Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt (12.1.22)
On if it will take QB Deshaun Watson time to feel like himself and shake off rust after not playing for approximately two years:
“I would assume there will be rust. It is common in anybody who has not played in a long time no matter what position. There will be some rust to knock off. It is football, which he has done his whole life so hopefully, he knocks it off quickly. I just have expectations that there will be some rust. It is fair.”
On how helpful it is to have QB Jacoby Brissett help with the transition to Watson at QB, given Brissett’s experience:
“Absolutely. I really feel good about the room. The job that Jacoby did for us, can’t say enough great things about him. One is his quarterback play, but just the leadership he showed throughout his time as a starter, his work ethic and his love for his teammates is really fun to watch. You are remiss not giving him some credit. He did a great job for us. To have him in that room still, we feel really good about where we sit in there.”
On the Browns offense being QB-driven and focused on getting the ball to the team’s playmakers:
“Absolutely. I think we do some good things on offense. Don’t want to lose that. Getting the ball in our playmakers’ hands, Deshaun being one of those now. Finding ways to utilize the talent that is available is what we have always strived for and put those players in the best position to be successful.”
On takeaways from seeing Watson back at practice:
“As a quarterback analyst and all of the work you do in the offense watching these guys, for me it is a steady head. A guy who throws around his body and doesn’t have a lot of head movement, those guys generally are accurate passes, and he is that.”
On opportunities in the running game with Watson’s return:
“Like I said, it opens up some more options for us, and hopefully, we will be tough to defend. With him having the ability to make some of those runs when they are chasing down on the backside and things like that, hopefully it will open up some more space in the run game.”
On Watson’s ability with movement in the Browns offense:
“That is how we roll. That is our offense. We are a run-action, play-action and keepers off of the run game. He bought in as soon as he started practicing with us. He obviously saw the importance of what a great job Jacoby did in his play-action and run-action game so that is expected from any quarterback that gets under center for us.”
On if Watson has been good with movement so far:
“Definitely. It is like anything, if you emphasize it, you will get results, and we obviously emphasize it here from the quarterback room. He can be as good as anybody.”
On if the Browns expect to throw more deep balls with Watson:
“That is a possibility. He has the arm strength to definitely stretch the field. Will we call more deep balls? I am not sure, but will more balls be throw deep? Possibly. He definitely has the ability and the accuracy down the field.”
On if there was a big adjustment period yesterday during Watson’s first day of practice as starting QB and how Watson fit in with the offense yesterday:
“Great. Operated well in the huddle, I thought. Really did a good job at the line of scrimmage. His cadence was clean. We were really clean just from an operational standpoint yesterday and expect that to continue. Now, the guys do have to get used to a little bit of a different cadence. That is just part of any new quarterback that comes in. They have done a great job this week of working with him. He has also done a great job of trying to sound as much like Jacoby. You always want to keep that rhythm and that cadence rhythmic and feel the same up front so that is something we have worked on this week.”
On if Watson throws passes faster or harder than Brissett:
“I think he is probably a little more of a firm ball than Jacoby. I think they both throw very catchable balls. It is just a matter of getting used to that tempo of the ball coming out of his hand.”
# # #
***Visit the Browns Media Center for materials provided by the Browns communications department, including media schedules, press releases, quotes, photos, media guides, rosters, depth charts and more.***