Interview Transcripts: December 3rd
Dec 3, 2008, 5:12PM
BALTIMORE RAVENS TRANSCRIPTS: REDSKINS WEDNESDAY
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening statement: “We’ve got a big crowd today. It’s good to see everybody.”
On the team’s mindset headed into Sunday, with things going so well the past few weeks: “Our mindset is that we have a work day today. The focus has been, since 8 o’clock this morning, on getting ready to have a good practice, and that’s really where we’re at. So we don’t really look too much past this afternoon. That’s what our mindset is.”
On having any major concerns: “No. Our concern is making sure we have a good practice. It really is. That’s a concern. That’s the issue right now. It’s not easy to come out, as the season progresses, and focus on all the things that have to be done in an important practice, and that’s what we need to do.”
On RB Willis McGahee’s practice, and if the week off helped heal whatever wounds he might have had: “We haven’t practiced yet.”
On if the week off, forgetting practice, helped McGahee: “Irrelevant. We’re just going to work and getting ready for the Redskins. It’s not even a question that needs to be even addressed.”
On what he sees in the Redskins’ offense: “I see a talented offense that can put up points and can mash you with the running game. They’ve got weapons all over the field. They’ve got a really talented young quarterback and a very dangerous, well-coached offense.”
On his thoughts on how Redskins head coach Jim Zorn has begun: “They’ve done great. I’ve always had a lot of respect for Jim Zorn. Obviously, as a player, watching him over the years, and as a coach, what he’s done with the Seahawks.
[Harbaugh swats a fly out of the air]
“That was impressive. Did you just see that? That was a fly. (Laughing) Could coach Zorn do that?”
On speculation that Redskins RB Clinton Portis won’t play and if they’re watching more film of RB Ladell Betts: “Well, we’ll be studying Ladell Betts anyway. Clinton Portis, we expect him to be there, no question about it. But Ladell Betts, having seen him plenty of times over the years, as a returner and a running back, he’s a starting-caliber running back in the NFL. They’ve got two, they’ve got three, really good guys that can handle the ball. So whoever we see we’ll be ready for them. With all their different backs they run the same offense, so preparation will be the same.”
On if the Redskins ability for the big play is a focus: “Well they can [move] downfield, and they’ve got [Chris] Cooley downfield. He’ll hit all kinds of seam routes and deep crossing routes. Antwaan Randle El is a threat. It’s not just [Santana] Moss. They’ve got guys who can make plays all over the field, so that’s a big concern for us.”
On Redskins QB Jason Campbell’s ball security: “I think they’ve done a great job. I think one of the things about the West Coast offense, when you go back to Mike Holmgren, is not throwing interceptions. You see it in Philly, you see it now in Washington. That’s something that’s been a big staple of that offense. And he’s adapted really well to that, he’s done a great job with it. He’ll check it down in a minute to [Clinton] Portis or to Cooley, and they make a lot of their yards just doing that. They can hit you downfield, or they can drop it down to one of those playmakers underneath, and that’s where they’re dangerous.”
On what the defense is working on to try and generate Redskins turnovers: “You don’t try to create anything. You just play through your fundamental responsibility, do your job, and then make the plays that are presented to you.”
On what CB DeAngelo Hall has added to Washington’s secondary: “They have a talented secondary. Carlos Rogers is tremendous on their right side. They’ve got a couple of guys over there, [Shawn] Springs and DeAngelo Hall, playing on the left side. Obviously, a top-notch free safety, we have a little familiarity with him. What’s his name? [LaRon] Landry? We have familiarity with him. Then young [Chris] Horton, the strong safety, has been playing really well for them. That was a real find for them. So, [they have an] excellent secondary.”
On if they’ve thought about having a change at the returner position: “We think we have some returners, as you know. We’ve got some guys who can get back there and do it. We’ve put some other guys back there this year, and that’s always a possibility.”
On if T Adam Terry will be ready for football this week: “Yeah. He’s going to practice today, so it will be interesting to see how he handles practice today. But it looks like he’s got a great chance to play.”
On if he’s noticed the rivalry between the two cities, Baltimore and Washington D.C.: “I have. A lot of people have brought that up. You get a feel for it, and it’s obvious. [They’re] just right up the road, so it’s going to be that backyard kind of a rivalry. And it’s going to be fun to be a part of it. I think our guys and our coaching staff are excited to be representing Baltimore, and we’re looking forward to doing that.”
On if he will address Giants WR Plaxico Burress’ situation, in general, with the team: “We do do that. That’s a big part of our player development program with O.J. Brigance. Darren Sanders, our security director, is involved with the gun safety stuff. We meet every Thursday. Part of our Thursday during the season is talking about that kind of stuff. I’m sure we’ll have a discussion about that on Thursday morning with Darren, talk about some of those issues.”
On if practice will be inside or outside this week: “I think we’ll be outside. We’ll be outside here in about an hour, ready to go. It’s a beautiful day out, great football weather.”
On why CB Frank Walker was inactive for the Bengals game: “We just try to get our 45 best guys out there, and we felt like Evan [Oglesby] was going to give us a great chance to be successful on Sunday.”
On if it came down to special teams play: “It comes down to everything. You just take everything into consideration and you just say, ‘This is our strongest 45-man roster for this game.’ And that’s just the way we thought we’d go.”
On the CBS announcers saying that Walker was inactive because he didn’t want to play on special teams: “No, that’s not true. To say that Frank wouldn’t want to play special teams is totally inaccurate. I think Frank wants to play football. He’s a football player, and he’s excited to have a chance to play, maybe, this Sunday. We’ll see how it shakes out. But I wouldn’t say that’s accurate.”
On if the Gatorade baths are spontaneous or planned: “Well, it’s not on the itinerary. It’s not like we have ‘Gatorade bath’ with a certain mark. I think our guys have… It seems like it’s a little thing now. Willie [Anderson] was the obvious target [on Sunday]. We were a little disappointed that we didn’t get Hue Jackson. Hue, we couldn’t find him in time, so I think the guys still have an idea to make up for that one.”
QB Joe Flacco
On what he’s seen from the tape of the Redskins’ defense: “They’re a team that likes to load the box and put as many people as they can down in there, and man up everybody on the outside. They feel like they can do that, and we feel like we’re going to be able to take advantage of that with our receivers. We’ll see.”
On their talent in the secondary: “They’ve got a lot of guys back there. They’ve got DeAngelo Hall, they’ve got [Fred] Smoot, they’ve got [Shawn] Springs, they’ve got [Carlos] Rogers, they’ve got [LaRon] Landry. They’ve got the rookie, [Chris] Horton, I think his name is. They’ve all been playing great. Believe me, we know that they have good players, but we’re not going to concentrate on that too much. We know that we have the guys to match up against them, or at least we feel like we do, so we’re going to go out there and try to prove that this week.”
On what he learned from his other prime time appearance against Pittsburgh earlier in the season: “I don’t know if prime time really matters to us. It’s just going to be a big deal for the fans, and it’s going to be a lot fun and bring a lot of excitement to Baltimore and Washington. But for us it’s going to be a normal game. We’re just going to go out there and approach it just like normal. This is just as important as any other week has been. Right now, this is most important because it’s this week. But it should be a lot of fun for us, and we’ve just got to go out there and prove that we can continue to win.”
On why he has succeeded as a rookie quarterback: “You come in here, you work hard, you have fun at practice and the guys you have around you… The guys I have around me have been great all year. From the very first day, I’ve come in and they’ve just given me the confidence to play and be myself. Anytime you have the surrounding cast of guys like we do on our offense and on our defense to help me out the way that they have been, it kind of makes my job as easy as possible.”
On the reason he is now throwing to more people: “We’re growing as an offense, and that’s what we said we wanted to do from Day One, is to get better and better as each week goes on. We’re doing that. And as we’re doing that, you’re starting to see more guys come alive. Mark [Clayton] has been doing, and I assume you’re probably talking about Mark in a certain way, Mark has been doing a great job for us all year in all kinds of different ways – blocking, making sure he knows where everybody on the offense is going, being able to help us out with that. He’s helped us out in so many different ways, so for him to have a big game like he had last week is good to see.”
On where he got his “Battle of the Beltway” T-shirt: “They made me wear it.”
On if it seems like a big rivalry to him: “I guess so. It should be pretty cool. I don’t know if they’ve ever come up here and played. I know I’ve never been a part of it. It should be a lot of fun, so we’ll see.”
On throwing the deep ball more often: “Guys are getting more confidence. We’re getting more comfortable as a unit, and anytime you do that you’re not going to go a whole season, usually, without hitting any of these things. We’ve been pretty consistent hitting our intermediate routes and short routes. Eventually, we’re going to get to that point where you feel comfortable enough to go down the field, and it’s starting to come.”
On if, when running trick plays, they come out of the huddle thinking that if the play works, it will be big: “I don’t know. You always break the huddle and you go up there and you see how the defense lines up for the play you have, and you’re like, ‘Oh man, if we hit this, we’ve got it.’ It kind of happened on the touchdown Mark [Clayton] made the one-handed catch on. I came out, and saw that the guy came up and pressed him, and I was like, ‘Oh man, all right, if you want to...’ And I knew I was going back there and throwing it to him [Clayton], and he did a great job of beating him and making the catch.”
LB Ray Lewis
On how good Redskins RB Clinton Portis is and what the defense needs to do to shut him down: “I just think he’s one of those people that they want to get the ball in his hands as much as possible. Maybe I’m a little biased. He’s from ‘The U,’ so he has a big heart. He plays the game the way the game should be played. He’s probably one of the exceptional backs in the game right now. So we have to do a good job of containing, really, the whole offense because Santana Moss is a great athlete over there. [Antwaan] Randle El is a speed guy. They have a lot of weapons, and [Jason] Campbell has been very, very safe with the ball. They’re running the ball extremely well. So we’ve got our hands full, but it’s going to be a pretty good game.”
On how the Ravens’ defense is playing, not allowing a touchdown for 10 quarters and outscoring the opponents’ offense in that span: “It’s about every man just taking care of their own business. That’s the thing for us. Wherever the ball is, we have a certain mentality that everybody has bought in to, and that’s just finding the football. We’re just playing where we’re supposed to be, and that’s the most exciting part when you come back and watch film. The bottom line is all we have to do is beat the man in front of you. But the run that we’re on, it just comes with a lot of guys really buying in to the system, really buying into what’s going on. Rex [Ryan] does an incredible job getting us in the right schemes and things like that. There’s a lot of credit coming from a lot of different ways the way our defense is playing. You also have to tip your hat to our offense as well because they’re controlling the ball when we do go three-and-out. They’re controlling the ball a lot in the second half of most ballgames. I just think it’s a credit of a lot of different things, the way we’re playing right now.”
On what TE Chris Cooley provides over the middle for Washington: “That’s another guy. They have a lot of weapons at all different positions. If you watch film, even some of the games that they lost, a lot of their good players made a lot of big plays. Chris Cooley is probably one of the best tight ends in the game catching the ball and one-on-one. He’s a hard [guy] to match up one-on-one with [for] any linebacker or safety who’s big enough. Overall, they’re doing a great job offensively in the things they’re trying to get done.”
On whether he had, going in to training camp, any indication that he was poised to have this kind of season, considering some people thought he was on the downside of his career: “Men and women lie, but numbers don’t. Just keep playing football, man. You don’t worry about what people say. The bottom line is you line up, and ask the person that’s playing against me. That’s it, man. You just play the game. The same way you approach the game from Day One, it’s the same way you approach the game in Year 13. You approach it with the same passion, the same dedication on coming in to be better than you were the year before. No matter how many years you’ve been in this game, you can always learn something. But my play is just a credit to my defense and the guys around me, Haloti Ngata and all those guys. It’s a great privilege. I now can appreciate what the Rod Woodsons felt and things like that because when you surround yourself with a lot of great talent, it just makes your game even go to another level. So my credit is really to a lot of my guys.”
On what he thinks about Bengals WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh trying to peel back and block him last Sunday: “I asked him was he trying to hit a child? Did he understand that this is a man’s game? I’m always going full speed, so that’s what I told him. Most people you catch like that, they’re going to throttle it down and things like that. That’s no discredit to him. He tried it, but he got the wrong end of it. We’ll keep on going from there. T.J. is a great guy. I just love his effort.”
On the depth the defense has this year and guys stepping in when someone gets hurt: “That’s what’s really exciting. When you look at our defense, you lose Samari [Rolle] and them early in the year, Fabian [Washington] goes down, Dawan Landry goes down and all these guys. You see always the next guy up, next guy up, next guy up. But you always look at yourself as a defense, so can this next guy fill that void? But the bottom line – the really spectacular thing – is just to see how these guys have already grasped it and said, ‘You know what? I won’t be the weak link. I won’t.’ And when you talk about the Jim Leonhards and the Justin Bannans and all these guys who came back – Samari fighting back from a neck injury, Fabian going through his injuries – it’s a special thing to sit back and watch all the guys who were going through so much, but are out there fighting every Sunday. I think that’s a great credit of the depth that we do have on our defense.”
On what he is seeing on film about Redskins QB Jason Campbell and their offense’s struggles: “The basic thing is it’s just football. Either you’re going to make a play or somebody else is going to make a play. In the last couple games, somebody else has made the play outside of them. But he has just four interceptions throughout the whole year, so he’s doing a great job protecting the ball and things like that. A lot of people are getting after him in the sack category, so a lot of it can’t just [be] put on his shoulders, to say that he’s the reason why things aren’t going right. I just think it’s a collective thing that made them hit a couple of bumps in the road. Like I said, again to emphasize more and more, they’re a very, very talented ball group. We, as a defense, have our hands full this week to really see, can we slow their offensive production down?”
On how many plays he comes out of the huddle and knows what the other team is going to do based on his film study: “Wow, it’s a high number. It’s a high number. Just like last week, T.J. came at me right after about seven straight plays [and said], ‘How do you know every play that’s going to be run?’ I was just like, ‘No, I do a lot of studying.’ He was like, ‘No, it’s something you’re watching. There’s something you’re seeing.’ But it’s just a true sacrifice. One thing I give credit to is sitting my butt down and going through it two, three, four, five hours until it’s like second nature to you. So when you step on the field, it’s like, ‘Wow, OK, I’ve seen this before.’ So for me, it’s about getting my players in the right position so that they can make certain plays – Sizzle [Terrell Suggs] on the screens and Bart [Scott] being in the right position and the secondary and things like that. So for me, being the leader, it’s always been my forte, studying the way I study. Now, it’s just about spreading it around so my defense sees the same thing I see.”
On if he has had to be as vocal a leader as in past years: “No, not at all. I think I want to do it now more than anything. You have so many young lions, I call them. They have a mission. They’re one way. They like to go and tear whatever’s up in front of them. So for me, I tell them, ‘Y’all do what you’re going to do. I’ll make sure I’ve studied everything, so y’all study whatever you want to study. But when it comes overall, I have everything up under my…’ Because I like those guys to just go play. I don’t like them to think. Just react to the football. So for me, being a leader, to want to give that, that’s re-energized me to try to give them something on every play.”
On how the defense enjoys watching the offense break out some trick plays: “Yeah, it doesn’t get any better than that. Highlights are highlights, but the bottom line is when you’re scoring points, you’re always excited. Cam Cameron has done an incredible job using every person that we have on offense over there to really get a lot of things. You really can’t dial into our offense when you see every week there’s always something different, somebody doing something from a different position. As a defense, we’re sitting over there thinking to ourselves, ‘How would we defend that?’ I think it’s a great credit to Cam [for] the offensive things that they’re doing over there.”
On whether young guys who step up feel the pressure of expectation that has been created here: “Absolutely. That’s the number one. There’s a certain standard, bottom line. And if you’re not holding up that standard, you won’t be on that defense because every man owes it to the next man that’s beside him. That’s why I play the way I play. That’s why Ed Reed plays the way he plays [and] Trevor Pryce plays the way they play – because we play for each other. When you step on the football field, if you’re not playing for each other, then you’re not playing Raven defense, and that’s the way we play defense.”
On the Redskins’ secondary: “[Carlos] Rogers, [Shawn] Springs – Springs is the elder statesman there – very good corner. Obviously, he’s been in the league for a long time for a reason. They have a group of guys at that back end that I don’t think anybody else in the NFL has, [with the] talent and experience. They’ve got a lot of Pro Bowls between them and a lot of interceptions between all of them. They are a very, very good backend. They’re probably the best that we’ve faced thus far.”
On if the Redskins use press coverage or zone: “They have confidence in their guys, in their ability to cover. They try to put pressure on the quarterback, try to stop the run. And they give their guys outside the opportunity to cover down, man-to-man. Whether it’s soft, press or whatever, their guys have been able to do a great job at that. When you have a group of guys like that, who can go smooth in there as well, when you have a group of guys like that you can afford to put seven or eight men in a box and have those guys play man-to-man.”
On how much he appreciates WR Mark Clayton’s game last week: “I appreciate it. My appreciation dates back a long time ago with Mark, and his ability to be a receiver. Not too many people see the little intangibles that Mark does, for myself and Todd [Heap] and for whoever else, whether it be run or pass. Not a lot people get an opportunity see that. But Mark has been very consistent in doing what the coaches have asked of him, and it was just a matter of time before he had an opportunity to make some big plays in this offense. He’ll look back on last game and say that game was probably the game that propelled him to that upper echelon of young wideouts. I’m very appreciative of what Mark has been able to do, and what he will continue to do in this offense.”
On his shoulder: “It is what it is right now. It’s getting colder, aching a little bit. But if I can go play I’m going to play. I’m not going to worry too much about it, get my treatment, protect it in practice. And then during the game, just don’t worry about it. Once I start worrying about it, then it hampers my play a little bit. So, don’t worry about it and just trust that I’m going to come out of the game not injured anymore than what it is.”
On why QB Joe Flacco is playing so well: “Because of Mark. Mark and me, Todd (laughing). No, I think it’s his ability to grasp the offense, to understand the concept of where we’re trying to go as an offense. He’s the type of guy that you don’t have to hold back. You can go ahead and unleash the whole offensive playbook to him, and he’s able to absorb it and he’s able to go out there and perform at a high level. And I think what else is the offensive line is doing a great job of giving him enough time to throw the ball down the field or throw it in intermediate routes. And he has trust in all his pass-catchers, that if he chooses to throw the ball up or throw the ball a little bit to the left or to the right that we’re going to find a way to get the ball. It might not happen every time, but the quarterback needs to know, wants to know, that if he puts it out there more than likely you’re going to get it.”
On the non-division rivalry between Baltimore and Washington: “I can understand from a fan’s perspective of what it means to them. This is my first time playing the Washington Redskins in a regular season game, as a Baltimore Raven. I can understand the situation that happened long ago when the Baltimore Colts ended up leaving and they had to, you know, those Washington Redskins fans were trying to get the Baltimore fans to come down there. I can understand once the team came back, I can understand the dynamics between that. But for us, it’s another game and another opportunity to reach our goal, and that’s for the team to win football games and to continue to, each and every week, to become a stronger team.”
On if the game has an early playoff atmosphere feel: “I think it is. We’ve only got four games left, and every game is meaningful for them as well as us. It’s going to be a playoff-type atmosphere. Anyone who says different is will be just trying to fool you guys. But it will be. They’ve got a lot on the line, and we do also because we’re still in the hunt for a place in the playoffs as well as the division, and they’re in the same position we’re in. So we’re going to go out there and play as if our football lives depend on it each and every week. So yeah, it’s going to be a playoff-type atmosphere. If it’s not, a lot of people will be disappointed.”
On if he is frustrated with not playing: “It’s a positive. The injuries that I have, it’s given me a chance to heal my body and let it rest even more. It’s adding another couple of years to my football life.”
On how much he wants to play: “When my number is called, I’ll be ready and be out there. But if not, Le’Ron [McClain] and Ray [Rice] are doing a great job. It’s not like the running game is really struggling. I don’t mind sitting back and watching.”
On if he is 100 percent: “Even though I’ve been plagued with injuries all year long – this is the most injuries I’ve had in a year – it’s kind of rough. Nobody’s really 100 percent on the football field. I can go out and play and do what I have to do, but they’re resting [me], so I can’t complain.”
On his injuries: “It’s all part of football. People don’t want to hear any of that. They want to know when you’re going to be ready to play.”
On his thoughts about the Redskins: “This is a rivalry game for us. We know those guys are going to come ready to play, and we’re going to come to play. Not only that, we have friends on that team, so we definitely have to go out there and do what we have to do.”
On how he doesn’t get frustrated: “There’s no need to be frustrated. It’s not going to get you anywhere. You can pout and cry all you want, but you’re still not going to get on the field. Just be calm with it. Be glad that you are resting now, because I could tear my knee up even more.”
DT Trevor Pryce
On how he feels about the way he is playing now, especially as he has progressed in age: “I think I’m getting faster the older I get. Not because of physical gifts – we all have physical gifts in the NFL – but I think it’s more about the fact that I care more about it. You think differently when you get up in age, and you start to realize that this is a blessing more than a job. A lot of it is in your head.”
On what has been going on as he has come on lately: “Actually, I’ve been doing the same thing all season long. You all just haven’t noticed. Trust me. Ask Rex [Ryan]. My stats this last game were identical to my stats in the Indianapolis game and the first Browns game and the first Cincinnati game. So I don’t think it’s anything new that I’m doing. I guess there’s nothing else to talk about, so it’s like, ‘Oh, look. Trevor’s doing good.’ I’m having a good time. We’re winning, and it’s easy to notice things like that when you’re winning football games. If we would’ve lost, I wouldn’t be standing here right now, and I know that. That’s just being honest.”
On whether they are keeping track of the fact that the defense has not given up a touchdown the past two games: “I didn’t know that, so, no, we’re not keeping track. I had no idea. I was talking to [head coach John] Harbaugh the other day, and the season is going so fast that you don’t realize how far into it you are or the stats. Someone told me we have four games left or something like that. I was like, ‘Already?’ The regular season is over in one month. The Bengals have four weeks left, and they’re done. They’re at home packing up their stuff to go home, and Thanksgiving just passed. It came and went. When you win, time goes by really fast. And when you lose – I’ve been there before, we’ve all been there – it seems to move at a turtle’s pace. It’s easy to come up here and smile and laugh and joke about it now, but we’ve still got a lot of football left.”
On what specifically he thinks the team needs to improve on to make sure they aren’t done playing in a month, too: “Every team has a number of wins that you think will get you into the playoffs. If we reach that number, we’ll be fine because we don’t want to be at home like some other teams. But last year we were [home], and the Bengals made it [to the playoffs] a couple years ago. That’s the great thing about the NFL. It balances itself out. They’ll get high draft picks, and they’ll have money to spend in free agency. That’s the great thing about this game, I think.”
On what dealing with a rookie coach as a veteran player has been like for him: “You know, it’s actually been really good because [Harbaugh] asks guys like me or Willie [Anderson] or Ray [Lewis] for our opinion, and, to the side, we can go talk to him. You don’t want to try to show up your coach or anything like that. That’s not what this game is about. But being a little older, I can go say, ‘OK, coach, this, that and the other…’ and he’ll listen. A lot of coaches are stuck in their way, like, ‘It’s my way or the highway.’ John has some flexibility. He didn’t at first because he had to establish who he was, and we’ve been along for it. Ray and me and [Derrick] Mason and guys who have been around said we have to show that we’re on board [with] the program, and everybody else will jump on board. You see where it’s gotten us.”
On what the team can do up front to disrupt Redskins QB Jason Campbell, who has thrown only four interceptions: “He’s faster than every one of us, so there’s not much you can do about it. If he throws a pick… We just watched some picks, and a lot of his picks weren’t his fault. The one against the Steelers bounced off the guy’s hands and things like that. He takes care of the football. He’s a very impressive quarterback.”
S Ed Reed
On what concerns him about the Redskins’ offense: “That all of them can really break from anywhere on the field. Not as much [Chris] Cooley as Santa [Moss] and the receivers, but Cooley is a great tight end and has presented some things to us in the past. We’re looking forward to playing these guys, but we’re conscious that any one of them can take it to the house.”
On if it’s important to fluster Redskins QB Jason Campbell: “Oh yes, definitely. You’ve got to play your game. He’s a very consistent quarterback and we’ve seen that over time. He’s doing exactly what the coach is wanting him to do. So you’ve just go to play your game and know that he’s not a mistake-type of quarterback. He’s putting it down and making some plays with his people.”
On Redskins RB Clinton Portis’ value to the offense: “Oh yeah, definitely. Portis is a great running back; you have to give him the ball. I know from playing with him [at Miami], if you give him the ball 20-plus times you’ve got a chance at winning.”
On if this is a rivalry game: “Yeah, this is a rivalry game, but we can’t get caught up in that because for them and for us this is a game that can push us into the playoffs, and we’re not caught up in this rivalry-type of thing. But we know it’s there.”
On the rivalry more of a thing for the players or for the fans: “Probably more for the fans. But I’m sure the players will definitely get [into] it a little bit.”
On if it will be strange to play against the Redskins without his former college teammate Sean Taylor, who was murdered last year: “Not at all. When it happened, just thinking about it at the time, it’s a hurtful thought. You don’t want to see none of your buddies pass at an early age, especially under those circumstances. But at the same time, you learn from things because that’s what it was for. I’m sure Sean would want us to learn from it. You start to move on in a sense, and in your own privacy, it’s between you and God and Sean.”
On if the games in December with playoff implications get a little more amped up: “Definitely. Just like you said, we’re making a dash for the playoffs so all of them count. All of them mean more than they originally would if you [weren’t] in the playoff hunt or if you’re already in. So, they definitely count. If we go in there and we take care of our business at home and if the true Ravens show up, we should be all right.”
On if the team talks about the fact that they have not allowed a touchdown in the last two games: “No, we don’t talk about it. I can’t believe you just said that. It’s kind of like the pitcher when he’s throwing the [no-hitter], you don’t talk about it. So, we’re just going to keep churning away. [The Redskins] are a good offense and if they happen to score, it’s not the end of the world. You still have to play football.”
Of if he feels there is a ‘Battle of the Beltway’ rivalry: “I think that’s more for you all. We don’t look at it like that. This is just another day at the office. We know a lot of those guys down there. They’ve got some ‘U’ [University of Miami] boys, we’ve got some ‘U’ boys and we’re only 45 minutes away from each other. So we always bump into each other. It’s going to be a good, fun game.”
On what makes the Redskins offense stand out to him: “Because of their many weapons [and] the versatile things that they can do. They’ve got one of the best receiving tight ends, Chris Cooley. Clinton Portis, regardless of what you may think of his injuries and stuff in the past, he’s still one of the top running backs in the league. He’s arguably probably the best right now, between him and A.P. [Adrian Peterson]. That’s for you all to weigh and decide who’s doing the best. But he’s definitely a dangerous threat. There [are] a lot of good players in this league, but I think Clinton and Santana [Moss] are what you call dangerous threats. If we can stop those two from having good games, it’s going to work out good for us. But if they’re out there and they’re being themselves, it will be a long night for us.”
On if there are legitimate bragging rights inside the clubs and around town: “I’m not going to a night club. Haven’t you heard what happened this past week? As far as bragging rights, not so much. We’re both going for the playoffs and its more [that] we’ve got to get into the playoffs first.”
On how the Ravens’ defense stays so dominant despite setbacks with injuries: “I don’t know. I think we’re doing a great job this year [with] the next man up. Our corners are playing outstanding right now. So we’ve got just to continue [doing that]. I think if the team continues to play, we’ll continue to do well. As far as the depth on the rest of the team, in the front seven the depth has always been there, but you all never really looked past the other guys. But it’s OK. We’re just doing a good job of being a team. We’re getting good, quality team wins, and we’re just going to keep trying to do that.”
On the pride the defense feels in its ability to score points: “It’s always good to score with defense. It takes a little pressure off the offense to know we got some points another way, or to set up points. That’s always really good and that ties into winning football games in the NFL. If you can do that, if you score on the defensive side of the ball and you can score on special teams, you’re a pretty good team, and wins tend to come in your favor. But if that’s getting done against you, you’re not winning very much. Our chances are better when we’ve got the defense making the plays, and it also does help to have Ray Lewis in there reading your tape.”
On how often the Ravens’ veteran defense, especially Ray Lewis, is able to read the opposing team’s offense because of experience: “The funny thing is, the ‘General’ [Lewis] always says [things] about the personnel that’s in the game. Just watch the man pre-snap. He’s got a lot going on, but that’s why he’s the leader. He pretty much guides us. I kind of tend to guess sometimes, but he knows. He tells me [that] this is coming, that is coming, and that’s how we’re able to play so fast.”
On what he felt last Sunday when T.J. Houshmandzadeh tried to peel back and take out Lewis: “I thought it was hilarious. I felt a little bit bad because it was my fault that he did get out. I lost contain there trying to come under, and he got out. And I was like, ‘Oh, this is not going to look good,’ and Ray turns to see him and just was Ray Lewis and the other guy was T.J. Houshmandzadeh. I was hoping he was all right. I was like, ‘Don’t do that, don’t do that, don’t do that to yourself.’ But it was good, especially with the season that they’re having, that he still shows some hustle and some initiative like that. So that says a lot about the player.”
WASHINGTON REDSKINS CONFERENCE CALL
Head Coach Jim Zorn
On where his offense is right now and what he can say about the status of RB Clinton Portis: “Clinton has got a real sore neck. He took a shot in the game and the back of his neck is real sore. The knee is not great. He’s beat up a little bit; I can tell you that.”
On if he expects Portis to play in Sunday’s game against the Ravens: “Well, he always has seemed to straighten it out by the end of the week. This is a little bit different situation. So again, it will be a [day-by-day decision]. We had a little walk-through this morning and he was out there, but that was about it.”
On how valuable Portis has been to the Redskins this year: “Extremely valuable. He’s run for a lot of tough yardage, he blocks well, he’s really a guy that can play every down, and we’ve been better when he’s been on the field at full speed.”
On why he thinks the Redskins’ offense has struggled and is it related to Portis not being 100%: “Some of it. I just think that we play some very tough defenses, and we’re certainly facing another one, so we haven’t fared well. We’ve just got to get back and get after it again. We’ve left some things on the field that we’ve had chances for. We just have not finished what we started, that’s all.”
On what he thinks about the Ravens’ defense that he will face this weekend: “[I have] just tremendous respect. We’ve played the Steelers, we’ve got the Giants, we’ve played Dallas, and now we have to play the Ravens, and they’re certainly in that top echelon of defenses. [They are] maybe the best one that I’ve seen as far as the way that these guys play together as a team, how exact they seem to be. When the ball is snapped, they’re really going to their assignments. I’m sure coaches would like to even have them be better. I don’t know how you do that with this group.”
On how it affects the Redskins’ offense when Portis is not able to go full speed: “The good thing, if there’s a good thing about your running back not being able to play, is that we do have Ladell Betts. He is able to step right in and, to be honest, I haven’t seen a drop off in ability to do what we ask. Clinton seems to be getting the yards; Ladell is having to get reps now not being able to have had all the runs that Clinton has had. So he just has to feel his way on some of these. But as far as a blocker and a pass-route runner and a ball catcher, he does excellent and steps in when we need him as well. I’m hoping that his responsibilities when they increase, that he can give us the same kind of stuff that Clinton has given us.”
On what he sees is the key to the Ravens’ defense: “You’re really confronted with six big, fast defensive linemen. You look at [Terrell] Suggs, and you can list him as a linebacker but he is a heck of a player. Then, both their inside, Trevor [Pryce], and their big nose guard [Haloti Ngata], both of those guys are just [great]. They stop up the middle. And with Ray [Lewis] directing traffic, that’s the tough part. I think their safeties do an excellent job. Ed [Reed] does a nice job reading it out, so does Jim [Leonhard]. Both of those guys do a very nice job of filling their gaps and their responsibilities. So they get a lot of guys around the ball.”
On what he thinks of the way John Harbaugh is handling things in his first year as an NFL head coach: “We talked a couple of times early in the season and he just seems to have a real peace about where he is, and I think he’s brought tremendous enthusiasm. I think he coaches with encouragement. I always hear him encouraging his players, and he seems to have a real positive effect on men. I think that’s what you need. This will be the first time we’ve gotten to watch them extensively and they’re very organized. They know what they’re doing. I think Cam Cameron does a great job as the coordinator there. So, they just have a good feel for what they’re doing and they do it well.”
On his impression of Ravens rookie QB Joe Flacco: “I saw him last year at the Combine. He had the strongest arm. He was very impressive. Here’s a guy from Delaware who’s a guy that you had to speculate could he really manage the NFL game plan. It seems to me like [he can]. If he’s in development, he’s doing a wonderful job. I think the quarterback coach there [Hue Jackson], Cam and all the people involved with progressing him through the season are just doing a great job and he seems to [be doing well]. When he has a chance to make a big play, he’s making it. He’s got a big arm. I like what he does.”
On when he had the chance to speak with coach Harbaugh: “It was more in preseason. It was kind of like, ‘Here we go. I wish you the best.’ When we were at the NFL owners’ meetings late in the spring, we talked, we visited and we just called each other and exchanged encouragement, and then we were off and running. There’s not a lot of time to visit between games. You just have to get on to the next game. So that hasn’t been the case during the season.”
On the type of things they shared in their conversation in preseason: “It was more personal, just pleasantries, really. A lot of just encouragement because it’s pretty exciting to be starting your program. There’s a lot of optimism; you haven’t lost a game yet. So there’s kind of all positive encouragement between each other.”
On how he feels the Redskins are playing at this point and what has to happen for his team to make the playoffs: “I think we’re playing better on defense than we are on offense, for sure. We just don’t have enough consistency on offense yet. To make the playoffs – I try to divide up the season into quarters – I think in this last quarter we have to do very well. As the season went for us, we were 3-1, 3-1, and then we were 1-3 in that third quarter of the season and it didn’t separate us from anybody. In fact, it just jumbled us with a lot of other teams that have a chance to get to a tournament at the end of the season. So that’s kind of our main focus, these last four games. And each one is the most important game, and it starts with this one. “
WR Santana Moss
On his thoughts on facing the Ravens’ secondary this Sunday night: “To tell you the truth, mainly we’re just thinking we just have to go out there and get something established as far as just offensively – period – whether it’s in the passing game or in the running game. Coming into this game you know by now just how good the defense is. When it comes to Baltimore, that’s all you kind of think of is defense. But of lately, they’ve just been a great offense, too. So we’re playing a good team, all around, and offensively our mission is to just go out there and get something established and try to do the best we can to put ourselves in a situation where we can get a rhythm going so we can put more points up and try to win this game.”
On how the Redskins’ offense is affected when RB Clinton Portis is not 100%: “I’m not sure. I feel like he is one of those guys, like everybody else, you’ve got to get a rhythm with him. He’s one of those guys that whether he’s nicked or not, if you get him in there and he gets some good holes and he’s got some good lanes to run in and he’s got the rhythm going, we can all feed off of it. The same with the offensive passing game, if you get Jason [Campbell] out there and he gets some throws early or we give him something to feed off of, we can all get in play and have a productive outing. But it all goes together to me.”
On whether he feels the Redskins’ offense has struggled as of late and does it have to do with Portis being banged up: “I don’t think it’s about Clinton being banged up. I know we have struggled. It’s not even just struggled, I feel like what we have done is just put ourselves in situations where we can’t be successful. I mean, when you watch us on film, when we sit back and watch film, we move the ball at times and then we do something stupid. We do something that’s going to hurt us, and you can’t do that, especially at this time of the year. What it all boils down to is us being accountable for our actions and just going out there and not making the little mistakes. The little mistakes can be a missed block or a missed route or anything. So we just have to do better by what we have planned, and I think we can be successful because we’ve shown that already.”
On what kind of opportunities he feels he will have against the Ravens’ secondary: “I never know; I never really know. I’ll have to watch film and see how they play, but I never really know until I get down and really watch them. I don’t know what coverage [or] how they’re going to play, so I just go off the film. I take it [as] a day-to-day thing. The more film I watch, the more I learn about the coverages and then I know what my outing might be like.”
On whether he’s played against the Ravens’ defense before: “I played against them, preseason-wise. That’s the only time. I think it’s all been preseason.”
On how of much of a rivalry he believes there is between the Redskins and the Ravens: “I don’t really know. I’m not sure how many times the Redskins have played the Ravens. Since I’ve been here – this is my fourth season with [the team] – all we have done is practice against each other in the preseason and had that one preseason game against each other. So, I’m sure as far as how close we are, there might be something big, but I’m not sure how big the rivalry is.”
On Redskins QB Jason Campbell and how he has played: “There’s not much to say about Jason. There’s not much to say about no one when it comes to what someone hasn’t done. It’s all about you and what can you do for the team. If you’re wanting me to mention something about Jason, I don’t have nothing negative to say about him. I feel like he’s done everything he’s could do for us.”
On how much he feels Campbell has grown under coach Jim Zorn and if he’s made more progress this year than in the past: “I feel like he’s gotten better. I feel like every year every player in this league should learn a little more and should be able to get better. Coming from Jason’s standpoint of it, being through the offenses that he has been through and happening to be the guy to lead us out there every Sunday, I think he’s showing a lot of upside in his game as far as where he can take us and where he’s coming from. And that’s a plus when you see that kind of change in a guy. It’s not really like a drastic change. I just feel like you’ve gotten to the comfortable zone. He’s feeling a lot [more] comfortable and he’s doing things that he normally should do to lead us to where we’re trying to go.”
On what he thinks it says about the Ravens and Redskins that they’re game was moved to the prime time spot: “I really don’t know what makes you change like that. I guess it’s a prime time game. When you have a team like the Ravens and you have a team like us, we have a lot going for ourselves [at this time in the season] and they have a lot going for themselves, I guess that’s how they kind of weighed the options and stuff. It all depends on who was playing in that spot before. So I don’t really know how much it meant or whatever, but it sucks as players knowing that you’re going to play at one time and then you hear it changed. So I’m glad they told us two weeks in advance. Other than that, man, it’s going to be a good game. We know that we all can do a lot of specialty things, offensively and defensively, on both sides of the field, and it’s going to be one of those games to watch.”
On what his team’s mindset is as they try to get back into the playoff hunt: “It’s not a desperation thing. I just feel like all we can do is take care of what we can take care of. Right now, this is the game that’s in our week. This is the game that we have in front of us. We know that in order to for us to be somebody going into the postseason we have to win. So regardless of how you do it or what way you’re trying to do it, just do it. And the way you’ve got to do it is just go out there and play good football. Good football is played a lot this time of the year and in order for you to be a good postseason team you have to play good football. That’s the way we’re going to have to win. We have to go out there and play a good football game, and that’s what it all boils down to.”
