HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: Great to see everybody here. We appreciate you being here. [Today is a] beautiful day. [We had a very good practice, and we're excited to go see where we're at [and] play the football game. [We're going to] put our best foot forward to the best of our ability. We've worked hard for this opportunity. You earn the right to be in games like this and play in games like this. Our guys are ready, so let's go see what happens. What questions do you have?"
As far as injuries go, we haven't seen – we saw TE Isaiah Likely out there working on the side field and FB Patrick Ricard was not out there. It looks like it's swinging towards them not playing. (Jamison Hensley) "Like I said, I'm just going to kind of leave that alone for now. You might get me to tell you something next Friday or the Friday after, or you might not. So, we'll see how it plays out. I'm just going to leave all those alone right now going into the [season] opener."
You alluded to this, but how much excitement is there to get to the first game? You guys have been putting in work in OTAs, going back to May, and now you have something to kind of gauge that off of. Obviously, you evaluate in practice, but it is a little bit different when you're going up against another team. (Luke Jones) "Right. It's what you do it for, all that work. There's a lot of work that goes in, you would say, for the first game. But it's really not just for the first game, it's for the whole season because you build your football team through all of that. You build the foundation of your team that's going to carry you forward for the whole season. Once you get through the first game – as soon as you're in the locker room after the first game you realize, 'Oh, we have the Browns [next week]. The Browns are up next, and it's going to come fast.' So, this one's hard to get to. It takes forever to get to. And then you're finally out there, and you just want the guys to take a deep breath and play ball. And then you realize the next one is going to come fast. That's kind of how it works. So, it's well earned, and we're ready. We know that it's the beginning of a long season."
When the referees were out here during the summer and we met with them, they talked about the crackdown on unsportsmanlike conduct and them trying to get that out. I don't know if you saw parts of the Eagles-Cowboys game last night, but how much do you show players clips of that as a reminder to say "Look, they're looking for this stuff this year?" (Jeff Zrebiec) "Well, we have a segment of our week where we show everything. We show all kinds of plays, situational plays, penalty plays, all kinds of plays that come up that are important to just learn from. It's a learning opportunity. So, we'll show a lot of plays like that."
Yesterday offensive coordinator Todd Monken said he wants to see clean football from the offense. How much does that line up to the standard you want to see from all three phases? (Carita Parks) "Absolutely. That's definitely true for all three phases. We want our team to play winning football. Winning football is definitely synonymous with what [offensive coordinator] Todd [Monken] is talking about with clean football. We want to operate. We want to get our plays in. We want to communicate our plays to one another on all three phases. We want to get our subs on and off the field cleanly. We want to be clean with our snaps and all the different things we do; our assignments and our alignments. We want to play clean technique as much as we can. And with that, we want to play really hard. We want to set standards for how hard we play. We want to bring a physicality to the way we play, because those are all things that are fundamental to winning football. So, I would say yes, it applies to all three phases."
We heard the defensive guys talk a lot this summer, just about wanting to force more turnovers. We got a glimpse of that throughout camp this summer. Are you pleased with the steps that you feel like they have taken to achieve that goal? And how confident are you that it will carry over into the season? (Cordell Woodland) "You believe it will. We've come up with a lot of those plays in practice and also in the preseason games. I think that the intentionality has been very good. We were one of the leading turnover teams two years ago, and historically, we've always been a pretty high-takeaway team, generally. But last year was not good. We still overcame it and won a bunch of games. But we need to be a top – and I would say our goal every year, and this has been true for all these years – our goal is always to be the top takeaway team. That's our goal, and that'll be our goal again this year. And if we achieve that goal, we're going to be playing some really great defense."
I know the run game has been something you've been very successful with over the years, especially last season. Early in the season, is it something that, maybe even more, you can take advantage of because of the change in game speed? (Jerry Coleman) "You might be able to. It's definitely a thought. And there are a lot of things that go with the early-season football; tackling, special teams and things like punt protection. All those things come up early in the season. A lot of times that can be, not quite ready, and you have to be careful of your own team with that. You have to make sure that you're looking for those opportunities as well on both sides [of the ball]."
Obviously, you guys didn't meet your own standard, a very high standard, on special teams last year. Beyond just the kind of personnel changes, do you think it's just kind of small tweaks or is it a big change to get you guys back to where you are usually, at the top of the league? (Jonas Shaffer) "I think it's a continuation of the idea that we're going to attempt to play the game harder and more physically, with better technique and a better understanding of the nature of special teams. Special teams is a little different than offense and defense. It's more of a free-flowing type of play. It's a little more like basketball or hockey. You have to understand the flow of the play, the timing [and] the angles. We've been really working hard on all those things. So, our young guys – we're young [on special teams] ... And last year, we weren't there, as far as that standard you're talking about, and this year, I expect us to be further along."
This is your 18th season as a head coach. When you talk to the team leading up to the season-opening game, how do you keep the message different and new? Or do you go back and go, "Well, let me see what I said last year?" (Jamison Hensley) "Oh no, it's always a new message. It's always new, and it's always different. That's easy for me. The idea, basically, is that you meet people where they're at, you meet your team where it's at, and you meet circumstances where they're at. Things come up that are things that we reference or whatever. [These are] conversations, [so] it's never the same. It never gets old. It never gets old. This is the greatest thing. This is the greatest, most fun thing ever. Here we are – we're in sports. All of us in this circle right here get to do this for a living, right? I know how grateful you guys are as well, that we get to do this for a living. We're talking about things that people really enjoy following. And when we get out there on that field, yes, it's going to be tough, and it's going to be intense. I'm sure we're going to feel victimized and wronged by some call at some point in time and all that, but at the end of the day, it's the greatest thing in the world to get to be a part of sports or be a part of the National Football League. [To] be in a game, to be the Ravens versus the Bills on Sunday Night Football to open the season; I just couldn't be more grateful or excited. No, it never ever gets old."
So, what actually is the message, and is it any different when you play a team that ended your season last year? (Brian Wacker) "There's a message. There's a really good message, and one day it'll be in the history books. You'll get a chance to listen to it. I don't think it's going to be anything – there's no message that you wouldn't expect. The idea that we're going to go out there, and we're going to play our best football our way, and you try to do that in a way that you can dictate the game the way you want it to go. And that's the same thing [the Buffalo Bills] are going to be trying to do. We'll talk about all those things that go with that, and we should be a confident team. I expect us to play really well."
You've played on Sunday Night Football many times before, but the opening weekend where you have to sit through last night's game, tonight – of course your brother is playing – and then all the games on Sunday. How are you going to occupy your time on Sunday? (Jerry Coleman) "Well, I didn't watch that much of yesterday's game, but I'll probably watch all of this game, and I will be rooting for the Chargers, in case anybody was wondering. Sorry, Andy [Reid], blood is thicker than water." (Laughter) "And Sunday, I couldn't even tell you. Sunday is a hard day. It's tough. It's not easy to play a night game, because everybody is ready to go. So you have to set your clock. I tell the guys all the time, 'Set your clock.' [You have to] make sure you're peaking emotionally and spiritually at the right time."
Do you have any themes this year? I think it was "1-0" last year, with the T-Shirts. (Carita Parks) "We have a couple themes. We have a few themes, some that we could repeat, some we couldn't. One of the themes is, 'Gradually then suddenly.' That's something that is worth talking about at some point in time. Then, 'Raise the floor' is something that we've talked a lot about, and [owner] Steve [Bisciotti] kind brought that to us recently, which I thought was fantastic. But themes, to me, it's more about relationships and day to day just growing together. I'd say that, and the intentionality about what we're doing. You've probably heard that so many times from me. That's probably the main thing."
CB JAIRE ALEXANDER
On what his excitement level is for his first NFL game as a Raven: "[I am] very excited. My face may not show it, but that is the truth. I'm excited to go out here and play with these guys."
On how he feels physically after practice this week: "It feels good. It's always a blessing to be on the field, and that's my happy place. It was good getting back acclimated with the guys."
On if it is challenging to get acclimated with the guys when returning to practice after some time away: "No, it was pretty smooth. It was like riding a bike. It takes some time and then once you get going, you get the flow of it."
On how comfortable he feels with the secondary room and knowledge of the defense: "It's early in this season, so we're still working through things. But ultimately, we've hung out outside of here, so that builds more chemistry and closeness."
On if he is nervous for the Buffalo Bills game having not played a game since last November: "No. No nerves, just excitement and extreme gratitude."
On if he has any doubts about being on the field on Sunday: "I don't have a doubt."
On if he has sensed the motivation and excitement to get a win in Buffalo: "Oh, yes. I feel it. The urgency is there. I didn't play in the game last year, but I feel like I did play in the game after seeing so much film of it. The urgency is there."
On if it was tough having to miss practices at the end of Training Camp: "[It wasn't] really tough, but I would have loved to have been out there, honestly. So, it's not tough because life always throws your curve balls, so it's about how you respond to it."
On what the mindset of the secondary is going into the Buffalo Bills game: "Well, the mindset would be for every game that we should be the best secondary in the league and to set the tone [and] set the tone early."
On if his signature celebration is a seatbelt or a sword: "It's a sword. Definitely a sword."
On if he can speak to the origin of his sword celebration: "The origin? Not right now. I will at some point."
