HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening statement: "Alright, good seeing everybody; I appreciate you guys being here. What questions do you have?"
How nice is it to have OL Patrick Mekari back on the field and getting a full week of practice in? _(Luke Jones) _"Very nice, very nice. We can count on him, he's a great guy, works hard, reliable. [He's a] hell of a player."
We saw ILB Patrick Queen putting in some extra work with ball handling before positional drills. Are those extra reps to help with some of the drops that he has had? (Jonas Shaffer) _"I know he has good hands; Pat [Patrick Queen]'s going to catch plenty of passes, I just think the two [passes] kind of surprised him more than anything, but it's always good to work on everything. Just to be comfortable catching; he's been on the jugs a bunch, just like a lot of guys have. It's nothing really new, but he'll be fine. The next one he catches, I think it's going to be kind of fun. It's going to be a good celebration." _(laughter)
Are you feeling good about T Ronnie Stanley's chances of playing on Sunday? (Jeff Zrebiec) _"I'm feeling good, yes. We'll see where we're at. I'm not going to really comment on who's playing and who's not playing. We'll be out there on Sunday. What time would it [inactives announcement] be? _(SVP of Communications Chad Steele: "6:50.")6:50, you'll know."
We just saw a bunch of the team leaders walk out and talk to you, are you able to share what they were saying? _(Childs Walker) _"No, it's all good. All good stuff, all just stuff we talk about all the time. It was a scheduling thing, just a scheduling thing."
What is WR Rashod Bateman's status right now? (David Andrade) _"His status will be out here pretty shortly. What time do we put that [the injury report] out?" _(SVP of Communications Chad Steele: "That will be out at 4 p.m.")
There was a report that you signed WR Andy Isabella, did that not happen? _(Jeff Zrebiec) _"That's not something that we can comment on right now; there's a lot of ongoing conversations I'm sure with [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] and those guys, but we're not able to comment on any of that right now, until we sign a person."
What do you like about ILB A.J. Klein, who you did sign yesterday? (Luke Jones) _"I can comment on that one. _(laughter)I always have admired A.J. [Klein] coming out at Iowa [State], and then throughout the years playing against him. He's a really good football player; he knows how to play, he's a big, physical guy, he's a good athlete, into it. You can already see just the first couple days here his professionalism and how excited he is to be here. So, it's just another addition [that] I think it's going to help our defense."
RB Justice Hill hasn't practiced this week. With the possibility that he doesn't play on Sunday, how confident are you in RB J.K. Dobbins taking on more of a workload? _(Cordell Woodland) _"I'm confident in all of our running backs. All those guys look good, and we've got the backs to do the job."
Do you anticipate rotating Ts Patrick Mekari and Daniel Faalele during the game? _(David Andrade) _"If you're asking me, 'Can Daniel [Faalele] play, can Patrick [Mekari] play? Can Ronnie [Stanley] play?' Yes, they're all guys that can play and play very effectively. That's really a bonus for us right now. So, when Ronnie [Stanley] comes back, Ronnie's going to be Ronnie, and then you have these other two guys [who] because of the circumstances have proven that they can do a great job. So, I think your point is a really good point."
RB J.K. DOBBINS
On if he feels himself getting back to his previous form: "Yes, I do. Each week is getting better and better, and that's what I strive to do – get better each week, even if I'm hurt or not … Not hurt, but coming off of an injury or not, I strive to get better each week, and that's happening. Maybe this week, I'll reach the goal of getting past the 100-yard mark in a game. We'll see though. I know one thing; I'm going to run the ball hard, and I know my line is going to block hard for me."
On possibly stepping up in the absence of RB Justice Hill: "Justice [Hill] was playing well, and he's going to be back, and he's going to be doing well again. But if the team needs me to be that workhorse than I'm there, and I'm ready to do it."
On how he felt after his first game action: "Yes, it was a big milestone to play in that first game. The first game was good. I felt good, but, like I said, I always feel like I can do better – that's how I feel coming out of a game. It was a good steppingstone, but I've got more work to do."
On if playing in front of the home crowd was what he expected and the emotions after scoring his first touchdown: "The emotions were high. I know Ravens Flock has my back. They've had my back since the injury; I think they're still going to have my back, even though I'm coming back from injury, and that's what I love so much about being a Baltimore Raven. Coming from Ohio State, where fans are the best and they're always going to have 105,000-106,000 people at the stadium each game no matter who we're playing; that's how it is here, and they always have my back. That means a lot to me as a player, because I know my fans have got my back, and it just helps me kind of feed off of them in the stadium. So, hopefully, I can bring some more touchdowns and big runs for them."
On if there was any nervousness entering the game last week, given the weather conditions: "No, no, no. I didn't have any nerves, no nerves, because I prepare really hard. I knew it was going to be a rainy, nasty day, so I prepared for that. I wasn't nervous, especially with the Bills being the guys that knocked us out two years ago in my last game before I got hurt – regular season or postseason. So, I wasn't nervous. I was ready for it, and I just wish I could have helped my team win that game."
On the rehab process teaching him patience: "Yes, that's the thing – it taught me how to be patient. Not every day is going to be a good day, not every day is going to be a home run-hitter day, not every day is going to be that 200-yard, 100-yard day, five-touchdown, two-touchdown day, and that's what that's helped me with. Whatever I do, it's just taught me to keep fighting, keep running hard and never look up at the scoreboard, because we're here to win, we're here to play, and if you're looking at the scoreboard, then are you really locked in? So, that's how I see it, and it's helped me a lot."
