On QB Josh McCown's accuracy:
"That's the one thing that has jumped out is his accuracy, not just on the underneath stuff but those intermediate to deeper throws. I talk about having to watch the film and being able to evaluate, but I don't have to watch the film to know he threw some pretty good balls in practice today. It's good to see. Hopefully, that will carry over when we're in pads."
On if McCown is more athletic than most players his age:
"I think he wanted to show that off a bit, too (laughter). When he took off running, we were joking with him that he's an older car but low mileage, kept in the garage, driven to church not a lot of mileage on it (laughter). He's surprised me. He has kept himself in great shape over his career. It's a credit to him. He's a good athlete and he showed it today. "
On preparing for the first practice with pads tomorrow:
"Structure wise, it will be similar. There will be an extra team period, a run emphasis, where it's just inside, no wide receivers; it will be all runs. It like an offensive drill is pass kill and no linemen or the defensive drills. It's all runs. It's more to establish the mentality. We're going to have to be able to run the ball, and we're going to have to be able to stop the run. We feel doing that drill every day in pads is going to be a big part of laying that groundwork and a big part of that success. That'll be an addition. We'll be closer to the max time. The individual period could potentially be a little longer. We're not going to overdo it just because it's the first day in pads, overdo the contact. There will be similar things, but we won't get into any tackling or some drills where there might be more thumping than usual."
On learning more about players during full-pads practices:
"Absolutely, you do. It's as close to a real game situation as you're going to get. They're wearing everything that they're going to wear come game time. It is difficult on an offense – you're talking about blocking surface. When you put pads on, you see it's not as easy to get to the quarterback when there are pads on. "
On if the described running drill will feature live tackling:
"No, we will not be live tackling tomorrow. We'll likely progress to that at some point. Also, when we install goal line and short yardage, we'll do some live work then, as well."
On LB Scott Solomon working with the first team:
"We'll rotate those guys. It depends on what package who will be out there with the ones. He's really picked up where he left off from an effort and a mentality standpoint. We talked about the 'Play Like a Brown' attributes, and he fits them all. What separates him this year where we feel like he's even better is that he's gone through a spring in our system. He's going through a training camp in our system. Last year, he came in and was essentially playing defenses off of cards as a scout teamer and then we had to teach him our core stuff on the fly to be able to function in a game. His knowledge base and experience in what we do is so much more this year. That's why we're very optimistic about Scott."
On not yet having live place kicking in practice:
"We're still in the acclimation period. We're going to get to the point, too, where you want it to be more pressure situations. We'll do two minute. We'll always try to incorporate the kicking in it, as well, manufacture some kicks in. Also, easing those guys in. It's tough on their legs so we're not going to kick every day. At this point, we're pretty much on a one on, , one off type period. (P) Andy (Lee) didn't kick yesterday; he punted today. Tabes (special teams coordinator Chris Tabor) did a really good job of managing it, and we'll have a good sense when we're done. Those guys will have plenty of reps under pressure for us to evaluate. "
On DBs Tramon Williams and Justin Gilbert competing for starting CB:
"Tramon has been with the ones. It's an experienced guy who has started in the NFL. He came in very quickly in the spring and picked up what we were doing. I think a lot of our guys are going to play, but if we had to say today who the starter is going to be, I would say it would be Tramon."
On evaluating LB Barkevious Mingo:
"I see him working back into it. It's good to see him healthy, and hopefully, that will continue when we're in pads. I know he's been kind of snake bit with his injury history, but he's a guy that can do some different things for us. He can cover tight ends man-to-man. He's a much better space player than a lot of people give him credit for, which was a difficult transition being a college defensive end with his hand down all the time. He's done a nice job in that sense. I think he's really starting to improve, just seeing some of the drill work, as a pass rusher, but it needs to carry over to pads. He made a really nice move on (OL) Joe Thomas yesterday, but again, that's in shorts. It has to carry over."
On his early impression of LB Nate Orchard and looking forward to seeing him in pads:
"There are some guys that you reserve judgement because their game is based on their physicality. We talk about being a good teammate and not being ultra-physical on teammates and plying within the rules that the league gives us in the offseason for permissible contact. He falls into that category. Solomon is another one that you look very much look forward to getting him in pads. We've played him a lot out of position when we've been in shorts just to get him work at coverage. He wasn't asked to do a lot of it in college, and we're not going to ask him to do a lot of it. While we have the opportunity in shorts, we got him that work. His primary deal will be hand down or in the two point setting the edge and rushing the quarterback."
On if it is a challenge to keep a nine-year veteran like OL Joe Thomas interested during this part of the season:
"It's definitely up to the individual. Joe loves football. He has an exuberance about him. Anybody that knows him knows that he has a dry sense of humor and applies it often, as often as he can. He is a special player. He proves it every year. We did it last year. I mentioned it yesterday. I want to say tomorrow will be his day off. I think (offensive line) Coach (Andy) Mueller said we are going to go [one day off] every three [days] with him, with potentially some exceptions."
On how OL Joel Bitonio can have a better second year after a successful rookie campaign:
"Really just take the next step. He is a guy that is very passionate and loves football, very competitive, very coachable. I would be shocked if he doesn't take a big step forward in year two, which is saying a lot for a guy who played as well as a rookie. He is all about football. That to me is you know you are going to be successful when you fill a roster with guys who love to play."
On WR Shane Wynn and his size:
"He fits right in with some of our other smaller guys. I was joking with Flip that we can have an all Smurf group out there. He has shown right away that it is not too big for him. He has picked up the X's and O's part right away. For his size, he has the skillset that you need when you have the lack of height – the suddenness and the ability to separate. I'll be curious to see what happens in a live situation what he can do when he gets the ball in his hands."
On how DL Billy Winn has looked this year and competing for a position, given the defensive players acquired by the Browns:
"I think he has had one of his better offseasons. Physically, he has put on some weight, but it is good weight. We're looking for big things, not just from him but the whole room. I think the competition is really going to force that room to work."
On if he has talked to General Manager Ray Farmer about personnel duties during the first four weeks of the season:
"I will let him speak to the plans if he is ready to. We have preliminary thoughts on it. I'm very confident given the time of year – you are coming off a lot of the decisions already being made. Whether it is (executive chief of staff) Bill Kuharich, (vice president of player personnel) Morocco Brown or whatever we decide to do, I have full confidence in that group. He will be the first one to tell you that you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and he has a heck of department."
On QB Johnny Manziel's performance today and if anyone challenged him after his performance yesterday:
"No, it was a practice in shorts where you are just trying to execute one play at a time. I don't want to make, too much gets made in that 'He had a bad series of plays.' He came out here today, just like any other day – he wanted to work to get better, and he took it one play at a time."
