FRIDAY MEDIA AVAILABILITY: WEEK 15 vs. TAMPA BAY
Head Coach John Harbaugh
I know you talked about S Tony Jefferson, needing to see him on the practice field and how he did. How do you think he has fared the last couple of days? (Luke Jones) "I thought he did well. If I was making the decision, he would be playing on Sunday. So, we'll see what the trainers say, but I thought he did well."
Is CB Marlon Humphrey the same situation as last week? You just wanted to give him a few days? (Aaron Kasinitz) "Yes, he's just trying to get this strong and make sure it's right. He was out there today. We'll have to watch the tape and talk to Ron [Medlin, head certified athletic trainer] and just kind of see how – and Marlon, of course – and see how he looked and how he felt."
I know you talked about it earlier in the week. It's a big time to get the fans out here and behind you guys. It's a big game. (Jim Forner) "Yes, I would expect our fans to be out there fired up. We have the best fans. We've seen our fans in a lot of places – in Atlanta and Kansas City – and they've traveled, and they've been great. So, I expect them certainly to be at M&T Bank [Stadium] fired up and ready to go and excited about our team. Our team is the kind of team that our fans would be excited about and would be proud of and would want to support. It's just a big game. It's a really important game for us, and I know our players, it would mean a lot to them. Yes, I expect our fans to be into it, be crazy."
What is TE Hayden Hurst's way of making an impact given the depth of the tight end group? (Jonas Shaffer) "Just keep playing. There are only so many reps. We have four guys in there playing, and they're all playing very well. Hayden is playing well, too, and will get a couple balls thrown his way and make a couple plays, and he's done it in practice. He's blocked well when he's been in there and done that. No complaints at all, just opportunities sometimes. Preparation meets opportunity – is that the formula for success? I think we've heard that before. It's been on a couple bumper stickers here and there. So, we'll go with that."
You've mentioned that RB Kenneth Dixon has earned a bigger role. What do you think is the benefit of rotating him with the other running backs as opposed to sticking with a single player? _(Aaron Kasinitz) _"As much as we run the ball, I think it's pretty clear that you want to have multiple backs. Of course, Ty [Montgomery] has played a lot, and you have 'Buck' [Javorius Allen]. We're running the ball a lot, so it's not going to be able to be one guy. One guy can't carry the ball 40-plus times. This is the offense that we're in, and we like this offense that we're in. We're kind of … 'Kind of' – that's an understatement. We're very excited about it. We need running backs doing it, we need them to be fresh, and they need to be rolling. It's going to always be that [way] with this offense."
I think people perceive both RB Gus Edwards and RB Kenneth Dixon as power runners. Do you still see some significant stylistic differences between the way they do it?_ (Childs Walker)_"Yes, I think you can watch them. You've seen them, too. They're downhill guys, for sure, and they run hard. They've got their own take on it though."
