Hue Jackson mini camp 2016

Hue Jackson will have a lot padded practices this summer.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

BEREA, Ohio -- Hue Jackson admitted Tuesday that he's ticked off his sports science guys with the number of practices with pads he has planned for training camp.

"Honestly, they got kind of mad at me,'' he said after the first mandatory minicamp practice Tuesday. "I'll be very honest with you. We had a very candid conversation where they said, 'Hue, you might want to double check your padded days schedule.' I told them, 'No.' I know how to take care of a football team. I get a feel for when the guys, when we're pushing them a little too far and we need to reel it in.''

Jackson stressed that only pad-crunching practices will get his team ready for the season. It's a departure from the relatively light camps of the past few seasons, where there hasn't been much tackling. Club Browns, if you will.

"We're only going to build our football through playing football and good football teams play football, real football,'' he said. "They line up and they go after each other and they come out and they do it again the next day and somewhere in there, Coach Jackson's got to be smart enough to say, 'OK, that might be enough. We need to pull off.'

"That's part of being the head coach as well and it's part of having a sports science team. I'm sure they'll give me all the statistical data that you can to forewarn me, but I'm going to trust my instincts on that one and see if we can get our team to be the best that they can be."

Fans will be treated during training camp to an "everything goes'' period complete with a blaring siren to signal that it's game-on.

"I will tell you guys this: there will be a siren at practice,'' he said. "The siren is not for the health ward to come. It's not for that. ... We're going to put the ball down and it's kind of everything goes. We go after it. You've got to teach your team how to play football. That being said, it's also about being smart. We've got to be smart because we're not trying to get any guys injured.

"We're not trying to do that, but I don't know any other way to get better at playing football other than playing football the way you truly play football. I think I've broached that with our players. I think they understand it and I think they're accepting of it because, again, at the same time, they understand it's what it's going to take to get us to where we need to be."

The philosophy might run a little counter to the emphasis this season on keeping players healthy, which is espoused by Adam Beard, director of high performance. The Browns are doing unconventional things like martial arts, yoga and extra stretching this season. So far, the number of soft tissue injuries have decreased from this time last year.

In addition to knocking heads against themselves, the Browns will hold two joint practices against the Bucs in Tampa on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24th leading up to their preseason clash Aug. 26th.

Will the contact in camp be a tough adjustment for the squad?

"No, it's what I demand,'' Jackson said. "It's just what we do. We're not going to change because all of the sudden, the months change. I'm not going to change and become a different coach when November comes. Hopefully better, but I'm not going to change. Our standard is our standard.

"We want guys that can meet the standard each and every day. I'm not going backwards. Our players are not going to go backwards. We're going to do things the right way all the time. I don't believe that you start changing. You start getting better and people accept what the expectation is and they meet the expectation."

There's a new sheriff in town, and you'll know he's arrived when the sirens go off.