CLEVELAND, Ohio – Myles Garrett plans to prove Steelers’ receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster wrong on Sunday night.
Smith-Schuster was asked at his Zoom conference on Wednesday if there was a new and improved atmosphere over the Browns, who finished 11-5 this season and split the series with the Steelers to clinch their first playoff spot in 18 years. .
“No, I think they’re still the same Browns I played every year,” Smith-Schuster said. ‘I think they are nameless gray faces. They have some good players in their team. But at the end of the day … the browns are the browns. This is AFC North football. They are a good team. I’m just glad we’re playing them again. ”
When Garrett was first asked about Smith-Schuster’s comments, he said, “no comments.”
But when asked if the Browns proved they were not the same old Browns, the defensive side said, “We’ll have to prove it when we see them Sunday.”
Garrett said the Bruins concede nothing, despite not having their head coach Kevin Stefanski and a number of other key players due to COVID-19, including left-back Joel Bitonio, their longest-serving player.
‘As Stefanski has always told us, you are not doing the opportunity; you fall at the level of your preparation, ” he said. ‘The way we have prepared and prepared ourselves spiritually, whether through Zoom or simply preparing for it ourselves at home, is just how you treat yourself and prepare yourself as a pro.
‘Nobody’s going to sit here and tell you we’re calculating ourselves. These guys are hungry, and we’ll take it to them. ‘
He said the attitude is the same as for every other game this season, despite the fact that he has not trained on Wednesday and Thursday and that eight players and five coaches have not been with COVID-19 yet.
“Just win,” he said. “You can have no other mentality. Anyone can be beaten. It does not matter who you have. You get paid to be an artist no matter where you sit on the depth chart – first or third. You get paid because you’re one of the best in the world at work, and you have to act and show it. ‘
Garrett stormed into the NFL in 2017 and promised to “chop” Ben Roethlisberger, and it’s only fitting that his first playoff game of his career is against Big Ben in Pittsburgh, where the Browns have not won since 2003. Roethlisberger is also 23-2- 1 against the Browns.
“It’s a hell of a challenge,” Garrett said. “That’s what we’re all looking forward to and I know I’m looking forward to it myself. The Steelers and the Browns had a history against each other. So now it’s just us who have to act. They have to show up and play just like us. Nothing is taken for granted and nothing is going to be given to them. Everything we get we will have to take. ‘
Garrett, who has struggled with the effects of COVID-19 in the last five games of the season after missing two games, believes fans will see the fierce version of himself that tore the NFL apart in the first nine games of the season. change bags and strips weekly.
“Today I felt pretty good at the exercise,” he said. “I felt like I was flying around and moving well, and you will be able to see on Sunday that I look like I did at the start of the season.”
After missing his first three seasons the post-season and being suspended for the last six games of last season, Garrett can not wait for the big night.
“It will be exciting,” he said. ‘It will obviously be different from any other play-off match because there are not many fans. It’s really going to be a weight off my shoulders to finally get here. I’m going to play like it’s my last. This may be the very last opportunity I get. If you do not say that it will be because of our success, you never know what your future holds.
“You never know what might happen in the world or with us or our family. I’m going to play as if my hair is burning and as if I will never get a chance for it again. ”
Garrett was kept pocketless in the season finale against backup QB Mason Rudolph, but one apparent streak gave an incomplete pass. He also seemed a bit windy at times, although he played 78% of the snaps.
“When they look back at movies, they did things differently,” Garrett said. “They mixed some looks on the offensive line. I think to slow myself down a bit and to try to keep me in balance, whether it was things with a tight head or back. It was a combination of looks. You work through it, especially after having them back to back. It’s nice to get a knock on them again.
Garrett is confident he and the Browns’ other star players will succeed in the game.
“Great players play such plays on that stage,” he said. ‘I feel like there are a lot of big players who have shown themselves throughout the season. I have no doubt they will do it this game. They’re going to show up and fly through the field and make the plays that I know they can make. ”
He hopes one of the big players in the corner from Denzel Ward is back for the game. He tested positive for COVID-19 last week before the final season, but he has the chance to return this game.
“He’s a hell of a player,” Garrett said. ‘Guys do not like to throw it to his liking, and he makes plays whether they run to his side or throw to his side. He is a threat at any time. Glad to see him come back when we get them back and hope he feels good and willing to be on the field and answer the bell when he’s out there. ‘
Garrett appreciates being named a First-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career, but individual honors are not currently in his head.
“We have bigger things ahead of us,” he said. ‘I could not have done it without the guys going on with me and the seven behind me. I hope we can continue to be successful together because that is the only way it was even possible. ”
Smith-Schuster’s comments will undoubtedly help the Browns get their faces at stake, but that’s nothing they’ve not heard yet.
“We were in the role all year,” he said. ‘We’ve been in that role since I was here. Nothing has changed. Our backs are against the wall, and we are going to fight out of it and fight against it. ”
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