HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "Alright, it's good to see everybody. I appreciate you guys being here. [We had a] good practice – a great day. [We are] excited [for the] challenge – big challenge – [this week]. The Vikings are playing really good football and are a very talented team. [They are] very well-coached, so we're looking forward to the opportunity. What questions do you have?"
Well, there was only one person who was not out there today; we didn't see T Ronnie Stanley. Is he alright? Was that an excused absence? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes. We call it an NIR – [non-injury] rest day. [It was a] rest day for Ronnie [Stanley]. He won't have an injury designation."
How does it feel though, to have essentially all of your players practicing? Or does it make it difficult when you do inactives when you have so many healthy players? (Jamison Hensley) "It's a good ... I'm excited about the game. We have guys ready to play. It's a big game for us; they all are. This is a big challenge, and I feel like we're prepared, and we're ready to go."
Obviously, it helps, having a healthy roster, but does it change anything? Do you feel more emboldened or more aggressive when you've got all the guys out there? (Brian Wacker) "I probably don't think of it like that so much. We try to be bold anyway. I think we're just going to try to go out there and execute. The biggest challenge for us – the thing that's probably on our mind more than anything – is the environment that [the Minnesota Vikings] create with their schemes in both sides of the ball, all three phases. Their physicality, and then the environment that you have to deal with, with the crowd, the noise and all that. So, those are things that we just have to be ready for and execute within."
Did you get the chance to meet with Dallas Cowboys DE Marshawn Kneeland at all during the pre-draft process? (Jonas Shaffer) "We did. We did. We had [Marshawn Kneeland] for an interview at the Combine. Our scouts had spent a lot of time with him. He was a guy we really, really liked a lot [and that] we thought highly of. I will say, thank you [for asking that question]. My condolences to the Kneeland family, to his girlfriend and to everybody involved. [It is] just a tragic, tragic circumstance. And really, just for people ... We talked to our guys about it, just in the world, there are just a lot of challenges that people face. We encouraged our guys yesterday just to keep an eye on one another, look out for one another, ask questions, see how people are doing, take care of yourself and try to be connected. All the craziness with social media, it's really – it's not social media, it's unsocial media more than anything because it becomes something that – as opposed to connecting people – ends up dividing people and separating people out and maybe people are more lonely than ever as a result, unfortunately. If we can, try to do the best we can to connect with people, say hello, just try to make sure everybody's doing OK. And that's what we encourage our team to do. Thank you [for asking that]."
Is prioritizing mental health something you guys have worked on with guys periodically just over time and years to kind of talk about those things? (Brian Wacker) "We try to be open about that stuff and try to encourage everybody to stay connected, and also to reach out, because everybody is feeling the same way you're feeling in a lot of ways. And obviously, there are deeper things with mental health that go on. I have to give [owner] Steve [Bisciotti] a lot of credit, he's had a full-time psychologist and psychiatrist on staff here before I got here. For years and years and years, that's been important here. [It] just [serves] as a reminder of how important it is, for everybody; players, coaches, people in the building, anybody that works here has the ability to be a part of that, and it's a good thing."
TE Mark Andrews is 18 yards away from being the all-time leader in receiving yards. Do you remember, back in 2018, the third-round tight end coming in here. Do you remember your initial impressions of Mark back then? (Jamison Hensley) "Well, I remember [Mark Andrews] was my No. 1 rated tight end. I remember Mark was my No. 1-rated tight end."
Will anybody corroborate that? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes, [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] will. Eric will. Eric will also corroborate that I'll remind him of that whenever I'm right, which is most of the time, actually." (laughter)
Was fellow 2018 draft pick TE Hayden Hurst No. 2 then? (Jonas Shaffer) "Hayden [Hurst] was [No.] 2 or [No.] 3. Yes, he was [No.] 2 or [No.] 3." (laughter) "I love Hayden. I love Hayden, too, but Mark [Andrews] was my No. 1 guy."
Why was TE Mark Andrews your No. 1? (Jamison Hensley) "Because the guy caught the ball. [Mark Andrews] got open and caught the ball. And everybody would say about Mark on the tape, they'd say, 'Well, it's the [Oklahoma] offense. He's always wide open. It's just easy for him.' It's like, he's wide open for a reason, guys. It's not just – they're not just leaving him open; he's getting open. So, you know what, it proved to be right."
TE Mark Andrews will probably be the all-time leader in franchise history now, in receiving. (Jamison Hensley) "We'll [hopefully] get it done this game, among other things."
With the crowd noise, I did have a question about it. You guys have been pumping noise all week in practice. How do you figure that Minnesota is any louder than when you played in Kansas City or Buffalo, because it's a dome? (Jerry Coleman) "That's a good question, and not surprisingly at all, that's a really good question. I don't know. Kansas City is pretty loud, and where else is really loud?" Reporter: Seattle. "Seattle? We haven't been there [recently] – we're not there that much. Buffalo is really loud. Pittsburgh is really loud when the Ravens are there. But, I think the indoor places do have probably an advantage. The noise isn't going anywhere, and it just kind of reverberates off that glass and everything else. Minnesota has the big horn. Our guys are about 'horned-out' right now, so that's good. And we've got them nice and antsy, and nice and ticked off, once the horn starts blowing. That's part of the strategy."
Do you feel like OLB Dre'Mont Jones is getting up to speed this week in the way that you thought he would, and ready where you want him to be for Sunday? (Sam Cohn) "Absolutely. I think Dre'Mont [Jones] is ready to go. [He's had] no problem at all with the scheme. He is, obviously, in great football shape. He's ready to go."
And what about OLB Carl Lawson? (Sam Cohn) "I would say Carl Lawson is ready to go, too. He's up to speed on – it was a different defense, so he had to learn a lot of new stuff; in terms of the terminology. But, Carl is ready to go as well."
What problems does Minnesota Vikings OLB Andrew Van Ginkel present? (Brian Wacker) "[Andrew Van Ginkel] is one of those guys that just makes everybody around him better. And you hear what they say about him, he's always been that way, all the way back to [his time in] Miami. He's just one of those guys that plays good football and makes good choices. [He is] kind of like Kyle Van Noy. Kyle makes a lot of flashy plays, too, but these guys make plays, they're always in the right spot, and the guys around them play better when they're out there. So, it's kind of the mark of a special player."
With Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson, obviously, everyone's trying to stop him, and put their attention on him. Why is he consistently an impact player when he gets open? (Jamison Hensley) "Justin Jefferson is just a super talented, super talented guy. Obviously, he works hard. You can tell he's a great route runner. He's just got all of the skills. But what I think is really unique about them is it's once you start adjusting the coverage his way too much, they have other guys. They have plenty of guys that they can go to that are top-notch receivers and running backs. So, you can't overdo that. I think you just got to trust your defense to play the defense the way it's supposed to be played."
I would say, it was a while ago, a different game in Week 3, different team [of] Detroit; they were pretty successful avoiding a spy. What can you do to avoid that? What did you guys kind of learn from that? (Brian Wacker) "Well, we'll probably expect it. I think with Lamar [Jackson], it's something that you definitely expect. You can do it with a four-man rush [with] three rushers and a spy or do a five-man rush with four rushers and a spy. We've seen it both ways. I expect to probably get it both ways in this game. One thing you can do is you can protect, and you can get the ball out on time, and you can win by throwing. That's probably where Lamar's going to be thinking; he's going to take care of it that way. And then from there, let the play unfold. The extended part of the play – if it goes that way – Lamar's got a way of making things happen that way, and that's one less guy in coverage, too. So, it's one less guy rushing; it's one less guy in coverage. They play it on a second level, so there are some advantages to it. It takes away from the rush maybe; it takes away from the coverage maybe, and hopefully you can take advantage of that."
