COURTESY OF THE CLEVELAND BROWNS PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
On his mindset about his role on the team and competition at LB:
“To get these guys better, including myself, for us to be the best linebacker core across the league. That is my job, and that is why they brought me here. I am looking forward to that. I am up for the challenge.”
On how determined he is to win the starting LB job for Week 1:
“To be honest, I understand that [question], but I do not even look at it like that. I take things a day at a time. Just laying one brick as perfectly as possible as I can, and whatever happens, happens. I have tremendous, tremendous, tremendous – not to sound arrogant or anything – faith in my game. That is not a knock on anyone, as well. They are all great people. We have a great room. We get to meet every day for about four or five days a week. It is pretty good. We have a great room.”
On if he is most comfortable playing the MLB and if that is where he envisions he will play:
“It is. It is where I see myself playing. I love the middle linebacker spot. To be able to call it and to be able to be on both sides on multiple plays, I love playing in the middle.”
On if he appreciates having a mentorship role in the Browns LB room and if he thought that would be one of his duties prior to signing with the Browns, given the team has several younger players at the position:
“It is. As a middle linebacker and especially as long as I have been playing, that leadership role is something that you just inherit. It is something that I am definitely looking forward to being an addition there for those guys.”
On if there was an NFL MLB who he watched growing up and modeled his game after:
“I had a guy from my hometown that played for the Steelers a long, long time ago (former NFL LB and Cardinals outside linebackers coach Levon Kirkland). He was the first football player that I could comprehend or nourish mentally. Him and everything that he stood for, he stood for a lot of the right things and still. He is a great guy and a great mentor, Levon Kirkland. Just a great guy. The way that he played the game, hard-nosed and just a hard-nosed guy that can fly around. It is definitely one of my first visuals of just a linebacker of this period.”
On if he remembers Kirkland playing against the Browns:
“To be honest, I was too young to even like comprehend a football game, but I knew who he was, if that makes any sense. That is just kind of how that went as far as him being the first football player that I have ever known.”
On if he would describe his style of play as aggressive:
“For sure. That is what makes this defense fun. We are going to be able to be aggressive and fly around. I am excited.”
On signing a one-year contract and if it is based on betting on himself to a degree:
“You can sort of say that. It was just a great opportunity here in Cleveland. I definitely wanted to be here. The opportunity is a great one. That is just kind of how I saw that.”
On if he could see an opportunity to sign a longer-term contract with the Browns if everything goes well:
“For sure. I definitely do.”
On if he has an idea of who he is competing with at MLB:
“I do, but as far as competition, I compete with myself. That is my biggest opponent. I compete with myself every single day. I know that sounds kind of cliché and guys use that and say that a lot. The way that I visualize the game mentally and the way that I prepare for the game mentally, I go at myself a lot and dig into myself a lot.”
On where he is training now and differences with a virtual offseason program:
“I am in South Carolina right now at TNT Sports. This is where I train. It is very different. I would say the biggest change or difference this offseason has not being able to form a chemistry with the guys in person. We get to talk and laugh over the phone all of the time and gather that way, but it is not the same. As far as me being able to adapt to it, I have been putting myself in a routine each week because I feel like that is the biggest difference between whether we were there or how it is now. Keeping myself in a routine and making sure I am on schedule every single day and that I am in a routine is very important to me because that is what I would be doing if I was there. Those guys, they would have us in a routine and have us doing things a set way. I try to self-disciple myself and do things that way.”
On if the virtual offseason program puts the team ‘behind the eight ball,’ particularly for younger players and position groups:
“Not at all. Not at all. We meet every single day and (defensive coordinator) Joe (Woods) and (Head) Coach (Kevin Stefanski), those guys, they do an awesome job of prepping us and quizzing us and doing everything in their power and will that they can do. We are doing a lot of other things that a lot of other teams are not doing. I commend those guys on that and setting that standard.”
On what he knew about Woods before joining the Browns and why he is a perfect fit for Woods’ scheme:
“I know him from winning the Super Bowl in Denver and him in San Francisco. As far as the scheme goes, I feel like I fit in perfectly, which was another big reason why I decided to come here and chose here. Being able to be aggressive, play aggressive and fly around, I just love it.”
On being known as a LB who is strong in the run game and his skillset in that category:
“I kind of wanted to say something about that, as well, but not to really dig into it. Yes, I am great at that, but as far as the defense that we are in now, I feel like it is the shoulder-and-up side of my game a little bit more, as well. As far as covering and stuff, I feel very confident in fulfilling those roles, as well.”
On describing how the Browns and LBs are building camaraderie in their player only video calls, as well as which LBs are funny:
“It is hard to explain the camaraderie that comes with the locker room so we are trying to fill that void of us not being around each other. When we are on those calls and things of that nature, guys are trying to let loose, but not be disrespectful, and show their personality. It is important that we all have a feel for each other. As far as who is funny, I think (LB) Mack (Wilson) is pretty funny. He is a funny guy, as well as Taki (LB Sione Takitaki). We have a great room and great camaraderie in the linebacker room. Those guys are pretty funny.”
On if the Browns have player calls with the entire team and as individual position groups to build camaraderie:
“We always have a brief moment to just share and talk about how things are going outside of football and outside of learning the scheme. I feel like we are doing a great job as far as that goes.”
On describing his daily routine:
“My daily routine is to get up early, and I train. We have set workout and conditioning things, and we have required things that we have to do, as well. I try to get those in and then I also try to get the things done that I love to do with my personal trainer, and we do those things. Then, I study for a good two to three hours. We get into those Zoom calls with the guys, and we chop it up and we hit the scheme. We have our little intermission where we all talk and see how everybody is doing. We break out, and I hit a little overview and just try to clear my mind. I normally call my daughter right after I get done with all of that. That is my schedule.”
On if he hopes to bring consistent, high-quality LB play to the Browns and lead the defense after the departure of Jaguars LB Joe Schobert:
“Like I said earlier, I feel very confident in my game. If you ask me, I will just tell you that I prepare and I am able to perform as well as any other linebacker in the league, not just to point out one guy. I feel very confident in that with the opportunity given.”
On if he has talked with his former NY Giants teammates and Browns teammates WR Odell Beckham Jr. and DE Olivier Vernon about what to expect from the Browns and Cleveland:
“O and OV, I have spoken to those guys but not necessarily about that because it is a new staff. Not necessarily [talk] about that, but I definitely have had a chance to check in with those guys.”
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