WR KhaDarel Hodge (11.30.20)
WR KhaDarel Hodge:
On how much he enjoys being a bigger part of the Browns offense and passing game:
“I really enjoy it actually. It is always good to contribute to the offense as much as I can. Being able to come up big in certain situations means a lot to me.”
On his air guitar celebration after the first down catch:
“Yeah, it is a little air guitar. I do not really have much behind it right now. It was just something I just came up with playing around with my brothers at the crib. They were asking me what I was going to do if I got a catch and a first down, and that was the first thing I thought of and I just stuck with it.”
On if he and QB Baker Mayfield have a natural connection or if they have worked to develop it:
“I would say just me being open and being in the right spot at the right time. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I will be ready. If he comes my way, then I will catch the ball. Hopefully, that chemistry continues to build.”
On if being named a game captain is a big deal to players and if it affects their play:
“Yeah because you are going out there for the team and you are representing the team so I think you take that as a big weight going out because you know that you are the face of the team for that moment so you have to lead by example in every way and you have to show the team the reason why they chose you, and that is going out, playing hard and giving your best at all times.”
On if it is a big deal when Head Coach Kevin Stefanski names the game captain on Fridays:
“Yeah, I think a lot of players are wondering because we never know who it is going to be until Friday morning. We all huddle up, and I think everybody wonders and then just to know. He does a good job of describing why this guy is captain this week or why he chose this guy. I think it is a big deal because it is big for people who get chosen, and it is a way to show respect and acknowledge the work he has put in.”
On the pride he takes in his blocking and RBs Nick Chubb’s and Kareem Hunt’s success this season:
“I do not mind that at all. I know both of those guys are great backs. They can break out at any time. We as a team take pride in blocking, not just me. Our leader Juice (WR Jarvis Landry), he takes pride in blocking so why wouldn’t I? Like I said, both of those guys are great backs. They could be stuffed in the backfield, and the next thing you know, they are breaking for 60. You have to be ready at all times for both of them. I love doing it.”
On if he has always been able to make tough catches or if playing with Landry and WR Odell Beckham Jr. has made him better:
“I would say both. I have always been able to catch the ball in a pretty good way. I am not going to give those guys all of my success for catching the ball because that is why I am here, but of course, just being around those guys and seeing the kind of catches they make day in and day out, it continues to rub off. You start to ask questions like, ‘How you do this? How you do that?’ It just builds confidence. Once you start being around a person long enough, it starts to rub off on you and you have to step your game up to match his or you are going to get left behind. Being around those guys, it pushes you to be great.”
On if he was happy to see Landry have a productive game on Sunday:
“Oh yeah. The birthday boy going crazy like he did, there was no better feeling. He went crazy for sure. He did. He deserved it.”
On what a win against the Titans would do for the team’s confidence:
“I think it will help us out a lot. Confidence is major. Once we get rolling, then we will get rolling. I do not look at the Titans as a super team – they can get beat like anybody else. We go into this game expecting to win and we are expecting to do our thing. I see this team going deep into playoffs, as far as we can go. No one can stop us but us. That is how we look at it. That is how we are going to keep looking at it. As long as we play our game, we can beat anybody.”
On reasons he believes the Browns can be a special team this year:
“First of all, we have great coaches, some of the best coaches I have been around. They know how to adapt in any situation. Whether it is personnel or gameplan, they always are adapting to make things right. Of course, we have great players throughout the roster. We are deep at every position, and we are coachable at the same time. We will do what it takes for the team to win, and we have a lot of unselfish guys and guys that just want to win, know their role and want to do their part.”
On expressing how different this year’s team is to last year’s team, given the Titans beat the Browns to start the 2019 season:
“Oh man, not even close. That was the opener so everybody was trying to get a feel for it, but now, we have the guys rolling right now. We are beginning to play for each other. We have come together as a team We are noticing little things that we need to fix, and we are all hard ourselves for messing up or doing something wrong or trying to get better. We want to get better. We want to be the best. We are a whole different team than we were then, and we are going to show it.”
On if he thought at the start of the season that the Browns had the capability of bring 8-3:
“I actually thought we would be better, honestly. Like I said, we have great coaches and great players. There is nothing we can’t do over here.”
On if the Browns are close to putting it all together in a game:
“Yes, we are very close to putting it all together in one game. We have yet to play our best game. Like he said, all phases playing their best game, whether that is defense, offense or special teams, that one game all of us put together, we have yet to do that and we are still playing pretty good. Until we do that, which I think we are going in the right direction right now, then we have the best is yet to come.”
On how much personal pride he takes in being a valuable player to the Browns offense:
“I take a lot [of pride in it]. I spent most of the offseason saying that I wanted to be a bigger part of this offense and that is what I was going to do. For it to be happening right now is a blessing. Getting put into situations that I have been and coming through, it is just a blessing. I am grateful for it for sure. Like I said, that is what I have been working for this whole offseason is just becoming a bigger part of the offense any way I can do it, whether that is blocking, catching the ball or being a leader in some type of way. I just wanted to be more involved in this offense, and I am glad it is going that way.”
On if losing Beckham motivated the Browns WRs to step up and contribute:
“Yeah, definitely. We know how much O means to this team and how big he was to this offense. We knew it was next man up. He is a hard guy to replace for sure. He is one of the best in the league, but you know how this league works. It is next man up, and we had to fill some shoes. We have not slowed any. We miss our guy, but we know what we are playing for.”
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