Right Off Russell

by BaltimoreRavens.com
Nov 2, 2009, 6:34PM

WR Derrick Mason

Did this win over Denver take pressure off of the team? “Not really. We understood where we were as a team. While we were in the position we were in, there was no panicking, there was no pressure. You know, we just felt that we needed to finish out games. We had to start fast and end fast. The three games previous, we either did one or the other, either started off slow and had to play catch-up, or kind of started off fast and then fizzled out toward the end. So, pressure? No. But we understood that in order to keep ground with the two teams in front of us, we had to win this game.”

How well are you prepared for a tough schedule coming up? “It’s football, and every week poses a different challenge. Whether you’re playing – this upcoming week – whether you’re playing the No. 1 team in the conference or you’re playing someone that’s in a position we’re probably in that’s fighting for a playoff spot toward the end of the season, every game is pivotal from this point on, because we understand that we have four or five games in this month alone, and three of them are divisional games. So, we understand where we’re at and as a team what we need to accomplish in this month alone. Everyone understands that November [and] December is what makes and breaks teams, so this is going to be very important – this whole month – for us to continue to play the type of football that we know how to play.”

What has been the key to success on third-down conversions? “The majority of the time is just keeping it third-and-manageable, which to two, three, four or seven yards, you can call a world of plays when it’s third-and-two or third-and-seven. But when it’s third-and-15, third-and-20, there aren’t too many plays you can call. I think our big plus is what Kelley [Washington] has been able to do in the slot, and Ray Rice, what he’s been able to do coming out of the backfield. It takes a lot of pressure off of the guys outside. So, they don’t have enough guys to cover the guys that we have running routes, and then you throw a guy like Joe [Flacco] in the backfield under the center, if he doesn’t find anybody, he can tuck it under and run. So I think that’s why we’ve been so successful at third downs, because ultimately third downs, if you capitalize on them, you win games. And we capitalized on them this game.”

What does the balance between rushes and passes mean to the offense throughout the course of a game? “You know, we really don’t think about it. I don’t think the coaches scripted it that way. It’s how the game is flowing. Whether they’re putting eight or nine men in the box, and then you have to throw the ball on them, or whether they’re playing zone and sitting back, and we’re able to run the ball. But I think what’s key for us, and what has been a plus for us, is that we have a back in Ray Rice that you don’t know what he’s going to do. You don’t know if he’s going to get the ball and run, or you don’t know if he’s going to come out of the backfield and catch the ball. That makes our offense a little bit more balanced than any other team out here that’s playing right now. You know, it’s good to be balanced, but then again, some games you might have to throw it 40 times, as we’ve done in previous games. And then in some games, you might have to run it 30 or 40 times. So, sometimes we dictate to the defense what we’re going to do.”

What adjustments were made at halftime in order to have such a successful second half? “No, there weren’t any adjustments made at all. We stuck to the game plan, but we understood that Denver was a second-half team. If you look at your games, you know the first half and the second half are two different games. In each one of their wins, they kept it manageable in the first half, and in the second half they came out and dominated people. I think [in the] second half alone, no team prior to us has capitalized on more than two or three third downs. So, we knew and we understood that was the key for us, to come out in the second half and come out on a good note. And we did. But it started not with the offense; it started with the special teams. [Lardarius Webb] returned that kickoff, and that kind of snowballed everybody else. So, there were no big adjustments made, but we understood what we were getting into coming into the second half, [and] that if we didn’t come out and play with the type of intensity that we’re accustomed to playing, that they were going to embarrass us because they’ve done it to everybody else. We came out with some intensity, and I think we beat them to the ball the majority of the day – especially in the second half.”

What does it say about QB Joe Flacco and his ability to run the no-huddle-offense so well? “You just try to keep a team off-balance. They are a very athletic, very fast-flowing team, and you want to keep a team like that off-balance as much as possible. So whether it’s no-huddle, sugar-huddle or whatnot, we want to put the pressure on the opposing team’s defense. And we wanted to wear them down. We felt that if we stayed in our no-huddle package for a little while, kind of mixed it up a little bit, that would pose some difficulties for them. And whether it did or not, I don’t know. But as long as we got the win, that’s all that matters.”

Did you try to make an effort to throw the ball down the seams more than the outside? “No. We didn’t stress throwing the ball down the seams or anything. Sometimes teams dictate to you what you’re going to do, just a little bit. We try not to let that happen, but teams dictate to you what you can and can’t do. The touchdown play in particular, in that defense the safety was shaded, and because of what Kelley [Washington] has been doing in the middle, in the game they had to double him. So, that kind of left us one-on-one. The safety was trying to disguise it a little too much. Joe being Joe, he read the coverage perfect and I got inside the guy, and the rest is history. You want to take advantage of every opportunity that a defense gives you. If a defense wants to play you one-on-one, what they’re basically saying is that you can’t get open. I think we’ve proven for the last six or seven games that if you’re going to play us one-on-one, we’re going to get open. So obviously, people will start second-thinking that and they’ll probably go to something else. But then, we’ll find another way to beat you. We’re going to take what they give us and continue to move the ball down the field.”

How big league was that throw that QB Joe Flacco made? “It wasn’t big league. The throw was just a regular throw. (laughter) Joe read the coverage. At pre-snap he read it, and anytime Joe can [read] a coverage before the ball is hiked, you’re in a world of trouble as a defense. He picked up on what they were doing, and he looked the safety off a little bit like any other great quarterback, and he drilled it in there. He didn’t loft it. He drilled it in there. Wow, that was a great catch though, wasn’t it? (laughter) Not just the throw, that was a great catch. That’s Joe. He is going to make sure he puts the ball right where you can get it, and hopefully, that can continue throughout the season.”

How much dialogue goes on during the game between Cam Cameron and the wide receivers? “There’s a lot back and forth. But you’ve got to know when to do it. You can’t come back every series. Sometimes I want to, but you can’t come back every series and say, ‘Cam, this is what I see, this is what I see.’ You’ve got to pick and choose your moments when you do it in the game. That’s football. That’s winning football, when you’re able to come off to the sidelines and communicate with your coordinator or communicate with your quarterback or even your other wide receivers. You’re able to communicate with those guys, and then if you see that same coverage again, you’re able to say, ‘Ok, we’ve just talked about it. Now everybody is on the same page. If he plays inside, I got outside and you know where to throw the ball.’ So, there’s a lot of communication going on, on the sideline, and even on the field. You just don’t want to limit yourself to, ‘Ok, let’s discuss it when we get off the sideline.’ No, let’s discuss it in the huddle, and as we’re coming out to make sure that we put ourselves in the best situation to either complete a pass, or get a big run.”

How much do you enjoy playing against guys like Broncos CB Champ Bailey and S Brian Dawkins? “You wouldn’t want it any other way. You don’t want a guy that’s out there for the sake of being out there. You’ve got to find another way to elevate your game if a guy is not out there giving his all. It’s kind of a self-motivating thing, but if you’ve got a guy in front of you that you know that if you take a play off he’s going to embarrass you, then you’re going to make sure that each and every time you step on that line, that this is going to be your best play. I played against Champ for the longest. I’ve played against Dawk for the longest. I know what I’m going to get from those guys. I know that neither one of them is going to stop playing. Even when the whistle blows, they’re still trying to run to the huddle. That keeps you on your toes. So, I enjoy playing with those guys. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I wish, honestly, I could play against a corner and a safety like that every week because that helps you elevate your game.”

How much did your emotional outburst motivate your team and how did it affect you throughout the rest of the game? “It never affects me. Once I get the outburst out, I’m done. I didn’t do it as a motivation factor or a motivating tool. I just felt that there was some injustice being done, and they didn’t give me the penalty, they didn’t throw the flag. I’ve seen less happen on the field and they throw a flag – i.e. Brandon Marshall’s phantom pass interference [call]. After a while you get pissed off and you feel that you have to no longer be the nice guy out there. I think I’ve smiled a little bit too much on the field. Sometimes they take your kindness for weakness, and they’re never going to give you a penalty. It just came out, I guess, or maybe I was frustrated about some other thing, but it all came out. Once it happened, I forgot about it, honestly. I even apologized to the referee for showing him up. I didn’t do it deliberately, and he understood. Hopefully it won’t happen again. I think I got a make-up call later in the game on a hands-to-the-face [penalty] or illegal contact. Sometimes squeaky wheels get the oil. Maybe I need to be the squeaky wheel more often.”

Is there a different mindset in coming into a week with a win compared to starting a week with a losing streak? “No, just get one win. That’s all we want, whether we’re on a three-game winning streak or a three-game losing streak, let’s just get the next game. That’s the mindset that we’ve taken thus far and will continue to take. Just get the next game and we’ll worry about everything else. We need to get one game. That’s all, one game. We want to get on a one-game winning streak. That’s all we want to do. Then we’ll take it to the next week. Whether we’re winning three in a row or – I’m not going to say losing three in a row again; I don’t want that to happen – whether we’re winning three in a row or might have a lost a game here or there, our main focus and goal is to win the next game and move on from there.”