BEREA, Ohio _ Browns coach Hue Jackson is confident Terrelle Pryor will harness his competitive fire and spoke Monday as if the drama surrounding the quarterback-turned-wide receiver won't influence the organization's attempt to sign him to a contract extension.
Pryor has been a phenomenal success story in his first full season as a receiver and leads the Browns with 63 catches for 858 yards and four touchdowns.
But potential distractions have become part of the package, and Jackson was asked whether they would affect his thoughts on a potential contract extension for Pryor.
"Well, no. I know Terrelle," Jackson said. "These are things that can be worked through and understood. But I will always take in consideration of everything, and I'm sure our organization will too as we make these decisions as we move forward.
"There's a type of team we want to be and we're going to be. So we'll get these things, these antics, or however you guys want to look at them, slowed down because we want to do this thing right. But I don't want anybody to think that he is the root of our problem or something like that. I just think we've got to redirect and channel some of his energy."
Pryor revealed earlier this season he relishes opportunities to talk trash with opponents, and apparently the habit has recently led to some public dust-ups.
Cornerback Adam Jones unleashed a bevy of insults aimed at Pryor in a classic rant Sunday after the Browns fell 23-10 to the Cincinnati Bengals and Pryor finished with just one catch for 3 yards on three targets. Jones repeatedly called Pryor "garbage" and pretended to search for him in a trash can next to his locker. Jones claimed Pryor told defensive coordinator Paul Guenther before the game he would dominate Jones and cause the Bengals to cut him.
"I know Adam extremely well," said Jackson, a former Bengals assistant coach. "He's very competitive. Terrelle's very competitive. It probably went too far, and I think we've just got to move on from it. People will pile on right now [because the Browns are 0-13]. That's just part of it. We'll weather that storm too, and get better from it and grow from it."
Guenther and Bengals coach Marvin Lewis made it known Monday they aren't happy about Jones sounding off.
"We don't want to deal with that B.S. We're not like that," Guenther said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "... To take it to the extent that Adam did, we need to move on. Adam's too old for that stuff right now. I told him that after the game."
Pryor, who spent about a month with the Bengals last year, did not address the media Monday and declined through a Browns spokesman to comment on Jones roasting him. But some of Pryor's teammates weighed in.
"I know how Adam is. He's a fiery guy, and I know how he is," Hawkins said. "I know how Terrelle is. He's a fiery guy. They're competitors and whenever you have two competitors, two A-type personalities, two lions that come together, this is the result. It will make for entertaining football next year when the Bengals play the Browns again."
Regardless, there's a pattern.
After the Browns fell 27-13 to the New York Giants on Nov. 27, cornerback Janoris Jenkins criticized Pryor on Twitter and called him "a (expletive) Eater."
"I just think it's unfortunate that those things have happened," Jackson said. "I don't think that they have any place in the National Football League, especially on our team, so we're going to try and get all those things [to] quiet down. We just want to play football, be the best football players we can be and let's get away from all of that.
"I think sometimes some of our players think it's their prerogative _ not just our players, other players _ to make comments, and we need to settle whatever differences we have on the football field and leave it at that and be pros about what we do and compete against each other and move forward."
Clashing with teammates is another issue.
Pryor yelled at Robert Griffin III in the huddle Sunday after the quarterback called timeout with 10:11 left in the third quarter.
"TP didn't know the play clock was low and Robert did. That's all," tight end Gary Barnidge said. "We were just communicating and making sure that he knew, 'Hey, the play clock was low.' We didn't want to rush it. That's all it was."
Cameras have caught Pryor's emotional outbursts on the sideline several times this season.
Following the Browns' 24-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 20, he ripped his team's offensive linemen, running backs and tight ends for poor pass protection.
"We're going to stop all that. We don't need all that," Jackson said. " ... I don't think he's trying to be negative when he's doing it. The conversation on the field yesterday [between Pryor and Griffin] I think was that.
"That's just not the type of football team we want to be. But I think Terrelle is trying to come from a good place, but you just have to direct that energy in a different way, and I think he will. There's lessons to be learned. Some people file it under wanting to win so bad, but winning so bad can't supersede the team and how we're going to do things."
Barnidge insisted he's not worried about Pryor becoming a problem.
"You want people who are fiery out there," Barnidge said. "You want people out there that are going to be playing with their emotions on their sleeve and playing like that. He knows. He knows he can't say certain things, and he'll be all right with that. He trusts everybody on the team. We all trust him. We all have his back."
