DAILY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Head Coach John Harbaugh
On the importance of the final preseason game: "It's not meaningless for the guys who have so much at stake, just what you're saying. And, there are probably… I don't know what the numbers are – we could go through the roster and figure it out – but there might be five, six, seven, eight guys who are battling for those last roster spots. And this game is really what it's going to come down to, because you get to the point now where you have a pretty good feel and still, some of those competitions are so close that they'll be determined in this last game when those guys get so many reps and when you have an opportunity to evaluate them both in special teams and offensively and defensively through the course of a complete game. So, we're looking forward to that. There are also some things, some guys, that have made the team that will have to develop their game a little bit, improve a little bit and maybe expand their role a little bit. So, it's a very important game for guys on the football team. It's the Baltimore Ravens playing, so we take pride in that. The guys that play in this game, it's their responsibility – and I know they're excited to do it – to play well."
On whether the injuries to WR Donte' Stallworth and WR Mark Clayton alter the WR competition: "That's a fair question. I think it's a possibility. I think we have to sit down and figure that out over the next five days – exactly how many players we want to carry at certain positions. Does that mean we carry another wide receiver? Do we feel like we have enough wide receivers and tight ends to go ahead and keep it at the same number, because obviously Donte'… I think Mark will play. I think he'll be OK. We'll find out, because with a concussion you never can be sure. But obviously, Donte' is going to be out for a number of weeks. He will be back, so he will be on our team. We'll get him back, and he'll have a great year when he gets back, I'm sure. That's something we've got to figure out."
On when he found out QB Troy Smith couldn't play against the Rams in 2008 on the night of then-rookie QB Joe Flacco's debut: "We found out the day before that he wasn't feeling so good. We still thought he had a chance to play, but on game day there was no chance he was going to play. I believe Joe took the whole game, if I remember right. Then, we still thought there was a chance that Troy would play the next week, and we had to bring a quarterback [Casey Bramlet] in the night before – I think for the fourth preseason game – and he ended up playing the whole game/ [Bramlet was] a young quarterback with really one day to get ready. That seems like a long time ago."
On whether he knows anything more about rookie LB Sergio Kindle:"Only the same thing we talked about before: He's coming in, I think it might be the 5th [of September]. I'm not exactly sure of the date. It's right around the corner. He will not be coming to this facility – the NFL doesn't allow us to do that. He'll be going right to the hospital [and] spend whatever time he's got to spend there to be evaluated."
On where the kicker competition stands and whether CB Doug Dutch has been released:"Doug has been released. We've got a couple other injury settlement things that we're working on right now with some guys to get ourselves down to the 75 [-man] limit. I'm sure we'll have an announcement by 4:00 [p.m.] on that. But Doug will be released here. He did a nice job for us, and we appreciate it. The kicker situation is really tough, and tough in a really good way. [I] just had a chance to talk to both of those guys this morning before practice, in just a real causal way before practice. They've both done really well. They'll be outstanding NFL kickers this year, without question. It's just a matter of which guy we feel like best fits us when the time comes, and honestly, we don't know that right now. So, we probably put that thing off, and we'll probably continue to put it off until the very last minute, and then we'll have to make a decision."
On whether Stallworth knew he broke his foot right away when it happened and what his surgery status is:"I don't know the exact time of the surgery; it's as soon as possible. I know he wants to do it. I'm not sure when it is, though. It'll be within the next day or so. He said he knew right away, [but] he played one more play. He was running – it was an offensive play – he was running a nine-route, a streak route. He said he made a move outside to get around the corner, planted on his foot, and he just felt it pop. He wasn't sure how serious it was – he suspected it – and then he went another play and he knew he couldn't go."
On the absence of CB Fabian Washington from practice today:"Fabian's got a little bruise in his ribs and felt like we just need to rest that a little bit."
On his anticipation for the status of T Oniel Cousins for this Thursday's game:"I'm really hopeful for Oniel. That's a game that he really needs to play. He's missed so much with the OTAs and now again in training camp. He's got a chance to be such a good player, so we're hoping to get him out there. I think he's got a good chance."
On whether it helps QB Troy Smith's chances of making the team in that he does different things from the other two QBs on the roster:"Sure. I mean, Troy's a good player. The thing we have to decide across the board is who are the best 53 players we have. But, Troy is our third quarterback. Obviously, he's played very well in the preseason; I think he makes plays. He does bring a unique ability. He gets out of trouble and makes plays with his feet and with his arms. We've always liked Troy. He's a good player."
On whether LB Jameel McClain's three preseason starts signify that he will be the opening day starter:"No, it really doesn't, because as we've watched those guys, they've all played well. And I think when we have these conversations as a staff about our linebackers, you rank the guys in different categories, all three different ways. So, in one category, it's these three in this order. Then it's these three in this order. Then it's these three in the other order, then sub, for instance. So, I really think those three guys – when it all shakes out – we're going to say all three of those guys are starters for us. And what you're going to find out is that in one package it's Tavares [Gooden], in one package it's Jameel, and in another package it's Dannell [Ellerbe]. And the guy that's going to start is whatever package we decide to put on the field, personnel-wise, because when you have good players, you want to get them on the field, doing the things they do best. So, I know everybody wants to know who the starter is, but in reality, they're all going to play probably similar number of plays throughout the course of a game."
On the team's overall injury situation: "I think that we've gotten through training camp, really, very well from an injury standpoint. Anytime you don't have the major injuries, that's what you hope for. You're always going to have bumps and bruises; guys are going to miss some time. That's just that way it is. You look all around the league… [We're] very disappointed about Domonique [Foxworth's knee injury]. We hadn't even started practicing yet. And then in a game, guys get hurt sometimes. I do feel good about the fact that we haven't had any major injuries in any kind of practice situation. That's a big plus. Our players do a really good job of taking care of one another throughout practice. I think they've learned how to practice against one another over the last two-and-a-half years, but some of it is luck, no question."
On if the toughest part of his job is telling players that they are cut, particularly with the kicker situation: "Absolutely. It's a great way to phrase it. I don't think I could say it any better. There are plenty of guys that belong in the NFL. And you know, guys have hopes and dreams, ambitions and goals and things they want to accomplish. The thing you try to express to them is you're not ending that. This is just part of the journey. So, for sure, one of the kickers will be kicking the next day for somebody."
On if he has a method to ease the blow when cutting a player: "I think the main thing is just to be honest and just try to tell them straight up why it's a better fit to go in another direction right now. In some cases, guys understand, and in other cases you really have to explain, 'This is a choice we've made, and we're not saying we necessarily know this is right. We don't have a crystal ball, but we're doing the best we can also,' and that's the best you can do."
On if there is a chance that CB Lardarius Webb could play Thursday: "I think everybody needs as many snaps as they can get, but you have to balance it with the risk of injury. We wanted to get him a good, hard pre-game workout, and that's part of his rehab. We'll probably do the same thing before the Rams game, but I don't anticipate him playing in this game either. We don't want to risk a setback."
On if he is happy with the balance of receivers: "Yeah, it's a great point. It's really important to find out what you have in game situations. We see them every day in practice, but we do make a concerted effort to push the ball to certain guys in the preseason. So two weeks ago, David Reed had a chance to shine. Last week, Marcus Smith had a chance to shine, and there'll be some guys that we'll be pushing the ball to again in this game, just to find out what they do in a game situation and what we have and what they're capable of. So, that's part of the plan."
On TE Todd Heap getting a lot of catches against the Giants:"Obviously, we've seen enough of Todd. He's the best that we've seen him since we've been here – now going into our third year. I think Todd's going to have a really, really strong season."
On what WR Demetrius Williams needs to do to make the team:"He probably just needs a… There's a durability factor and a consistency [factor] for Demetrius, and he'll be the first to tell you that. He's just struggled with that – no fault of his own. I thought he was having a tremendous camp. He was making plays every day, and he was stacking practices like we asked him to do. But that's not finished with yet. We've just got to get the ankle [healed]. We didn't think it was as bad as it is. It's been a little slower than we thought, but he does need to get out there Thursday night, and I know he's shooting for that. And if he does get out there, I'm sure that we're going to get him the ball and see how he does."
On CB Chris Carr and S Haruki Nakamura making big plays and helping the secondary bounce back against the Giants:"I even thought in the previous preseason game [that the secondary played well]. My feeling was watching it that they played pretty well. Then I went back and watched the tape. Well actually, then I saw the stats, and I was like, 'Wow. I didn't know we gave up that many yards.' You're not really keeping track during the game, and we had kept them out of the end zone. That was disappointing. Then I watched the tape and I felt good about it again. There were very correctable things. A lot of it was underneath coverage. There was, I think, one play overtop of the secondary – the early post in the Redskins game – and then you didn't see any of that in the last game. Just to get to Haruki… He's one of my favorite players, and I'm sure he's going to take a lot of heat in the locker room when they see this quote, but it's because of the way he works. He's a very talented guy, but he's in the weight room doing hang cleans and squats this morning, and here's a guy coming off an ankle injury. That is why he is who he is. And he said, 'That's what my dad always told me. He said, "There's no other way but hard work."' That's what he said this morning when I asked him. He's a guy you root for, and if he plays like that, he's going to play in the league for a long time."
