Head Coach Hue Jackson:
On how QB DeShone Kizer looked in the two-minute drill today:
"Pretty good. Yeah, he did some good things."
On what part of the game Kizer needs to learn the most:
"Just the National Football League game. We are in situational things right now. There is still so much for him to learn, to see and to experience, but obviously, he is doing some good things as they all are. He is working at it. He has to just stay to the grind every day. It is hard. These guys have been through it. Their bodies are different, the environment is different. You get a day off and you come back, it is just the process for them. They just have to work through the process."
On if he teaches QBs to call and run plays against air as practice, referring to Kizer's on-field work following practices:
"Oh yeah. You have to. You have to go through the script yourself because obviously, we are dividing reps right now. It is important that you get every rep so that you can say it, say it in the huddle, visualize it and be able to execute it in your own mind."
On OL JC Tretter's intelligence:
"He is smart. He is tough. He has unbelievable quickness and athletic ability. He is a good get for us. He really takes care of things in the middle of our offense and that is important. It is important to our team."
On if he has ever had a player on his roster earn a degree in industrial labor relations:
"No (laughter). That is a little over the top, but he does a good job. He is a very bright young man. He has worked hard."
On his film session yesterday reviewing tape of training camp thus far:
"The good is that we had not turned the ball over a lot. I think there are some execution things we have done really well. We have seen on offense some things that the defense has thrown at us, which is good because you have to be able to make adjustments as you go so the quarterbacks handled that well. The bad is, obviously, from an offensive standpoint, in the two-minute situation, we have to win those. That is what you want. The defense has done a really good job – a lot of different looks. They are playing a lot of different packages, which is so good for us to see because that is what we will see during the year. That adjustment period as we move forward will help is. The other side on the defense, we have to get more turnovers. We just have to come up with more turnovers. That is what we are stressing. That is what we are after. Today wasn't about tackling or hitting or any of that. It was about situational football again. The two-minute drill, the defense did a good job."
On DL Myles Garrett receiving reps with the first-team defense today and Garrett lining up against OL Joe Thomas:
"It is time. As I said the other day, you can only keep guys down so long. You just start watching every day, and when you see what he is doing, he is doing a good job. I didn't really just watch the individual battle – I will watch it on tape a little bit more – but I am sure those guys had a conversation. If anybody can give him some good instruction on what they have seen through the years it is going to be Joe, and then it is good for Joe to go against somebody with that kind of explosion and that kind of speed and quickness."
On Garrett getting by Thomas on a would-be sack in practice:
"I know I saw a blur going around me. I didn't know who was over there. I'm not surprised by anything he does. He just has to do it every day. You have to do it every day and keep getting better."
On having Pro Football Hall of Fame DL Bruce Smith at practice and Smith working with Garrett and the Browns DL:
"It is awesome. I was with Bruce at the Washington Redskins. I was coaching on the staff when he was there. I have always had a personal relationship with him. He has a relationship with Myles. I thought it was important for him to come out and spend time with us. He knows (defensive coordinator Gregg) Williams. He knows (defensive line coach) Clyde Simmons. He knows some of our coaches. We all kind of go back. It was good to see him. He looks like he could still play. I would take him on the other side, too (laughter). It is good. Anytime we can have former players or Hall of Famers come back and talk to our players and be around them, I think that is a good thing. Obviously, we have the greatest of all-time in Jim Brown so that is really good for us."
On the structure of the Orange & Brown Scrimmage on Friday:
"We are going to scrimmage. We are going to play football. We are going to tackle and take people to the ground."
On why today was chosen for Garrett to go against Thomas and if it was tied to Smith attending practice:
"It just happened that way. It wasn't scripted or anything like that. This was a day that Joe was practicing and a day that Myles happened to be out there with the ones when Joe was going. We had a couple of opportunities to get those guys together."
On why Garrett was with the first team today:
"He has earned it. I can only keep him down there for so long. You have to start pushing him up. He is doing a good job. He is earning it. That is what we feel. We feel like every day when we watch the tape, you keep watching him get better and better and better and better. He is in better shape, he understands our system better and he knows exactly what to do so he is starting to play a lot better."
On if the QB order will remain as it is now for Friday's scrimmage:
"I haven't made that decision yet, but it could be. Right now, I don't see any reason to change it. I want to really evaluate that. I'm going to stand back and just evaluate it all on Friday and not be as involved as I would be just so that I can make a good decision as we move forward for our football team."
On the format of Friday's scrimmage:
"We will divide the teams. We will do everything that a game calls for because I think it is important that our players go through that process before we play next Thursday. We will have halftime. We will have a coin toss. We will play it like a game, situational football and see what we can accomplish."
On the impact Tretter's experience on the OL:
"He has done a great job. He is very bright, exceptional athlete, very tough and strong. Having a guy like that who knows is like having another quarterback. He has done a good job, and we are glad he is here. He has kind of solidified that group in the middle because that is where you have to be. You have to be strong up the middle. He has done a good job thus far."
On DL Desmond Bryant working with the first team and if he looks close to his form prior to injury:
"He is Des Bryant, no doubt. He is just another guy that needed to get in shape, get back to the grind of playing and understanding our defense because it is different. Those guys are doing a good job over there. There is no question about that."
On if his 'leadership has no age' comment to the team targeted someone in particular:
"It is targeted at the young guys. We have a lot of young guys here that are playing and contributing to our team. We are a very young team. He said it. You don't have to be a veteran to be a leader. You have to be a football player, be accountable and understand what our vision is and what we are trying to accomplish to be a leader. Then, go out and lead. The guys who lead normally serve, and they serve their football team. We have some guys that are young guys who are stepping into that role, and I think they have done a good job."
On both groups' two-minute drill sessions ending in interceptions:
"That is disappointing. We have to get better at that. We had a chance to make some plays, too, and did not make them. We had a drop here, a drop there and missed balls. You cannot miss those. In those situations, you have to make those plays. All of those things will be evaluated because that is what is important. Situational football, it is not another day at the office. We have got to that fixed because that is how you win or lose games. Whether it is the end of the half or the end of the game, we have to make those plays."
On if he feels differently about QB Cody Kessler:
"I do not feel any different today. I have to go watch the tape. Every day I evaluate everything. It is not just the feels or the meetings; it is everything. Everything is going to go into the equation as we make this decision. Right now, I don't see a need to change anything. We don't play a game until next Thursday."
On if Kessler is gaining more confidence as the Browns remain consistent with the QB rotation:
"I don't know that. You would have to ask him that. I don't know that our players look at it like that. They come out every day and compete. They know that at some point in time that I am going to step in the room and say, 'Hey, this is the direction that we are traveling.' I think they understand that."
On if Smith's presence at practice had any influence on Garrett working with the first team defense:
"No, not at all. That was earned. That was earned by that young man by the way he has practiced, by the way he has gotten himself into shape and by his teammates. I think some of his teammates were wondering, 'Coach, when are you guys going to put him up there? You know, what are you doing?' He deserves it. He is working hard. No, Bruce had nothing to do with that."
On TE David Njoku's touchdown reception in 7-on-7 drills:
"He demonstrates that he can make those plays. He just has to make them consistently. I think everybody was excited for him because everybody knows the pressure that he has been under that way. He has to make those plays, and he can. He demonstrates that he can. He just has to do it all of the time."
On LB Christian Kirksey's 2016 season and expectations for him in the future:
"Obviously, he had a tremendous season last year. I expect him to play even better within this scheme. He is one of the leaders of our defense. Tremendous football player. He is somebody in that locker room that the players look to. I think he will do a great job that way as well."
On if any of the young LBs have caught his eye:
"All of them as a group. They have all improved. During the OTAs, they were a little different. We have a guy that played defensive end and never played linebacker. These guys are running around playing linebacker the way you are supposed to play. (LB B.J.) Bello and all of those guys, all three of those young guys, they are really coming along. (Linebackers coach) Blake Williams has done a good job with those guys."
On if the entire Orange & Brown Scrimmage will include live tackling:
"Yes, it is a scrimmage."
On the length of the scrimmage:
"I don't know – until I get tired (laughter). It is something that I want to see. I want to see our team compete. There are certain guys that I want to see perform and do certain things. We will try to make that happen within the scrimmage. It may not. It may never go the way that you want it to. We will go for a number of plays and really get a good feel for our football team. Then we will come back the next day and do what we call a 'mock game,' which is somewhat similar but there is no tackling and there is no taking to the ground. It will be a good two days for our football team to get ready for next Thursday when we play."
