HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "OK, [it's] good to see everybody. I appreciate you being here. It cooled off today, [didn't it]? It's the first cool day of camp, I think. Does that have something to do with the hurricane? [I was] really happy with the practice. [I] thought the guys were ready to roll; and locked in. We had an excellent practice. [It was] very sharp, just what we needed today. So, we're on our way. [We will] try to have the best week we can have. [We'll] go down there to Washington on a Saturday and play. It will be mostly the young guys playing in that game, and then we'll be onto the [Buffalo] Bills [for Week 1]. What questions do you have?"
Is this a week where you start to split focus a little bit, with the young guys competing and the veterans starting to think about the Buffalo Bills? (Gerry Sandusky) "Yes, exactly. It'll be kind of focused on both of those two things. We do want to go down there and play. Guys are fighting for jobs and for opportunities. And also, guys who we know are going to make the team, will be playing in that game, too, to get themselves ready for what's next and to gain experience. But then also, we'll be practicing for the start of the regular season, too."
There will be no joint practice with the Washington Commanders on Thursday. Can you tell us what kind of went into that a little bit and does that change the schedule at all, or how does it change for you guys? (Jamison Hensley) "Well, it changes the schedule in the sense that we won't schedule around a joint practice. It just didn't work out, timing wise. They're playing Monday night – they're playing tonight – so, it wasn't going to be possible to have the kind of practice that we really need this week, [and] for them, they're just on a short week. So, to go all the way down there for what it would've had to have been just didn't make sense. We both tried; we both wanted to do it. I know 'D.Q.' [Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn] wanted to do it, I wanted to do it, but it has to work. It has to be the best thing for your team. And it just wouldn't have been the type of practice that would've been worth going down there for. So, I would've loved to have practiced against them, because they are so good, and they do such a good job, but the timing wasn't right."
I don't know if you've seen the news, but the Cleveland Browns named QB Joe Flacco their Week 1 quarterback. What are your thoughts or excitement or reaction to him probably coming to Baltimore for Week 2? (Sam Cohn) "Yes, it just focuses on that aspect of it. We know we play [the Browns] in Week 2, and we'll be preparing for them now. Just [because] you prepare for your first, really, four opponents, in terms of preparation for those games. Knowing that he'll be the starter is good. I am sure that, I think we had that idea already, probably. You could tell. [I have] a lot of respect for Joe [Flacco]. Obviously, his homecoming back here will be a big story. We'll try to just focus on playing the best game we can, but we know Joe can sling it. We know what he is capable of doing. We also know what kind of team they are and how tough they are to play against. So, it won't be the focus right away, directly, but it'll be in the back of our minds."
Turnovers are generally contagious. When you start seeing them come, even in the preseason, does that feel like that's momentum you want to build for the season? (Pete Gilbert) "It definitely is momentum we want to build for the season, in terms of gaining turnovers. All the things that are impactful to winning are the things we want to gain momentum on, and there are a lot of those. I thought the guys did a really good job of that in that last game down there in Dallas. We did a lot of the things that winning football teams do in games, so I was happy to see it, and I want to keep building on all those things."
We haven't seen CB Jaire Alexander in a while. Is everything OK with him, and really some of the other guys, I guess, in the DBs room? (Cordell Woodland) "The DBs room, right now, is dealing with nothing serious in terms of season issues or even for the opener. [Jaire Alexander] had something, just to kind of take care of that knee. And then you do some things to kind of help it, from a health standpoint. It's something he's been dealing with for a few years now, so it's not anything we didn't expect, probably, that might've been something to help, but you have to take a couple of days after you do that before you can practice. And same thing with 'D-Hop' [DeAndre Hopkins]. He's an older guy working, [and they're] on his knee a little bit. So, [it's just] things like that."
Each week's going to be a new experience for K Tyler Loop. How did you feel about the latest test in front of him and how he stood up? (Gerry Sandusky) "I thought [Tyler Loop] passed it with flying colors, and even that [could] be better. He could have made that kick, the one that went left just over the upright, and then the kickoff came up a little short on the one [kickoff]. We're really working hard on the kickoffs. You saw [the Dallas Cowboys] doing it, too, trying to find ways to make it tough for the return team to field the ball. We're working on that stuff right now, too, and that'll probably be an ongoing experiment early in the season. I think you'll see some strange kicks, probably, to try to make some things happen."
When did you come to the decision that K Tyler Loop was going to be your kicker? Was it before the game, or was it kind of afterwards to just confirm it? (Brian Wacker) "[It was] pretty much when I stood up there, and you were sitting there and asked the question, I pretty much – that's when I decided." (laughter) "It seemed like the right thing to do. I think it makes sense. He's earned it, like we said, and he's ready. I have tremendous confidence in him, just like all the guys. He's going to go out there and play great."
You just talked about the defensive backs. There's been a lot of chat about S Reuben Lowery III. Not as much about CB Keyon Martin. We saw him the other night. I know you were asked about him in Dallas, but what has stood out to you over the course of the last few months? (Bo Smolka) "[With] Keyon [Martin], the first thing is, I think, is his personality. It's, again, his infectious personality. [He is] always smiling. He's always energetic. He's always ready to roll. One of the very first days, because he was kind of a tryout guy, he's fighting for his life from the first day. He's had to fight for his life, like a lot of guys do, every day. And I saw him early in the morning, one morning, and he kind of had this look on his face like he was tired and kind of grumpy. I was like, 'Why are you grumpy? You're in a National Football League. Three days ago, where were you? [And now] here you are. You should be walking around here with a smile on your face and a bounce in your step, buddy.' And he started laughing, and that's how he's been. He was that way ... I think it was probably just early, I don't know, maybe he hadn't had breakfast yet. But he's brought that kind of personality to the field. He really has – he's into it, and he's played well. He is making a run at this thing."
We're talking to senior special teams coach Randy Brown after you. You've entrusted your kicking operation to him for a very long time now. If you have to sort of boil down why he's your guy, what is it about him? (Childs Walker) "If I was going to boil it down, I would say there are a lot of things. [Randy Brown] does a great job teaching those guys; he's a very good teacher. He's been doing it for so long. He was a kicker himself. He was in camp with the Packers about 40 years ago." (Laughter) "I would say [what] it boils down to for me is [that] he knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He's a pro, and he knows what he's looking for. He knows how to teach it. The fundamentals that he teaches – he taught me the fundamentals of kicking, way back in Philly in the early 2000s. I learned from him about the kicking technique. So, I think it's very sound and he's been proven. He's brought the best out in kickers here. All the kickers that have come through the system here – even when they didn't become the kicker here, they became the kicker somewhere else. It kind of shows you how good he is at what he does."
Is there any update whatsoever on T Emery Jones Jr.'s situation? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, [it's] disappointing. [Emery Jones Jr.]'s not going to make it to the start of the regular season. I would say the surgeon – the best I can tell you – is he wants to be sure that it's fully right, and that's the way it should be. We respect that. And so, it's going to take a little longer. So, we won't be counting on him early on in the season."
Is OLB Adisa Isaac an injured reserve list candidate with his elbow injury? (Luke Jones) "Yes, there was some ligament damage in there with [Adisa Isaac's] dislocated elbow. If it had been a dislocated elbow, clean, it would've been about three weeks. But since it's not, it's going to have to undergo surgery. It's not a season-ender, though. Maybe midway in the season, sometime, he'll have a chance to come back."
CB Jalyn Armour-Davis only played a few snaps against the Dallas Cowboys. (Josh Tolentino) "[Jalyn Armour Davis] has been sick. He's been dealing with some sickness stuff. He had a mask on again today. Hopefully, he can start feeling better."
I know it's still three weeks away, but do you have a better sense now of TE Isaiah Likely; whether he's an option for Week 1? Is he coming along in his rehab well? (Jeff Zrebiec) "You know what, I'll have to check on that. I don't have that option. Now, since it's Week 1, I'm probably not going to share that as easily as some of these other ones, just because [I] might want to keep them guessing a little bit on that one. But, it was always going to be in that range; the first few weeks [of the season]. So, that one might be a little harder to pin down. It might be harder to pin me down on that one."
But we may find out when you guys release the roster, right? If he's on the injured reserve list? (Jeff Zrebiec)
"You might. It would give you some – if he was on injured reserve, that'll give you some information." (Laughter) "If he's not an IR, you're not going to know any more [than you would have]."
SENIOR SPECIAL TEAMS COACH RANDY BROWN
Opening Statement: "I wanted to start off [by saying], you guys know my daughter Ryan [Brown] sings the national anthems, so this Sunday – for the fans going to the Orioles game Sunday, she'll do the anthem and then the 'God Bless America' in the seventh inning. I love the Orioles. All the [staff] down there have been so wonderful to have her do the anthems as she's going to do again this year. It's a treasure."
Every time we talk to head coach John Harbaugh, we talk to general manager Eric DeCosta, they keep telling us this whole offseason, 'Oh, [senior special teams coach] Randy Brown's going to find this kicker. Randy's going to find it.' Can you tell us a little bit, explain to us all went through the process of going through scouting these guys and deciding on Tyler Loop? (*Jamison Hensley)* "For all [of] the years I've been evaluating kickers, punters [and] long snappers, there is a process I have, but this year was a little different. This year, I kind of had to narrow it down. Being fortunate at the NFL, I run the specialist showcase. We had 27 specialists there, which included 10 kickers. So I narrowed it down. I want to say, I got down about 25, 30 college guys. And then of course there were the NFL free agents, too. It wasn't just the college guys. And then we narrowed it down to, 'What do we look for, and what do we look for here?' We look for a straight-ball kicker. You can go all the way back, I mean the kickers we've had – [Matt] Stover, [Graham] Gano, [Stephen] Hauschka, Wil Lutz, [Justin] Tucker, [Billy] Cundiff, Cameron Dicker, Kaare Vedvik – these are guys we've taught to kick a straight ball. So, what was the process like? The process was like, 'How can I find somebody who's got a strong leg, who's strong mentally and can kick a straight ball?' And it all came down to – when it was all said and done – it came down to Tyler [Loop]. I made three West Coast trips back and forth. Occasionally, I texted John [Harbaugh] to tell him where I was at. Most of the time, he texted me back, [and] he's like, 'Oh great, I didn't care. We weren't in the office today.' So, it was good. But that's how the process started – it was just evaluating and seeing who fits our criteria."
I'm sure you're looking for the best possible kicker anyway, but is there anything added when you're replacing who you had here, when you have what was thought to be the greatest kicker of all time? Is there anything added to that when you're looking for the replacement? (*Cordell Woodland)* "So, I want whoever that guy is to be the best of who that guy was. And that was part of the discussions I had with the players. When you're sitting here trying to talk to college players, I wasn't guaranteed we were going to have a draft pick. So, I had to also make sure that if we were going to get a guy who's an undrafted free agent, I could convince him to come here. We want to make the best of you. So, what do I tell Tyler Loop every day? I need the best Tyler Loop ever. It was the same way with Wil Lutz. 'Wil, we want you to be the best Wil Lutz.' And Wil was 90% last year, and Cameron Dicker was 90% last year. So, we want them to be that person. What is the best that you can be and how can we get you to that? And it all comes back to process. And we've talked about it for years. [With] all of our kickers, we've talked about process, whether it's been our long snappers, we've gone through this, we've had six long snappers in the NFL just last year. So, it's the process, that's what we really want. We found a guy that has that process, and I could tell a whole another story about our dinner in Arizona, which maybe we can go to. [Tyler Loop] understood. He had his own process, which was great."
Randy, can you elaborate on what the process is? (*Ryan Mink)* "So, when I interview a guy, I want to know, what is your process? Meaning, how do you practice? How many kicks a day do you take during practice? What's your lifting schedule? What's your sleeping schedule? What's your eating schedule? And then come gameday, well, what's your warmup schedule? How many kicks do you [practice]? How many 'no steps'? How many one steps? How many two steps? At each end, what do we do? And of all the guys I interviewed – so I'll do the restaurant story now. So, we go to Arizona. I go to Tucson, and I spend two and a half hours with Tyler [Loop] at a restaurant in Tucson, which by the way, everybody knows I'm a big Pepsi guy, and they had a fountain Pepsi. So, I knew I was going to be there all night long, which was great. We were there [for] two [or] two and a half hours. And he explained to me his process. It was intricate to the point of – I'll explain it to you guys who are here and fans who are watching at home. There's a spot on your foot where you have to kick the football. There's a spot on your foot. He knew exactly where that spot was on your foot, and you do it by which lace you want to hit the football on. So, what is that process? The process is how am I going to make sure that that spot on my foot hits one inch below the middle of the football, which is our sweet spot depending on the different size of the football? Now, I can go into more of a process of when you're out there, 'OK, where's my target? How far back do I go? How many inches away from the football am I?' Who understands that process, I mean, I've only had one minute to explain to you the process. So, this kid had two hours, and so I knew we were kind of there. We kind of moved a couple tables away and we were in this restaurant in Tucson. And I said, 'All right, show me.' And he does his whole steps back over and on and shows me, 'OK, this is how I would hit the ball here. This is my lean on my ball.' And I texted John [Harbaugh] afterwards, I said, 'I think we have our guy.' And that [happened at] the restaurant in Tucson, and I forget the name of it, but it had fountain Pepsi."
You, obviously, can look at a kicker's fundamentals and break it down what you like and don't like. You can see his routine and all that. You know this position and how difficult it is mentally. How difficult is it to gauge from a kicking prospect how he's going to respond in a clutch moment, and how he's going to deal with pressure and all that? (*Jeff Zrebiec)* "You call [Tyler Loop]'s mom and dad and see how mom and dad think how he's been. [You] talk to his other coaches. He played 47 games. John Hoyland, who we brought in, played 50-some games. The kid Andy [Borregales] out of Miami played 50 games. So, you kind watch their pressure situations, how they handled those situations already. But as I've learned in all my years in the National Football League, going all the way back to Jeff Jaeger and David Akers, until you're in that moment, who's the guy that can rely on his process when you're in that moment? And we've had some of the greatest kickers ever come out of this place because they got that moment, and they were able to stay in their process. Too many kickers just look at the uprights. 'I've just got to make it somehow. I've just got to make it.' No, we have a process, regardless of if there's one second left in the game, or you're on the opening drive, and you ran a kickoff back, and you've got to run out and do a 33-yard extra point, that, 'What's my process to kick the ball straight?' And, when you talk to a guy, too, you can look in a guy's eyes, you can tell who's a little flaky, and who's dialed in. The guys who won't look at you, or maybe they get a little squirrely, I prefer not to bring you to the facility." (laughter)
How many guys were in the pool of kickers that you were looking at? (*Jerry Coleman)* "30? It started at 30, but I would say I probably got down to 10 that I really believed [could become our kicker]. So, the difference between kicking in Baltimore, which is arguably one of the hardest places to kick in the National Football League, to kicking [at] New Orleans or kicking in Dallas, like, this [last game] was a layup this weekend. You're not going to have layups; you're not going to have games like this. So, you've got to find who can hit a ball [and] that can play out here. And that's the whole thing about what we did with Tyler [Loop], because I've heard and read some of the things that you guys have put out there, but it's a totally different football. The NFL ball, and the ball they use in college are two different footballs. So, if you have a totally different football, that means you have a totally different sweet spot. That means you have a totally different swing plane. That means you have a totally different plant. So, all of that goes into that type of ball. So, what did I do? I had to find who could actually kick a ball the way that we need it kicked. And what happens is, there's not a lot. Now, I'd say, easily, there's got to be probably five [or] six guys that came out of this class that could kick, but I think only about two of them could kick outdoors, in my opinion."
You have coached a lot of great kickers like we talked about, but in terms of leg strength, where does K Tyler Loop compare to some of those guys? (Ryan Mink) "Tyler [Loop] has elite leg strength, and we were fortunate enough to be on the field with [Cowboys kicker] Brandon Aubrey this week. He saw Brandon's leg strength. But yes, it's elite. We have the TrackMan here, which is outstanding. It kind of helps us. It helps us with apex, it helps us with launch angle, it helps us with speed and really [helps] kind of gauge each kick. But yes, he's got elite [leg strength], but we brought in John Hoyland for a reason. We brought in John Hoyland because we knew John could kick the ball straight. That guy missed two kicks under 40 [yards] in 50-some games, and we wanted a guy that could challenge Tyler and not just turn into a home run-hitting contest. And so, we're out there, and we're still on the driving range right now, and we're still working on lean, we're still working on things like that [and] what works best for him. But, I want to really compliment what John Hoyland did. There was one day out here that John went nine-for-nine. Remember [how] I was alternating for a while there? So, John goes nine-for-nine, and Tyler came in that morning and said, 'I can't miss today. I can't miss today,' so he went 10-for-10. That was the day on the other field we hit from 63, 65 and 68 [yards]. So, thankfully, John and Tyler both really liked each other, and they worked really well [together]. We are where we are today because of the competition, and that the Ravens allowed me to bring two kickers in. And a lot of teams just say, 'Three specialists, that's all you've got.'"
When K Tyler Loop got drafted, he had his Ravens shirt already, and he kind of felt confident that this was going to be the team. Take us from your perspective through Day Three of the Draft. Were you sweating that one out? (Jeff Zrebiec) "Do I look like I sweat ever? [I spent] 12 years as a [New] Jersey mayor, does it look like I sweat? I was dying. I was dying. We got to the fifth round, and I'm kind of giving every hint possible, [saying,] 'He might get off the board, he might go off the board. Please. What is the alternative?' But, Tyler [Loop] and I had some really good conversations. He is definitely a 'Faith, Family [and] Football' guy. I really wanted him as much for who he was and who I know he could be, [compared] to – at the time – the big-legged kicker. But yes, I was sweating it out just a little bit, and I was just a little excited when we drafted him. I think you saw that in the video, but it was good."
I know in the game the other night there were two penalties on kickoffs. How much are you involved in that strategy? (Bo Smolka) "Yes, we're all really working through it. We get ideas from what we see on film. Tyler [Loop] has a deep background in soccer. I don't know how many of you have spent a lot of time [on that], but Tyler is an outstanding soccer player. He was going to go to Europe and play soccer in high school, so we're kind working through it right now. We're kind of seeing what's going to work, what isn't going to work, and that's the great part about preseason games, and that's what's great about [head coach John Harbaugh] 'Harbs,' it's like, 'Hey, we're going to try this, or try that.' 'OK, great.' But, this is the time to do it because it's just a dramatic difference in coverage in the way that this is set up. And when the small committee of us that put this new play into effect, we knew that if you hit dirty balls down there, and they hit the ground first, and you allow that kickoff team a couple of yards, it could be an advantage. So, he loves it. He's doing it. He's trying it each day. It's a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we had a couple balls bounce the wrong way, but turf and grass are going to be two totally different things."
Were you upset with the way K Tyler Loop tackled or attempted to make it tackle at all or the fact that he maybe didn't listen to you? Can you take us through that? (Pete Gilbert) "Well, I've been telling these guys I should be on video more often, so Tyler [Loop] and me, our video has gotten five million views already, so I've been saying, 'Put us on video.' Tyler has got one story, [and] I have another. I know this: All I told him is, when we're upstairs, 'When that guy's near the sideline, can we just push him out?' Now, in Week 1 at Buffalo, if you've got to make a tackle, you're making that tackle. But [if it's] to the sideline, let's just kind of guide him out. But he's an athlete, and he did it. He did it, and I was proud of him. I think he was happier and more shocked at the end. I think Jordan Stout said, 'Well, you just hugged him.' So, either way, he got out of it unscathed, but it was a lot of fun."
What has it been like now that you have LS Nick Moore and P Jordan Stout as veterans rather than the kicker? (Giana Han) "See, I [remembered] something I was going to bring up. OK, Nick Moore is the Lamar Jackson of long snappers in the NFL, because he does everything right. Just go back and watch the game this week. He had eight '12 o'clock snaps,' and '12 o'clock snaps' are when the laces are facing towards the uprights. 'Six o'clock' [snaps] are when the laces are facing the kicker. You see where he was on point on the snaps to Jordan [Stout] on punts. He blocks. He's got to block defensive tackle, sometimes defensive ends. We ask him to block differently than any other of the 32 teams in the NFL, and he covers. He covers as well as anybody, and he's 260 pounds. [He] doesn't get enough credit. [With] Jordan [Stout], I've said year after year that Jordan is one of the top five holders in the NFL. When you've got to put a ball on pretty much a dime – you've got to put it on a dime – and then you've got to put it on a dime, and then you've got to get the lean ... And right now, we're working on where [Tyler Loop's] lean is, so there's a movement or two involved, and we've got to do all that in 1.33 seconds. So, Jordan is [performing] at an elite level, but what I was really happy about was the way Jordan punted in the game. When you look at his three directional punts – we went left on the three directional punts – he put every ball outside the numbers, and I'm really proud of him and where his growth is, too. That's the one thing about Nick and Jordan and Tyler: it doesn't matter. They come every day with a new idea of, 'Hey, maybe I can just do this a little better.' But, I'm so happy with where we are with these three guys. It's so fun to come to work every day, because all they want to do is improve. They really do."
When former K Justin Tucker got here his first year, you kind of "rebuilt him." Have you had to do that same process with K Tyler Loop to maybe change different things that he's been doing in the past? (Jeff Zrebiec) "So, we do it with all the kickers we've brought in. All of them. So, Tyler [Loop] had a little different way that he planted. He had a little different way where he struck the ball. He had a little different way of how he swung, and his sweet spot was a little lower, so we had to change all that, and his apex was higher. So, if you watch some of his kicks at Arizona, those things are up there. Well, if you kick that ball up there in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh or Baltimore in November, forget it. It's got no shot, so we have to try to change the apex in the trajectory. So, we've worked hard on it. We've only had three months, but we've worked very hard on changing how we can hit a ball in the AFC North the way the ball should be hit in the AFC North."
