HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "OK, It's good seeing everybody, I appreciate you being here, once again. [We have] a lot of work [to do]. We're going into the bye week now. Our focus is going forward and what we can accomplish for the next 11 games to try to earn our way into the playoffs, which obviously, as [it was] pointed out last night, has not been done very often with the record we have; but, we still believe we can do it. All of our focus goes to, really, two things; the bye week and working through every aspect and issue that we can [to] find every way we can be at our best going forward with the players we have. It's going to be good to get players back. And then how we organize ourselves and craft our schemes. And then also, how we work on them for the next two days of training camp, or the bye week – I guess you'd treat it like a training camp maybe – but in the bye week to build those things into our offense, defense and special teams. And then, [we will] focus on the Bears game and being the best team we can be to win that game. What questions do you have?"
As far as the pass rush, now that former Ravens OLB Odafe Oweh has been traded and OLB Tavius Robinson is hurt, how big of a challenge is it going to be to generate some pressure coming off the edges now? (Jamison Hensley) "Well, it's been a challenge all year to generate pressure, so we are going to have to manufacture pressure. I think we've talked about that [over] the last couple of weeks. But also, our guys are going to have to step up and create pressure on the four-man rush. We do it with simulated pressures, too, a lot of times; we did that in the [last] game. We were able to move [Matthew] Stafford out of the pocket a few times and hurry him up a few times, which I thought was really good, even with four-man rushes and [simulations], but we also had a few blitzes in there, too, that were good. So, we have to build off of those things and do the job with the guys that we have."
I know you said OLB Tavius Robinson's foot is broken. Is that a season-ending injury? Can he come back from that? (Luke Jones) "No, it's not [season-ending]. We found out it's going to be six to eight weeks [of recovery], very similar to Isaiah Likely's [foot injury]. So, [Tavius Robinson] will be back during the season, yes."
Related to that whole situation, is there an update on OLB Adisa Isaac? Is he out for the season? I know he had surgery on his elbow. Is he finished for the year? (Bo Smolka) "[Adisa Isaac] is not finished for the year. They're talking about maybe mid-November or late November for Isaac, possibly."
The schedule for the bye week, the guys will remain around for a couple of days and then you'll set them free. Is that different, or is that standard from past years? (Jerry Coleman) "It's been different in different years. We're going to be practicing [this week]. It's an early bye week this year. We'll be going on Tuesday and Wednesday with practice. We'll also be doing our studies all through the week as coaches and working really hard."
Do you sense that – with the injury to OLB Tavius Robinson and former Ravens OLB Odafe Oweh traded – you've only got three guys, three outside linebackers on the 53-man roster. Do you anticipate looking outside the organization or promoting from within? I assume you won't go forward with just three outside linebackers. (Bo Smolka) "Yes to all of the above, I would say. We have a couple guys that we like on the practice squad right now that are doing really well, so I wouldn't mind giving those guys a shot, one of those guys at least. So that's our option No. 1 [and] the most obvious option, and then there's the other options you're talking about [that] are certainly on the table."
Last year as far as goal-to-go situations, you guys were among the most efficient. This year, not so much. What do you feel has been the biggest change from – because the difference is so extreme – what has been the biggest change from maybe last year to this year? (Jamison Hensley) "I don't know the exact comparison from last year to this year, it's hard to say, obviously. The biggest change [is that] we're not effective. It's been ineffective, basically, and that's been – I'd have to say it's been surprising. We have not been able to punch the ball in, which last year, we were able to do it. So, we're looking at every aspect of it – scheme, keeping people more off balance, effectively running a quarterback sneak, which was really disappointing. We've had a couple situations this year where we took the ball off the line of scrimmage down there [in the red zone] and didn't get in [the end zone]. So, sometimes you say [to] keep it simple and sneak it in. [The Rams] were loaded up for it, but you still should be able to push it in there. And then not executing the play for the front that we wanted and just not executing it the way ... We didn't block it very completely well. So, [it's] all those things, and I think that's pretty much been the situation all the way through. If you look at all the situations where we didn't get in down there from the 1- or 2-yard line, it's been basically the same [situation]. So, we have to work really hard on that. That's like the No 1. thing in my mind on offense is short-yardage and goal-line; we should be better. We should be way better than we are. We've never struggled in those areas [before], and I don't really understand why we are [now]. I do look at the plays [on film], but you want to step back and say, 'Why is this happening?' We're just not getting the job done. So, if we want to be the kind of team that we have, if we want to have a chance, we have to get that fixed. That should have been fixed. We've been talking about fixing it for weeks, and we've been trying to fix it for weeks, but we haven't done a good job."
On the tush push, I know you had mentioned you guys not getting the push up front that you felt like you needed to make that play accessible. I'm just curious to know what goes into why TE Mark Andrews is that guy as opposed to, I guess, a guy like RB Derrick Henry in that spot? (Cordell Woodland) "Derrick Henry under there? No. Mark [Andrews]; he's a good ball handler. He's has been doing it. Mark versus Derrick? I think Mark is a guy that's ... We like Mark doing it. He's a good ball handler, and he's had experience doing it. Derrick, that I know of, has never taken a snap under center, so we'd have to teach him how to do that. Why Derrick over Mark? Why would that be better? I think Mark's done a good job with it. Charlie [Kolar] has done it before. They've been successful a bunch of times. Derrick, I don't know where that idea comes from, but that wouldn't be a thought, no. No, that would not be a thought. That's not something we thought about doing."
You'll continue to utilize the tush push, but might you try it with a different twist at all? (Jerry Coleman) "Well, we did it. We did it later in the game, and we got [the first down] on third-and-1."
Along those lines, I know you said guys are always under evaluation, and you're always looking at it. Are you considering any changes on the offensive line, given a guy like OL Emery Jones Jr. once he's fully back or G/C Corey Bullock or any of those guys? (Brian Wacker) "Absolutely. We're considering those kind of options for sure. That's kind of what the bye week is for. I think it helps you with that. Those guys will get a chance to practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, which will be good for us to get those guys out there and see them. Emery [Jones Jr.] for instance, he is a young dude. He's only been practicing for a week, so there's a lot that goes into knowing what you're supposed to do under fire and pass protection. He hasn't done any pass protection yet because of his shoulder [injury], so he hasn't – this will be the first week he'll have a chance to do pass protection – he hasn't been able to do that up until now, so you can kind of see the challenges there with that. But, we're trying to get him up to speed as quickly as we possibly can, so he's [available]. We wouldn't put a player out there until they're ready to be successful. That wouldn't be fair to the player or to the team or the fans or anybody. But, as soon as we feel like a guy like him or anybody else is really ready or the best guy for it, we would do it. We do have a couple of veteran guys that could – in the offensive line that have been practicing that would have a shot that we'll take a look at this week and see how they look. That stuff is definitely on the table."
Speaking of the offensive line, it's been straight weeks now with T Ronnie Stanley where he's either had to leave early or he was inactive against Houston. We all know his history with the ankle and the surgeries in the past. Is this related to that in a big picture, chronic-type thing? Is there a new injury? Anything you can talk about? (*Luke Jones)* "Oh, it's the ankle; it's the ankle. So, it's structurally good, or he wouldn't be out there playing. It becomes a matter of his ability to perform on it, and the only person that knows that is the player; so you've got to go by that. But he's fighting to get out there and play, and he played about a quarter and a half. I was appreciative of that, but having Ronnie Stanley out there is a big deal. I mean it's a really, really big deal. So, I think it's probably true for most teams; offensive linemen – they're important, and if you don't have your best guys out there, that's challenging, especially at left tackle. So, this is going to be an important week for him, I would think. It is just a chance for him to maybe get the ankle a little more healed up. And I'll tell you this – he's working really hard at it, and he really wants to be out there. I appreciate his effort and his toughness and all those things."
When you took us through those goal-in plays yesterday, you said some of it is just that you got to get "pad under pad." As a coach, how do you address that sort of thing, especially with veteran players who've been doing that their whole careers? (*Childs Walker)* "It's always a fight. It's not just – the other team's getting pad under pad, too; so how do you address it? [The Rams] were stacked up to stop that play because we didn't really have an option off of the play. So, I give them credit for that. So, it was definitely running the play uphill. We acknowledge that; if you check, stop, get out of the play – whatever you want to do – you can do that. But we still thought we could get it there. We felt like we could move it half a yard to a yard, and we just decided we were going to try to run it in, and it didn't work. So, we have to rethink it. We really have to rethink it. We're disappointed it didn't happen. To me, the game turned right there; then it turned [again during] the start of the second half with turning the ball over, and the next thing you know, it's 14 points just like that. So, that's the biggest thing to me. That's where it turned. If you look at that game, we played a really good football game in a lot of ways. I think our defense played well across the board. Our offense really played well. We had over 80 plays. We've been struggling. We talked about getting plays. We had had, what, 50 plays average? We had over 80 plays against a really good defense. We moved the ball. We moved the chains. We ran the ball exceptionally well. We revamped a few things offensively on the run – I thought we did a really good job with that. But, we had penalties. We had certain penalties that were – they're close penalties, but they get called, and then they set you back. So, that probably cost us anywhere from seven to 10 to 14 points with those penalties in those two drives. Then you get the ball in a great field [position], you get a stop, you get a punt return, you get good field position, you march the ball down to inside the 1-yard line at the end of the half, and you have a chance. You should be coming away with seven [points] there, and it was right to go for it, but you come away with nothing? So, there's another seven points. Then we come out [of halftime], and they go down and score, unfortunately. I would've liked to have stopped that drive somewhere along the way, but we didn't. And then we turned the ball over, and now they go score. And that's really, at the end of the day, [with] where we were at, that was probably the [end of the] game. We still fought, but we took the opportunities to score the points away from ourselves, and that's what you can't do. So, that's where we just need to get better. But I do like the fact that we operated as an offense with Cooper [Rush] and with Tyler [Huntley] out there pretty efficiently. We wanted to be more efficient, and we were pretty efficient. I'd say we were very efficient, actually, but we still did the things you can't do. We committed penalties, and we turned the ball over. And that hurt us."
I know you mentioned yesterday, briefly, about S Alohi Gilman being here and the three-safety looks. When you watch that game again, what's your take on how it worked? (*Bo Smolka)* "I thought it worked very well. I was really happy with it. You guys have all seen this enough; you kind of know how that operates for us. So, that was a big plus, a big plus. I'm excited about it going forward. I feel really good about what we can do defensively. We have a little more versatility back, a little more versatility back with our guys. It kind of gives us a chance to lean into things we like to do defensively more. It should help us a lot."
Did Marlon get out of that game physically OK? (*Jeff Zrebiec)* "He did. Marlon [Humphrey] got out of the game physically OK. Yes."
You talk about believing that you can still make the playoffs, and how much does QB Lamar Jackson's potential return; I guess, how much are you guys kind of looking at that to bring...? (*Noah Trister)* "Well, I'm leaning into [Lamar Jackson's return] pretty hard."
Psychologically, I guess, how much are you hoping QB Lamar Jackson's return can sort of jumpstart your team? (*Noah Trister)* "Psychologically, how much am I leaning into Lamar [Jackson] coming back and playing? Yes. [I am]. If I was on the couch with a psychiatrist right now, if I was spilling it, I would have to say I'm leaning really hard into that, really hard. For any kind of psychological wellbeing, spiritual wellbeing, I'm leaning hard on that happening. So, I'm very hopeful that that happens."
What was behind the decision to deactivate DL Aeneas Peebles and kind of go short along into your defensive line while leaving CB Jaire Alexander up on the 53-man roster? (*Jeff Zrebiec)* "I think you just kind feel like you go with the guys to give you the best chance. I think we felt like we maybe needed Jaire [Alexander], possibly. If somebody gets nicked up, we needed the corner. You had to have the corner against [the Rams], and I felt like we could get by with our fronts with four defensive linemen, really. It's a three-wide receiver offense. They put two tight ends in there sometimes. They'll go [with] 12 [personnel] a little bit, but it's not really what they do. So, you felt like you could live with one less defensive lineman; plus, now Tavius [Robinson] got hurt, but you can kick him down inside. [Aeneas] Peebles is not really a run-stopping defensive lineman anyway. So, if you're going to go with another D-lineman, you'd want to go with a bigger guy anyway because Tavius can rush inside as well, and all of our defensive ends can go inside and rush. So, we just felt like the corner gave us a little more if somebody got hurt."
You guys added DL C.J. Okoye to the roster with the various machinations. Has he impressed you over the last couple of weeks and sort of shown that he really can be a player in this league now as opposed to at some time in the future? (*Childs Walker)* "I think C.J. Okoye has come a long way. He's come a long way. To see him where he is at right now compared to where he was when he got here is just unbelievable. It's night and day. He's really done a great job. I got to give him credit. I got to give [defensive line] Coach Dennis Johnson credit. [He's] done a great job with him. For him to be playing really, good, solid football in there [with] good run defense and getting some pocket push, too, is pretty impressive. John Jenkins has done a really nice job. You have to give 'Urb' [Brent Urban] a hand for the job he's done in there. Travis [Jones] had a really good game. I just think all of those guys played really well. We still can bring back on the practice squad some guys for the defensive line or bring some guys up or whatever. We can still use those guys, but I think for him coming through for us the way he did has been kind of a real blessing; [it's] not something we really expected to have happen."
We've touched on turnovers a little bit, but now, I think there were three turnovers last week and three on Sunday. I know with every turnover, you can go through and judge it each way, but just in general, is there a way to try to eliminate them? Is it just going over the film? Do you find it's more physical or mental mistakes that are happening? What's your take on it? (Jamison Hensley) "It's more physical. To me, it couldn't be more emphasized in practice or games. It just couldn't be, but we're going to have to find a way to make it more important, because it's happening too much. You can't win by turning the ball over. You can't win by not getting turnovers, and we haven't gotten turnovers. You want to look at why the record is the way it is; start with that. That's the main thing, and we knew that coming out of the season last year, and that's why we made such a big important emphasis on it. We just have to get there as a team. When we find ourselves that way, when we are able to protect the football – especially [because] we've never been a team that fumbles a lot. We've had fumbles, but we've never been a fumbling team. Now, all of a sudden, we fumble; that's surprising, but it's happening way too much, so it has to stop. That's the responsibility of everybody, but it's mainly the responsibility of the person who has the ball in their hands, and they all know that, and they're very conscientious. So, it has to get done."
To the point that you guys aren't really a team that fumbles a lot, obviously, and RB Derrick Henry is not a guy who fumbles a lot. People who already know the technique, is it more mental? How do you address the mentality part of the turnovers in critical situation? (Giana Han) "It's a hard thing to judge, because there's no way to know the answer to that. It's a great question, but there's no way to know what degree it is. You coach the result. You coach the technique of it. You coach the mental part of it, in terms of conscious about it and being very conscientious about it, which they are, but you have to think about it in battle. If you watch Derrick [Henry] in this last game, he did a great job. He was running that ball hard. He was getting hit from every different direction, and the ball was completely secure in there. He did a great job, so there's an example of success with that. That's just something everybody has to be 100% completely and fully locked in on, which is protecting the football."
Can you demonstrate the "Raven Claw." Is that how you hold the ball? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes, [with] the 'Raven Claw,' there are five points of contact on the football. Your hand is always going to be above your elbow, and your elbow is going to be tucked. Then, the Raven Claw [means] to lock it in like this, over the top, when you're in traffic. That's what we teach, so that ball is not coming out. Usually, when the ball comes out is when guys are in awkward situations. If you study it, a lot of the balls get punched out when guys are going to the ground [falling] forward, and that bottom elbow gets away from the body, and they go down to hit the ground, and the ball gets punched out, because it's just not tight – it happened to our punt returner in this last game – or when a guy's making a cut, he's moving, and the ball comes off the body just a little bit, and the timing of the punch happens at that point in time. If you watch most turnovers, it's those kinds of situations."
Now that he's practiced a few days, is it still your thought that FB Patrick Ricard is trending toward playing against Chicago? (Bo Smolka) "I don't know. I don't know. The way it works – the way the injury is – is it's pretty much recovered from that kind of a standpoint; it's just a matter of him being comfortable with his level of strength and his ability to perform. It's him being able to get out there and push himself through practice and feel like it's going to stay healthy, feel like he can move and run, change direction and power into people. It's really up to him. The only thing we can do is ask him how he's doing, how he's feeling, and if he can push himself to do more or not, because it's his calf. That's all we can do right now, so I can't really make any promises."
Whenever you have a team that's struggling like this that wasn't expecting to struggle like this, people will ask about leadership with coaches and players. From your experience looking at player leadership, how has that been these last few weeks? Are guys holding each other accountable? Moving forward, as you come out of the bye and knowing what kind of run you have to go on, what do you want to see from player leadership to achieve that? (Luke Jones) "It's definitely really important. You're exactly right to point that out. That has to be a critical thing. It's something that we work on all the time. I believe in our guys. I really like our guys. I have great respect for our guys. Our guys are really special people, and if you looked at every one of those guys that you're talking about – the veteran leaders – you could see why I would say that. But, we're working on that, because when you face adversity like this in football – just like in life, we say [that] all the time but – it's true, and that's why you asked the question, because we all live our lives; it's something you have to really be intentional about, and you have to talk to people about and ask them how they're doing and see what they're thinking, what they can do, what they think they can do, what they think needs to be done, what the best ways to say things or to approach things and try to help with that as much as you can when you're in this kind of position. That's what I try to do. It's really important to try to do that, so I feel like we're going to get great, great veteran leadership; I believe that, and we're going to have to, to your point. Nothing is going to be more important than that."
Along those lines, when you have a group of guys who have very high expectations, and then you take penalties and other self-inflicted things among other things, have you gotten any sense that sometimes it's almost a snowball effect, where guys are maybe thinking too much or are almost afraid to make a mistake? (Brian Wacker) "It's a fair question, because it feels that way. It's like the old [no such thing as] momentum question from way back when. There's something to it. I do think there's something to it, and you have to find a way to put a stop to it and get it moving the other way. Sometimes, you feel like the calls go against you, and it just feels that way. It's a little bit tight of a call, and you get it against you, and they don't get it against them, and it looks the same; you can't go down that road. You can't live there, because it's just the way it is. You just have to fight to play clean football and do the best you can to play clean football, so they just can't call you for something. We try to coach all those types of scenarios, whether it's downfield blocks when it's no different on special teams at blocking the back as it is with offense. You have to find a way to just keep coaching those things, talking to the guys about those things and drilling those things, because the momentum does start to swing if you keep coaching, and you keep teaching, and the guys want to get better, which our guys do. That's all you can do. That's all you have to do. You just have to keep after it and try to do things the right way."
I know you do a lot of studies, especially with injury prevention and trying to decrease the number of injuries, but do you sometimes feel that there are just certain years that you're just kind of snakebitten sometimes? Does it feel that way? (Jamison Hensley) "It feels that way. Yes, it does. It does feel that way sometimes. I think when you get things like a broken foot – those kind of things – they definitely have to do with luck, a lot of times. The soft tissue things, you can usually trace those a little bit. Our [director of high] performance, [Sam Rosengarten], traces those things, and I think he has a pretty good understanding of why we've had a couple of the soft tissue things, so we can kind of monitor that kind of stuff."
Is QB Cooper Rush still the second-string QB? (Cordell Woodland) "I'm going to say yes, but I would also say that we've got two backup quarterbacks. I believe that. And we're going to have to see how we want to [manage] the roster. I've talked to [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] about that, too. So, I think Tyler [Huntley] is in the conversation just like he was in the game. And, to be clear, everybody knew what the plan was as far as the possibility of both guys playing in the game. Since you haven't asked it yet, I might as well [answer] – I saw the quote – but Cooper [Rush] knew that was going to be a possibility, and it was going to be based on the circumstances of the game, which I think anybody can imagine what they might've been. If we are scoring those points, and we don't have the fumbles, and we score at the end of the half, and we're playing a game with the lead, probably nothing changes. We probably play that game [as is]. If we're having trouble running the ball, then we would've been bringing Tyler in to do some of the quarterback-driven stuff, along with the rest of the offense. That was on my mind as a possibility, but we weren't. We were running the ball great. Or, if we get behind, and you have the ability for Tyler to make some things happen in the passing game and with his legs, that's a possibility, too. Those are the scenarios that you can bring Tyler in on, and that was going to be something I was thinking about doing. So, you could have seen Tyler early, especially if the run game was struggling. That was kind of my thinking early [on]. So, you can see why in the game why I did it, when you look at the way the game went. I think it makes sense. I don't think it would've made sense the way the first half was going up until halftime – we were doing well – we just had the penalties that held us back. So, that's how it went, and both quarterbacks were a hundred percent fully aware of that."
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin seemed kind of miffed about the Browns trading QB Joe Flacco to the Bengals, and he said it publicly. Did that resonate with you? Do you have any issue with making an in-division trade at a position like quarterback? (Jeff Zrebiec) "I didn't think about it that much, probably because we don't play the Browns or the Bengals for four or five weeks. So, I can't say that was on my mind. I was surprised. I will say that I was surprised. [I thought], 'Wow, Joe [Flacco] is going to the Bengals.' That would be about as much as I would say I thought about it."
A lot of questions about how other coaches and your players are holding up, but how about you? You haven't been through something like this in about 10 years, and I'm sure you hear some of the fans' frustration and all that. I'm sure you share that frustration. So, how's it been going for you in trying to deal with this with the expectations coming into the season? (Jerry Coleman) "Thanks for asking that. I appreciate it. It's been a test. It's been a test of faith. And your family, obviously it's a test for your family and a test for everybody in the building. And I think what I really try to be intentional about is continuing to respect people and to treat people the right way on our team, in the building and our coaching staff who are giving everything they've got every single day to be the very best they can be. And I think I just want to be really conscientious of the fact that, as a leader, you owe your people that because, as a leader, you're here to serve them and to help them and do everything you can to put people in the best position to be successful with their jobs, to support them and to be honest with them, too. Sure. That's a big part of it, and I think all the guys would tell you that I'm very honest, upfront and direct about whatever it might be and do it in a way that's very respectful and appreciative of the amazing talent that we have. That's the other thing. If I didn't think we had the talent, the ability, the work ethic or the care factor from everybody in the building, then I wouldn't be as optimistic as I am. And what I present to you and to the fans in this [press conference] setting here is the exact way I feel. I'm not trying to stand up here and feed anybody any baloney or say things that aren't true or talk out of both sides of my mouth. I'm trying to be as honest and straightforward as I can about where we're at and what we need to do, and [say] the same things that we're saying to our team, and that's all you can do. But, from a faith standpoint, my trust is in my creator and my God and my Lord and my savior, Jesus Christ, and the fact that I stand on the rock of that faith, and that [faith is] unshakeable. So, with that, I don't think I can be moved. I don't think I can be moved because I have that, and if I have that, and I have my family, then I've got everything I need. But you know what else I have? I have an owner [in Steve Bisciotti] who is an incredible man, an incredible leader and incredible supporter and a great friend who wants to be great and wants to help me do the best job I can do. And I have a general manager [executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta] who feels the same way, and a team president [Sashi Brown] and [executive vice president] Ozzie Newsome. And a coaching staff, people like [senior vice president of communications] Chad [Steele] all through the building that all they want to do is do their best. But then [we have] just a bunch of coaches and a bunch of players, who, that's all they care about, and all they think about, and I can stand on that. And then [we have] a fan base that I appreciate, because I know how much they care and how much they want us to be great – and even when they're frustrated, and even if they say things that are hurtful – it's OK, because that's our job. That's our job. It's also going to be great – it's going to be wonderful – when things are rolling again, and they can enjoy it like they're supposed to, and that's why we're working so hard to get it where it needs to be."
We don't talk to owner Steve Bisciotti frequently. What is his reaction to this start? Do you hear from him regularly? Is the frustration of the 1-5 start evident? (Jeff Zrebiec) "I don't want to speak for [owner] Steve [Bisciotti]. I would just say [that] he's been great. All I can tell you is – just from my perspective – is that he's been great. Yes, I know he wants to win, and he's turning over every rock, too. We talk all the time, and he's turning over every rock, as well. So, I have just great respect for him and great appreciation for him, but I don't want to speak for him on how he feels."
