QB Duke Johnson Jr.:
On if Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is a QB he would like to emulate:
"He is a guy that is playing better than or as good as anybody in the entire league right now. Through the last four games you look at the stats, he has been pretty impressive. He has maintained his consistency for the last couple of years so my answer would be yes."
On if he knows Wilson personally:
"We have talked sparingly here and there, probably over social media a couple times but other than that, no."
On if Wilson's and his games are similar:
"Sure, there are some similarities you see. Obviously, two mobile guys who move around and extend plays. I think being able to extend the play, like I said, is a pretty good comparison."
On if he watches Wilson play and tries to learn from:
"I don't think I have studied him intently or really intensely or anything like that but definitely a guy that is fun to watch. If the Seahawks are playing, I will turn it on and definitely watch."
On discovering new challenges in the NFL with his height:
"Like I said earlier in the year, I think I am getting to the point now where you learn more about coverages and you learn more about where people are pre-snap and seeing where one person goes post-snap that you don't have to see everything all the time to be able to make some of those throws. That's what Russell (Wilson) and (Saints QB) Drew (Brees) who have been doing it for so long that they are able to move people and know people aren't going to be in certain windows where your guys are going to be. It is just getting to the point of making your game progress and continuing to learn more and more that makes it easier. There are times where you are not going to have the luxury of being able to see everything. That is part of needing to progress and find a way to overcome that."
On if there are any advantages of his height:
"I am not sure."
On if facing the Seahawks in Seattle is the toughest challenge he has faced as a pro:
"We are not going to downplay that. It is obviously a very good defense. Everybody that goes there that plays this team faces that. We are going to go in, I think we have a good gameplan, I trust that theses coaches have schemed up something to try and move the ball down the field and I am confident in the plan we have and the guys that we have out there. It is going to be loud. It is going to be hostile and they are going to be good. That is just the facts of what this game is going to be. For us, if we come out and don't turn the ball over and execute, I think it will be alright."
On how the last two starts have affected his confidence level:
"Like I have said time and time again, it has slowed down for me. I am able to make certain protection calls, be able to make sure everyone is lined up exactly where they need to be, seeing coverages and seeing the plays progress. I feel like my eyes are in the right place the majority of the time and I am going to the right place with the ball and getting it out on time. I have continued to get it out quicker and go to the right spot the past couple of games."
On how his mobility helped the run game against San Francisco and if it can continue at Seattle:
"I think we extended some plays, some third downs. Flip (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) always says, 'I want to run for a first down every game.' We got one or two last week. I think there is the added threat of me running that takes a little pressure off (RB) Duke (Johnson Jr.) and Crow (RB Isiah Crowell) – some keepers, getting out on the perimeter a little bit that we might have lacked a couple weeks earlier. I think it is just having that threat and having to have the defense focus on it a little that obvious takes a little bit of pressure off of them."
On looking forward to potentially having WR Josh Gordon back as a teammate:
"I still talk to Josh every week. We have been in touch constantly throughout the season. I got a chance to see him – I invited him down to the (Texas) A&M game whenever I went back after our Thursday night game. We have been in constant contact. I think he is doing the right things. From everything I have seen, he has been working our each and every day in LA, working really hard. He is still here. We still have his rights. He is still a part of the team. I am excited, and I can only speak for me, I am excited to have him back. I hope he is back in the spring, for sure."
On what Gordon would bring to the offense:
"I think all of you guys who were here in 2011 or 2012, or whatever it was, saw what he could bring to an offense. We only got to see a little bit of a glimpse last year, and I think having a full offseason with him, training camps and OTAs and then getting into the season will only help him."
On learning how to move into passing lanes and releasing the ball in traffic:
"I think the first play of the game was a good example. I had to get a high release and get it over the top of one of our lineman and get it to Trav (WR Travis Benjamin). It is part of the game. You will watch (Lions QB Matthew) Stafford, you will watch (Packers QB Aaron) Rodgers and you will watch all kind of guys have to whip on some different angles to try to get it around people. I think everybody saw the highlight of (Panthers QB) Cam (Newton) getting it around the (defensive) lineman's head there to throw it in the back of the end zone last week. That is just part of it, having to throw it from different angles and getting the ball out. That is the goal – get it to your receivers as quick as possible and let them do something with it."
On his connection with WR Brian Hartline last week and losing him to a season-ending injury:
"It is a tough blow, obviously. Getting Gabe (WR Taylor Gabriel) back helps that a little bit. Those are the guys that came in since OTAs who really know our stuff really well. You look at consistently a guy who is going to be where he needs to be on every play and that is Hartline. It is tough to see him go down. I know he had surgery yesterday. I am hoping he is feeling better, and I am looking forward to having him back next year."
On Seattle's defense playing consistent schemes on early downs and relying primarily on execution:
"They are fundamentally sound. They do what they do, and they do it really well. I think that is their motto. They don't give up a lot of big plays, and they have guys like (Seahawks FS Earl) Thomas, (Seahawks CB Richard) Sherman or (Seahawks SS Kam) Chancellor and the pressure they get up front. That is a pretty good combination."
On if it will be easier to read the Seahawks defense, given its consistent look:
"I don't think this defense makes anything easy on you. They make you work for every yard that you get."
On if Sherman is the best corner he has ever faced:
"I don't know. I know he's a really good player. We'll see when we go out on Sunday. We played (Jets CB Darrelle) Revis early in the year obviously. Going back to last year, we played some good guys, as well. I guess we'll wait for Sunday to see, but you have to give him a lot of props for what he does and kind of shutting down one-third of the field. We'll see if we can just go after this defense as a whole and not really at it as one individual."
On adjusting his arm angle on a quick throw to Hartline against the 49ers:
"We just got a single backer blitz. They kind of avoided a big hole. Hartline throttled a little bit and I wanted to lead him up the field a little bit. I think it came out a little bit in front of him, but that's the thing about Hartline that we've seen since the scrimmage at Ohio State earlier this year when he made the catch, (QB) Josh's (McCown) first touchdown catch in that game, he has great hands, great hand-eye coordination. I just tried to lead him a little bit so he could get some extra yards out of it, and I think it worked."
On the side-arm throw:
"Just to get it out quick. I had to do a little bit of a play fake. Feel like if you go over the top, that backer can get his hands up so I just tried to throw it around him quick."
On the Browns attitude, given Head Coach Mike Pettine's comment that the team will 'cut it loose':
"We're not holding anything back. At this point in the season, we're looking to play spoiler. We don't have a whole lot to play for, like I said, other than pride, but we want to go out and continue to try and finish what we started. We're really the people that are going in here and don't really have anything to lose so we're going to play that way. We're going to play sound, we're going to play fundamental, but at the same time, I think Coach Pett is exactly right, go out and cut it loose and have fun. It's another Sunday to go out and play ball with all the guys in this locker room."
On if he emulates Wilson more than other QBs:
"I don't know. I don't know if I could say that specifically. There are a lot of guys I've looked up to for a long time. You look at (Packers QB Aaron) Rodgers, you look at (Patriots QB Tom) Brady and you look at the way that they've done this for years and years. Looking at mobile guys, there is nobody better right now than Russell (Wilson) and Cam (Newton) sitting up there who are able to extend plays with their legs. Like I said earlier, there is nobody really hotter in the league right now and this four game stretch he's been on. A lot of credit to him and what he's been doing over this season and over the past seasons. They've gotten to the Super Bowl twice, won one so he's definitely been living right."
On memories playing in loud stadiums:
"I remember playing in the SEC there were some really hostile road environments. Getting down to the third or fourth quarter versus Alabama and getting backed up and they were starting to make a comeback, it's probably one of the loudest stadiums I've been in. Me and Coach Flip (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) were talking about it on the field today. It will be interesting to see how that compares. This place has a ton of hype and you hear it time and time again that people can't even hear themselves think. I don't expect it to be anything other than full force when we come in there on Sunday."
On if he thrives in hostile environments:
"You have to embrace it. We know right now, we've known since our schedule came out that when you look at Seattle and you have to go on the road you know exactly what it's going to be. You know they're going to be in the playoff hunt looking to try and win the division or grab a Wild Card spot. You're going into their home stadium where you know what it's like so you might as well embrace it because shying away from it or trying to be scared of it's not going to do you any good. It is what it is and it's what we have to live with. We'll embrace it and move on."
