WR Rashard Higgins (10.12.20)
WR Rashard Higgins:
On if his run blocking helps him earn more playing time:
“It is just knowing that if somebody goes down that I know I can step into the job and fulfill the needs. (Pass game coordinator/wide receivers) Coach (Chad) O’Shea does a hell of a job of making sure everybody is bouncing around, not knowing one position but knowing all positions, so when a time comes like that, I am able to bounce around to any position and I am able to get the job done.”
On how he remained ready and engaged after being inactive for the past two weeks:
“David Robinson, my receiver coach back in Dallas, he would always go about this saying, ‘Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.’ I just know it is only a matter of time until my time is coming. It just so happened to be the Colts game, and I showed up and did my thing.”
On playing for Head Coach Kevin Stefanski:
“We all believe in him. Hell of a coach. He knows what he is doing. With a great leader like that, he knows the way. He is showing us the way, and if we do it correctly, we will win games. It is obviously showing. He is doing a hell of a job leading the pack. What a great leader he is for us.”
On scoring his first TD of the season:
“It felt like I have been there before. It was just like, ‘You know what? I miss you. You miss me. Let’s walk together (laughter).’ It was fun, having my teammates just over there and just getting a win. It has been a hell of a journey. You guys know. I have been here for 0-16, and just to see everything turn around, it is amazing – night and day. I can’t describe the feeling because I am still living in the moment right now. It is still unreal right now.”
On QB Baker Mayfield dealing with a rib injury and how Mayfield can rebound this week, given Mayfield said Sunday’s game was his worst of the season:
“His ass better get his ribs going (laughter). We have the Steelers this week. I know he will bounce back. That is just the type of guy he is – resilient, battle-tested. There is nothing he has not been through. Every week, we expect him to play. That is how we are going to move moving forward.”
On why his TD-to-reception ratio is so high:
“That I do not know. I am like a magnet to the end zone for some reason. All I can say is when the ball comes to me, I try to make the plays and it so happens when we get down to the red zone. I am not the fastest. I am smart, and I find a way to get open. At the end of the day, I realize I have been in the NFL for five years because I am smart and I know different things. That has helped me along this journey.”
On the Browns’ resiliency this year and the team’s ability to turn negative moments into positive ones:
“That is one thing Coach Stefanski always preaches on. Team coming in, we are both 3-1, we know at some point in time there is going to be a downfall and something is not going to go our way. He always harps on that. It is already instilled in us and second nature – something might happen, but do not let that outcome make or break us. Regardless of the outcome, just keep moving forward, keep pounding and keep pounding, and at the end of the day. we are going to look up at the scoreboard and see who is on top.”
On how the team is approaching this week’s matchup against the Steelers:
“It is a big game because it is the next game, a division game. We have a lot of film to watch on these guys. Moving forward, we are going to hone down on them, see what they are good at and see what they are weak at and try to exploit those weaknesses.”
On why the Browns team is ‘legitimate’ this year:
“I say we are sound. We are like a bend-but-don’t-break team. In the past, there have been times where let’s say Baker threw an interception and the team just gets down. It is like, ‘No, you know what? We are fixing to go back out and get the ball back.’ We are all feeding off of each other’s energy. This COVID thing sucks, but we still have the best fans in the world. Although everybody is not able to come to the games, having the crowd noise, we feed off of that. In this bubble, we have to feed off of each other so that is exactly how we are playing the game. We are feeding off of each other.”
On the Browns fully embracing the mantra of going 1-0 each week and if the team pulling for and feeding off of each other factors into the ability to take that mindset:
“Absolutely. We just have to pull for each other. Exactly what you said and what I said, we just have to feed off of each other’s energy.”
On the Browns’ success in the run game and pass game and how that impacts opposing defenses:
“You have to keep them guessing. A team should never know what you are doing. Make everything look the same. If that is a keeper where Baker is scrambling to the left, make it look like a run but it is a pass. It is just little things and little details like that that Coach Stefanski harps on at practice. It makes it a big thing in the game. That is a 20-yard gain now just because you carried out a fake. It is just little things like that, and it is helping us win.”
On what makes the Steelers such a tough opponent at Heinz Field:
“They are always a sound team. Like I have been telling you about us, they are a bend-but-don’t-break team, and they always feed off of each other’s energy. We have to go in with a clear mindset of it is the next game, it is a division game and it is a huge game for us, but it is the next opponent so we have to get ready for them. They have to get ready for us.”
On his block on RB D’Ernest Johnson’s 28-yard run to help seal the win:
“When that play was called, I was not even supposed to be in that position. (WR) Jarvis (Landry) was supposed to be right there. It just so happened that I know the position. Came in motion, D’Ernest came to my side and everything was just set up. I saw him, I tried to lay the wood down on him and D’Ernest was going for 20 or 30 yards. Just doing my job. That is all that was. Just doing my job.”
On if the team made a big deal of his block when reviewing the game film:
“‘Nice job,’ but that is my job to do it. It was not just outstanding, but it was my job to do it. That is all I can say about that one.”
On the benefit of the Browns rotating personnel at WR and other positions:
“At practice, we have a lot reps where guys are moving around, like I have been saying. That only prepares us to stay ready for our opportunity. There is one ball going around, but you never know who it might go to. You stay ready so you do not have to get ready.”
On how Stefanski has handled his play time this season and his opportunity to make an impact in yesterday’s win:
“Coach believes in me. I would not be on the team for no reason. He knows what I am capable of, and I do at a high level every time. He kept me on the team for a reason. He believed in me. He trusts in me. The whole staff upstairs, they believe in me. They know what I am capable of. There is nothing to question. I am on the team for a reason. When I am called upon, I have to do my job.”
On comparing how he was used in the offense and felt last season compared to this season:
“I would say it has been a long journey. I do not know where to go with that one. The staff believes in me. I have said this in an interview before, but there is nothing like someone else believing in you more than you believe in yourself.”
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