DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Pettine's Presser

I know it's early, but I really like what he had to say. Before everyone attacks me, please realize that I just listened to his answers to questions. I know it's all words until the season starts, but he seems to get it. Go Browns!!
Pettine's Presser

JM seemed to say all the right things, too. Maybe he has been humbled a little by the experience.... Manziel Presser

We are Johnny Football.

having just listened to all the pressers for the guys we drafted (except the LB, I don't think he did a presser or I just missed it) I noticed on common thread, they are all bright, articulate and all have they a goal pointed at one thing, winning.

It wasn't always that way with our draft picks..

This is Johnny Football...the others were pretenders.

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Previously, I viewed him as a cocky, selfish little punk who thought he was bigger than the game.

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I had that same feeling. Listening to his pressers, I also agree, he's not what he appeared to be.

He looks and acts serious. No clowning around. Just business.

The other thing, each of the other draft picks were asked about him and each and every one of them said he is "MANZIEL" man,, he's a great player, he makes plays, he makes BIG plays, he's just a regular guy, he's a leader. Or some variation of any and all of those things.

That is something you NEVER heard anyone say about Weeden. You did hear it about McCoy, you didn't hear it about Brady Quinn.

We'll see how it all works out I guess...

Well, maybe they said "It's WEEDEN man" to themselves ... but most likely in the opposite manner.

Here's what coach Mike Pettine is saying about Browns today
By NATE ULRICH Published: June 10, 2014

Browns coach Mike Pettine spoke to reporters today following the team's first practice of mandatory minicamp. Below is a transcript from the news conference.


On declining Hard Knocks: “Just being a first-year head coach – I had been a part of it before – I just really wanted to get through that first season’s training camp. This was a decision that was made long before the draft. It was just something that I felt in my gut, I just didn’t want to be a part of the first year. I saw the positives of it, but I think there’s some negatives to it, as well. Just not having a good feel for our roster, as far as the chemistry and the personalities and all of that, that’s kind of going into some uncharted territory to agree to do that right out of the gate. I think that’s why the league gives the teams that are the first-year [head coaches] the right to not be a part of that pool of teams they can potentially require to do it.”


On if Hard Knocks makes it more difficult for the coaching staff: “It can. I think it’s just something that you’re…I just always felt if there’s anything that causes us to think for one second about something other than preparing our football for the opener, than that’s probably not a good thing. There are some distractions involved with it. I see the other side of it, the positives that can be there, but from a staff standpoint, that’s something that we have to factor in.”


On if Hard Knocks inquired about filming the Browns again after the draft: “That I don’t know. I’m not sure. I, personally, was not approached about it. It wouldn’t shock me if we were asked about it again, but we weren’t going to stray from our initial answer.”


On the increased intensity from OTAs to mandatory minicamp: “It does, naturally. I don’t know if that was noticeable today. I could feel it just being by both huddles, and just the conversations between the huddles were less than pleasant a little bit more so today than during OTAs. Our guys love to compete, and that comes out. You can tell that. Anytime it’s a situation like we did at the end where it’s an unscripted period and it’s a move the ball – I’m sure we’ll do some two-minute work before this camp is done – where those can get ratcheted up even higher.”


On why the quarterbacks are not available to the media for minicamp: “They had been made available. I don’t think the message will be that different than it was before. It was something that was just in our rotation of things that we just didn’t feel that it needed to be done.”


On Browns OL Joel Bitonio’s status: “He has an injury. He’ll be out of camp. He does have an ankle injury. I don’t know the specifics of it. I just know it’s enough to hold it out of this camp, and I know that he’ll be ready to go Day 1 of training camp. We do have some guys nicked up. I’ll repeat the policy for those who are new: I won’t speak on specifics of injuries if they’re not going to prevent a guy from making the start of training camp. Really, the only guys that are potential holds late would be (Browns WR) Travis (Benjamin), and that would be more of just to give him a little bit of extra time. He could start on PUP (physically unable to perform), but everybody else should be good to go for the beginning of camp.”


On releasing LB Quentin Groves, and if the Browns have enough depth at outside linebacker: “We do. We’re going to cross-train some guys. Kirksey’s going to take some work at outside backer. We always want to be in the position of putting the best 11 out there. We will cross-train guys, and that’s difficult in year one of a program, when you’re trying to get guys to master their original position; you don’t want them to become the old jack of all trades master of none, but at some point, you realize it when the roster gets trimmed down then you realize you’ve got to sit another eight guys on game day that you have to have some guys doing multiple jobs. Going back to the Quentin thing, I won’t get into specifics, but (Browns General Manager) Ray (Farmer) and I discuss the roster almost every day, and it was a move that we felt was in the best interest of the Browns. With veteran players that have a chance to latch on somewhere else, we would prefer to do it sooner than later so they do have the opportunity to move on.”


On developing the wide receivers, specifically younger players like Anthony Armstrong: “Anthony has come in and has just been the ultimate professional. He’s a guy that shows up to work every day. He has a little bit of an advantage coming in because he knew the system, having been with (Browns offensive coordinator) Kyle (Shanahan) in Washington. He definitely, despite his age, has some juice left for sure. I’m sure you guys saw that today, and he’s a good example for the young receivers – how to prepare, how to take care of your body, how to be an ultimate pro. The situation has been good. We’ve been able to work a lot of receivers in there and get a look at a lot of those guys. I’m looking forward to camp when we can get that position sorted out.”


On balancing Browns QB Johnny Manziel’s availability to the media with the good of the team: “I understand the balance, but personally my feeling on that is I’m going to err towards the side of the team if it’s close or even to the middle. That’s the approach that we discussed as a staff, and that’s the way we decided to go.”


On if Manziel makes him aware of his weekend plans: “No, because I told him I didn’t feel like he had to come to me every time he was going to leave town. The philosophy here is we’re not going to micromanage the guys. I was involved in an event this weekend that if there were some cameras at certain times, it probably wouldn’t have been the most flattering. It was a group of coaches out. We had a good time, but we were responsible. When it becomes irresponsible or becomes part of something that involves breaking the law or something that we feel is a potential problem, we’ll step in. (Browns player engagement director) Jamil Northcutt does a great job and (Browns player engagement assistant) Russell Maryland with the rookie programs educating those guys. We’re going to bring in speakers for those, not just the rookies, but the whole team just to kind of talk about all the potential issues off the field – everything from financial issues to drugs to alcohol to try to do our best to educate those guys so they make great choices when they’re out of the building.”


On Browns QB Brian Hoyer taking limited reps: “When we’re in that simulated 11-on-11, it’s difficult defensively to use a lot of those reps with the first defense. That’s why we’re rotating the units so much. We’re being cautious with it. To me, it’s too big of a risk to take, the downside if somebody does crash into him. I don’t feel it’s that significant of a difference that he’s not getting the work. He’s still getting the 11-on-11 work, calling the play in the huddle. We feel we’re kind of walking that line down the middle, and I knows he’s frustrated, but he only had two more days to deal with ‘Spartan mode.’ Then, he’ll be full go by the time we get to camp.”


On if Hoyer is losing ground in the quarterback competition by taking limited reps: “I don’t think he’s losing ground. I think he’s frustrated because he says, ‘Hey my unit’s the ones, and I’m not out there with it.’ It’s frustrating for him, but he understands – very begrudgingly understands – why we’re doing it. He is the ultimate competitor. I’m glad that he came and talked to me about it. I’m glad that he feels the way that he is because I don’t think he would be what you’d be looking for in a quarterback if he wasn’t just wearing everybody out to try to get out there full go.”


On if Hoyer gets rid of the ball quicker than Manziel: “It is. I think Brian anticipates very well, and I think that’s one of the bigger differences between college football and the NFL. College quarterbacks, at times, sometimes based on their system, too, they wait until guys get open to throw the ball. That’s a very common thing. It’s rare to have a guy coming out of college who can anticipate the break, whereas Brian understands the windows are a lot smaller in the NFL. I think the younger quarterbacks are kind of finding out how tight the windows are in the NFL. Anytime you can throw it before a receiver’s open and have it arrive as he’s getting open, that’s the way to go for sure.”


On if the coaches know much about Browns WR Charles Johnson: “We don’t. We’re very anxious to see him. We went back and watched some tape of him at Grand Valley (State), and he was impressive there, and just the things that we’ve heard from the information that we got from Green Bay when he was on the practice squad and playing very well. We don’t know much, but he’s a guy that’s been great in the meetings. He knows the system very well, and we’re very much looking forward to getting him out there.”


On if he is concerned about how Manziel is portrayed on social media: “I’m not concerned. I would become concerned if there was something criminal, and I’d be concerned if it affected his job. I think there’s a lot of our guys when they leave here, that if they were followed around, you’d get some very similar pictures. I don’t know about an inflatable swan, but I think you’d still get some pictures.”


On Manziel at practice: “I think he’s getting better. I think he’s getting more comfortable in the huddle calling the plays. I think he has a very nice touch with the deep ball, and he shows that we’ve added some of the zone-read stuff that Kyle had run with RG3 (Redskins QB Robert Griffin III) in Washington. He’s done a nice job handling that. He makes improvements every day, and that’s all that we ask of him.”


On if he’s worried about Manziel putting himself in a bad situation: “I don’t because I think it’s something that he’s used to. I think he understands that it comes with the territory, but I also think he’s a young man that he doesn’t want his lifestyle or how he lives it to be affected by social media. He’s not going to, ‘Hey, I’m not leaving my house.’ I don’t he wants to be that way. It just goes back to we’re not going to micromanage him until we feel it is an issue, and if it’s not affecting him on the field, then I don’t think it’s anything that we need to address at this point.”


On how Browns LB Jabaal Sheard fits into the scheme: “He’s been impressive. He was a guy that we liked coming out of Pitt. I was very encouraged from watching the film from last year. We talk about the ‘Play like a Brown’ attributes, and we want a guy that plays like his hair is on fire. If I had to pick on guy that fits that, the first name I would come up with is Jabaal. He’s versatile. I think we can move him around. He can play with his hand down. He can play up. His drop skills are more than adequate, and he plays violent. It’s tough for him in this arena when it’s no pads. I think he’ll show up even better when we have the pads on and his physicality will be much better used.”

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Here's what coach Mike Pettine is saying about Browns today

By NATE ULRICH Published: June 11, 2014

Browns coach Mike Pettine met with reporters today after the second practice of mandatory minicamp. Below is a transcript.


On the scuffle at practice: “I talked about it afterwards. We’re all wearing the same logo. We always use the phrase, ‘Competitive not combative.’ That line gets crossed every now and again, but I also think that’s a byproduct of what we’re trying to build, the mentality. It’s something that I think it happens; as a coach you frown on it, but at the same time it’s something that you understand it might be the price of doing business.”


On if Browns OL Garrett Gilkey being involved in both scuffles this spring is a pattern:“That’s probably an accurate interpretation. There are some guys that are maybe more apt to get involved with it, just by the nature of how they play.”


On if the scuffle went too far: “Yeah, that was one, especially because of Gilkey’s hair. There might have been a hair pull or two at the end. I think that’s why it took us awhile to get it broken up.


On Gilkey as a player: “He’s had a good camp for us. He’ll be right in that mix in competing for that guard job. We talk about competition at all positions, and that’s a good example. He’ll be in there with (Browns OL John) Greco, (Paul) McQuistan, and some of those names fighting for those inside jobs.”


On if the transition to the NFL is difficult for an offensive lineman from a small school:“It is. I think he’s handled it well, but that is tough for a guy that hasn’t gone against that level of competition. He’s been solid. The coaches have been very pleased with his progress so far.”


On if McQuistan is primarily playing guard: “I see McQuistan as a swing [offensive lineman]. He’s shown that he can play. I don’t know if he could play center, but I think we’d be comfortable at any other position. I don’t want to kind of just pigeon-hole him as, ‘Hey, he’s a backup, and we’re just going to use him as a swing guy.’ He’s capable of starting. He’ll compete for a starting job, but he’s also shown the versatility that he can play some other spots.”


On if the Browns offensive line can be elite: “We’re hopeful. I think it’s a good combination of guys, different styles. I think they’ll perform well in the system. I think the system will help them. I’ve been very fortunate to have hired an (Browns offensive line coach) Andy Moeller and a (Browns assistant offensive line coach) George DeLeone, I think, two of the better guys, well-respected offensive line coaches in the business. I feel like with George, we actually have a second lead coach. I know they split up and do a lot of work separately – centers and guards, and tackles alone. I feel that group is in good hands.”


On Browns DB Justin Gilbert’s progress: “He’s on the learning curve. He’s kind of put himself in some situations where he’s testing his ability to make up. I think a lot of corners – I don’t want to say play scared – but they’ll stay on top, and they get beat underneath a lot. I think the elite guys can let a guy get slightly past them, but know with their make-up speed and their length that they can still make a play on the ball. I think that’s what this time is form is kind of testing his limits and getting used to the speed of the NFL game and NFL receivers.”


On preferring to have two press-corners: “The one rule that’s truly in favor of the defense is the ability to make contact within the first 5 yards. I think anytime that you’re giving the offense what we call ‘free access’ into your secondary, I think you’re doing them a favor. It’s always been our mindset that if we can get a chance to roll up our guy and impede his release that a lot of the passing attacks that we go against are based on rhythmic or based on timing, we feel that it’s in our advantage anytime we can be disruptive in that way.”


On how much Browns assistant defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn can teach the secondary: “Aaron’s done a tremendous job so far, he and (Browns assistant defensive backs coach) Bobby Babich. I’ve noticed in the short time that Aaron’s been here that their technique, their footwork especially [has improved]. That’s critical for those guys that their footwork just becomes second nature to them that they don’t have to think about it. They’ve already show significant progress in that so far.”


On how much of an advantage it is to have corners that can play man-to-man: “It’s a huge advantage. Just look at the math of it: if you can allocate two corners to two receivers, as opposed to having to roll a guy over the top and waste an extra [defensive back] on top of a receiver, I think just from a math standpoint [it’s an advantage]. Football, when you break it down, a lot of stuff is based on math. You’re trying to get the maximum number of defenders at the point of attack, and when you’re just trading one for one, that’s a positive thing.”


On how limiting some of the veteran wide receivers affects what the receiving corps will look like by the season: “I think that does put us a little bit behind with the uncertainty of what that lineup is going to look like, but we wanted to be prudent with (Browns WRs) Miles (Austin), and Earl’s (Bennett) taken some quality reps; (Nate) Burleson’s just working his way back in. We’re hopeful that when we get to training camp –we get Travis Benjamin back; we get Charles Johnson, we get a chance to see what he can do – that hopefully we can settle on a lineup quickly and develop some chemistry with the quarterbacks.”


On WR Josh Gordon’s status: “No, there’s no additional update there.”


On Gordon not practicing today: “He just has a minor ding. He won’t go tomorrow, either.”


On if he led the charge to pick a cornerback in the first round of the draft: “No, I don’t want to say led the charge. I think (Browns General Manager) Ray (Farmer) and I are very much on the same page, as far as what we’re looking for. He understands the defense conceptually. What we did, as a staff, is provided for the scouting department a generic list of player rankings – like quarterback being the most important position on offense, left tackle more than likely the second; defensively, an elite corner No. 1, an elite pass rusher No. 2 and ranked the positions, no names attached, just generic if we would be picking by position only. I thought that was a worthwhile exercise, and I think that helped him understand what we were trying to get done. He knew it was an important thing and that when we talk about players on the board, where they get sequenced, that it will have an effect on the sequence, where a quarterback might get pushed up a little higher, a corner might get pushed up a little higher versus maybe a guard or a tight end just dude to the value of the position.


On what wide receivers have jumped out at him so far, in addition to Austin and Burleson: “I think all of those guys. I think (Browns WR Andrew) Hawkins for sure. I think some of those other guys too. We saw (Browns WR Kenny) Shaw make some plays today. (Browns WR) Willie Snead was doing well until he had a minor injury that’s kept him out. I think that’s a good young group, and I think that’s the plus side of having those guys out that it really gives us a chance to hopefully find a diamond in the rough with some of those other guys.”


On Hawkins’ strengths: “Short area of quickness, the ability to get in and out of breaks. There was a play today that the defense was called, the coverage was ‘51 double’, which meant double him, and he still got open. That’s when (Browns offensive coordinator) Kyle (Shanahan) got after (Browns defensive coordinator Jim) O’Neil a little bit and said, ‘You’re going to have to put three on him. He’s a guy that can win in the slot, and I think it’s important that if you have a guy that can win at tight end, and we think (Browns TE) Jordan (Cameron) can be that guy, and when you can win in the slot, that causes some issues defensively, when you have to now allocate maybe two defenders to the slot receiver as opposed to one. It goes back to the math problem. You can only allocate so much. You’ve seen passing attacks – and certainly something (Browns QB) Brian’s (Hoyer) used to – you see passing attacks over the course of football, a lot of times the third receiver, in some people’s opinion, is more important than the other outside receiver.”


On if he and Shanahan have discussed involving both Hoyer and Browns QB Johnny Manziel in the offense: “It’s too early. That conversation will occur, but it’s too early at this point.”


On if it’s special for his father to be watching practice this week: “It is. He’s been watching some of the practice tape so we had – I don’t want to call it heated – but an Italian conversation this morning before practice, he, I and Coach O’Neil. It’s great to have him here. It’s just another guy not necessarily who’s immersed in the scheme, but I always say it’s nice to get the 30,000-foot view sometimes, instead of when you’re deep in it, where he can make some comments. A lot of times I tell him, it’s sometimes how you say it, how you package it. Usually the content is accurate, but sometimes my defenses go up when he delivers the message the way he delivers it.”


On feeling the need to tell Hoyer to relax in order to take pressure off of him: “I don’t think you really want to mess with a guy in that way unless you see it becoming an issue or a guy that’s just pushing too hard. If that voice inside of his head is what drives him and that’s how he wants to compete and push himself and that works for him, then I think we’ll leave him alone.”


On Hoyer showing frustration after incompletions at practice: “You’ll see most quarterbacks, when they miss a throw don’t walk away from it feeling real good about themselves.”


On his father as the original “blunt force trauma”: “I learn from the best (laughter).”


On if Browns DB Joe Haden is teaching Browns DB Justin Gilbert: “He is. Joe has done a really nice job of taking not just Justin, but I think that whole room of corners under his wing. That’s the room that I think we changed the most, the most dramatic changes as far as a depth standpoint – the ability to add (Browns DB Isaiah) Trufant, Gilbert, (Browns DB Pierre) Desir, (Browns DB) Aaron Berry and supplement Joe that way. He’s been great with those guys.”


On what he’ll tell Gilbert that he needs to do coming into training camp: “Every coach is meeting between now and – they’ve already started – the end of the week. They’re going to get with their guys and meet with them and talk about exactly that. It’s every player on the roster, ‘Here’s where you are. Here’s what you need to work on. Here’s going to be the plan for you in training camp, and hopefully down the road.’”


On what Gilbert will be told going into training camp: “I think it will be more technical stuff. I think there are maybe some concepts that he’s a little bit more familiar with maybe because he’s played them before. Some of the things that (Browns secondary) Coach (Jeff) Hafley and the rest of that crew think he needs to work on specifically.”


On Manziel being drafted by the San Diego Padres: “My first question was I didn’t really even realize that he played baseball. I think it was back in high school, and I didn’t even get a chance to talk to him about it.”


On if the Padres used the draft pick as a publicity stunt: “I don’t know. When I heard it, somebody texted me about it, and I didn’t think it was that big of a deal because the kid’s die-hard football. It was a bit of a surprise.”


On football players playing two sports professionally: “If he had been a standout college baseball player and was doing both, but if you talk to him…I know somebody next to me is waiting, ‘Well, we would talk to him if you let us (laughter).’ I’ll answer for him, he’s football through and through.”


On if Manziel improved from yesterday’s practice to today: “I’d have to look at the tape because a lot of the time, even though I’m standing behind the offense, I’m looking at what’s going on the other side from a mechanics standpoint. There are some things that flashed, and I’ll get a better feel once I get in and get a chance to watch the tape.”


On if Gordon needs to step his effort up at practice: “No, that’s something I think he’s made progress with. It wasn’t just him. I think that’s one thing that we stress to our guys when we come in is that we want to finish. That’s a big part of making sure, whether it’s a receiver catching a ball, with the defensive line when the ball is thrown turning and running, the offensive line when the ball is thrown covering down the field, each position has its own little definition of what ‘finish’ is. That’s something that he’s improved on, but just like some other guys, there’s some room for more improvement.”

On if he appreciates players like Hawkins, who have taken several tries to make a roster: “Yeah, that’s a credit to his perseverance, his mental toughness. I think there’s some guys that would have packed it in and said, ‘Hey, this isn’t for me,’ but he was confident in himself and he knew eventually if the circumstances were right, that he would get a chance to shine. If you had to rate our players in the spring he’d, be right near the top.”

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Thanks for the articles. There is a lot of good information in them.

I had ESPN on last night and they had Jaws talking about Manziel at camp. They showed a couple of clips from yesterday's practice. What stood out to me is the pace. It was very fast. Guys were running to get to the next rep and the plays were being run quickly. It was a very crisp pace. I was impressed.

With Johnny going against top notch DB's ( Hayden Gilbert ) its going to help him get adjusted a lot quicker.

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On if the scuffle went too far: “Yeah, that was one, especially because of Gilkey’s hair. There might have been a hair pull or two at the end. I think that’s why it took us awhile to get it broken up.

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Nothing says "we're mean and nasty and ready to dominate the league" like pulling a guys hair.

Here's what coach Mike Pettine is saying about Browns today

By NATE ULRICH Published: June 12, 2014



Browns coach Mike Pettine met with reporters today following the third and final practice of mandatory minicamp. Below is a transcript.


On what he said to the team as it ended minicamp: “We feel we’ve built a good foundation. I went over in the meeting about some of the numbers that occurred in the weight room, some of the things we were able to do there; just the amount of inventory, the volume that we put in – offense, defense and special teams – spoke to that. We built a good foundation, but the key thing for a mature team is to take this break and keep on a rise. We can’t afford to take a step back and really be back at the beginning when we get to training camp. It was a challenge for the guys to stay in shape. Their playbooks will be available to them throughout this break, as well. We should be able to get ahead mentally for training camp, as well.”


On if Browns QB Brian Hoyer is the starting quarterback going into training camp: “Yes.”


On how close Browns QB Johnny Manziel is on the depth chart: “It’s been hard to evaluate because. Brian hasn’t been able to take the actual 11-on-11 reps, but when we put the actual depth chart together, Brian will be No. 1.”


On what he’s learned during minicamp: “That they know how to work, and that this is a smart group. I think we’ve handled some pretty complex stuff that we’ve thrown at them. That’s our job as coaches to kind of keep throwing at them and see what is our cumulative intelligence. I thought we’ve done a good job of handling that stuff. There are some guys that are better than others, but I think for the most part, they’ve impressed us as a staff with their work ethic and their ability to handle the volume of information.”


On if Hoyer has extended or maintained his lead as starting quarterback: “It’s hard because we haven’t really been in the mode of thinking, ‘OK, he’s this far ahead today. How much was the gap closed?’ They’re still learning the basics of the offense. The rookies haven’t been here very long. They’re playing catch-up from a playbook standpoint. At this point, we really weren’t keeping score. I think we’ll be much more apt to do that once we get to training camp.”


On if the rookies will remain at the facility after the minicamp ends: “Yeah, they’re here next week. Then, the NFL rookie symposium – which I think is split between AFC and NFC for a series of days, and that’s close by; I think part of it might actually be here, if I’m not mistaken – is the week after.”

ervous anytime your entire team is dismissed. As a coach, you hear your phone ring and you kind of look at it with one eye, hoping it’s not an issue coming up. We talked to them about it, that we wanted to make sure they handle themselves well. The advice, like I said before, was learn the system, stay in shape and stay out of trouble.”


On how the reps will be divided between Hoyer and Manziel in training camp: “I don’t know how even we’ll get it, but there will definitely be times when Johnny will be with the ones. It would be hard to evaluate if we didn’t do that. If there wasn’t a competition, then it would be strictly ones, twos. We have not met to go over that. (Browns offensive coordinator) Kyle (Shanahan), (Browns quarterbacks coach) Dowell (Loggains) and I are going to all think of it over the summer, and as we get closer, at some point, probably get together and figure out how we want to do it.”


On if Manziel will play against first-team defenses during the preseason: “I can’t answer that. I don’t know, but if a guy has a chance to be a starter I would think that you’d want to expose him to a starting defense if he was going to be the guy opening day.”


On what Manziel can do before training camp to close the gap, considering Hoyer’s position: “I don’t think he should concern himself so much with where Brian is but where he is. I think if he gets in his – it’s hard to say get into his playbook because it’s get into his iPad, which is odd to say (laughter). He’s going to have plenty of tape to study, his own work, what the rest of the offense has done, even in the time before he got here, the work that we were able to do on the field, start to study some opponent tape. He’ll have a volume of Redskins tape, which will be a lot of the similar terminology, the formations, the plays. I think the more he just familiarizes himself with that, the better off he’ll be.”


On if studying the playbook will help him make reads faster: “Some, but it’s still so early for him at this point.”


On if Hoyer’s lead in the quarterback competition is insurmountable for Manziel to catch up, in reference to Browns General Manager Ray Farmer’s statement weeks ago:“No, I think when Ray made the comment he talked about the lead being, just because of the circumstances because Brian had been here for those whatever it was, seven, eight weeks before the draft even started. That was essentially a head start. I don’t think it’s insurmountable. I think that Brian is securely ahead of him right now, but we will compete and we will decide. The issue for us as a staff will be finding the right time to name the starter. If you wait too late, then nobody’s ready for the opener; if you do it too soon, then it wasn’t a true competition. That will be part of our discussions as well, as far as, ‘OK, here’s the plan, here’s the date that we’re going to go ahead and name it.”


On expecting to hear a decision soon from the NFL on Browns WR Josh Gordon’s status: “I think that’s reasonable to say. We haven’t been given a date. I think, in fairness to us, the league would let us know. There’s no information as far as what the plans are to release it, but I think we’re all comfortable thinking that we should know before training camp starts.”


On how Browns LB Jabaal Sheard will be used, and if the identity of the defense will be to go after the quarterback with the pass rush: “We’ve always wanted to be known as an attack-style defense. I think the more you can shorten the amount of time that the quarterback has to process – if you want to make him react quicker or at least make him think he has to react quicker – then I think that’s going to be in the defense’s favor. We’ve studied it. We’ve put a stopwatch on when the ball has come out versus us and versus other teams, and there’s a marked difference. It’s coming out quicker when teams play us. You don’t have to cover as long, that’s the other benefit of it. In respect to his position, right now he’s penciled in as one of our rush linebackers, which is almost more of a drop-end than a rush linebacker. He will be dropping less and going more at the quarterback.”

On if Browns LB Barkevious Mingo will drop more than Sheard: “Yeah, that’s fair to say at this point.”


On if the Browns were limiting RB Ben Tate’s reps through minicamp: “He was a little nicked up, but he took the reps that he could.”


On which players jumped out at him during minicamp, despite not practicing with pads:“There was a bunch of them. I think we talked about it when I called the team up, that we’re getting to know them and they’re getting to know us. There are some guys that were impressive, but you can’t fall into that trap. I’m glad you prefaced the question the way you did because when it’s not in pads, sometimes fall in love with a guy or two that looks great in shorts and helmets, and then the pads go on. There are some guys that it’s the exact opposite, that thrive much more when there’s a lot more physicality involved.”


On what gives him confidence that he can go up against experienced coaches as a first-year head coach: “We talked about it in the meeting today with the players because it’s the same is true for them as it is for us: you get confidence through preparation. I truly trust in our staff that our team is going to be prepared, that the players themselves will be prepared and that’s how you’re confident. I’ve been in this league for 12 years now. I’ve seen a lot of games won and a lot of games lost. I can’t really concern myself with who’s on the other sideline. It’s what we’re doing and the decisions that we make are the most important.”


On how the defense will be successful: “What we’ve been able to do is formulate a style where we’re going to pressure, but we like to use the phrase that, it’s going to be more calculated than reckless. We’re not going to blitz just to blitz. There are going to be times where it’s going to look like a blitz but it really isn’t. We’re going to blitz a defensive back, but he’s only the fourth rusher so we get the best of both worlds. We have a chance to get a free runner or to keep a running back in or to cause a hot throw and still have seven in coverage behind it. I’d like to think that the way that we move around and disguise and we mix up the blitzes with the non-pressures that it gives us the best of both worlds that we don’t end in a situation where it’s reckless, where we have some great plays and then we turn around and give up a long one.”


On Browns DB Leon McFadden and Browns DL Armonty Bryant: “Leon’s part of the corner competition and that was – I’ve already mentioned this – one of the rooms where we felt that we’ve created a lot of healthy competition. Leon will be part of that. He’s done some good things this spring. Armonty missed some time early, but we were able to get him back the last few weeks. He’s a guy that we’re looking forward to getting out there probably more likely in nickel pass rush situations. I think it’s difficult for him to excel in the spring without pads on. He’s one of those guys that’s probably better off once we’re fully suited up. He’s a guy that I remember (Browns defensive coordinator) Coach (Jim) O’Neil specifically liked him coming out, studied him in his college tape. We were happy to find him on the roster when we got here.”


On preferring Bryant to play on the line or standing up: “I think he has some versatility. I think we can move him around. I think he could play outside backer in a pinch if we had to, but for now, I’d say predominantly he’ll have his hand down.”


On his days off: “What I’ve found is when you have time off to take it and to get out of town so don’t look here for me. I will be out and about.”

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Armonty Bryant was a 7th rd. STEAL ... JMHO