OL coach Bill Callahan (8.11.21)

On the looks DE Jadeveon Clowney is giving the OL and how they are different from DE Myles Garrett:

“They are both different and they are different types of rushers, but they are capable of hitting all of the various moves. What I mean by that is they both have speed, they both have great change of direction, they have very good hands and they can go from speed to power in a heartbeat. That is probably the most challenging aspect for a pass protector when they go up against the high-caliber pass rushers in the league is that ability to transition, and or a protector, make the right decision in terms of fronting out or getting more squared up on the pass rusher because they really try to get you off of your grass, and they really try to get you to turn and make yourself vulnerable. These guys are like Nolan Ryan every day – they come at you with a fastball and then here comes a changeup or here comes a slider, and you have to be able to hit it. Especially Myles and the great range he has and the redirection he has, this will make us better players on our side of the ball. It has been great for work, not only for Jed but for (T) Jack Conklin and for our young rookie player there in (T) James Hudson (III). We are benefitting from seeing a variety of moves. (Defensive line) Coach Kiff (Chris Kiffin) has done a good job with those guys changing up their moves so we are not always getting the fastball. It has been good. It has been a good learning situation – a little different than it was a year ago.”

On how good is the Browns OL:

“We have a long ways to go in so many respects. I do not think you ever arrive. I do not know that you are ever the best because we just want to be as good as the top-caliber lines in the league. We really work hard trying to give them tools and trying to give them different techniques. We spent the entire offseason tweaking kind of what we are doing up front. We are never pleased in that regard. We are always trying to strive to do things a little bit differently than what other people do. I am not saying it is better; I am just saying it is a little bit different. That is what you have to do in order to keep your edge. If you are going to be on the cutting edge, you have to keep up with the trends in the league and you have to keep up with the various techniques that are out there that linemen will employ. It is really important to keep researching, keep your development going, push these guys to their max and always have something for them and have some new things that are stimulating that can help their game individually or help us collectively. That is kind of what this training camp has been about so far.”

On the next step for G Wyatt Teller:

“His game is an interesting game because he has a power game because he is big, he is physical and he is strong. He has those types of traits and attributes. Just working him a little bit quicker, trying to improve his change of direction and those nuances that come back from last year that we are trying to get better and improve upon. The big thing for Wyatt is just refining, working hard and striving to groove his technique. If we can groove it a little bit better than it was a year ago, we will be that much better collectively as a line. All of those aspects of line play come into it when we are trying to take each individual player and really focus on their development and their improvable areas. If we can keep rolling in that regard and keep making them adjust, work and try to find different ways and means of techniques and different aspects to take control of a defender, that has really been a true focus for him.”

On if the Browns are cross-training Hudson at G and if there is anyone beside T Chris Hubbard who can play G and T:

“We are cross-training everybody right now – not to the extent that we want to at this point, but that will come in time. I feel confident that we want to train him as a tackle right now. We talk about his assignments and what the guard is doing on each specific play so he is informed. He has exposer. He has the mental side of it. A lot of our techniques are interchangeable so the play-side guard can do the play-side tackle or the tackle can do the guard and vice versa. Whether you are on the front side or the back side of the zone game, the footwork, the strikes and the landmarks are all the same so when you do have to change a player, it should be relatively seamless because again, like I mentioned, there is a lot of carryover from one position to the other. That is kind of the beauty of the wide-zone system. If you do have the injuries that naturally come, you have to be ready to plug in. It is easy to make those transitions in a respect, but it is a little bit different in terms of the matchup. When a tackle has to go to guard, they are going to find out that everything is going to happen a little quicker and faster, and the players are bigger and they are tougher to remove than a tackle being on the edge with the type of space player, athlete and pass rush-type guys. The biggest change for a player going from outside in is really the physical matchup, but other than that the mental is still the same and the physical techniques are the same so there is not a lot of difference in that respect.”