On Wednesday, Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson and wide receiver Terrelle Pryor spoke to the Washington, D.C., media about their upcoming matchup against the Redskins.
Cleveland Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson
On coming back to Washington:
"[I'm] very grateful for what Washington did for me, Dan Snyder and the organization. That was my first NFL experience and it helped me get to where I am today."
On QB Cody Kessler's second game:
"You just have to go play. Obviously this will be his second start, and like you said, there will be some film [but] there's not a book on him yet like there is on most of these quarterbacks. So he just has to continue to grow and get better and I'm sure that Washington will have a plan for him."
On stopping the Redskins' passing game:
"Well again, that's going to play out on Sunday, but they're good at what they do. They have some very good, talented players. That quarterback's [Kirk Cousins] a good player. All the receivers, from Jordan Reed to DeSean Jackon, Pierre Garçon and Jamison Crowder – they're all very good. Jordan Reed is as good as anybody, so it's a tall challenge. We normally face some pretty good receivers every week. Maybe not the number that they have, they have quite a few guys who can really catch the ball and run with the ball. So again, it's a tremendous challenge but we're looking forward to it."
On how he plans to use WR Terrelle Pryor Sr. this week:
"Well he plays receiver for us. Obviously that'll be a battle. Josh Norman is one of the best corners in the league and I'm sure Terrelle is looking forward to the challenge. But at the same time, it's the Redskins playing the Browns, not so much one player playing against another. So again, we're just looking forward to playing against their team."
Cleveland Browns WR Terrelle Pryor
On becoming more comfortable in wide receiver position:
"Every day just competing at the highest level and holding my standards to a higher level than what other people hold themselves. That's how I get better every day."
On what kept him from giving up at the quarterback position even if it meant switching to a different position:
"I always say before I go into a game, I'm the best athlete on the field and I firmly believe that. I know God—I know the abilities God has given me. So, why not use God's abilities in a different way and that's what I did."
On getting snaps at QB this week:
"No. I am not in the game plan at QB cause we thought [Cody] Kessler did a great job. I haven't had any plays at all so far. This practice coming up, tomorrow is third down and red zone so I doubt I am in the game plan for it."
On QB Cody Kessler:
"He's awesome. It's something you want to see from a young quarterback. I know you guys saw the growth of Kirk Cousins and you just want a guy who's going to be in there solid and every decision is not going to be the best decision or the smartest decision but you want guys that take care of the ball and you want to distribute the ball the right way, the appropriate way. I think that's why he had success this past game, it wasn't too big for him, he had no fear. We were going against, in my mind, one of the best, probably the best, d-line crew in the league with [Ndamukong] Suh and all of those guys they had down there in Miami. I thought he held everything very well so we need that to keep going forward."
**On preparing for CB Josh Norman:
**
"First and foremost, Josh is an awesome corner. I'm going to prepare the same way I prepare for anybody. I don't really look at the guy that's across from me, I go about it handling my business the way I want to handle it. On the field I try and go where I want to go and the corner can't do anything about it. That's just how I operate, no shots or anything – shots at Josh or the corners at the Redskins – it's just me doing my job and me getting to where I have to go – not letting anybody stop me from doing that. That's just how I operate."
On being close to a breakthrough win:
"Oh yeah, we should be 3-0, without a doubt. We let some games get off on us. The ball snaps over the head in the Eagles, we should have beat those boys, their defense wasn't that great. The Ravens, we had those guys in a bag and then they came back and beat us. This past game we should have won on a field goal. It's just – and you guys have been doing this job for a long time – you have to close out when you have to close out. You can't make excuses when you lose. It's a good sign and a good feel for the team to keep on continuing and move forward because we're right there in each game. I feel like we can battle with anybody in the league. This is going to be a test also, going against the Redskins and we look forward to."
