get these guys to playing together pretty soon."
On if the Browns will run the ball more against the Bills since it was not up to expectations against the Giants:
"No, that was not the goal in Week 1. We accomplished what we set out to do with the first offense and second offense in Week 1. We would have like to run the ball better. It was not up to our standard and what we like to do. I am not going to say we are going to run it more. We are going to continue to focus on the things we need to do to get ready for the season and prepare our players, but we do hope to run the ball better this week."
On DL Caleb Brantley not practicing today:
"Yes, I think it is an ankle that happened yesterday. We will get him back out here soon."
On if QB Drew Stanton playing more today is an indicator that he will play this week:
"Yes, I want to play him this week. I do."
On if Stanton received more reps today in preparation for playing this week:
"Yes, absolutely. Give him a chance to go out there, throw the ball around and make some plays."
On WR Josh Gordon's text to him about 'hoping to see him soon,' as aired on Hard Knocks:
"You do not miss anything do you?"
On if he has an update on Gordon or his expected return:
"No, I do not."
On if he has been in touch with Gordon:
"Yeah, I think I have. Yeah."
On if there is a deadline for when Gordon needs to return in order to be prepared to play Week 1:
"Honestly, I have not even thought that far. I am trying to coach the team that is on this field and trying to get these guys better."
On if he recommends that Browns players watch specific players' film to improve, specifically in reference to DL Myles Garrett watching film of Panthers DL Julius Peppers:
"Every now and then, I think our coaches do and people in personnel do. I think we are always trying to get our guys to see guys who have done it at a high level at their position over time. That does happen from time to time, but I know where that one came from and it is good that Myles is taking that advice and using it. (DL Julius) Peppers has been a tremendous player in this league."
On what Bitonio can gain from watching film of or connecting with players who transitioned from G to T:
"I think you can. Those guys have relationships. Those are phone calls with people you trust. Joel is going to be fine. Joel has done an outstanding job here as a left guard. He will do a great job as a left tackle for us. There is no question in my mind. Obviously, he has to feel confident that he can do it, and I think he is. He played against a tremendous rusher this past week and held his own. He will play more as we get closer to the season, and he will be ready to go."
On if it comes down to if OL Austin Corbett at LG or OL Greg Robinson at LT is best for determining the starting Browns OL:
"I am not going to say it is just those two guys. I just think we are always looking to find the five best guys, and I think you have to continue to jump start it as much as you can. Now, we have a group right now that we feel good about and we are going to play with, but I am still looking for who is going to be the next guy that can go in there and make it even better if we can."
