The Browns conducted 16 practices in mostly pristine, temperate conditions throughout their three weeks of training camp.
On the 17th and final day, it rained and stormed, sending the Browns indoors for the final couple of periods to put an official close to 2017 training camp.
"I wanted to stay, but when those sirens go off and they say lightning the players know they go (inside)," Jackson said. "I try to get them to stay, but they look at me like, 'Coach, we are not staying out here.' That was the end of training camp for our guys."
Because of the aforementioned good weather, the Browns practiced in front of thousands of their diehard fans on a daily basis, including five of the last six. A new camp setup brought the fans closer to the action and provided a more game-like feel for those who attended with free tickets.
"They brought the juice every day," Jackson said. "We really appreciate them coming and being out here. Our organization did a great job. The experience and the environment that was created for our fans was outstanding. The stands out there, I am sure our fans appreciated it. It was good. We will miss them and we look forward to having them out here next year."
The Browns wore shells after donning full pads in three of the past four practices. Sunday's and Monday's sessions, in particular, were as physical as any the Browns have had since Jackson was named coach last year. Friday will serve as the team's first off day in a week.
"The team is really competitive on both sides of the ball," Jackson said. "It is a group that will get after you. We are physically better than where we were a year ago. We are more mentally tougher. We are stronger."
-- The Browns engaged in some of their final preparations for Monday's game against the Giants with quarterback Brock Osweiler handling the first-team offense and DeShone Kizer working with the twos.
The quarterback competition remains ongoing, a question, as Jackson described it, the Browns have to answer before the start of the season. And in this particular case, Jackson would like to have his rotation ironed out by the time Cleveland takes the field next Saturday against the Buccaneers.
Jackson stressed Kizer, who is certainly in the mix to start, "has to keep growing" and laid out the risks that come with rushing a young quarterback into such an important role.
"If the guy is not ready, I think it is hard to put a young man out there because of so many different reasons," Jackson said. "This is the National Football League. It is the best of the best. These quarterbacks only have so many hits in their bodies. If you put those guys out there and they start getting sacked and hit early in the year and are not sure how to do things correctly, then I don't think that helps them. I would never do that to a quarterback. I wouldn't do that to any player on our football team. You have to make sure a guy is ready and can handle the pressure of playing at that level."
