On if he is disappointed QB Josh McCown will not play this week:
"Anytime you have a player that can't play, you're always going to be disappointed, but Johnny's had a good week. It's not like Josh practiced and we find out late he can't go. When a guy goes into the protocol, you have to make the assumption that he's not going to be back and then react to the news when he is. We're prepared."
On how much more prepared Manziel will be from more practice reps:
"The game reps, to me, are the most valuable ones that he got. Coming out and playing three quarters against New York and then getting a full week and then a lot of the overlap of the Jets practice I already talked about, we were able to carry over a lot of stuff from the end of training camp and from last week so it's all material that's he's very comfortable with."
On Manziel got enough work this week, considering his elbow and limiting reps:
"He did because we limited some of the volume during the individual periods so there was no limit on the throws that he needed to make in the 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 situation. Some of the stuff in normal, just quarterback, once he's warmed up but the indo (individual) period, we just scaled back some of those. It has not been an issue this week. We're comfortable that he's where he needs to be."
On similarities between not wanting to coach the competitiveness out of McCown and Manziel, wanting to keep him in the pocket:
"I don't necessarily… As long as he's not triggering too early to come out but if he can run for a handful of first downs, then that's obviously good for us. It's finishing those runs. It's understanding that 'Hey, I need to get down.' That's hard when you're close to goal line or you're close to the first down marker. It's easy to say to a guy, 'Hey, be smart. Make sure you go down.' Instinct takes over."
On discussing that with Manziel this week:
"We have it with Johnny every week (laughter)."
On if history between quarterbacks coach Kevin O'Connell and Titans QB Marcus Mariota helps game planning:
"Kevin really worked with him on fundamental stuff, not so much schematic. He wasn't necessarily out on the field going against certain coverages and he knew what bothered him and what didn't. I don't think there's too much to take from that."
On how he felt going into Manziel's first start last year:
"I don't have too much recollection of that week, during or after. Right now, I feel very comfortable just because of the volume of reps that he's gotten, the quality of the reps, where he is with the material, how he is in the meeting room. We knew he was going to be the guy and coming out of playing three quarters against the Jets, looking back on it now, that experience helps him."
On concerns Manziel may get caught up in the hype surrounding Mariota and competing against him individually:
"I don't think so. I think from a mental toughness he's been very, very focused, very dialed in. Their defense presents a lot of problems, and I think we'll have more than enough to worry about then to think of looking up and trying to compare stats. The only thing he's going to worry about is the scoreboard."
On how the Browns are different now than in Manziel's first start last year:
"I think it's very different. In certain regards, we're different schematically on offense. From a personnel standpoint – I don't know the exact injury report – but I know we were late in the year, like most teams are, we were a little bit beat up. I don't know if I remember back enough to that week to be able to give you a true comparison."
On having to deviate from the starting QB plan earlier than expected:
"That was the plan, but in the NFL nothing ever goes according to plan. That's why we're confident just in how Johnny's handled his business since he's come back. He's been a guy that has prepared like he's the starter and it's for these exact situations. I think he showed some level of preparedness last week, did a good job stepping in. The turnovers can't happen but there were some things to build on coming out of that game."
On if Manziel can seize the starting job based on this game:
"I'm not concerned with it. I'm just concerned about playing well on Sunday. As we say, we'll deal with Monday on Monday."
On if QB Austin Davis took reps with the starters this week:
"Yeah, it's tough for the two to get it, but he was able to take some reps and we got him some bonus reps with the starters."
On Davis' progress in the new offense:
"Very intelligent. I think his football IQ is as high as we expected. The roots of the St. Louis system kind of go back to (Georgia offensive coordinator and former Rams offensive coordinator) Brian Schottenheimer. There was a lot of carry over. A lot of Flip's (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) terminology and concepts carry over from that as well. There was a lot of it that he walked in the door already knowing.
On sensing excitement from the Browns for the home opener:
"Absolutely. I think our guys know that if we handle our business right that the place will be rocking. I think we look forward to every home game but the first one, especially."
On memories from the win against the Titans last year:
"I remember we played really bad for a half and we played really good for a half. It was a Murphy's Law start. A lot of stuff went wrong and we fell behind very quickly, but I think the score, we drove the length of the field and scored before the half, which I thought was key. Then I think we also got the second half kickoff and were able to go down and at least put a long drive together. I don't know if we scored, but I just remember building momentum late in the second quarter and remembering not having to say much at half time because the veteran players were already saying that on the way in, that they knew that we had come back against Pittsburgh Week 1 and fell short. Guys were upset that it got to the point where it was, but there was that resolve to get back. It was probably our most memorable win of the year, but that's not going to help us this year."
On when the Browns knew McCown wouldn't practice today and an update on McCown:
"I won't go into any details. I just know that he has to go through another series of tests today. I know when you have a setback that it resets the clock. Don't have anything much beyond that."
On if he talked to McCown after learning he'd be unable to practice today:
"I have not talked to him yet."
