HEAD COACH JESSE MINTER
Opening Statement: "All right, [it's the] last really physical work going into the game Saturday. We had kind of an almost split mentality with the practice. First half, [we] focused on a lot of the starters, vets, some of the guys that may not play. [We] got them a lot of work, got them some extended drive periods. Second half, we really focused on getting these guys ready to play, letting them run some of the stuff they will run in the game to go into the game with confidence. We will have a few meetings this afternoon, we will have a walkthrough tomorrow and we will tee it up on Saturday."
With CB Nate Wiggins and CB Marlon Humphrey, are there any updates on either one of those guys? (Jamison Hensley) "I would say both [Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey] are trending very well to potentially be back next week. So, both are just dealing with a couple small things. I think [we] got good reports on both of them, and I expect both of those guys back."
With CB Nate Wiggins, is that kind of a huge sigh of relief given how it maybe looked for a second there? (Childs Walker) "Yes, I mean, look, I would say especially in this role — but even just as a position coach or a coordinator, whatever — one of the worst feelings is seeing something like that where a guy goes down, and obviously you do not know what it is right at the moment. Again, [I am] happy that it is hopefully a good report, and I expect Nate [Wiggins] to be back out there fairly soon."
We have seen in past years that rookies often get to play even if they are projected starters in their first year. In terms of having G Vega Ioane out there, would you be comfortable doing that if you did not have the rest of the offensive line with him for those snaps? (Ken McKusick) "Yes, I will be comfortable getting [Vega Ioane] just a little bit of game action and getting his feet wet."
This is your first game as a head coach. How are you feeling, and what are some of the things you are trying to work through going into it? (Giana Han) "I think the biggest feeling is just excited — just to see our team play and see if a lot of the identity and some of the things we have been talking about shows up on tape. That is what we are searching for the most. [I am] excited about the game management and just going through the game with the different roles, different hats that I am trying to wear. So again, it is a great opportunity to actually do it in a game, and I am definitely just excited about the whole thing."
We have seen DL Nnamdi Madubuike progress pretty well over these past couple weeks. What are the things that you need to see, or the organization needs to see, to get from where he is now to maybe getting some reps in 11-on-11? (Sam Cohn) "Yes, again, I think there are just some timeline things there that we are working with, and I think [Nnamdi Madubuike is] another guy that is progressing really well [and is] in a good spot. Over the next week or two, again, I think you will start to see him really mix into the action."
What changed with QB Skylar Thompson having to go on IR? (Cordell Woodland) "Yes, [Skylar Thompson is] just dealing with a little bit more than maybe we thought, and so that was the result of that."
Who is going to have the red flag for the preseason? (Jamison Hensley) "I will have it for the first game." (laughter).
Is everything all right with G John Simpson? We did not see him get a lot of run with the ones. With G/C Corey Bullock, do you guys even have kind of space to get him snaps at center, or are you more envisioning him as a guard for this preseason? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, I think in the games [Corey Bullock] could potentially do both and throw his hat in there in the games. John [Simpson] is working through something small, but I, again, do not expect it to be anything that hinders his availability for the long term."
Given how much time G/T Emery Jones Jr. missed last year as a third-round pick, how much are you looking forward to seeing him get a lot of run in the preseason and kind of see where he fits into that guard mix and game-day rotation? (Luke Jones) "Yes, I think that is a great point. I think, especially, there are some guys that get a big chance as a rookie. It is more common to probably be in Emery [Jones Jr.]'s shoes where you kind of feel it out, get your feet wet, and then [in] that second year, you kind of really find out where you are at. So, he will get a chance to play a lot. I think he has had a great camp. I think he has had a great offseason. He is really versatile, so I think we are still trying to figure out all the different things he can do for us from a depth standpoint [and] from a position standpoint. So, I'm really excited to see Emery [Jones Jr.] play."
What is the message to maybe some lesser-known guys and young, undrafted guys about the opportunity they have in this game? (Josh Tolentino) "Run towards the opportunity. Just run towards your opportunity. Do not be the guys sitting around wondering how many reps you are going to get. When your number is called, run to the opportunity [and] take advantage of it. We have all been around all the different scenarios. There are all the famous stories of guys that waited, [and] it was just maybe in the fourth quarter of a game, and they went in there and made plays, and then it changed the trajectory of their career. So, run towards the opportunity, embrace the opportunity – and then in reality – go out there and play what you have been doing your whole life. It is still the game of football. Go play with what got you here, within the framework of the things that we have been teaching, and let it rip."
We talked to offensive coordinator Declan Doyle about fourth downs a little bit yesterday. Does being a defensive coach inform your approach to fourth downs at all, and has that changed? Do you think that needs to change being a head coach now? (Nikhil Mehta) "I think my thoughts about both sides of the ball will inform those decisions of how the game is going [and] how we are playing. If we are smoking on defense and we can pin them back inside the five, sometimes that can be a real weapon. If we are rolling on offense, and we have Derrick [Henry] rolling downhill, then obviously some of those you can go, [and] some of those you can put the ball in the best quarterback in the world's hand and see what happens. So, there are a lot of scenarios. With a young punter, sometimes, [we'll] see what [Ryan Eckley] can do. So, I think all those things go into that, to your point [of] how we are playing. I do not think it is necessarily like, 'Oh, you are the defensive coach.' It is really specifically [about] how the offense and defense are playing in those exact moments."
QUARTERBACKS COACH ISRAEL WOOLFORK
We are three weeks into Training Camp right now. How do you see QB Lamar Jackson's comfort level in this new offense? (Jamison Hensley) "It is growing every single day. [Lamar Jackson] is preparing the right way, asking questions in meetings, taking criticism when he does have negative plays on film, building on the positive, and really just having the next-day mentality — like how can we stack all these days up and get ready for the season opener."
How have you and QB Lamar Jackson gone about building that relationship? When did you guys first talk in depth? From your side of things, how has that build-up been? (Childs Walker) "It starts back with me and 'Dec' [offensive coordinator Declan Doyle]. I have known 'Dec' for a long time. We actually worked together at the Senior Bowl — I want to say five or six years ago. We were both quality control coaches — he was in New Orleans at the time, I was in Cleveland — and we coached on the same team and kind of built this relationship over the years, and we started to talk. When 'Dec' got this job, he gave me a phone call, and the biggest thing I wanted to do was just talk to Lamar [Jackson] and just introduce myself, tell him who I am as a person, how I approach coaching, and everything that I believe in when it comes to quarterback play. He got on the phone, he was energetic, and then once I got off with him — we talked for about 15 minutes — I knew this was the job for me and that I wanted to take it."
How have you seen QB Lamar Jackson pick up this offense? He has had a lot of success when he has had coordinator changes — why do you think that is? (Ryan Mink) "I think it stresses you. I think [Lamar Jackson] as a competitor, he loves a challenge. So new verbiage, we changed a little bit of his footwork, motions, cadence — all [of those] different type of things were all new to him. You really have to do a really good job studying. I thought this offseason was the best thing he did — outside the building, really taking time to dive into this playbook, ask questions, and just continue to get better and understand what we are trying to accomplish as an offense."
Can you tell us a little bit more about the change in QB Lamar Jackson's footwork and how you have seen him adjust to it? (Ryan Mink) "[Lamar Jackson] was just a right-foot-up quarterback. We switched to left. We take a time and step in our offense — it just helps with the timing of the different progressions and different route styles."
What was it about that phone call with QB Lamar Jackson that made you say you knew this was the job you wanted to take? Why was that phone call so meaningful? (Garrett Downing) "[It's] because you can hear it in [Lamar Jackson's] voice how determined he is to have success this season. Him telling me, 'Hey, I want you to coach me hard. I want you to get after me when I am not playing well. I want to learn from you — give me as much information, I want you to help me become the best quarterback I can possibly be.' When a guy who has won two MVPs has that type of mindset and he is highly motivated, it is a no-brainer for me that I want to go work with that person."
Having watched QB Lamar Jackson from afar for a while, was there anything once you got up close and started working with him this year that maybe surprised you about him or the way he works or plays? (Sam Cohn) "[Lamar Jackson]'s ability to understand space and manipulate it, and his arm angles and how fast the ball comes out of his hand. He has always been a great passer. Obviously, he had that year where he had like 44 touchdowns and four picks — when he won the MVP — but just how well he is in the drop back game. You see it as a runner when he jukes somebody that he sees from the side of his face, but that is also in the passing game, too, where he can see an open hole, hold a defender here and then flip his vision and throw it into an open, voided space like that. [That is] very underrated."
QB Lamar Jackson is obviously a really unique player. Has that changed how you approach coaching because of the player he is? (Giana Han) "100 percent. I feel like [Lamar Jackson] is - I call it the best second-play quarterback in the NFL. The biggest focus that I had coming into this job was, how do I get him better at the first play? I do not want to change who you are when things break down, but within the lines of what we are asking you to do, let us get through one, two, three and the progression — if it is for that — if he feels himself hitch twice, now it is time to go be special and do the things that you do. But, let us make sure we live within the lines of what we are asking him to do from a play-to-play standpoint. But, I do not want to change who he is and what he can do when things break down and his ability to be explosive after the first play breaks down."
Last year QB Lamar Jackson's sack rate was higher than it has ever been, his pressure-to-sack ratio skyrocketed from the previous year. How much of that was maybe him not being 100%, and how much of that stuff is correctable and improvable? (Jonas Shaffer) "I think it is a little bit of both. Obviously, [with] injuries [Lamar Jackson] was not as explosive as he wanted to be. Also, looking at it, we tried to get on the same page with the O-line. We are setting a depth in the pocket where we want him to be, so that allows the tackles to work on their drops and their sets to make sure they know where the launch point is, and that should avoid some things on the edges and up-and-unders because they know where 'L' is going to be in the pocket no matter what. I think also just knowing the offense — and when things do get dirty, where do I have my check-downs? Or, where can I work to get the ball out of my hand to avoid negative plays like that."
QB Lamar Jackson has always been known for having eyes in the back of his head. In the open field, nobody reads leverage better than him. Has that at all diminished with the amount of time he has been in the league? (Ken McKusick) "I do not think so. I thought if you watched practice today, [Lamar Jackson] had one of those runs. He is aging like fine wine, I would say. I think he is getting better. I think he is highly motivated this year. I think the people around him — I think what 'Dec' [offensive coordinator Declan Doyle] is doing with him in the offense and how we are being multiple — is going to help him be even more explosive."
You obviously latched on to offensive coordinator Declan Doyle very quickly. What about him makes you think that he is going to have success as a first-time coordinator? (Giana Han) "I think Declan [Doyle] does not have the ego. I think Declan is a football junkie. I think his ability to go in and have a critical eye on who we are as an offense and where we need to be [is important]. He is laying a great foundation of an identity of our offense, of how we should play. Our biggest goal is for teams around the NFL to look at our tape and say, 'Hey, that is the Ravens. They play fast; they are physical; they do a lot of stuff; they are multiple; they are good pre- and post-snap operationally, and they really get after you.' That calling card of who we want to be as an offense is super important, and 'Dec' is doing a really good job of hammering that. Even in practice 14 that we had today — [it] does not matter if it is a walkthrough, does not matter if it is practice or a meeting room — we are going to attack everything and be very disciplined in how we approach it. We will be very detailed, and we are going to make sure we put ourselves in the best position to have success."
QB TYLER HUNTLEY
For Saturday's preseason game, for you personally, what are you hoping to get out of this game for yourself? (Jamison Hensley) "Just get warmed up and use these game reps to get us ready for the season. We have a lot of guys playing, and to get some good work against another team — it is going to be good."
How valuable has this year been, where you signed early, you know you are going to be here, compared to the last couple of summers where you were changing teams and trying to get settled in? (Luke Jones) "Just being able to be settled, and being able to learn the playbook from Day 1 rather than it being two months out, and then I am learning a new playbook. So, it is pretty good to be here and just get to work."
Does that mean you were able to maybe talk with QB Lamar Jackson some over the summer about what you guys wanted to get out of this year? (Giana Han) "Definitely. We were down in Florida a couple [of] times, and we were just talking about what we need to get done to make this year go. I feel like once we came back, everybody had a good beat on how we wanted to go about this season and what we need to do to get forward."
What difference does the comfortability make — when you think of the first time you started a preseason game here to now where you are a vet? (Pete Gilbert) "It is just like a regular game, regardless of what type of game it is. I just treat them all the same, [and] prepare and get ready to go win a game."
For this wide set of pass catchers this year, what has been your impression of those guys? (Sam Cohn) "They are good — good receivers, good tight ends, and we have some good running backs. [I feel like] they are going to show what they have to offer this weekend, and I hope they do great."
What has it been like learning a new offense, and what is your impression? (Brian Wacker) "It is something unique — [there are so many] unique ways we get into our plays. It is a great playbook, and I just cannot wait until we just keep digging away at it."
