DAILY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening Statement:"We had Sergeant First Class Allen Wiseman here with his girlfriend, Hannah. That was the young man who wore the Ray Lewis jersey on patrol over there. The one day he didn't wear it, he got hit. If you get a chance to talk to him, it's a great story. He shared his story with our team. When he got to the hospital – this is after a lot, he took us through the story – he said, 'OK, you have 45 minutes, because I've got a game to watch.' It was the Chiefs-Ravens playoff game last year, and he wanted to make sure he saw that game. It's amazing."
How encouraging was it to see CB Jimmy Smith make the progress he has made all week? (Ed Lee)"Very encouraging. Jimmy, and Chris [Carr], too… I was a little bit, pleasantly surprised with Chris and his progress, too. So, they both practiced most of the week. Jimmy got progressively better as the week went on, so we'll just see Monday night. Hopefully we can get those guys out there. There will have to be some roster choices, [because] we're a little [healthier] now. Not completely healthy, but a little more healthy. So, we'll have to decide what combination of guys gives us the best chance."
When it comes to those guys, but especially Smith, is it maybe in your mind that you'd rather play it safe, in that the defense has been playing really well and he hasn't played in quite a while? Maybe give him a little more time to get his feet under him a little bit? (Dan Kolko)"Yeah, that's probably part of it. But, the other side of the coin is you want to get a young guy out there playing. And he needs to play, too. He hasn't played much; he played very little in the preseason. I think that's going to be tough for him. So, both of those things go through our mind."
What about WR Lee Evans and G Ben Grubbs? It's got to be tough to play after not practicing all week. (Aaron Wilson)"I would say so, I would say so. Probably slower than any of us imagined those guys would be. We just have to keep fighting in there and try to get them back. I think there's going to be one day that we're going to walk in here and those guys are going to go through a full practice, and they're going to feel good, and they'll be ready to go. Hopefully, sooner rather than later."
Have there been any updates as far as… I know, initially, you said with Grubbs he had the MRI and structurally everything seemed to be OK, but is there any update on that, or is it just waiting for him to respond? (Luke Wilson)"It's still waiting for him to respond. It's just the process of getting the swelling out, getting the bruising out and the healing process that takes place. I know that's pretty vague, but that's the best I can do."
What about S Tom Zbikowski? Has he been cleared yet? (Jason Butt)"He has not been cleared yet. We're hopeful. I mean, he'll probably get a test sometime today, but he practiced today, as you saw. No contact."
Pernell's [McPhee] family is going to make it to the game. So, it's exciting for a rookie to be playing a Monday Night game, in his home state and have his grandmother, who raised him, there. (Stash)"Yeah, I think that's a great story. His whole family, but especially his grandma, you're right. That's the one who he really has a special, special bond with. I can't wait to meet her myself; it's going to be cool."
