On the anticipation for the season opener:
“Training camp felt a little longer with three preseason games – you had that extra week of Browns vs. Browns practices, but we are here now. We are in game week, and we are ready to go.”
On the continuity and stability of the Browns offense:
“Everybody just knows each other a little bit more on and off the field, and then the last few weeks, we have been getting (WRs) Odell (Beckham Jr.), Jarvis (Landry) and everybody out there. It feels good. I feel like (QB) Baker (Mayfield) and those guys have a pretty good connection right now. We have a huge task coming up, but it will be good to get everyone out there for Week 1 and see how it goes.”
On the Chiefs defense:
“They have some players over there. (Chiefs DT) Chris Jones is one of the better D linemen in the league. I will be surprised to see where he lines up. I know he played in the preseason some defensive end in base and comes inside in sub so we will all get our shot going against him. (Chiefs S) Tyrann Mathieu on the back end makes everything go, but everybody else that plays on their defense does their role, too. You saw in the playoff game we did not score enough points against them. Their defense did a really good job against us. It is definitely a challenge. It might be a little tough for them sometimes because they are putting up so many points on offense that teams are going to take their shots and have scripted passes almost because you have to try to keep up. They do a great and job and have some of the best players in the league at their positions over there.”
On the impact of having a year in the offensive system and being able to add small wrinkles to it:
“It is good. Last year, we went in super blind. We had been together and done some stuff, but no OTA’s and really no preseason games. This year, we have 17 games last year, plus three preseason games and plus two training camps so we are getting there. It is a new season so new things happen, but for us, it is good to have the same play caller, the same quarterback and the same offensive line, and we kind of know what we want to do. We are looking forward to it. It is the first game of the season. Everybody is excited to get out there and see where we are.”
On the Browns OL building upon a successful 2020 season:
“That is the goal. We want to be good. We want to improve though from last year. We left a lot out there. As a group, there were games and plays that we all wanted to have back. It is hard, but O line is working to be perfect. You want to play 60-70 snaps a game and your goal is to not let your guy make a play or make a tackle so we are all trying to work to really take that next step. I know guys can miss time, but hopefully, we will be able to play 17 games together, keep the O line out there and see where we can end up at the end of the year.”
On the challenges Kansas City faces with five new starters on the OL, despite having continuity with Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes:
“It does help to have those two guys (laughter). They have good players. I have watched (Chiefs OL) Joe Thuney a bunch. He is one of the better guards in the league so to have that guy. (Chiefs T) Orlando Brown obviously is moving to left tackle now, and they have a couple of rookies in there now on the inside and kind of a rookie at right tackle. They obviously like those guys. They invested a lot of money in that group and lot of draft picks. They played a lot in the preseason. I think they got almost three full halves of play so they have some experience out there. Both lines of scrimmage are going to have some tough tasks. Anytime you go against (DE) Myles (Garrett) and our D line is going to be a tough test, as well. We will see how they go. I know they worked together, and they have good pieces and have a good scheme with Coach Andy Reid.”