Kevin Patullo

Q. What are your main goals of these joint practices? What are you most trying to accomplish? (John McMullen)

Kevin Patullo: I think the biggest thing is just run it like a game as best we can so we can feel just the structure and the organization of the flow of how we’re going to do things and get plays in and out and organize it to where the guys feel like they’re playing in a game. That’s why these things are fun because you can go against another opponent. They haven’t necessarily seen what we’re going to do and we can kind of get in the flow of play calling and game-like situations.

Q. How was the operation on Friday night? (Dave Zangaro)

Kevin Patullo: It was good. It was really good. I mean we were really smooth with it. We had no problems with anything. It felt good. I know all the guys were enjoying it, so I think it was really good.

Q. With G Landon Dickerson working his way back. What are you seeing and trying to find out about your depth at left guard? (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is right, we have the best line coach in the NFL. From that standpoint, we feel very confident no matter what happens and who plays in that position. So [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland] Stout’s done an unbelievable job throughout the years of getting somebody ready to play whoever that is and not really skipping a beat.

Q. We’ve seen I think OL Brett Toth there is G/T Tyler Steen an option that he can play there? (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: Well, I think really all those guys are just going to work throughout the rest of the camp and then whoever we need to show up will show up. Like I said, I think Stout does such a good job of having all those backups ready no matter what the situation is. [Tyler] Steen’s played over the years, come in from off the bench and played. I think we feel really confident with what Stout has planned for.

Q. What are you seeing from OL Brett Toth? Even before G Landon Dickerson got hurt, he seemed to be taking the second team reps at left guard? (Martin Frank)

Kevin Patullo: Yeah, he’s a really smart individual, really good with the detail of the game. He understands a lot of positions, which is great to have a guy like that that can line up in multiple spots and be able to step in if something happens. So I think that’s the biggest thing he brings and I think he’s been in the system for a while. He understands what we want to do and the way Stout teaches it, which is really important. So the details of it feel very natural when he’s next to the other guys.

Q. How does a guy like WR Darius Cooper looks so comfortable after making a big jump with level of competition? (Reuben Frank)

Kevin Patullo: I think really when you look at it, it’s a testament to [Wide Receivers Coach] Aaron Moorehead, right? Aaron and I were together at Texas A&M. We have a long relationship and he’s done a good job throughout his career of developing guys and I think he had a good feel for what he needed to teach [WR Darius Cooper] Coop as far as coming in from the college level where he needed to get to, how to help him with certain things. I know [WR] AJ’s [Brown] kind of taken him under his wing. So I think there’s people that are looking out for him, his best direction and understanding you can’t learn it all in one trip, right? He’s has to be kind of patient and getting him to understand patience is okay and then we’ll get you to where you need to get to.

Q. Do you remember the first time that WR Darius Cooper sort of flashed you that you were like, oh?! (Bo Wulf)

Kevin Patullo: I think really his physical skillset, you could kind of see it in the spring a little bit, just running around, okay, this guy’s a little bit different. I think from that standpoint, you just don’t know how far it’ll go and that’s where we just got to continue to push him to see how far he can get with his game. He’s done some nice things, but we all know, right, it’s a long haul. He’s got to continue to kind of do that to just keep progressing. So when we see the progression at the end, we’ll see what we have.

Q. Cleveland Browns Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz scheme is different from Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s. Will you do anything to tinker the offense? (Jeff McLane)

Kevin Patullo: Yes and no. We obviously kind of treat it like a game. We kind of know what he [Browns Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz] likes to do. We played him last year. So I think from that standpoint, yes, there’s certain things we will have in that we may not have in against Vic [Fangio] and vice versa, but a lot of it’s just about execution. You want the guys to problem solve. We don’t know what Jim’s going to do. Him and I have talked just briefly about just the practice, the structure of it, but it’s a good test for our guys to kind of say, okay, we got to go against something new. We’ve worked this play against Vic at length, now let’s see if we can problem solve it and execute it against a different defense so that during the year we feel comfortable against whatever defense we’re getting, we can run the plays.

Q. This past four years you’ve had to go to the backup quarterback. Did you spend these preseason games thinking about how you would call a game court for QB Tanner McKee if he were to play? (Zach Berman)

Kevin Patullo: I think really when I’ve spent time, like you said with the quarterbacks that you kind of get a feel for what they’re good at, what they like and what they’re comfortable with in games. I think that kind of showed in the game the other day. You can kind of have a feel for a sense of what he’s good at and you kind of talk to them and build that relationship about when you call a play, they’re comfortable with hearing what you’re saying, knowing how to execute it and keep yourself on track. I think there is a little bit of a getting a feel for guys. He’s been around for a little bit, so I think we have a good feel for each other and kind of where we need to go if he had to play. Then I think the other guys we’re still working through that and just that’ll be a work in progress.

Q. With WR A.J. Brown and WR DeVonta Smith, you’ve only had three full practices with the two of them together, does that impact how you evaluate where the offense is right now? (Jeff Neiburg)

Kevin Patullo: Not really. I mean, I’ve been around them for so long and I’ve been in the room with them and I have good relationships with them. They’re constantly in my office. DeVonta hangs out all the time and A.J. and we just talk about things and go through things and it’s been like that the last four years. I’m really comfortable with who they are and what they bring. I know when the lights on, they’re going to do what they need to do and what they can do is obviously really, really, really well.

Q. With your depth at wide receiver last year you guys opened the 53-man roster with five on the roster. What goes in the conversation of evaluating what you have right here, possibly expanded to six or goes in that. What does that mean for the office? (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: I think obviously it’s a big discussion with everybody, so it’s [Head Coach] Nick [Sirianni] and [Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman] and myself and we all sit down and decide. It’s really a big picture thing. Sometimes you can have more, sometimes you can’t depending on the other position groups. Really it’s a big picture thing as far as how many you can keep on the roster.

Q. Are you advocating for that? (Brooks Kubena)

Kevin Patullo: To be honest, it’s whatever’s best for the team at that point because sometimes other positions need the other people.

Q. With WR Johnny Wilson and WR Ainias Smith specifically, just look a lot more comfortable in year two. What do you see in the growth from those guys? (John McMullen)

Kevin Patullo: I think you said it right there, right? Just year two is a big difference for them. The game does slow down a little bit. You have a feel for the pace of it, the way it’s played, what the defenses are doing, how guys react to things. I do think they’ve improved from that standpoint and they feel more comfortable. You can definitely see that in practices and in the game the other day to where the game just kind of slowed down. They’re processing the plays better, they’re in year two of the offense essentially as far as the verbiage. So you’re able to be more comfortable and do what you do best. So I think it’s been a good thing for them to have that extra year.

Q. Is the running back rotation taking shape at all? What do you notice about the skill sets of the different guys and compliments? (Tim McManus)

Kevin Patullo: Yeah, I think all three of them really have totally different skill sets, obviously between [RB] Saquon [Barkley] and [RB] Will [Shipley] and [RB] A.J. [Dillon] and the rest of the guys. [Running Backs/Assistant Head Coach] Jamal [Singleton] does a great job of just kind of mixing them in and really now’s the time to just kind of test them and see what else they can do. You don’t know a skillset set until you see it. I think we’ve done a good job of putting A.J. [Dillon] in positions to catch balls and run routes and put [RB Will Shipley] Ship in a position to be a pure runner so you can kind of test it all now and see what you have. Jamal does a really good job with that to kind of balance it out so we’re not just getting this is what he has to do or this is what he does. I think it’s been fun to just kind of experiment and see what they can do.

Q. How much does the lack of fullback plays have to do with FB Ben VanSumeren’s injury? (Jeff McLane)

Kevin Patullo: A little bit of that and a little bit of these are public practices, so I just got to be careful with how much you really want to do in those settings. So a little bit of both.

Q. Another year with WR Johan Dotson, how have you seen his game evolve? (Cayden Steele)

Kevin Patullo: He really has. I mean, he’s a really good route runner. That’s the one thing when you put the tape on or you watch him in person, his route running ability is really dynamic and I think his maturity of just being around the other guys, you can start to feel him in different ways in the offense. I think what he’s shown too is you can move him around. I don’t know necessarily if we knew that when we first got him, but now he’s in a spot where we can put him anywhere and we feel confident. So I think his game has grown tremendously from that standpoint.