HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening statement: "OK, it's good seeing everybody. I appreciate everybody being here. What questions do you have?"
We saw QB Lamar Jackson out there. Is he all set to go for Sunday? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes."
You were optimistic about CB Nate Wiggins earlier in the week we saw him practice. How did he do and is he ready to go Sunday? (Luke Jones) "[Nate Wiggins] did. He did well. He is ready to go, yes."
What were your impressions of new Orioles Manager Craig Albernaz who visited practice today? (*Luke Jones)* "[Craig Albernaz] is a great guy. Great guy. I love the accent. He and [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] – Eric kind of fell back into his Taunton, Mass. speaking dialect right there. It's great having Craig here. We love the O's, and we're excited about the future for the O's. I had a chance to spend some time up in Eric's office beforehand. I had some questions. I had some baseball questions. It's just neat. It's a great sport and to see where it's come, right? We were talking about how far it's come and how it's changed from the old days. Of course, I asked the million dollar question – guys used to bat for average. What's changed? And then my theory was so much of it's the pitching is so amazing, and 'Coach' [Craig Albernaz] told me that's true. So, I felt good about that, but hearing the depth of how deep they go into studying hitters and pitchers and the science of it all nowadays is pretty incredible. So, congrats to Craig, and you can have a press conference right after this right here probably. These guys [points to the media] will get you squared away. You don't have enough of those in baseball." [Craig Albernaz: 'I'll take them outside for it.'] "There you go! That's a good idea, because they're not going to go. Are guys going to go outside? No?"
It's been quite the sports week. You had Jayson Tatum here yesterday and baseball today? Is your mind still on football? (Jerry Coleman) "Of course. Of course. Jayson Tatum was great to meet. He was amazing. He's a nice guy. He's a big Ravens fan. A couple of our guys challenged him to a one on one. It didn't happen. It didn't happen, don't worry."
Did they take Jayson Tatum to the basketball court? (Jerry Coleman) "No, it didn't happen. But yes, it was fun."
We haven't gotten a chance to talk to you since TE Mark Andrews' new deal. How happy were you to see that and he's just a guy like that. What kind of message do you think it sends for the rest of the organization when you reward a guy who's done things the right way? (Jeff Zrebiec) "Well, yes, I think that's been 'The Raven Way.' That's how [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] has operated. That's how [executive vice president] Ozzie [Newsome] operated. [Owner] Steve [Bisciotti] is a believer in that, and that's the way it should be, and there's other guys. We're trying to get other guys done, too, for sure. But Mark [Andrews] is everything you want in a football player as a coach. He shows up every day. He gives you everything he's got – I don't care what it is – if it's weightlifting, it's meetings, it's the biggest stage, whatever it might be, he's there, and he's ready to go. He's having a great season, and I am just looking forward to Sunday with all the guys."
Of course, we didn't see QB Lamar Jackson out at practice during our viewing portion, but did he practice fine? Did he look fine? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes, he was 100 percent. He looked good. He was 100 percent participation – full participation. I believe that's how they designate it nowadays. And he was a full participant. Yes."
QB LAMAR JACKSON
On how he's feeling after missing practice yesterday: "[I'm] feeling good. I feel like we had a productive day. [It was a] fast Friday."
On how he is feeling health-wise: "I feel pretty good. I feel pretty good."
On if it's more frustrating to get injured in a practice: "Probably at the moment, but then you have to put that aside and just lock in for when you're out there."
On not getting a touchdown pass over a three-game stretch: "I'm not ecstatic about that at all. I'm mad, but I'm happy we got the wins when we did. But this past Thursday – Thanksgiving night – I wasn't happy at all. We had turnovers, missed assignments, and we weren't us, so I'm not happy about that at all. If I'm not scoring a touchdown, but we're winning, who can be mad at a win. I'm [only] mad at the losses."
On how he approaches staying focused during a stretch of games where he hasn't been played like he normally does: "I just stay the course. I don't change up anything. I still just be [myself] at the end of the day, and just do what I'm supposed to do, do my job."
On if he got stepped on in practice: "Yes, I did. On Wednesday, I did."
On if he wants to share who stepped on him: "No, that's [supposed to stay] on our side. Why would I want to tell? That's crazy." (laughter)
On if he feels like the days he hasn't practiced over the last few weeks have been necessary because of injuries: "I wouldn't even say injuries. [It's] just a rest day. [I just] look at it as a little extra rest day, if anything, and that's it."
On what he's learned from playing the Steelers throughout his career: "It's a turnover battle game. The team who has the ball the most and puts the most points on the board, that's going to be the outcome of who wins the game, basically. That's all [there is] to it, but it's a huge rivalry. It's like a playoff game, and right now, for the situation we're in, it's definitely a playoff game for us. If we weren't in this situation, it would still be [like] a playoff game just because of the rivalry."
On how excited he was about TE Mark Andrews' contract extension: "I found out when I came back in the building the next day, because I didn't know. I just heard [Mark Andrews] talking about it. I was like, 'What? That's crazy.' I'm definitely ecstatic. That's my guy, for sure."
On if outside comments bother him or if he uses it as motivation: "No, there's always going to be noise. I feel like most of us NFL players are built off noise – a little adversity, a little rivalry, the little tactics they try to do – but I don't worry about it. I play football."
On if outside negativity fires him up: "Absolutely, absolutely. I get a kick out of it."
On if the comments fired him up more because it was from someone in Pittsburgh: "I didn't even know it was a Pittsburgh fan. You guys are just telling me that, so I understand now. I understand now." (laughter)
On why he felt the need to respond to the negative comment: "Just because I had just gotten onto the app, and I [saw that], so I was like, 'Just say less.' That's all." (laughter)
On the team currently being 6-6: "We just have to focus on Pittsburgh right now. Like you said, we're both 6-6. [They have a] great defense as always. Every time we play them, it's a great defense, and the offense – I can say – [is led] by Aaron Rogers, [who is] a future Hall of Famer, so we just have to lock in and do what we're supposed to do."
On what he needs to do in order to turn the ball over less: "It's unfortunate, a tipped-ball interception [and] a guy making a great play against one of our guys. The guy is just doing his job, he's trying to block, but a guy made a great pass rush. [I was] trying to get the ball out, trying to pitch [the ball] to Rasheen [Ali] if I could, but [he] hit my arm. [I was] trying to throw the ball – pull it back – [and I] fumbled. I didn't think that was a fumble, but it's a fumble, I guess. Things like that, we can't let that happen, especially in a divisional game. [In] any game – not just a divisional game – but any game. A lot of NFL games are won through turnover battles, and [the Bengals] had a lot of possessions. We were getting off the field, so that helped them out a lot. They put points on the board; we didn't. [We] had a touchdown called back. If stuff like that happens in those games, it's hard to win those games."
On how big this Steelers game is for the team: "Every game is big. It doesn't matter who we're playing. The Cincinnati game was big to me, but it's different, because it's the Steelers. It's a rivalry game, so I know our crowd's going to be popping out of their skin – 'Flock Nation' always [does]. It's like they're playing football, too, but you just have to lock in for these games."
On how he balances not turning the ball over with not be overly cautious: "When you're running the ball and the ball is in your possession, when guys are running around you, you try to put two hands on the ball with the 'Raven Claw.' You have to play free at the same time. You can't be thinking about, 'Oh, I can't fumble.' I feel like that'll mess with you, so just play football."
On if he finished practice or got fewer reps on Wednesday: "It's supposed to be a rest day anyways on Wednesday, so I just wanted to chill out, let my feet just rest, because I got stepped on."
