Brock Osweiler says his comments about his fundamentals slipping last year were misunderstood. The Browns quarterback insists he did not mean it as a shot at Texans coach Bill O’Brien when he told reporters last month that he was getting “coached hard” in Cleveland. Instead, Osweiler blames himself for a season that saw him throw 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with a 72.2 passer rating.
“No, absolutely not,’' Osweiler said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, when asked about whether his comments were a criticism of the Texans. “At the end of the day, the only person I can point the finger at is myself. That’s it, point-blank, period. I was the quarterback on the field, I was the guy pulling the trigger and making decisions, so that’s 100 percent my fault.
“I should’ve found a way to have been better at my fundamentals, and that’s something that I’m cleaning up right now.”
Osweiler, as the second quarterback in the Browns rotation, is working almost exclusively with second-teamers. But he has the most experience of any quarterback on the roster with 21 career starts.
Reporters asked Osweiler whether he believed it was an open competition, and he had a chance to start in the season opener.
“That’s what our media department told me the other day, so that’s what I’m going with,’' Osweiler said.
Traded from the Texans to the Browns in the offseason, Osweiler isn’t worried about another trade sending him elsewhere.
“The reason for that is I don’t control it,” Osweiler said. “I don’t control if I’m the starter. I don’t control if I’m traded, released. You name it. The backup, I do not control that, so I’m not going to worry about it because I’ll tell you what, we have a big playbook I need to worry about as far as hard-wiring that into my brain so I can be the best teammate I can be for the Cleveland Browns.”