On his first impression of the first training camp practice:
"I think in a lot of ways it was a typical first day. I saw a lot of good things out there – most importantly, the focus, the effort and the energy. This is a shock to the system. I told them that afterwards. Our recovery from here is very important and to take care of themselves these next couple hours. No matter how hard you train over the summer, there is no way to replicate this. I thought our guys handled it well. We threw a lot at them from a physical standpoint and from a mental standpoint. It was clear to see that our guys were in shape and they got in their books over the summer. I will reserve final judgment until I watch the film as always. My first impression was that it was a good start."
On why the practice was only two hours:
"It's an acclamation period. I think it would be hard to max that time out on the first day. Two hours is a shock to the system. When you go back and just look at some of the injury data, you are putting yourself at risk. It might not necessarily be Day 2, but Day 3 or Day 4 by coming in and having too big of a jolt from a football standpoint."
On his first thoughts on WR Terrelle Pryor as a WR and if he found himself watching Pryor more than he typically might:
"A couple times. He looks great in a uniform, I can tell you that (laughter). He is a big, explosive athlete. We all saw that he catches the ball. He has a lot to learn. Getting off of press coverage, that will be a big thing once we get the pads on Saturday. I thought it was a solid first step for him. I think he would have some confidence coming out of today. I think a lot of credit to (wide receivers coach) Joker Phillips, who has taken him as his position coach, getting him schooled up and has been trying to get him caught up to speed. I think he has done a nice job of getting him lined up and knowing what he is supposed to do. We'll see. It's certainly going to be a progression. I thought it was a good start for Terrelle."
On explaining the fumbled exchange between QB Josh McCown and RB Isaiah Crowell, potentially due to the players having not worked together much:
"I just think they were excited to be out. It was very early. It wasn't even in team stuff. It was just in the ball-exchange stuff. That is stuff we emphasize and we talked about it as a team and a staff that if we want to get to where we want to be, we have to protect the football and we have to take it away from people. That is going to be emphasized every day in practice. Those types of self-inflicted wounds are hard to swallow."
On WR Vince Mayle dropping a few passes and if his thumb contributed to those:
"No, [it's] the first time for him out, too. I know just talking with the trainer and talking to (head athletic trainer) Joe (Sheehan) that he is going to experience some soreness with it at times. I am not that concerned about Vince. Going back to his college days, drops weren't a big issue. That is not really a concern."
On the Browns' training camp schedule compared to last year:
"It's essentially the same schedule, a few minor tweaks. I already talked about, we shortened today. There will be another team period, run emphasis, when we get in pads, and we will do some crossover work. Essentially, the practice format is the same as a year ago."
On the confidence he has in Pryor's ability to improve his ball security:
"That is why we have camp. It is hard for him during the time he is off working out on his own to simulate that and do it within the framework of our offense with our quarterbacks. That is a priority for not just him but for all of our guys that handle the football. I already mentioned that protecting the football for all teams is critical. Other than the actual final score, the turnover margin is usually the highest determining factor. Whatever those percentages – if you are 2, you [have an] 80-plus percent [chance] to win. That is critical for us. We have to protect the football."
On RB Terrance West receiving the first handoff in team drills and how carries will rotate between the RBs:
"It will be mixed. You will see a healthy rotation. You will see all those guys taking reps with the ones. All those groups will get mixed. There are certain plays, as well, that Flip (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) will put a tag on the personnel call to designate who he wants the back to be."
On OL Alex Mack's status and him taking all reps in today's practice:
"That's something that the big part will be the communication with him. How does he feel? If he needs a day, if he needs some reps, if he needs to cut some time back. He knows his body better than anybody else. We will depend on him to let us know when he does need to scale it back."
On having confidence Mack will be open about his status, knowing how badly he wants to be on the field:
"We've used the phrase 'Save him from himself' before. That might be the case. I think he will be smart about it. He will be smart about it."
On confirming that DL Phil Taylor did not participate in yesterday's conditioning test:
"Correct."
On Taylor participating in practice, despite being held from the conditioning test:
"The guys that we held for injury reasons and other circumstances will do extra conditioning with the strength and conditioning staff. He is still on very much a limited basis. His team reps, we will determine those each days just with where he is with it."
On his impression of McCown and QB Johnny Manziel on Day 1:
"It is hard to say. There were some good balls thrown out there. I thought defensively, we made some plays. (DB) Joe Haden showed his usual form breaking on a ball. (DB) Tramon Williams made a heck of a play on another one. I will reserve that judgement again until I watch the tape. I thought both those guys did some good things. What I liked about it, regardless after the ball was snapped, is the command in the huddle and the knowledge of the offense and to be able to take a play and if a guy was lined up wrong and move him and just the way the plays are being called and the cadence. Sometimes that takes some time. We're further ahead this year than we were a year ago with that for all the quarterbacks."
On what WR Dwayne Bowe brings to the team:
"A proven veteran who has had solid NFL production. It's a skillset that we need to have in that room. You look at having some of the other smaller, explosive guys – Hawk (WR Andrew Hawkins) and Gabe (WR Taylor Gabriel); (WR Travis) Benjamin is a little bit bigger but not much – that you need that big receiver that can make a contested catch. He does an excellent job on the back-shoulder throws. He made one today. He does a real nice job getting his feet down. Obviously, he's shown why we brought him here."
On OL Cameron Erving wearing braces on each knees, and if it's a carryover from college:
"Yeah. that is optional for those guys. Guys are used to doing it. They can go ahead and wear them. It is just personal preference."
On Erving playing with the second team and if that is due to veterans retaining the starting roles with him having to earn first-team reps:
"Sure. We feel the starting five from a year ago is a solid group. If Cam wants to break into that lineup, that's not going to be handed to him. He is going to have to earn it."
On Erving, (OL Andrew) McDonald and (Ryan) Seymour mixing in with the first team:
"Just rotating those guys. Especially since those five [starting] guys played so much, until Alex got hurt, a year ago, there aren't any problems mixing and matching those guys. Those five are known quantities for us. We have to know that next tier, where they rank and putting them in situations where they are not always going against the second string defense so we put them up against some of the starters, as well."On
DL Armonty Bryant situation switching between DL and LB, considering he played primarily with the DL today:
"He will do it, but the individual stuff – since the vast majority of what he will do is defensive line, there will be days where we will emphasize outside backer for him and he might do some separate drills with (outside linebackers) Coach (Brian) Fleury with the outside backers. He is primarily a defensive lineman, but he will moonlight every once and a while as an outside backer. We are still working on some basic stuff, but his skillset, we can stand him up and put him out there, and he has shown in the spring that he is capable of doing it."
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Friday: Check out ClevelandBrowns.com at 10 a.m. to see a live look-in to Browns training camp.
