DE Myles Garrett (12.27.20)
DE Myles Garrett:
On awaiting updates yesterday on the team’s adjusted schedule and Browns players being placed on reserve/COVID-19:
“Roll with the changes. We have to see what happens. Just waiting for the call. We will leave that night or tomorrow. Whenever we play, we have to be ready for whenever they want us to be on the field.”
On LB B.J. Goodson being out after being placed on reserve/COVID-19:
“He is our play caller. He is our best guy in the linebacking corps. He makes plays in the run and the pass. He is a vocal leader out there. We love having him in the locker room and on the field, but we just have to keep on going.”
On the incomplete pass that was challenged in the first half and if he felt it was a strip-sack:
“I guess that is up for interpretation. They told me on the field that it was too tight to overturn. That is my fault that I did not go out there and get it done.”
On the disappointment of not being able to rally the troops and win today, given the team’s resiliency this year:
“It is tough. No matter who is out there, we try to go out there with our head high and fight them hard. We are scratching, clawing and fighting against everybody we go against. We are just trying to ride with we have at that time, no matter who is out. It was a tough one, but they played well. They got one on us.”
On if he was checking the scoreboard and if the Browns knew they could have clinched a playoff spot with a win today:
“I did not know that, but I know now. Now the road goes through Pittsburgh. The Steelers come to play us at our house, and we have to get to the playoffs through them.”
On the Browns having their fate in their own hands:
“I would rather it be in my hands than anybody else’s. I do not have to worry about anybody else losing or winning. All we have to do is we have to go win. It is all on us.”
On the past 24 hours and if that impacted the Browns offense’s start to the game in the first half:
“I am sure it was a little shell shock, but you have to go out there and play the best you can with the guys you have. They did that. We did not come out on the winning end. The Jets came out and they attacked us early. They attacked us on defense and offense. They made the plays they needed to make, and we did not get any takeaways. That is a key stat of the game. They were plus-two in takeaways, and we had none. If we can’t get the ball on the offense, we have to pick up the slack on defense. We just did not pull it together in time.”
On if he has an understanding of how a Browns player contracted COVID-19 and others were placed on reserve/COVID-19 and if the situation could have been prevented, given he previously had the virus:
“I do not know the situation with the guys and what they were doing or where they were. I do not know how they will [be when] they return. Everybody is affected differently as we have seen through the last six months and how they are effected and how their breathing and their heart is affected. Hopefully, they return healthy and most of them are asymptomatic and don’t have the virus the way some of us have had it, and they return as back to themselves.”
On if he believes QB Baker Mayfield was rattled by the events of the past day:
“I did not see anything change in his eyes or his demeanor. He went out there the same gunslinger you know him as. He comes prepared. It was on all of us. It was on all of us today. All of us came up a little bit short. They were prepared. They had a good gameplan. They found a way to win. That is the name of the game.”
On if he relishes the opportunity to face the Steelers and Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger again next week:
“Pittsburgh is not too liked around Cleveland. I know they have a storied history. He is one of the greats, but that is more of what I like to think about. Going against some of the great tackles and great quarterbacks, fortunately, I get to go against one of each. I get to go against (Steelers OT Alejandro) Villanueva who has been in the league for quite a while, a Pro Bowler for multiple years and the same with Big Ben, a Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowler. I know he is in the record books for many a stat. Just being able to go against that kind of competition year in and year out two times a year, you don’t find that really anywhere else. Especially you have Baltimore and next year the return of (Bengals QB) Joe Burrow, it is going to be a tough division, but I look forward to these challenges. If our road goes through him, so be it.”
On if the Browns have enough leaders to rally the troops for next week:
“It is not about having multiple leaders. You know the saying, too many chiefs, not enough Indians. I believe if you have one good leader on the whole team or you have two good leaders on each side of the ball or you even have a leader on special teams, it is about having someone to rally around when things are going wrong. We rallied late, but it just was not enough in the end. It is not about always having a leader to get you over the hump. Sometimes it is just about making those plays. You can be a leader and not a playmaker and you can be a good playmaker and not be a leader. We have some of both, and today, we just did not have enough in the tank to get the win, and they did.”
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