Included below are select quotes from interviews with the following Browns players during today's media availability:
- WR Corey Coleman
- OL Cameron Erving
- LB Demario Davis
- DL John Hughes III
- DL Jamie Meder
- OL Joe Thomas
WR Corey Coleman:
On returning to practice:
"It feels great man to be out there and be with my teammates."
On his hamstring:
"It's good, real good. I feel good."
On if he will play Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons:
"It's not my decision. That's up to (Head) Coach (Hue) Jackson, and we'll discuss that tonight."
On how much he wants to play on Thursday:
"I want to play bad, but we have to do what's best for Corey Coleman."
On how important it was for him to stay mentally engaged during the last preseason game despite not being able to play:
"It's important to get mental reps since I'm not actually out there. I can still get with Griff (QB Robert Griffin III). He tells me what's going on, what he's seeing out there, what someone did that they should have did better, just stuff like that."
On the severity of his hamstring injury:
"It's minor, nothing serious."
On how disappointed he was to miss practices and the first preseason game:
"I just came here to do my job and be the best I can be. It was tough. It is always tough sitting out and watching, but like I keep on saying, we have to do what's best for me and what's going to help the team."
On if he's had past hamstring issues, his current hamstring injury and whether or not it will be a continued concern:
"No, not a concern at all. Fast guys, it is hard when guys are fast, have a lot of muscle. It's easier for them to pull [a muscle], pull up. But not [a concern] at all. Back in Baylor, I had a hamstring pull, same reason, but this time it's not a pull. It's real minor. Just looking out for me."
On the Browns sports science and medical staff:
"They do a great job. They spend all these hours researching and getting all this technology. You listen to them and follow the process. That's their profession so they know what to do to get us right and stuff. I trust them with what they're doing."
On WR Josh Gordon returning to practice:
"I thought it was pretty awesome to have him out there with the team, running routes and stuff. It's always good to see JG out there doing his thing."
On his relationship with Gordon:
"I've known Josh for a minute, since before I even got to Baylor. I was coming up, probably like my sophomore year, I was staying with (Titans WR) Kendall Wright. I hang out and I see Josh in the locker room, me as a little high schooler."
OL Cameron Erving:
On the Browns offense's performance in the first preseason game:
"We did pretty well as an offensive line and offensive unit all together. We just have to clean up the execution and finish drives."
On how he performed in the first preseason game:
"There wasn't anything that really stood out for me. First game playing center in the NFL, just some technical things not to put myself in bad positions and just being cleaner on the operation."
On the feedback the Browns coaching staff gave him after the first preseason game:
"Continue to make improvements and do the things that I've been doing. What I've been doing is just leaning on guys like (OL John) Greco, (OL) Joe Thomas, (OL) Joel (Bitonio), and (OL) Austin (Pasztor) because all of those guys have had experience playing. Just continuing to lean on those guys and learn as much as I can and to be as positive and productive and bring the energy to games like I always do."
On if he makes all of the team's pre-snap calls and adjustments:
"We're an offensive line. Nobody makes all the calls. The center definitely directs traffic, but everybody else is there, not necessarily if I make a wrong call, but if somebody sees something that I don't see, it's just so everybody is on the same page. Everybody communicates. I make a MIKE (linebacker) point, guys make their calls to combinations where they're going. It's not just all me."
LB Demario Davis:
On takeaways from the first preseason opening game at Green Bay:
"We did some things well, played with a ton of energy, a ton of intensity, which just have to be a staple for us as a defense. There were some things that we still have to do better in the run game, in the pass game, just all around trying to get better."
On what the Browns need to do to clean up the run defense:
"Just continue to do what our coaches are asking us to do, being able to get off blockers, just having 11 guys to the football, getting downfield, tackling well. We continue to do those things, we'll be OK."
On the Biggest area of improvement for the Browns defense in live action:
"We just have to continue to get reps. That's what it is. We've got a young group of guys, a lot of guys playing together for the first time. It just comes with the reps, comes with the time. Right now, we're just continuing to build a foundation of it and I like the direction that we're headed."
On LB Emmanuel Ogbah's and DL Carl Nassib's performance on Friday:
"Those rookies had a tremendous game. Nassib played huge. Ogbah played great. We're going to need those guys. We're going to have to rely on them this year. They have to grow up real fast. They played good in their first showing. It's going to get more intense. It's going to get harder down the road, but if they continue to stay focused and continue to work hard, those guys can be really good players in this league."
On if he's been impressed with Ogbah switching positions between LB and DL:
"I think that's more natural for him playing with his hand in the dirt. He plays with his hands really well. He's a big guy. He has a long arms so I think that transition is a little easier for him verses the outside where he was dropping in coverage and that's something he probably hadn't done as much before. It's a little different than 4-3 end, but he's doing it really well. He needs to continue to play with his hands, continue to run well and have his eyes right and do what his coaches ask him to do. He's going to be OK."
DL John Hughes III:
On why he was away from training camp:
"It was just personal family matters that I had going on. Everything is good now."
On if he can assure the Browns organization and fans that he will be here now for the duration of the season:
"Yeah, I'm back 100 percent now."
On how he stayed in shape while he was taking care of personal business:
"I was able to work out, lift, run, stay active throughout the time I was out."
On if he has catching up to do or if he will be able to slide back into the defense:
"It's always going to be work. I'm just excited to be back here with my teammates."
On the Browns being patient with his return and letting him handle his personal business:
"I just appreciate them. They knew I was going through some things, and I appreciate them being there for me."
On it being emotional and difficult to make the decision to temporarily leave camp:
"Oh, most definitely, but when it comes to family, it's a big priority to me."
On if he knows where he will fit in terms of rotation on the defensive line:
"I'm not sure. It's up to (Head) Coach (Hue Jackson). I'm just going to go out there, play my best ball and see what happens."
On if he was able to communicate with his teammates while he was away:
"Yeah, I got a lot of texts from my teammates, offense and defense. It was great support they had for me and I appreciated it."
On if he remained in good standing with the team and if Jackson and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown were supportive while he was away:
"Yeah, they actually made me feel real comfortable about the situation. I had actually talked to both of them personally."
DL Jamie Meder:
On getting reps with the first team defense at end yesterday:
"I'm ready for wherever my coaches want to put me. If it's first team, second team, third team, I'm ready to play. It doesn't really matter."
On if DE is a significant adjustment:
"Not too much. You just have to be ready for it, a little faster athletes on the edge with the tackles."
On if yesterday was the first time he has ever really taken reps at DE:
"OTAs here and there a little bit, nothing too much."
On if DE fits him:
"If it gets me on the field, it doesn't matter to me."
On recording a safety against Green Bay:
"It was awesome. First time I've ever scored in a football game. It took like 16 years of playing to get that so I'm fine with it."
On working with defensive line coach Robert Nunn:
"It's been good. We have tough practices, but it's all for the greater good so it's awesome."
On what is tough about practice:
"Individual – a lot of hand work so you get pretty tired pretty fast."
On expectations for his second year with the Browns:
"I just want to keep building and improving on what I've done before, making more tackles, taking on more double teams, taking on double teams longer. Just helping our team win."
OL Joe Thomas:
On his status and missing the past two days of practice:
"Just typical old man training camp issues, back tightens up a little bit. It's the time of year that you just have to take a couple days and let it calm down and get back in the swing of things. You don't want it to be something that lingers too long."
On if he will take off today's practice:
"Right, yeah. We'll take today off and see how things go tomorrow."
On if he will play in Thursday night's game:
"Just taking it one day at a time. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'll be lucky to be alive and maybe I'll be luckier if I can practice."
On what he's learned about how good the Browns offensive line can be this season:
"I think we can be really good. Obviously, we've got three guys that have started a lot of games. (OL) Austin (Pasztor) is doing a good job as a right tackle. He's gotten some experience as a starter. Then (OL) Cam (Erving) is the youngster that hasn't really played a lot in the NFL, but I've seen good things from all the guys. Now, I think it's just a matter of comprehension of the offense and getting everybody on the front on the same page and going out and executing as one unit."
On mentoring Erving and other Browns offensive linemen:
"I think after being here for 10 years, there is a pretty good understanding of all the positions that I have on the line. Technique wise, schematically, I feel like I can give some good insight to all the guys on the line, but more specifically, I feel like I've got a pretty good understanding of the process of what it takes to try to succeed as an offensive lineman, regardless of technique or assignment. All the young guys that have come through and become starters since I've been around, going back to when (Falcons C) Alex Mack was a rookie, I've kind of taken it upon myself to try to give those guys insight into my process and how I prepare for practice, how I prepare for games, how I prepare for my opponent, my way of understanding the technique and remembering it and learning the offense. I think those are things that those guys have said they've appreciated. They've been able to learn a few things about just how to prepare for an NFL game."
