BALTIMORE RAVENS POST-GAME QUOTES
Head Coach John Harbaugh
(opening statement) "Good seeing you guys all here. We have a special guest – Sean McDonough [ESPN play-by-play analyst] is in the house. How about a round of applause for my good friend. We appreciate [him being here]. It's a special night in Baltimore. Here we are, we have our second [home] Monday Night Football game since 2008, [with] the first one in 2012, I think. And hey, we're 2-0, so we want more Monday Night Football here. It's good to have Monday Night Football here. It's an honor in Baltimore, and we're very appreciative of Jon Gruden and [the ESPN] crew. It was a great night, and our guys did what they needed to do to win the football game. I thought we played winning football. We got turnovers and we didn't turn the ball over. We made big plays when we had to. At the end, we closed the thing out. Terrell Suggs with the strip sack, and Willie Henry coming up with the play … The fourth-down plays – I mean, Chris Moore and Sam Koch on the fake punt – the flip plays. It was just a brilliant call, I think, by [offensive coordinator] Marty Mornhinweg. At the end, Anthony Levine [Sr.], of course, with the interception to close the thing out. We felt that with the receivers, we had the chance to move the ball down the field. Our guys made the plays they had to make to win the game. That's what we needed to do, and that's what we did."
(on the in-game adjustments to shut down OLB/DE Jadeveon Clowney) "In the play, we basically had a number of ways – I would say an array – of chip-block and double-team schemes to find him. It wasn't just him, you have to work on some other guys, too. But, mainly him. The problem was finding him. So you can call a chip, but are you chipping in the right place, because he's not lining up in the same place. I thought that we found him as we went with the calls. I thought our guys did a good job figuring out where to chip and how to double-team him – that was the first thing. Then, we did a better job of stopping the run-throughs. I thought a couple of times that his speed and quickness kind of got us. He hits those gaps, and he's quick. He's a phenomenal athlete. He's powerful, and he's fast, and he's big and strong. So, even though we thought we had him, we didn't. And I think in the run game, he showed up pretty much the whole time. Our guys did a good job – Marty [Mornhinweg] did a good job, [offensive line coach] Joe 'D' [D'Alessandris], [senior offensive assistant/tight ends coach] Greg Roman did a good job of kind of sorting it out, and more importantly, [sorting] our linemen, and our backs figured out how to find him with the chips."
(on if he ever gets used to OLB Terrell Suggs recording strip sacks) "If I'm used to it? I don't know, I never get tired of them, I can tell you that. He has an amazing ability. Terrell Suggs, I mean … He's Ponce de Leon – you should put that on the back of his jersey – he has found the Fountain of Youth. He's playing as well, or better, than I've seen him ever play since I have been here. He has always played great. Maybe it's just because I'm seeing it this year, but he can close on a quarterback. He gets an edge on a block, and he goes from here to there to get to the quarterback. You don't see guys his age [35] do that. He's just a special guy, an amazing guy. He came over after he did it, and he said, 'Do you want to say thank you, Coach?' *(laughter) *And I said, 'Yes, I do. Have I ever told you I love you?' Beautiful."
(on if the defense has developed a closing mentality) "That's just something that was important to us after last season ended, in Pittsburgh and in other games over the years. We just feel that if you get a stop, you win the game. I think the defense wants the game in their hands. If they don't score, we win. That's the mentality of those guys. It's not easy, and there are a lot of players out there … I mean, what about DeAndre Hopkins? How good of a player is he? He's a phenomenal football player. It's just hard to cover this guy. He finds a way to get open and make catches. So, you have to find a way to stop guys like this. That's what this league is about. Our defense has a lot of confidence and swagger. They want to get it done, and they believe in themselves. They work hard, and they have a chance to be really good."
(on if the penalties were close calls or sloppy plays) "I wouldn't use the word sloppy. They're out there competing and they're out there fighting, and trying to find a way to make a play. Some of those calls were tight. Some of them were not. I thought the one on the right sideline on Brandon Carr was a little questionable. I don't know if that gets called all the time – I know it doesn't get called all the time – but, it got called in that case. So, you line up and play the next play. That's just the way it's going to be in the NFL. You're going to be fighting, there are going to be some calls that are going to get made, and you have to find a way to overcome them. We don't want penalties. We haven't been a highly penalized team this year, but we had some today."
(on QB Joe Flacco's comment about the offense needing to take it to another level to succeed in the playoffs) "That's something that we talk about every day. That's something that we're fighting to do. The first step is getting our guys back. We continue to work throughout the season. We have to keep grinding, get a little bit better every single day, every single week, in everything we do. [Better] in run game, pass game, pass protection – all of those things. Joe [Flacco] was exactly spot on. We're just like everyone else in this league, we're trying to win the whole thing. We're not there yet, but they don't play that game yet. So, the first step is the next step, and the next step is our next game. We have to be good enough to figure out how to win the next game and keep building off of that."
(on if CB Marlon Humphrey was injured in tonight's game) "He was – he had a little tweak in there. He has been battling some leg issues. I just decided, let's play it safe. That's the good thing about having some depth. But yes, we want him out there."
(on if WR/RS Michael Campanaro was a healthy scratch) "He was a healthy scratch. Nothing that 'Camp' did or didn't do. We're healthy now [at the receiver position], so we have to make some tough decisions. We just decided that [Breshad] Perriman's speed was something that we would want in this game. We wanted the chance to knock the top off, [have] crossing routes, change the angles a little bit on the coverage. We thought Breshad could do that for us, and that was why we decided that."
(on his thoughts seeing QB Joe Flacco running without his knee brace) "I don't know. Joe blames the knee brace and he swears he knows how to slide well. He's adamant about it. [Orioles manager] Buck Showalter – I think I got a text from Buck saying that he's available to show him [how to slide]. That doggone knee brace – that's getting in the way too much. We have to figure something out there. I thought Joe played a really courageous game. He made some plays with his legs that were just critical plays in the football game. That was pretty awesome."
(on if P Sam Koch is going to lobby for some quarterback action) "He's definitely leading the quarterback ratings in the league, isn't he? He's doing a great job. Sam is a talented guy. I watch him throw every day. He can throw the ball. I think Chris Moore deserves so much credit on that [fake punt] play. Sam did a great job, he threw a strike – poised – and that's not an easy thing to do. But, Chris Moore, he got grabbed and got out of that. He found a way to make the play. It was just a phenomenal play. As much as Jimmy [Smith]'s play last week – on the interception to turn the game around early – Chris' play was, on the fake punt, to turn the game around early." **
OLB Terrell Suggs
(on what he attributes his good play to at this point in his career ) "I don't know. If I have to be honest to you, I think I'm very blessed with the genetics that my mom and dad gave to me – shoutout to my mom and my dad, rest in peace."
(on if there's a certain art of stripping the ball from a quarterback) "Not really – and this guy just keeps, he stays in my head, he's [not] even playing no more. But Ray [Lewis], my rookie year, I was getting some sacks, but I wasn't stripping the ball, and every time I got a sack, he used to come and [say], 'Sizzle, get the ball. Sizzle, I want the ball.' He used to always say that to me. Things like 'those are sacks, too. Get the ball.' So I miss some sacks going for the ball. I missed one tonight going for the ball. Every time I'm getting ready to get the ball, I can hear Ray Lewis saying, 'Sizzle, get the ball. I want the ball.' Ray Lewis, he probably made a tackle tonight. He's always gotten credit."
(on what it means to close a game the way they did with a strip-sack and an interception) "It feels good, but I think the biggest thing, not only with our defense, but with our team, is consistency. We've got to be consistently doing [well]. If the game's on the line, you've got to be comfortable when your defense is out there. So, it feels good. It felt good. We didn't play perfect tonight. As this defense, we're striving for perfection. Penalties killed us. They killed us tonight. We're going to enjoy the win but we know we're better than 80 yards in penalties. We're going to go take a look at that. We're going to all try to get better, especially as a defense. We want to be consistent. We don't to want to have to make two big plays in a row, but if we have to, we will. It's a good place to build, a good place to start. But we're working on consistency."
(on not having to spend the summer rehabbing an injury and how that helps him now) "That's huge, that's huge. Yeah, they always bring up, 'Hey, he's in year 15, 35 years old ...' As long as I'm healthy, I can be Sizzle. Being healthy was a big part of it. My coaches, they're doing a great job of keeping me healthy. I can't mention enough the work I've been doing with [director of performance and recovery] Steve Saunders just in the weight room and stuff in that nature – being healthy's a huge part."
(on what he was looking for in the sack) "They were very disciplined all night. They really held up. They were a lot more fundamentally-sound, and [quarterback Tom] Savage, he hung in there. He made some good throws. [Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins], the kid is real. The kid is real. That kid can play. I think it was just one time – we had him covered, and I was just able to get there and make a play. So it was a collective effort defensively."
QB Joe Flacco
(on how good it felt to lock up the game with his long run) "I probably would have felt better, honestly, if I gave it to somebody else. But it definitely is good to not have to [move] back up the field – even at that point. We knew it was kind of over, but it's nice to be able to run for it and not have to maybe give the ball back if we don't get a first down."
(on the trickery and misdirection plays, and if they get talked about during the week) "You always have them in the game plan, things like that. There was probably a couple more chances. … You know, it's just kind of the flow of the game, and the way that [things] went."
(on his running the ball) "The times I ran the ball were mostly on pass plays, and I was able to get up in the middle of the pocket there and [go]. That was big. The other ones were just kind of picking up a couple of yards here and there. … And obviously, the one there at the end was just a four-minute play. They're all playing the run; they had one guy left on the back side."
(on how many knee braces he's been through now) "It's two. It's definitely a lot easier to slide without it. So, they had a back-up one for me, and I didn't put it back on, so it was quicker at the time just to take that one off and get back in the game."
(on if he'd consider playing without a knee brace) "I've thought about it, to be honest with you. I've thought about it, but it's still in the back of my head to just whatever, put it on. It's not that big of a deal to wear it."
(on how far things can go with the team relying heavily on FGs and strong defense) "It's how we're playing. I mean, there's a couple of shots for us to have out there and maybe make the game [go] our way. If you give yourself two shots, and you rely on hitting only those two, there's going to be games when you don't hit them. So, I think it's kind of our game plan; we're winning games like it. In order for us to definitely take it a step further – we can win like this – but it's not the easiest way to win. Going out there and playing offensive football, you put yourself to make mistakes, and to do things that are bad. A lot of times we end up playing games like this. Obviously, game-by-game, when you break it down and you look at all the situations we were in, then yeah, a lot of the stuff, you can see why we did it. In order for us to take the next step for real, we're going to have to let it loose a little bit and see where it takes us. We want [to win] the Super Bowl. I've been in this league long enough to know, if you don't win the Super Bowl, it doesn't mean anything. If we believe we can win the Super Bowl with how we're playing right now, I'm all for it. I really am. We can all take a look at that and say it's probably not super-realistic. We need to go out there, and we need to go get it, and we need to be better on our side of the ball."
(on how impressive the play of OLB Terrell Suggs is at this point of his career) "I mean, come on, you guys are watching it every night. He's definitely in good health right now. He's out there having fun with his guys, and that definitely helps. Being up in games and allowing him to pin his ears back and go get the quarterback is huge. Those kind of plays, when you're in games like we've been in, those kind of plays are so big. Our defense is very good not letting people in the end zone, and a lot of reason for that is those plays. They make teams run a lot of plays to get in the end zone usually. Look at all the drives today by the Texans … They make a team [work hard]. They give our guys like that a few more chances … tipped balls. Sometimes, some day you get five tipped balls, one of those usually gets to end up in your hands. It's really everybody, but Terrell, he's been doing it for so long. It's so impressive. It really is. When you've been here as long as I have with him, you almost expect it. It's special."
(on if he's surprised they're in the playoff hunt with how the offense is playing) "No, no. Listen, like I said, when you look at it game by game, we've done what we've had to do to win these football games. When you go all the way back to Week 1, we didn't have a ton of production but we jumped ahead of them 17-0 right at the beginning of the second half, and that's just kind of the game we play. When you get a lot of turnovers, you usually end up playing offense a little bit more conservative just because you don't have to do anything else, and that's the way our games have been. You just know by the end of the season you're going to be in games…you don't want to have to just turn it on when you have to; you want to be doing it all the time."
(on the run call on third and eight and if that's tough for a quarterback) "That was a pretty good call. You like that. You definitely like to switch it up in that. But listen, like I said, as the game goes on, and the game progresses, and you see that our defense isn't letting up touchdowns, and at worst, we're giving up field goals. It's tough to get your mind-set out of the way we played tonight. Look, we just played an NFL game, and we did some good things on offense. Now, the stat line isn't great, but we did what we had to do to win football games. We do what we have to do to win football games a lot of times around here. That's why we win games. Like I said, it just goes back to when we talk about wanting to win the Super Bowl. We're not just trying to get in the playoffs. We want to get to the big game. You want to have all cylinders clicking – special teams, offense and defense. You don't want to just go in with one or two of them. You want to have all of them, and you usually need all of them."
DT Brandon Williams
(if games at this time of year are magnified) "Oh definitely, especially with the route we have to take. Every win is precious for us. Today we just kind of capped that off. We went out there and fought as hard as we could. We came out and were lackadaisical, getting penalties, not playing Ravens football. But in the second half, we stepped up and kept grinding, kept executing and we got it done."
(on this being a desperate time with no margin for error) "Oh definitely, we got to come out every day and just be the Ravens. Come out there and do what we did, do what we keep doing, just playing hard-nosed defense, playing great football, executing plays day in and day out, just working on our craft. Like you said, there is no margin for error. We have to continue getting better every day."
CB Jimmy Smith
(on going up against DeAndre Hopkins) "It was a physical matchup. That guy is good. He's a good player. He catches the ball and does a lot of things."
(on the Ravens leading the league in interceptions) "We're getting turnovers at the right time. The turnovers sealed the game today. We needed it. It was huge."
(on Anthony Levine's interception) "There's no better feeling than seeing a pick when you know they have no timeouts. It was a great feeling to see him get that."
(on the Ravens' defense making plays in the fourth quarter) "That was a fight. Our defense knew that they could move the ball. It was a fight, but when it came down to the end, we got the win."
(on being 6-5) "It's great for tonight, but tomorrow we have Detroit, and they're very good on offense, so we have to be ready."
(on what makes DeAndre Hopkins so good) "He catches the ball. His hands are like double my size, and they let him play physical. He catches the rock every time. That's his game. He's really good at it. Kudos to him."
(on DeAndre Hopkins drawing penalties) "It's because of his game – because he's a physical receiver. He likes to push and pull, and if you push back, some refs call it and some don't. Tonight we got flagged on everything. One of them was an obvious 'PI' on me. The other one I thought could've gone both ways, but it's the game. Who cares?"
(on these matchups making him a better player) "It was a great matchup. You want to go against the best. Tonight, he got the better. If you go against the best, that's what happens. We got the win, and that's all that matters."
(on the Ravens' defensive line batting passes) "We know they can do that, especially when we had Brent [Urban]. They know to get their hands up, especially during the quick game. We got a lot of PBs that way, and that helps us out."
(on playing Matthew Stafford next Sunday) "We know what Matthew Stafford can do. We've played against him several times. He's going to attack us, and we have to be ready. They have great playmakers on their team. They have [Golden] Tate, that rookie [Kenny Golladay] and Marvin [Jones Jr.], so we have our hands full next week."* *
TE Benjamin Watson
(on getting the win tonight) "It was big for us. Anytime you get a win, it's huge, especially at this point in the season. It's November going into December. This is where you have to play your best football. We still have a lot we can get better at, but it's always satisfying to get a win."
(on the Texans' defense) "They have a great front. They've had a great front all year. The past couple years, that's the way their team has been built. They're built to stop the run. They get a lot of penetration, and they put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. It was important for us to just chip away and make plays when we could. Our defense is phenomenal. They put us in position to win."
(on the offense putting points on the board) "It's never enough. We always want more. I think we're growing still. Obviously we haven't played our best yet. We won – that's a good thing, but we know we can get a lot better."
(on building his relationship with Joe Flacco) "Whenever he throws it, you want to catch it. That's my job. Whether it's blocking, or whether it's catching the ball. We've got a lot of good players on this offense. It's important for us to be able to gel and play together."
WR Mike Wallace
(on the physical battles with Houston's defensive backs) "Those guys wanted to win. Both of us were trying to get a playoff spot, and they were coming in with a lot of energy. But at the end of the day, we won the game."
(on the slant route) "It was just a slant route, and I was trying to make a play. Everybody was in the box playing run. I just kind of floated out there, made a pretty good catch, but couldn't turn around fast enough to get more yardage. Nevertheless, that was something we needed at that time."
(on QB Joe Flacco's run at the end of the game) "He was trying to get there, too. He surprised me. Maybe if he picked up his feet a little more, he might have scored."
(on P Sam Koch's pass from punt formation) "It was crazy. Sam is a great quarterback. He's probably 90 percent in his career. Pass was on the money and [WR] Chris Moore made a heck of a play. He's making a case to be a Pro Bowler on special teams since he's been here. He's doing a great job and getting better and better all the time."
(on playing on Monday Night) "Without a doubt, it was huge to get this win on Monday night. It's exciting knowing the whole nation is watching, and you want to play your best."
RB Alex Collins
(on the three-headed monster in the backfield) "Well, that's exactly what it is. We know our capabilities and what we are good at. We do a great job of working with each other in our different situations and different schemes. Whatever the coaches need us to do, we do. There's so much love among us. We all look out for each other during practice, making sure we do right by each other and stand for each other all the time. So, it flows great. There's a great atmosphere in that room."
(on if he feels fresher at the end of a game) "Absolutely. Just being able to have a fresh back out there at all times with all the capabilities we have – run, pass-catch, pass protection. Whoever is out there at all times is good and can stay fresh. Having that third running back in there who can handle some of the load is huge."
(on his touchdown run) "The offensive line did a great job of opening it up for me. I just followed their blocks, and they pretty much got me up in there."
RB Javorius Allen
(on the three-headed monster in the backfield) "We all feel like we're capable of doing everything. We're just trying to make plays. That room is amazing. The chemistry that we have right now is outstanding. I love it. We push off each other. We feed off each other. When one of us gets a great run, we all want to get a great run. We never think anyone of us getting all the reps, and that's what's so special about this group."
(on RB Danny Woodhead's impact) "What hasn't he done? He's a leader. He's been in the league, what, nine, 10 years? Whatever you need him to do, Danny gets done. His leadership, his smarts – that's what stands out to me. He's a great football player on the field and off the field. Great guy."
(on QB Joe Flacco's run at the end of the game) "Great call. Hell of a call. He even tricked the camera man. It was a great call, and a great way to end the game, basically."
(on the team getting on a roll) "We're taking it a game at a time, to be honest with you. That 'P' word has not come up yet. Now, we know what we need to do to get there, but we're taking it week by week and getting it done."
P Sam Koch
(on how much he's practiced the pass from punt formation) "We've practiced it a few times. Me and [LS] Morgan [Cox] have thrown it around on the sidelines a bunch. I'm always like a baseball player. I need to keep my arm warm. It was just one of those things. We called it, we ran it and it was successful."
(on if he saw WR Chris Moore getting held on the play) "I just kind of saw him getting held, but I knew that Chris Moore would be able to get out of that and make the play. I kind of threw a floater out there to a spot where I thought he could get to it, and it ended up working out."
(on if that play changed the tone of the game) "We did sense that on the field. The atmosphere on the sidelines changed. Everybody was getting just that much more excited, and, all of a sudden, it turned into a fun atmosphere to be around. Big play at the right time."
S Tony Jefferson
(on his first interception with the Ravens) "A long time [coming]. My last interception was Monday night against the Ravens two years ago. It has been a long time coming. Obviously, you have to give thanks to the pass rush – Za'Darius [Smith] and all those guys; [Terrell] Suggs. It could not have come at a better time. It was exciting."
(on if he had to give thanks to ILB C.J. Mosley because he took the interception from him) "I had to take that from him. He has 2 INTs. He is well off."* (laughter)*
(on what is the key for the defense continuing to create turnovers) "We have a goal. We have a turnover margin goal, so week-in and week-out, we try to accomplish that or get close to that. Our mindset is to take the ball away and have the offense protect the ball. We did that, and I think it is an old saying – 'If you win the turnover battle, you usually win the game.' We have to continue to do that. We have some tough offenses coming in that we will have to slow down and play 'Raven football.'"
(on how much he likes having to win the game at the end on the defense) "I like it. When you go through a game like that where it is up and down and you are flipping field position and it comes down to the defense getting a stop, we thrive on that kind of stuff as a defense. We work on it religiously week-in and week-out. It just feels so good when you accomplish it in a game, especially a tight one and a must win when we are in the race for the playoffs. It feels really good."
(on what made him tape his facemask like former Redskins S Sean Taylor) "I had to show respect to Sean 'T'. He is one off the greatest in the short tenure that he got to play. Much respect to him. I wanted to go out there and show a little bit of respect for what he has done for the game. It was a terrible thing that happened to him and his family, so it is the least I could do. He probably helped me out on that interception, so shout out to Sean 'T.'"
DB/LB Anthony Levine Sr.
(on if he enjoys having the game come down to the defense making a stop) "I do. That is why I came in the game. They say me and Lardarius [Webb] are the Swiss Army Knives, and I take pride in that. My teammates believe in me and my coaches believe in me. When I come on the field, they expect me to make my plays, and I expect to make plays. That is what I am here to do."
(on getting an interception) "That was my first-career pick. Coming up off from special teams and going in there and getting in the game, it is amazing. I can't even describe the emotions that I have. I bombed on our celebration. I froze just because I was so emotional."
(on if his teammates were shocked that it was his first interception) "Yes, because I do it all the time in practice, and I do it in preseason. They were like, 'That was your first career interception?' I was like, 'Yeah.' They were like, 'I thought you had like five or six!' You know in preseason, I go crazy." (laughter)
(on making the interception during such a crucial point in the game) "I'm telling you, I can't describe it. I can't describe it. We do a lot of studying. We know what we are doing, and [defensive coordinator] Dean Pees called a great play call for me to be aggressive. I turned around and the ball was right there. The ball was there, and I caught it. I saw daylight, but all my teammates were telling me to go down. I'm a team player. Let's take this knee and let's go home."
DT Willie Henry
(on if he feels good about where the team is headed) "That is correct. We look like we can run the ball some, we are throwing the ball. We are looking good on the defensive front. We are stopping the run and getting after the quarterback. You saw 'Sizz' [Terrell Suggs] getting that sack-fumble. We just need to keep applying that pressure on the quarterbacks and eliminating the run."
(on how he is able to knock down so many passes) "Anticipation and knowing that if I am not going to get there, I can try and affect the pass some how and some way. One thing that the coaches always harp on is getting our hands up if we are not effective in our rush."
(on taking advantage of his opportunity to play this year) "I had to. A lot of guys don't get an opportunity to play in this league, and I understand the window is small. When I had the chance to go out here and play, I understood that I had to go out here and make plays before the window closes."
