FRIDAY PODIUM AVAILABILITY: WEEK 4 AT DENVER BRONCOS
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening statement: "[It's] good to see everybody. I appreciate you guys being here. It's a beautiful day. Great day! What do you have?"
What are QB Lamar Jackson's chances of starting on Sunday? (Jamison Hensley) "He was a full participant today."
How good was it to get CB Jimmy Smith back – the experience and the versatility – for your secondary? (Luke Jones) "Just very valuable. It's good to have him healthy. I felt bad for him [for] missing all the time in training camp. It was a really slow type of an injury, unfortunately, as it turned out. But he played [and] didn't miss a beat. [He] got out there, all that experience paid off, and we're going to need him this week. We've got a similar type of situation with tight ends and big receivers, so he'll be a big part of the gameplan."
CB Anthony Averett showed up on the injury report yesterday. Do you have any more information on what happened yesterday? (Childs Walker) "No, not really. The injury report will be out here at 4 p.m. You'll have it then."
I'm not sure if this is a big picture question, but when you have three road games in four weeks, is there a cumulative affect that you feel with constantly being on the road? _(Jamison Hensley) _"That's not something you worry about. We just go out, we play, we get our guys rested up, we prepare and we go play the game. You have to play a certain amount on the road, a certain amount at home, and you just play them as they come, and try to go win them, and try to play your best football."
We saw WR Rashod Bateman and WR Miles Boykin make some progress this week. Was it nice to get them back on the field, getting them back in the swing of things? _(Jeff Zrebiec) _"It was very nice to have them back, and they made good progress."
How do you feel the guys responded Wednesday when you put on the pads? How do you feel that went? _(Jamison Hensley) _"I thought they responded well. They wanted to [put on pads]; they asked me to. Afterwards, a number of guys said it was great to have the pads back on. Our guys aren't shy about practicing, so it's good. You try to do as much as you can, but I have to temper that throughout the course of the season too, in terms of the long-haul."
What kind of week of practice has WR Marquise Brown had? (Cliff Brown) "He's had a very good week. He's had an excellent week of practice. He's been out there every day, and he's done well."
WR Marquise Brown
On if K Justin Tucker getting a 99 Madden rating is long overdue: (laughter) "Oh, yes – very much so. He should have been a 99, but I'm glad he's getting the recognition he deserves."
On how QB Lamar Jackson performed at practice today: "I felt he looked really good. He's been looking good all season. He's been precise, and I'm happy he's back at practice with us."
On if he does anything differently in practice this week to bounce back from a tough game: "I just go back to work. I pay attention to the details and just keep doing what we've been doing. I'm not going to let one game deteriorate the plan we've got and the plan we've got [moving] forward. So, just keep working."
On WR Rashod Bateman and WR Miles Boykin returning to practice: "I felt they looked good. I'm happy to have them back. [I'm] happy how the offense is going to look going forward with those guys, and [we'll] keep working with them."
On working with WR Rashod Bateman off the field, and if he's taken it upon himself to offer extra words of encouragement to him, given his own injuries as a rookie: "Definitely. Just keep tunnel vision and don't worry about outside noise. Just keep working, and that's what he's doing. Since I've met him, he's about business, he's about working, so I'm excited to see him on the field."
On working with soccer balls after practice: "That's a method we've been doing since the offseason. That's something he [pass game specialist Keith Williams] brought to us, and it's helping us, so we continue to do it."
On if he has a next-play mentality or a method for moving on from a mishap: "Just move on – next play; that's even if you do something good. You can't do something good, come back and do something bad; it's the next play. [When] you do something bad, you've got to come back and do something else. So, that's really what it is. I think [at] each position, you can't dwell on the past play; you've got to move on and put the best effort forward for the next play."
On tuning out the negativity on social media: "No, I'm on social media all the time. (laughter) It's funny to me. It's funny; in this day and age, it's how you look at it. I look at it the same way: If I'm on the outside, and I've got this dude on fantasy, [and] he's out here … I'm going to laugh with him. It's just all fun and games. I don't look at social media too seriously."
On if there is something he learned after reviewing the tape of his dropped passes at Detroit: "Yes, I definitely can point out something, but the fact of the matter is, it's just unacceptable. You don't ever want to go out there and drop a layup, drop an open pass. I've been working too hard on my route-running and separation to drop the ball when I'm open. It could be anything. It could be not looking the ball all the way in. It could be a number of things, but the fact of the matter is, it just can't happen."
On if one of the passes in the end zone was deflected before it got to him: "Yes, yes, it got deflected."
On if the pass that got deflected in the end zone before reaching him was still catchable: "It doesn't matter, to be honest. It doesn't matter."
