Browns Player Quotes (Hardesty, Little, Weeden) 5-30-12

Montario Hardesty

(On if things are different now than when he first joined the Brown)- “I was hurt. I missed a year and last year I was hurt. I’m not going to go into that at all. It was something that I had to go through, I got through it and now I’m healthy. I’m ready to come here and compete for a spot on this team.”

(On if there is plenty of work for two backs)- “There is plenty of work for two backs in this league, especially in our conference, the way the teams pound the ball. You can look at every team from top to bottom and see that. It’s good for our team and our running back situation. I think Trent (Richardson) is a good back. There’s going to be competition and I think competition brings out the best in everyone. We’re going to have a competition in our backfield and that’s only going to make our team better. I’m excited about it actually.”

(On if NFL teams have to have two key running backs now)- “I think we have a lot of good backs. We have guys that can do different things and you need that in this league. You saw last year, we had two or three running backs down before the season started. It’s always good to have depth at running back and have a lot of guys that can run the ball. That’s going to be great for our team. Our offensive line, we had young guys so that is going to be improved too. We are going to have an improved running game, so it’s going to be fun.”

Greg Little

(On if his physical shape had an affecting on his first season)- “I guess so. Once you think about it, it does have a direct reflect on your performance on and off the field as well. If you are not as heavy or as light as you need to be, you’re not going to be as swift on the field as you need to be as well.”

(On how much weight he has lost and if he feels better)- “11 pounds. I feel just as strong, even faster, and I feel better on my feet as well.”

(On his goals for his second season)- “Just to get better. Just to get better in every aspect as a player and every aspect as a team as well. Just try to win as many games as we can. That’s always going to be the ultimate goal.”

(On if he thought he had a good rookie season)- “I am always going to be my biggest critic. When I look at things hindsight, maybe not. When you say that you have arrived, that’s when you fall off as well.” 

Brandon Weeden

(On what has been the smoothest thing about his transition from Oklahoma State to Cleveland)- “I think that just overall throwing the football. We did so much of that at Oklahoma State, I’m not afraid of throwing the ball down the field. I’m not afraid of squeezing it in tight windows. I think that it’s something that I’ve always had a lot of confidence in, so it’s been an easier transition.”

(On if there are similarities between Greg Little and Justin Blackmon)- “There are a lot of similarities. They are big body guys, big hands and strong. You can tell when Greg catches it he’s strong with the football and that’s the way that Justin was. I haven’t really thrown much with Greg, we’ve been in two different groups, but the more I see him, I’ll tell you what, he can play. He can really, really go get it. He’s going to be a fun guy to throw to.”

(On Brad Childress)- “He’s been in this league for a long time. He has a great knowledge of offensive schemes and calling plays and doing things as a coordinator. He is a great coach and great teacher. He is always coaching and giving ideas. If he sees something, he is the first person there to tell you. He has been great so far. He has been a great resource. Whenever he tells me something, I try to be a sponge.”

(On reading into him taking snaps with the first team today)- “I don’t think you can really read too much about it. Colt’s (McCoy) has been doing it for the first week and I think they just kind of wanted to switch things up and see how we respond. It’s just new guys and you are trying to gain confidence with different guys you are on the field with. I don’t read into it. I just have to go out, whether it’s ones, twos, threes, it doesn’t matter, just continue to execute and make plays and the rest will take care of itself.”

(On thoughts on Cleveland being a football town)- “It’s great. That’s the way it should be. I’ve really enjoyed my time so far in Cleveland. I haven’t even found a place to live yet and I enjoy it, so that’s a good thing. I like it here so far, obviously the people are great. I was back in Tulsa playing in a golf tournament on Monday, a Pro-Am type deal, and there were about four or five people in Browns jerseys. There were about 20 -25 people who came up to me and said they were Browns fans back in Tulsa. They are everywhere, which is good. It’s exciting to be a part of that. What a great community and city.”