Head Coach John Harbaugh
On the impact of the new roster moves: "Most of the guys had issues with injuries and weren't really playing for us at this point anyway. So, I don't think it makes much of an impact. Although they were good players that we had high hopes for – but just with the nicks and the things they had – they never really had the chance to prove themselves."
On whether he has considered bringing in another QB for the Atlanta game: "No, we are not going to bring anybody in for this game."
On in light of quarterback injuries, if he has considered an additional QB for the season: "We will have to see. We will have to see where Troy [Smith] and Kyle [Boller] are. We need three quarterbacks, obviously."
On the updated status of QBs Troy Smith and Kyle Boller: "There's nothing really new. Troy is getting better, but he's just so drained and dehydrated. He hasn't been able to eat for four days, or something like that. He was in the meetings this morning, but he didn't have the energy to go through the rest of the day."
On if Boller is recovering quickly: "Kyle did now throw today. He's got MRIs that are being looked at. He took a treatment, and we'll just see how it goes and see if he's ready to go."
On when DT Dwan Edwards injured his back: "Dwan had an ongoing thing where he was feeling a little bit of tightness there. They did an MRI just as a precautionary, and they caught something, which is really fortunate and a great job by our medical team. As a result, he's going to be out for the year until he can correct it. He'll play again, but it's going to take a good part of this year to correct it. It's not something that you can take a chance with and let it slide."
On how big a loss Edwards will be this season: "Dwan Edwards is a big loss for us because he's a big part of our rotation. He is really coming on as a football player. Rex [Ryan] and [Clarence Brooks] were really excited about him, so that was a disappointment. That hurt us a little bit."
On what rookie QB Joe Flacco can build on based on last week's performance:"Everything. That's kind of the question. If you want specifics about where he can build, he can build on everything. I think some specific things would be to be more accurate and to get the ball out quickly. Across the board, just continue to improve."
On the return of WR Demetrius Williams and T Jared Gaither, and how much they will play Thursday:"It's definitely a 'pitch count.' It's going to be based on what Bill [Tessendorf] thinks. That's something that we wanted to see them go through these two days of practice and see how far along we are. Probably right before the game [we will make a decision]. Pushing them as long as we can, but not to the point where we stress that injury."
On when a decision will be made about QB Troy Smith:"We'll know before the game, but it could go up to the game. It just depends on how fast he gets his strength back. You'd love to be able to predict it and say, 'Hey, we know what's going to happen,' but there's just no way to know. You'll see as we go. We want him to play and he wants to play."
On whether Flacco will continue to improve:"We hope so. We hope we keep seeing all of our guys get better. It's not just the quarterback position, it's every position. We hope to see guys improve from one day to the next. That's the idea. The idea is to get better. And it's him specifically, just as much as it is everybody else, really. That's why we practice. That's why we play these preseason games."
On the status of NT Kelly Gregg:"We're optimistic he'll be ready for the opener, but he's not ready yet, so we'll have to see how [his knee] progresses."
On whether there is any anxiety with cuts looming:"I see some competitiveness. I'm sure there's anxiety, because guys want to be here and they want to play on this team. And they've worked hard. There are a lot of guys who have earned the right to be a part of this team. You can only keep so many guys. So, there's going to be a lot of competitiveness, and Thursday night is going to be a big night for a lot of these guys. There are some battles waging, and you guys can figure out what they are. Those are the battles being waged right now."
