Right Off Russell

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

Head Coach John Harbaugh

Opening statement: “I Just want to welcome the NFL Club from the Roland Park School. Thanks for coming. It’s good having you guys here. I think you guys are definitely going to get the first question. Sorry, the NFL Club gets the first question.”

Were you impressed with how the secondary stepped up in yesterday’s game? “I was impressed with how the secondary stepped up. Good question and one we appreciate. I thought they played together really well. The corners played with attention to detail. They played real good technique. The safeties were in position. The offensive line played [well, and] the secondary played [well]. It’s a group effort. Those guys played very well together.”

One of the members of the NFL Club would like to know how Haloti Ngata’s injury is? “You’re tough, you’re tough. As with all injuries, we’ll have an injury report on Wednesday. So, we’ll see.”

Do you feel the same as WR Derrick Mason that once you get your frustration out with a tantrum-like action you move on from there? “You mean tantrums? Is that what you’re referring to? I don’t think I had a tantrum. There are a lot of ways to communicate on an NFL sideline, as you know. Emotions run high. Derrick was making his point, and unfortunately, he was back off the bench and threw the helmet and the official called it, for whatever reason. So that hurt us, and I think he understands we don’t want a 15-yard penalty. It didn’t hurt us so much because where we were at on the field, but it still hurts you because you have a chance to pin them down inside the five-yard line. That’s what we’re going to try to do in that situation, and it made it tougher for our punter to do that. But all we really talked about was, ‘OK, I understand where you’re at. Let me handle this, OK? It’s my job to handle this, not yours. You play.’ Derrick got control real quick, like he always does, and played really well.”

Were your third-down conversions a real advantage for you on both sides of the ball yesterday? “That was a huge part of the game. We were 61 percent and they were 23 percent on third downs. That’s something that’s been a strength of the Broncos, or really anybody. If you can convert on third down and keep a defense on the field, you’re going to have a pretty good chance to be successful. It plays into points, it plays into time of possession – everything. And defensively, you’ve got to get off the field. So probably the biggest thing that played into that from our perspective was we were able to stay on schedule on offense. We got a lot of third-and-reasonables. And on defense, we kept them out of third-and-five or less. That’s something that they’ve done a great job of. There have been very few third-and-longs all season. There were probably more third-and-longs yesterday than there were all season, and that’s pretty fundamental. Everybody tries to do that, and our defense was able to pull that off and it made a big difference.”

Do you have an explanation for the decisive way the Ravens beat the Broncos, who were previously undefeated? “Are you surprised? It can tell by the tone of your voice. We have a good football team. The Denver Broncos are a very good football team and so are the Baltimore Ravens. Our guys played very well, and I thought we did a lot of things right. And when you do a lot of things right, that tends to multiply itself into good things happening that help you win a game. And that’s really what happened.”

The defense really seemed to turn things around yesterday. Is the challenge now to have the defense play consistent every single week? “Every game stands on its own. Every game is its own entity. So, whatever success or failure you have one week does not guarantee or ensure anything for the next week. Our guys are excited about the fact that they played against a really effective offense and played well. But, we’re going to have a really effective offense that we’re going to line up against on Sunday. [The Bengals are] obviously a first-place team with a great quarterback and a physically-dominant offensive line and a heck of a running back and a group of receivers that are as good as any in the league. So, that presents a challenge for us, and it’s going to be a 3½- hour game, and what happened last week really doesn’t have much to do with this next week.”

Is it difficult to improve tackling during the season because you need to limit tackling drills in practice to prevent injuries? “I think our tackling has been good, actually. We’ve tackled well this year. It goes back to training camp where we tackle a lot, as you know. You’re right, you can’t do a lot live tackling [in regular season practices]; it wouldn’t be wise. You lose a good player in a tackling drill during the season, you wouldn’t too happy about that. But our guys have tackled well, all in all, and we need to continue to keep getting better, no doubt about it. But you work on technique and fundamentals more than you do the hitting part.”

How much extra work do you think the coaching staff put in during the bye week because of the Ravens’ 3-3 record? “Are you saying what did we do more because we were 3-3 than if we were 6-0? We stuck to the same schedule that we had laid out for the coaches two or three weeks in advance. So, it really wasn’t relative to what the record was. But I’m sure that all of our coaches, just like all of our players, maybe there’s a little more just inside that says, ‘You know what, I’ve got some extra stuff to take care.’ We didn’t monitor the guys. There was nobody punching a clock, but a lot of coaches were in here working. And you do that no matter what the record is, but I think our guys felt in their area they had some things to improve on.”

How much do you think something like LB Jarret Johnson’s s big hit on QB Kyle Orton on the first play can contribute to the intensity of the team and set a tone for the whole game? “Well, it’s always good to hit the quarterback, so it can’t be overblown. It’s good to hit the quarterback on the first play when they drop back to pass. So, if we had a choice and they’re throwing the ball on the first play of the game, we sure want to hit him. It’s going to be something that’s going to set a tone for the rest of the game. But you’ve got to keep hitting the quarterback. The way things are set up right now and how difficult it is to cover in the back end, you have got to get to the quarterback. If you don’t get to the quarterback, it’s going to be impossible to defend against the pass the way it’s being called and the way it’s set up. So, we’ve got to do that. That’s going to be critical for us to sustain pass defense for the rest of the year.”

How did you feel about the play of the special teams yesterday? It seemed like all areas were playing well… “I thought the coverage was really good. We’ve been pretty good coverage-wise throughout the year, but we’ve had a couple… In different games, maybe there have been three or four returns that have hurt us that have gotten out to the 50 or whatever, and our guys have pretty much put a stop to that the last couple of weeks. And that’s going to be a new challenge this week, again. Every kick – if it’s every game, week-to-week, offensively and defensively — it’s every kick on special teams. They’re all different. You look at [the Broncos], and they didn’t defend one [and then] they defended the next one inside the 20. That’s how up and down it can be. So, coverage is just a bunch of guys running down the field like maniacs and playing together and being coordinated and being physical and being fast and all those challenging things that you just got to bring to the table every single time you kick the ball.”

Is there any one player who has stepped up on special teams to assume the leadership role of Brendon Ayanbadejo, or is it everyone on special teams? “It’s a bunch of guys. We’ve got a bunch of leaders, so they all lead in their own way.”

After the game the players were complimentary of defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. Do you feel there it was a change in defensive scheme or better execution or both that made a difference yesterday? “It’s both. It really is. It’s not like [anything major changed.] We talked all week about getting better in every area that we could. I don’t think any coaches were shirking the obligation to find a way to be better as coaches. So, if we can find a way in certain situations to put together a better scheme to create an advantage for our guys, we wanted to do that. Now, there were no new calls, there were no new inventions. It was all part of the package that has been a part of the Ravens’ package that Greg and that staff put together. I thought they did a really good job of putting together a plan for Denver, understanding what Denver’s trying to accomplish and going after it. And that’s what you try to do every week. The guys executed it well, too. So, what it a better plan? Maybe. Was it executed better? Sure. All those things go together and you get a better performance.”

Is a kickoff return touchdown one of the most difficult things to do in the NFL? “I guess if you look at the numbers, you’d have to say that. There aren’t very many of them. Although, lately there seems to have been a rash of them over the last couple of weeks. Maybe it’s not as tough as we think. It’s difficult, there are eleven guys [out there], but then again there were two guys that weren’t necessarily blocked on that play, and our returner [Lardarius Webb] with his, I guess, acceleration north and south and his willingness to hit it up in there… You know, he’s kind of a fearless guy. He ran by them. The next time, he smoked up in there and ‘bam,’ he got stuck right about the 20-yard line. But that’s the kind of guy he is. He’s an aggressive, north/south, young, fearless guy. And he hits it up in there, so he’s going to be a tough guy to bring down.”

How valuable was it for rookie T Michael Oher to have some time at left tackle and now have him move back to right tackle with T Jared Gaither returning to the lineup? “That’s a good question with Michael. I’m not sure. I think it probably pays off in the long run. I don’t know if it helps him to be on the left side one week, to be a better player on the right side the next week. I don’t know. I’m not sure about that. But as far as being a versatile player, you know to play tackle at the level he is playing at right now on both sides, in his what, seventh game in the NFL? [It’s] a pretty special accomplishment. But he’ll be the first to tell you he’s got a long way to go, and he’s a really determined guy. He’s very intelligent, he’s very mature, he works really hard at it, and to play left and right tackle at the level he’s played at as a rookie is quite an accomplishment.”

Were you able to see the Broncos’ center’s head move a little bit on the play S Ed Reed was called offside? “No comment. I can’t comment on the officials.”

How do you feel like K Steve Hauschka responded coming back this week? “The best thing about that kick was – and I saw it right away on the sideline and so did the rest of us – it was almost the exact same kick he had against Minnesota. Left hash, I think it was 43 [yards] instead of [44] yards. You know, the Lord works in mystery ways, and He put Steve right back in that same spot, and we had put him on that same spot probably 10 times in practice in the last two weeks, and he nailed it. That’s how you grow; you work your way through adversity, and he’s a better kicker now than he was, obviously, on Saturday.”

Do you have any feedback from RB Willis McGahee and what looks to be a reduced role for him? “Well, you know we’ve been through this before here. From one week to the next, it looks like a reduced role for this player or that player, and it doesn’t end up being that, does it? All of a sudden a guy steps up, and the next game he is carrying the ball 20 times, or he has 10 catches, or he plays on the offensive line as part of a six offensive line package. I mean, that’s just how it works here. From one week to the next, I think our guys understand that they can be the featured guy at any time. And sometimes it’s a plan going into the game, and sometimes it’s just the way the game works out. So, I haven’t heard anything from Willis. I’m sure Willis, like any great player, wants to be out there playing, because he’s a talented guy and he can help us. But he’s also the kind of guy that understands, ‘If I just keep doing what I’m doing in this offense, I’m going to get my shot and be a big part of what we’re doing.’ And Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain and Demetrius Williams and L.J. Smith – and we can go right down the line – those guys are going to be a huge part of what we’re doing in the next few weeks.”

Do you feel like you’ve done what you needed to do to make the upcoming Cincinnati game meaningful? “Well, this game matters. There is no doubt about it, this game matters. It matters a lot for us. They can probably survive a loss – we can survive a loss, too – but it will make it a lot more interesting if we go down there and win.”

What is CB Frank Walker’s situation, and was he a healthy scratch on Sunday? “Yeah, that’s fair. His situation is [that] he’s a big part of our team. And Frank knows that, and Frank knows how we feel about him. You try to put the 45 guys up in any given week that you feel like give you the best chance to win and do the most for you. And in this game, based on the packages we thought we were going to see, that’s what we chose to do. So, Frank Walker is another competitive guy, and I’ve said it before, he’s a good player. He’s a really good player, and he’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing. He knows that.”

Coming off the bye week, were you guys able to spend any time looking at the Cincinnati game? “We probably looked at the Cincinnati game from the perspective of what it was going to mean for us as a football team. That’s what we had to find out – what did we do in that game, and what do we need to grow from and get better at. We didn’t really look at it from a game-planning perspective. So, we start that today, and we’ll put together a plan, and we’ll start practicing on Wednesday.”

OLB Jarret Johnson has been playing hurt most of the season. Can you talk about what it takes for a guy to play at a high level even though he’s not 100 percent? “The shoulder things are things that everybody’s got in the league. Every player in this league has issues like that to some degree. Jarret’s a very tough guy. It’s nothing that he can’t play through, and play really well through, and he’s doing a real good job of it. But Jarret, you just look at the way he’s playing. He’s playing at a high level, so it’s not impacting his production. He’s producing.”

How do you think ILB Tavares Gooden and LB Dannell Ellerbe played yesterday, splitting up their time? “I tell you what, that’s really good. That’s two good, young linebackers. They are sharing time. I think Vic Fangio’s done a great job with those guys. A second-year guy that’s really a first-year guy, and a first-year guy who is an undrafted rookie free agent. They’re playing next to Ray Lewis at a high level, both of them in different situations, and they’re playing on special teams. I mean, Tavares Gooden running down on the kickoff – single that out. When you get a chance, go back and watch the game and watch Tavares Gooden running down the field on kickoff coverage. It’s fun to watch. And Ellerbe, watch Ellerbe block on the kickoff return that went for a touchdown. It’s defense and it’s special teams, and they’ve done a good job.”

After seeing CB/RS Lardarius Webb run the kickoff back for a touchdown, is there any part of you that wants to see what he can do on punt returns? “Well yeah, but we have a good punt returner in Chris Carr. You will see Lardarius Webb on punt returns at some point. You’ll see Chris Carr back on kickoff returns at some point, too, I’m sure. We have been gifted here with some guys who can return kicks and punts. Ed Reed’s been back on punt returns. Mark Clayton practices every week, as does Derrick Mason. There are probably some other guys that I’m forgetting about. Ray [Rice] practices both of them. We’ve got some options.”

Chris Carr, despite having Lardarius Webb move to returner, seems to have not gotten down, and he has really improved his play on the defense in the secondary… “Right, Chris Carr played really good yesterday. I tell you what… It’s so much fun having these girls here [from the NFL Club] today. I’m having a tough time with my concentration. (laughing) You guys are great. Are you getting bored yet? [Students answer, “No.”] Is this interesting to you? [Students answer, “Yes.”] OK, OK. I’ve got to keep my focus. I can’t keep my focus here. (laughter) Chris Carr – how’s he doing. Was that the question? I think his play speaks for itself. Chris played very well. He did play really well in the sub packages. I think he got a sack, as I recall. Chris has played well for us. That’s why we brought him in here. He’s a quality corner, he’s a special teams player, he had a tackle on kickoff coverage. I thought he got north and south in the return game with the punt returns, made a bunch of tough catches on Mitch Berger punts that were hanging up there short and came up and grabbed them under pressure, fair caught them. Those fair catches are a big plus sometimes, because those are short punts. He’s played well.”

What is your take on the old saying, ‘Winning is everything?’ “Wow. Philosophy, huh? What did Vince Lombardi say after that? It’s the will to win? That’s what he was talking about, the will to win, if I’m not mistaken. That’s how we look at it. Wins and losses are ultimately how you’re measured, but I said I was proud of our team after the Minnesota game, after the Cincinnati game and after the New England game, and those are three losses. I was proud of them after every one of those games. I’m no less proud of them or no more proud of them after this game. What I am proud of is the fact that they took adversity – three weeks of all the things they’re faced with when you lose – because, as the record goes, it goes up as a loss. No matter what happened during the game, no matter what they displayed during the game, it’s a loss. It can be 50 to nothing, or it can be 10-9, and it’s still a loss. It’s treated just the same. So, you’ve got to come out the other end of that standing tall, and our guys have done that. But not just because they won this week, they did it after each one of those losses in my mind. Now we’ve got another challenge against Cincinnati. I’m sure our guys are going to come out of that large. That’s the kind of men they are, and we’ll see how the chips fall as far as the outcome of the game.”

How good are the Bengals? “The Bengals are very good. They’re in first place.”

What does it say about the fans and the support they’ve showed after three losses and a bye week? “That’s really good. We kind of talked about it last night. I guess I should have brought it up right from the beginning because I’ve been thinking about it ever since. We were glad to be at home. I think our players didn’t doubt for one second what our crowd was going to be like. It’s different in different cities. You suffer a three-game stretch the way we did and loosing tough games the way we did – every city is not like Baltimore. When we came out, those introductions were like we’ve been on a six-game winning streak, weren’t they? The crowd was loud. Then at the end of the game when we were out there trying to get them stopped and put the [game] away to finish it, I’ve never heard the stadium louder. It was just a purple wall around us of noise. I think it speaks to Baltimore. It speaks to the fans. It speaks to what Ravens fans are all about. Our guys want to do everything they can to make the fans proud of them. They do. They feel that way. That’s a challenge. That’s not easy to do, but when you’ve got fans like the Ravens have, you can’t wait to play at home. I can tell you that.”

Do you have specific goals for the halfway point of the season? “Well, I think the specific goal is to win this game. Then you can tally them up. We all know what the record will be if we win it. The point is, we need to be 1-0 this week, and it’s going to be a real tough challenge to do in their stadium.”

Are you concerned with T Michael Oher’s emotion, which was displayed on the personal foul penalty? “You saw it, right? I’m not concerned about it.”