BALTIMORE RAVENS STEVENSON UNIVERSITY PRACTICE TRANSCRIPTS
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening Statement:"Thanks for coming over. Beautiful setting. Stevenson has been fantastic; just great people here [and a] really tremendous facility. This stadium is really, really special. I know the indoor [facility] they have over here is really neat. They have done a great job with their athletic facilities. This would be a great place to go to school. You might have some questions about Pernell McPhee. He had a personal issue, a tough situation. I'll let him explain it when he gets back, but he suffered a loss in his family, so he has been excused to go take care of that right now."
On how WR Torrey Smith looked:"Torrey looked OK. He looked OK. He was a little bit tight early, but I thought he loosened up a little bit. He is just dealing with the ankle right now, so he should be good by game time."
On if practice ended early today: "That's the schedule. This is like an in-season practice, so that's how it works in-season."
On how important it is to get WR Tandon Doss back: "Yeah, it's really important to get Tandon back and get a look at him. He is a guy, obviously, that we think a lot of and have high hopes for. He has high hopes for his career too. He has a lot of confidence. He has a lot of talent. We just need to get him out there and stack some days and see how he does and get him going."
On if ILB Dannell Ellerbe took a step forward in Friday's game vs. Detroit:"Yeah, Dannell Ellerbe played really well. He played a really good game. He has really played that way every time he gets a chance. He has had a few injury issues – the hamstring and things this camp – but seems to be overcoming them right now and he is playing well."
On what he sees after looking at the game film that he didn't see in the game Friday night, and if he feels a little better about it: "That's exactly right; I felt a lot better about it after watching the tape than I did driving home after the game Friday night, I can tell you that. A lot of good things, and things that weren't good are easily correctable. I was really disappointed with some of the mental errors in the second half with the second defense, but all things that we can correct. I think the biggest thing is finishing plays, just like we thought after the game. We make a couple of catches here and there. Obviously we get some of our playmakers back – that will help us too. I felt pretty good about it after watching the tape."
On if ILB Ray Lewis or S Ed Reed told stories from when the Ravens' training facility was at this location: "[Senior vice president of public and community relations] Kevin Byrne did. We were coming in and Kevin Byrne had a few comments about the old building, and I told him that they have redone the whole inside. I have actually seen within the last year what they have done. They gave me a tour here, which was really fun. I would say it's nothing like what it was before. You'd have to ask Kevin about the stories."
On if off-site practices are an advantage to the fans or the players: "That's probably a good point. We've gotten a lot of these practices that we've taken off campus, so-to-speak. I think you get the fans out here; it puts a little pressure on the guys to perform. It's just different. It's a little bit game like. It's still a practice, but it kind of gives you that feel, so it's been good for us.
On how stadium practices compare to being at McDaniel College: "Very similar, I'd say. The difference probably is we don't do it as much. We've been in stadium settings, which is kind of nice. So, it probably gives you a little more in terms of that game feel and pumping up the pressure and the excitement a little bit. It probably adds to that a little bit."
On the advantage of the no-huddle offense: "Well, both of those things and more things. If you get up in the line of scrimmage, obviously, you can go as fast as you want to or as slow as you want to. We are going to be huddling at some point in time during the season. It's going to be part of what we do, but we get to the line of scrimmage, you can snap it or not snap it. So, it's kind of our choice. It allows us to unwind the blitzes a little bit, to uncover their defense a little bit to some extent. I think Joe's [Flacco] really advanced that way right now as far as determining that, and he goes to the line a lot of the times without a play or with a formation, and a few play options, and he can make the choice based on what he sees. It's really helpful; it's very much quarterback driven."
On how much of an influence quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell has on the no-huddle offense: "No question. Jim Caldwell's been a great asset. Cam [Cameron] and the coaches, we've had that in our system before so it's based and formatted on what we've always had, but Jim's brought some nuances. He's brought a tempo or two we didn't' have before, just some methodology, I think, to it that he's really added. Plus, the experience just in terms of dealing with Joe and talking to Joe and how they've done it in the past has been really helpful. We have a great staff. Cam has done a great job. I'm really happy with it. As you watch the transformation, it's going to be fun to see how we do. It's going to be challenging. We go against good defenses. It's not going to be easy, obviously, it never is. We will have our ups and downs, but I really think our coaches, starting with Cam and then Jim and all of our guys, have done a great job of setting up the structure of this offense, and I'm as excited as anyone to see how it plays out."
