CLEVELAND BROWNS 24, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 13
JOSH DOBBS: Jerome did a great job at the scramble drill. Once you get on the edge, he hit the flat, he did a great job allowing the defender to be in no man's land where at some point he had to step up and play the quarterback or he had to stay with him. And then, honestly, when I threw it, I knew he was going to catch it. And when he caught it, I was like, I am probably like 5 years past the line of scrimmage. But I wasn't. Great play on his part bringing it in. And it was great to be able to use my athleticism to make a play on the edge.
Q. It was a fun catch.
JOSH DOBBS: Yeah, it was.
Q. How do you know he's going to catch that?
JOSH DOBBS: Trust, trust, practice. We've gotten a lot of practice reps. He's done a great job in those reps of, one, running the ball as he did tonight but also, you know, being in the right spots in the pass game. It's a quarterback's best friend when you're able to look down field and get a deep zone coverage and your back is in the right spot, has good hands. We saw him make some guys miss, too, as well. So just trust. Put him in a position to make a play, and then he'll do the rest.
Q. It seemed like you were able to settle down the team. You were on the field, what, after a real shaky three series there before you. How did you do that? How did you calm everything down?
JOSH DOBBS: Yeah. You know, we just looked in the guys' eyes and just told them one play at a time. It's the same recipe we've been doing in practice for the last couple weeks. So just take it one play at a time. If we do that, we'll get back in the game. We'll move the ball. The O-line did a great job up front taking over the line of scrimmage. I think once we were able to rely on the run game and the running backs, our receivers then were able to get one on ones outside and make some plays and we were able to move the ball efficiently up and down the field.
Q. Josh, it seems like you've been watching you out at -- that the offense that they're running here is a good fit for you. Do you feel that way?
JOSH DOBBS: Yeah. I enjoy it. I enjoy it a lot. It's a QB's best friend when you're able to get on the edge, use our athleticism right and put the defense in difficult situations. We do a great job with our various sets and making a lot of things that we do in the pass game look like run, a lot of things run game in the pass game. You know, they just complement each other really well.
So it's fun as a quarterback to see that. We have a lot of really good players as well, and that helps. When they're able to run the ball effectively, you get 1 on 1s with your running backs on linebackers. You get 1 on 1s outside with the receivers. And it's fun to be able to get the ball in the play makers' hands and let them do what they do.
Q. What was the conversation on the sidelines in between series for him and even leading up to the start for him?
JOSH DOBBS: It was smooth. You know, I think all of us were just excited to get back on the field and wanted to play football. And once we got back in the football environment, right, where you're in the game, coming to the sideline, you're doing to the tablets, you're looking at the plays, looking at the looks, it was really smooth. Obviously, we're all new in this QB room. So we're all getting a feel for each other, like how we enjoy coming over to the sideline, breaking down the defense, breaking down the defense, you know, what we like to talk about, even the little things like throwing in between drives.
So that's what's great about these early games to kind of get in that flow, get in that rhythm. So, you know, once the season comes, we'll hit the ground running no matter who's in the game.
Q. Speaking of who is in the game, Jerome, for a rookie, what did you see out of him?
JOSH DOBBS: I told him he shouldn't have got caught on that long run. He said, My legs went dead. I was tired. The Jacksonville heat caught up to him. But it was fun to see him out there play.
You know, a lot of the young guys were commenting, obviously, with it being their first NFL game, you know, they have that anxiousness and anxiety that we all have when we first get into the league. So it was great to talk to them before the game and tell them, At the end of the day, it's just football. You go out. You trust your reads, your preparation. You'll go out and play well. It was good to see them, you know, step into the game and do that and then play at a high level, especially with Jerome making plays out of the backfield, in the pass game, and in the run game.
Q. Josh, you've been on a lot of teams. How do you think this team is handling all the uncertainty?
JOSH DOBBS: You know, I think they've done a great job of keeping the main thing the main thing. That's all you can do. You've got to focus on what you can control. And when you're in the complex and we're talking ball, talking football, trying to figure out how we're going to be the best team in the NFL, it takes that extra level of focus. Because there's 32 teams. Everyone has their own distractions, right? But at the end of the day, no one really cares. They only care about the final score.
We've done a great job of locking in when we're in the complex, focusing on the main things, keeping the football the priority and preparing and taking advantage of our opportunities when we get on the field.
Thank you, guys.
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FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports