Speaker 1: Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass Podcast. The Ravens are
Speaker 1: AFC North champs. They took down the Cleveland Browns thirty
Speaker 1: five to ten Saturday at M and T Banks Stadium.
Speaker 1: The Ravens have now won the division for two years
Speaker 1: in a row and they will be hosting a playoff
Speaker 1: matchup next weekend in Baltimore for the wild Card Weekend.
Speaker 1: The Ravens had contributions from several guys on both sides
Speaker 1: of the ball, and after the game we heard from
Speaker 1: head coach John Harball.
Speaker 2: Everybody in here appreciate you guys.
Speaker 3: Very very exciting, very very big, very big deal to
Speaker 3: win the AFC North, to win the AFC North against
Speaker 3: the Browns, and Browns are a tough football team and
Speaker 3: they're out there competing and fighting like they always do.
Speaker 3: Have much respect for those guys, So I'm proud of
Speaker 3: our guys. I'm excited for our guys. It's a great accomplishment.
Speaker 3: We had said in the locker room after the Chiefs
Speaker 3: game out in Kansas City, we were gonna we were
Speaker 3: going to fight, and everything was going to be for
Speaker 3: one another and for a greater glory. It was going
Speaker 3: to be, you know, to God be the glory whatever
Speaker 3: we accomplished this year, and I think now is a
Speaker 3: good time to kind of talk about that. And that's
Speaker 3: what the guys were talking about in the locker room,
Speaker 3: and I'm proud of the guys for that, and I
Speaker 3: think that's really important to mention. One other things I
Speaker 3: got to mention here and we'll get started the questions
Speaker 3: is we did a bunch of game balls. We closed
Speaker 3: out with Michael Pierce obviously the most amazing play and
Speaker 3: the most crazy amazing play in the NFL history. That's
Speaker 3: what we said it was. So we got a game
Speaker 3: ball for that. That'll be on the game ball. But
Speaker 3: the game ball I didn't give out, and I want
Speaker 3: to give out right now. First team in the NFL
Speaker 3: with four thousand more than four thousand passing and three
Speaker 3: thousand rushing yards in a season. So that's that's a
Speaker 3: great accomplishment and it's a group of accomplishment. But Todd
Speaker 3: Munkin is going to get a game ball for that.
Speaker 3: I think he did a great job this year. All
Speaker 3: the coaches did, all the players did, and that's that's
Speaker 3: a really incredible accomplishment.
Speaker 2: All right, what question do you have, John.
Speaker 3: How do you like, I think it was four weeks
Speaker 3: ago you trailed the Steelers by like the beat, you know,
Speaker 3: how press is it to go from that point?
Speaker 4: Now?
Speaker 5: So a score champion?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's awesome, It's it's a it's an awesome thing.
Speaker 3: And you know, we you know, it's a week to
Speaker 3: week league, you know, and you really just have to
Speaker 3: take it one one week at a time, one day
Speaker 3: at a time, one player at a time.
Speaker 2: You know, our guys have done a really good job
Speaker 2: of holding on to that.
Speaker 3: That one to O T shirt that we that we
Speaker 3: all wear around is real. And uh so four wins later,
Speaker 3: you know, we're we're the a FC Nord champions.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 3: That's that's gonna be exciting and we're gonna enjoy it
Speaker 3: tonight and we're gonna watch games tomorrow and see who
Speaker 3: we play. But we're moving into what we've been working
Speaker 3: for because last year, when we were in the locker
Speaker 3: room after after the AFC Championship game, we knew we
Speaker 3: had a long road to go to get back to
Speaker 3: this very point. You get back in the playoffs with
Speaker 3: an opportunity to, uh to take the next step, and
Speaker 3: we're not there yet, you know, we've still got we
Speaker 3: got the next game. We've got a wildcard game to
Speaker 3: get ready for, so that'll be our next challenge.
Speaker 6: I'm trying to have an update on Z eight Flowers.
Speaker 2: I don't have an update. It's not it's not.
Speaker 3: It's something that he has a chance to be okay with.
Speaker 3: But we'll probably have more details after an MRI tomorrow morning.
Speaker 7: John off c. The expectations are very high when you
Speaker 7: brought Derek Henriham to put them with Lamar.
Speaker 8: But the numbers they put up were pretty historic. Did
Speaker 8: they meet your expectations, exceed them?
Speaker 2: Where did that fall?
Speaker 3: You know, it's a great question. The numbers really weren't
Speaker 3: part of the conversation. I think we were just excited
Speaker 3: about what we had a chance to build, because we
Speaker 3: try to build all of our offense like our defense too.
Speaker 3: You got Kyle Van Noys sitting right here, said, how
Speaker 3: what's the best way we can we can utilize this
Speaker 3: great talent? You know, and I think when Derek became
Speaker 3: a part of it and he was gonna be paired
Speaker 3: with Lamar, not just Lamar, Mark and Jay and Isaiah
Speaker 3: and all the guys, you know, how can we try
Speaker 3: to create a vision for what we can accomplish with
Speaker 3: those guys, and to see it come to fruition like
Speaker 3: that is really an awesome deal. Now we want to
Speaker 3: see it come to fruition in the playoffs.
Speaker 9: John, I mean, Nate Wiggins obviously had the huge play
Speaker 9: to get you guys started. I mean, was that a
Speaker 9: nice play to highlight how important he's really come to
Speaker 9: you guys over the.
Speaker 6: Second half of the season.
Speaker 3: Probably, So yeah, he's really been a He's a big
Speaker 3: part of what we're doing, and he's established himself as
Speaker 3: a starter.
Speaker 2: I think he's playing great ball.
Speaker 3: He had a couple other ones in his hands, and
Speaker 3: he was frustrated with earlier in the season.
Speaker 2: So we've been on him a little bit.
Speaker 3: Everybody you know, talking about getting that first pick and
Speaker 3: did get it and take it back to the house.
Speaker 2: That's It's a nice way to start.
Speaker 6: Plan to rotate at guard or is it? Patrick was
Speaker 6: just didn't practice luck he was sick and.
Speaker 3: He I'm to Patrick, like wanted to go. He insistent
Speaker 3: on going, but he just he just he did a
Speaker 3: good job of fighting through that, but he was really sick.
Speaker 3: Justice Hill had the same kind of thing, and you know,
Speaker 3: you see, he wasn't able to be up for the game,
Speaker 3: but patri Ron wanted to go. I just just we
Speaker 3: just felt like I felt like he just wasn't at
Speaker 3: full strength.
Speaker 2: He tried and uh and uh. I basically just made the.
Speaker 3: Decision to let those other guys play who were full strength.
Speaker 3: So Pat pat Pat's he's all hard man, He's all hard,
Speaker 3: He's tough as nails, and he'll be fine, ready to
Speaker 3: go next week.
Speaker 6: John, does Michael Pierce have a green light to go
Speaker 6: to the HO?
Speaker 3: I was I was saying, go, go go, but Mike
Speaker 3: said that we had a meeting and we talked about,
Speaker 3: you know, get down victory.
Speaker 2: You know, it's a situation that we talk about. So
Speaker 2: he's a smart football player. Right there.
Speaker 3: I'm telling you, man, the most amazing play in the
Speaker 3: NFL history right there.
Speaker 6: How would you describe this light?
Speaker 2: Yeah, a little awkward.
Speaker 3: I mean I saw his like one leg flail out.
Speaker 9: Lamar cap season where you know, over four thousand yards
Speaker 9: for player, over four hard down in the yards off passing,
Speaker 9: over nine hundred yards rushing and he's just helped out
Speaker 9: the season.
Speaker 6: Lamar has had very.
Speaker 3: Concern right, I mean and seventy two yards passing forty
Speaker 3: one touchdown passes. How many exceptions four? Okay, I mean
Speaker 3: that's pretty unbelievable. Over nine hundred yards rushing twenty thousand
Speaker 3: passing yards for his career right now, I mean, you know,
Speaker 3: it's almost like, you know, say less, you know what else?
Speaker 2: What else needs to be said?
Speaker 3: And not just that. Dude's a competitor. Man, he's a fighter,
Speaker 3: he's our he's he's he's just he's just.
Speaker 2: One of a kind. It's nobody like Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 3: I mean, he's in the locker room and he's not
Speaker 3: happy about the last drive and we didn't handle it
Speaker 3: great and we had some personnel challenges and all that stuff,
Speaker 3: and he wants everything to be perfect everything. That's that's
Speaker 3: why these numbers are the way they are because of
Speaker 3: who he is.
Speaker 6: John.
Speaker 10: How valuable is it to be ending the regular season
Speaker 10: on the floor yet winning street now going to.
Speaker 6: The postseason knowing you're posting a first round game.
Speaker 3: I think it's valuable, and I think it's it's it's
Speaker 3: a good thing. But we're I think if you talk
Speaker 3: to our guys, they would tell you that we can
Speaker 3: be so much better. We can play so much better.
Speaker 3: We weren't very clean in this game, with too many penalties.
Speaker 3: We uh we operationally we weren't probably as great as
Speaker 3: we wanted to be. Mentioned that the two minute drive
Speaker 3: that Lamar you know, was one wants to be perfect
Speaker 3: on and uh so we can be so much better.
Speaker 2: But but we're playing good football.
Speaker 3: We just got to keep keep keep getting you to
Speaker 3: getting better' getting worse.
Speaker 2: We need to keep getting better.
Speaker 10: Uh you got a first place schedule this year, you
Speaker 10: have a very competitive asy nor how press is it
Speaker 10: just for this team to have an opportunity to have
Speaker 10: a hot T shirt game.
Speaker 3: I appreciate you mentioning that. You know, we don't talk
Speaker 3: about that too much. But it was a tough schedule
Speaker 3: and it was a It was a tough schedule. We
Speaker 3: played teams when they were at their best quite often,
Speaker 3: you know, and they're coming off they were, they were,
Speaker 3: they were on a role when we played them. And
Speaker 3: I thought our guys hand letting you know, you get forged,
Speaker 3: you get tough, and you know when you come from iron,
Speaker 3: you know, then you become iron, and I think our
Speaker 3: guys have done that.
Speaker 2: Let's see where it takes us two more.
Speaker 6: Job, how much of the league. You know, you can
Speaker 6: only play the team that you face.
Speaker 10: But the level competition, especially for your defense, the offensive
Speaker 10: that will wait in the AFC here to which you
Speaker 10: guys have faced at the end of this year.
Speaker 6: I mean, just the kind of level of competition that
Speaker 6: this defense is going to have to face it, you know,
Speaker 6: once you get to the playoffs.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean the same level competition that we've been
Speaker 3: playing against. And we played all the teams in the playoffs,
Speaker 3: you know, when we played them all when they were
Speaker 3: playing really well. But they've been getting better as well,
Speaker 3: so we understand. I mean, it just it just gets better.
Speaker 3: It gets tougher, but so do we, you know, and
Speaker 3: that's our job.
Speaker 2: Our job.
Speaker 3: The guys are saying it in the locker room, you know,
Speaker 3: we need to get to work Monday, you know, and
Speaker 3: let's uh, let's get ready to go.
Speaker 2: We gotta be at our best.
Speaker 1: Oh good, thanks, Except he heard from quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 11: What's it feel with that?
Speaker 8: HEFC more champions point to. Uh, it feels good. You know,
Speaker 8: had a T shirt game.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 5: I always go back to my rookie, my rookie season.
Speaker 5: We have Matt Wiss as the coach. He used to
Speaker 5: say that you have ta had a T shirt game,
Speaker 5: and that's pretty much always stick with me. So it's
Speaker 5: great to have this again.
Speaker 6: M as kick in and.
Speaker 1: Coach Rouble, we're talking about just the journey to get
Speaker 1: to this point. How proud are you of this? He
Speaker 1: was able to win this division given just the challenges
Speaker 1: of the year, get to get back to this point.
Speaker 5: I'm very proud of our team. Uh, pick it back
Speaker 5: off what v said, you know, Uh, starting off on
Speaker 5: to just looking at how how things was happening with us,
Speaker 5: you know, just battling the adversity people just doubting us,
Speaker 5: and just this turnaround we had, you know, win the
Speaker 5: games here and there and in the division, this division.
Speaker 8: It's very tough.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 5: We got some of the best defensive players you know
Speaker 5: in the league in our division. Then we wanna m
Speaker 5: matching up against them twice a year. Really, so i'm'a
Speaker 5: say six times, cause like I said, defense on all
Speaker 5: the teams, we play good defenders on all the teams
Speaker 5: we play.
Speaker 8: But I'm I'm very proud of my team.
Speaker 7: Man.
Speaker 8: We we battle and we got the job done. But
Speaker 8: job is undone, you know what I mean?
Speaker 11: Personal accomplishments that you've done this season mean to you
Speaker 11: if it if anything, the four thousand yards, the forty touchdowns,
Speaker 11: eight hundred yards rushing, what does that mean to you
Speaker 11: in relation to the team itself too?
Speaker 5: Uh, that's all my teammates, you know, included with that.
Speaker 5: That's just not me, you know, cause when we practicing,
Speaker 5: you know what, I'm trying to get better. We got
Speaker 5: the look team giving us great looks. Those guys helping
Speaker 5: us out a lot, got my tight ends doing what
Speaker 5: they doing running backs, offensive line, receivers.
Speaker 8: That's all the way. That's all the way, a team effort.
Speaker 8: You know, that's just not me. I do what I
Speaker 8: supposed to do.
Speaker 9: Mar how much did your part kind of sync when
Speaker 9: you saw a Za down on the field and then
Speaker 9: and then helps off. I mean it sounds like the
Speaker 9: news isn't as bad as it as it could be.
Speaker 8: But yeah, I I was hurt, you know I was hurt.
Speaker 5: But yeah, when when we gonna see what happened, you know,
Speaker 5: come tomorrow, whenever we gotta do it, uh extra or whatever, amorra.
Speaker 12: I'm mark come back to beginning of the season zero
Speaker 12: and two, and and even when you guys start winning games.
Speaker 12: After that, there was some frustration and and so forth
Speaker 12: that you talked about along the way. How do you
Speaker 12: describe describe where you guys are at now versus back then,
Speaker 12: just in terms of confidence, communication, all those sorts of things.
Speaker 8: We far ahead of We we far ahead than we
Speaker 8: was back then or or to start.
Speaker 5: But just today, you know, I'm like I was, I
Speaker 5: was getting ticked off out there because I'm I'm feeling.
Speaker 8: Like it was drives. We didn't finish.
Speaker 5: We driving the ball, moving the ball, we getting a
Speaker 5: great field position from special team and defense, and we
Speaker 5: not completing completing the drive. But it happened sometime in
Speaker 5: division games, but we not tryna let that happen go
Speaker 5: into the playoffs. So it it's still room for improvement.
Speaker 5: But I feel like we st we take a steps
Speaker 5: in the right We take a step in the right direction.
Speaker 11: Mark Bamarty, I mean, obviously you have bigger goals to buy,
Speaker 11: and so do you is this a day to to celebrate?
Speaker 6: You can't. Can't You said jobs done, but it's a
Speaker 6: kind of undone. So do you get to celebrate this
Speaker 6: or do you sue you focused more on just to
Speaker 6: pick a vision.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I'm a focused on a wild card game. I'm
Speaker 8: not gonna lie to you. I'm c I'm cool.
Speaker 5: What's going on today? You know, I'm cool, don't get
Speaker 5: me wrong, but like my mind on something else.
Speaker 6: Did you more or did you get a chance to
Speaker 6: talk to Zay post came in? Just what has he
Speaker 6: been to this offense? His presence in general?
Speaker 8: Nah, I didn't get I really didn't get to talk
Speaker 8: to me.
Speaker 5: No coach at he was talking to uh all of us,
Speaker 5: you know, and I might just say had some brief
Speaker 5: to him, but then I had to come in here,
Speaker 5: so I didn't really get to sweet to him. I
Speaker 5: would h ma, mart Baveman has been stepping up all year,
Speaker 5: but said to see him step up today, would say
Speaker 5: going down.
Speaker 6: I'm not surprised.
Speaker 5: I guess I'm not surprised. You know, I've been seeing
Speaker 5: what Bait was capable of doing, and we just got
Speaker 5: a glimpse of it, you know. But I'm not feeling
Speaker 5: too this morning. You know, we we got we got
Speaker 5: things to do, you know, we got things to do.
Speaker 5: I already know what type of player he was. We
Speaker 5: all knew, you know, we see him every day. Uh,
Speaker 5: you got something to do. We got we got things
Speaker 5: to finish, all right, Thanks Mark, Yeah.
Speaker 8: Appreciate you guys.
Speaker 1: We also heard from veteran outside linebacker Kyle van Noy,
Speaker 1: who notched another sack to finish with twelve and a
Speaker 1: half on the season. He's a leader of this defense
Speaker 1: that he talked about the play of this unit and
Speaker 1: their success, especially over the course of the last six
Speaker 1: weeks of the regular season.
Speaker 6: Well, what did the paint for the team to get?
Speaker 9: Yeah, like the whole games ago, you're a femily with
Speaker 9: sealer back up the games in your division now your
Speaker 9: Soli ring beings.
Speaker 6: What did it take for the team to go from
Speaker 6: that point for champions.
Speaker 8: Took a lot.
Speaker 13: You know, I think back to even before everything we've
Speaker 13: gone through so much as a team. I just want
Speaker 13: to take the time of just to shout out Joe
Speaker 13: d and his family. You know, yeah, I got chilled
Speaker 13: saying that because Joe D's with us, did Tobie Jones
Speaker 13: his family? We know they're they're with us, and we're
Speaker 13: just so grateful to put on a proud display of
Speaker 13: football for him and go through what we've gone through
Speaker 13: as a group, whether it's you know, car accidents, injuries
Speaker 13: with players, you know, the sicknesses that we've had. Just
Speaker 13: I know all teams go through it, but you know,
Speaker 13: just this specific group coaches included of you know, starting
Speaker 13: zero in two, just the journey of the season to
Speaker 13: be where we're at with the strength of schedule that
Speaker 13: coach just talked about, to be where we're at at,
Speaker 13: you know, division champs and arguably the best division. I know,
Speaker 13: you know everyone thinks NFC North, but still the AFC North.
Speaker 13: I think it's the toughest division. And to come out champs,
Speaker 13: it's it's awesome and we're grateful to celebrate that tonight.
Speaker 13: But we have bigger and better things to worry about,
Speaker 13: and which is the wild hard weekend. I was here
Speaker 13: last year for the AFC Championship and this is all great,
Speaker 13: but our mindset's changed to get this first game all
Speaker 13: the focus. We're not guaranteed anything after next week, so
Speaker 13: our main focus is to get to next week and
Speaker 13: have that one to known mindset. You know, it starts
Speaker 13: with coach. He set the tone right here with this
Speaker 13: great interview he had. Hopefully I can piggyback off that
Speaker 13: and then LJ and then we're gonna keep it moving
Speaker 13: to you know, everybody's gonna be the best they can
Speaker 13: hanging out tomorrow and then Monday show up, be ready
Speaker 13: to go.
Speaker 4: Kyle, the trajectory of this defense this season, from the
Speaker 4: start of the season to now, and how you performed,
Speaker 4: especially since the bye week.
Speaker 11: How of you as a leader of the unit seeing
Speaker 11: the improvement slowly as we've been filling towards the postseason.
Speaker 13: No, you guys are with some good questions already. I
Speaker 13: think honestly, we just had to take it upon ourselves
Speaker 13: as players. We felt like coaches were doing enough, and
Speaker 13: as players we needed to step up individually and take
Speaker 13: ownership and really just battle it out. You know, you
Speaker 13: had high expectations coming off of, you know, a season
Speaker 13: like we did the year before, the expectations to do
Speaker 13: that right again with kind of the changes that we
Speaker 13: had with the same players. It was kind of like
Speaker 13: our job to fix it, and I think we rallied
Speaker 13: it together. We had some good times together of communication
Speaker 13: and really locking in. And you know, the offense, We're
Speaker 13: grateful for the offense carrying us for a while to
Speaker 13: figure that out. And that's what good football teams do.
Speaker 13: They just find a way to win no matter what
Speaker 13: they were. They allowed us to mature as a group
Speaker 13: and be competitive and finally just turn the script and
Speaker 13: finally played raven football on defense.
Speaker 6: What did you think of Michael Pierce's or ship Man?
Speaker 13: I felt my knees hurt after watching. We got work
Speaker 13: on that slide a little bit. But honestly, just I mean,
Speaker 13: you see the team, the love that we got for
Speaker 13: each other. The whole team cleared the bench to celebrate MP.
Speaker 13: I mean his situation this year, battling an injury and
Speaker 13: then to get back and to be ready and you know,
Speaker 13: just be MP the leader that he's been, the quiet,
Speaker 13: un know, grab your lunch, pale type of guy. But
Speaker 13: it's just, you know, he's that constant, you know, kind
Speaker 13: of like you sit back in the back of the
Speaker 13: room like Okay, we're good. MP's here. And just to
Speaker 13: have him have a play like that, it's incredible. I mean,
Speaker 13: kudos to him. He could play. You know, I think
Speaker 13: he played running back back in the day.
Speaker 12: Now fulfilling was it for you from on top of
Speaker 12: the season that you hit the financial incentior today?
Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean it's always awesome. But for me, I'm
Speaker 13: always worried about to win. I'm a winner. Our teams
Speaker 13: were full of winners and that's all we're worried about
Speaker 13: is winners or excuse me, winning the game.
Speaker 6: But it's nice to put it in my pocket. Definitely
Speaker 6: always joined you in the yeah club. Just what have
Speaker 6: you seen from him this year?
Speaker 13: Super proud of him. A lot of high expectations for
Speaker 13: him coming in as a first rounder. You know, has
Speaker 13: battled some injuries early in his career, but just his
Speaker 13: work ethic to keep going, his belief in hisself. I'm
Speaker 13: just super proud of him. I think, you know, something
Speaker 13: that we want to do is have double digits. I
Speaker 13: think it's the first time since Dumerville and Suggs to
Speaker 13: do that. Was one of our goals together that we
Speaker 13: had and it's awesome to accomplish that together.
Speaker 9: You touched on us, You touched on this a little bit,
Speaker 9: I think already. But has it felt in a way
Speaker 9: like an eleven months journey from that disappointment at the
Speaker 9: end of last year too, You're back to having the
Speaker 9: opportunity again.
Speaker 6: Yeah, what was your question on that?
Speaker 14: Just?
Speaker 8: I mean, does it.
Speaker 6: Feel like a complete story? I mean, just one de
Speaker 6: relate to the other.
Speaker 9: I mean, have you guys been thinking about getting to
Speaker 9: this point?
Speaker 13: I mean since we would all be lying. And if
Speaker 13: we said we haven't been thinking about I think. You know,
Speaker 13: me and coach Harbaugh had a conversation earlier and I
Speaker 13: told him I didn't leave my house for a week
Speaker 13: after that, and just that mindset. You know, as you
Speaker 13: get closer in my career, you're closer to the end,
Speaker 13: and those chances you don't want them to slip. And
Speaker 13: it's all I've thought about all off season training we
Speaker 13: as a group during training camp, it's been everybody on
Speaker 13: everybody's mind. Lj's included, and you know, we haven't forgot
Speaker 13: about that, and we hope we can correct that mistake.
Speaker 13: But it doesn't matter. We can talk about the AFC
Speaker 13: Championship all we want, but we got to get through
Speaker 13: the wild card game. That's our main focus. That's all
Speaker 13: we're focused on as a team is just take these
Speaker 13: next seven days, eight days, wherever we're at, and take
Speaker 13: it one day at a time. Good thanks, guys.
Speaker 1: In the locker room. We also heard from several guys,
Speaker 1: tight end Mark Andrews.
Speaker 6: Or to be healthy and to be able to contribute
Speaker 6: at your's normal level going. Just feeling incredibly grateful and blessed.
Speaker 6: How think you put it? You know, that's that's great.
Speaker 10: Same as you know, I wasn't here last year at
Speaker 10: this time, and so I feel great to be able
Speaker 10: to contribute and help the Steed win games individually.
Speaker 12: Can you can you think of the better stretch of
Speaker 12: games that you've had, I mean, it wasn't six straight
Speaker 12: the touchdown.
Speaker 10: Yeah, I could think of a few, but yeah, yeah, no,
Speaker 10: just just like I said, I'm just trying to help
Speaker 10: this team win games, be there for the quarterback, make
Speaker 10: plays and help advance the ball score whatever it is, block,
Speaker 10: it's it's all those things that I'm trying to do
Speaker 10: and just fit fitting into my piece and play my.
Speaker 9: Part this offense, whether it's personal accolades, people got our team,
Speaker 9: franchise and in the NFL a lot of brankers haven't
Speaker 9: happened with this offense.
Speaker 6: Has that even exceeded maybe yourtifications of what you thought
Speaker 6: going in the week one with this group?
Speaker 10: Yeah, yeah, I think that. You know, those type of
Speaker 10: things come with a great team. You you have a
Speaker 10: great team, great grand guys around you, You're able to
Speaker 10: excel those expectations, and obviously coaching and players and all
Speaker 10: that plays a part, and very happy for the guys
Speaker 10: that are doing that and and and stepping up and
Speaker 10: making this thing go market.
Speaker 6: You know, along the same lines.
Speaker 9: If someone had told us all his kids that somebody
Speaker 9: was gonna have a stat line like the margin this year,
Speaker 9: would have said, you were lying, and you're crazy, right,
Speaker 9: I mean, just put in perspective.
Speaker 6: What it's like to have watched him have a.
Speaker 10: Season just truly incredible. I say it week after week.
Speaker 10: It's just he brings it week after week, every game,
Speaker 10: just as will, and a fight to win games and
Speaker 10: to be on point and just to be him, to
Speaker 10: be Lamar, but to even.
Speaker 6: Elevate that and trying to elevate that week after week.
Speaker 6: He's trying to be.
Speaker 10: He's perfectionist, he wants to be perfect, and it's so
Speaker 10: awesome incredible to.
Speaker 14: Play with the guy like that.
Speaker 6: Is its Historically, I think we're efficient. I think we're
Speaker 6: able to do a lot of different things. I think
Speaker 6: it's physical. I think we're able to, you know, throw
Speaker 6: the ball downfield, and obviously we got eight for twenty two.
Speaker 6: All of us around then just needed to help out
Speaker 6: once you.
Speaker 7: Get to the playoffs and we've been there and the playoffs,
Speaker 7: what do you kind of think his mind to.
Speaker 10: Say from the league entering.
Speaker 4: Into those locked in?
Speaker 6: Completely locked in?
Speaker 1: And Mark, how do you think the ups and downs
Speaker 1: of the season, Where would.
Speaker 6: You guys go into the pinks? I think we've been
Speaker 6: through it.
Speaker 10: There's been some roller coasters, have been some adversity, and
Speaker 10: you know, for us, it's just being level headed, you know,
Speaker 10: to know the type of team that we are, and
Speaker 10: I think right now it's it's it's it's great. You know,
Speaker 10: I think all sides are clicking, you know, offense, defense,
Speaker 10: special teams and when you can play complete football.
Speaker 6: That's what it is this time of year. What do
Speaker 6: you think it was the biggest lessons team? The last
Speaker 6: season ended and you don't know who you were playing
Speaker 6: at as far as you're pass to the Super Bowl,
Speaker 6: But how can you take that into the post season
Speaker 6: this year?
Speaker 10: I think for us it's just just dialing and we
Speaker 10: have five weeks, just five weeks for the rest of
Speaker 10: your life. Just take advantage of that and understand what
Speaker 10: it is and just focus. All that matters is this team,
Speaker 10: this organization, this group of men, We.
Speaker 1: Also heard from outside linebacker a da fa O Way
Speaker 1: he came up with his tenth sack of the season,
Speaker 1: joined the double digit club for the first time of
Speaker 1: his career, and he talked about the significance of that accomplishment.
Speaker 6: Okay, ten sacks on the season, del digits, Just how
Speaker 6: much does that mean to you?
Speaker 14: It means a lot, So most sacks I got in
Speaker 14: my life. I started playing late junior year in high school,
Speaker 14: So I know it's ten to y'all, but it's like
Speaker 14: it's a milestone of me. So yeah, it feels good.
Speaker 4: Calvin no I mentioned that this was a goal for
Speaker 4: you and him to both get double digit sacks, to
Speaker 4: kind of get after the last time that happened for
Speaker 4: the Raven's history. Just you were one away from being
Speaker 4: able to eclipse that. Just did you feel pressure to
Speaker 4: get onto that and what did it mean when you
Speaker 4: finally did get.
Speaker 8: That ten sack?
Speaker 14: I mean, I felt like I could have gotten a lot,
Speaker 14: I like a few games before or that, So I
Speaker 14: did feel a little pressure. But you know, I feel
Speaker 14: like I've been having that pressure since I got in
Speaker 14: the league. So I found a better ways of, you know,
Speaker 14: trying to comport it and you know, transform into how
Speaker 14: I play. So I just use it as you know,
Speaker 14: come on, but pressing on you, I get it.
Speaker 6: So it wasn't really pressure. They just given her this
Speaker 6: This season started. Now you guys are AFC North Champs.
Speaker 6: Just what is that feeling? Just the roller coaster the
Speaker 6: season to be where you are now in the position
Speaker 6: to host a.
Speaker 14: Home game, it feels good. Just everything we said it
Speaker 14: was going to happen off season, all the people we
Speaker 14: had to prove, you know, right, or prove prove wrong.
Speaker 14: We proved ourselves right. It feels good. You know, I
Speaker 14: feel like this want to feels a little better than
Speaker 14: last year just because of you know, all the doubt
Speaker 14: and you know, trying to do something again. It's a
Speaker 14: little bit harder that way. New new people in crucial
Speaker 14: spots too. So and then like you said, we went
Speaker 14: through a lot of adversity in the beginning and it's
Speaker 14: a testament to zo a lot of leaders on the
Speaker 14: defense to be able to turn around and you know,
Speaker 14: not blame anyone and just go back to go to working.
Speaker 8: And you know, right right right the ship, how much
Speaker 8: deference is the defense playing with right now?
Speaker 6: I mean back to back weeks. You guys get picked sixes.
Speaker 4: You know, you and Kyle double digit sacks, Michael Pierce
Speaker 4: wan with an interception.
Speaker 6: How much confidence is the defense?
Speaker 14: A lot? I feel like Houston was a good good
Speaker 14: like you don't start to what the defense really could be.
Speaker 14: But I feel like each time we have a good game,
Speaker 14: it's just like letting us know what we can be,
Speaker 14: and it's like a different form of like dominant. So
Speaker 14: like this game was great, we got someone like four
Speaker 14: hundred pounds get an interception. Like there's levels to this defense,
Speaker 14: and you know we're just tapping into it. I'm learning
Speaker 14: more ways, more different you know, stages of how we
Speaker 14: can get better and dominant.
Speaker 1: When you hit a milestone like double sacks, do you
Speaker 1: think about the path through to get to this point
Speaker 1: and all that you got through?
Speaker 14: Yeah, I think about all that, But it's like I
Speaker 14: told them, it's like that's what fused you to keep going. Obviously,
Speaker 14: when you have games where you don't get sacked, stretches
Speaker 14: where you don't get sacked, and you know you hear
Speaker 14: everything and you know can't doubt yourself, You'll just keep
Speaker 14: on leaning back on what got you here. The work
Speaker 14: and then that driving passion. You know, they want to
Speaker 14: see you stop, they want to see lou So don't
Speaker 14: do that, you know. So I feel like that's what
Speaker 14: I kept telling myself, and you can't look. I'm looking
Speaker 14: forward to the playoffs and even next year.
Speaker 12: So definitely there were times earlier in the year where
Speaker 12: the offensive cars since we love you guys, best defense
Speaker 12: in the NFL, and the ways.
Speaker 6: Turning around associated.
Speaker 14: I feel like, like I said, we knew who we
Speaker 14: were in the beginning. It's just that certain things we
Speaker 14: weren't doing in terms of, you know, playing the defense
Speaker 14: the right way. It's a new it was a new team,
Speaker 14: so we were trying to do things like we did
Speaker 14: last year. I feel like I said, it's testament to
Speaker 14: the players on the team and zo to step back
Speaker 14: and like rearrange things and like, you know, go back
Speaker 14: to work, don't blame anyone. And we found a way
Speaker 14: to do it.
Speaker 6: And that's that's the ingredients of a good team. Nothing
Speaker 6: how value was And to be able to play at home,
Speaker 6: that's big.
Speaker 14: I don't like to play anywhere else but home, you know,
Speaker 14: to be honest. So that's real big, and it's see
Speaker 14: the Charger that still is right. So both both teams
Speaker 14: that we've beaten before, we'll have the home crowd behind us.
Speaker 6: So that's a good situation for us. Every year of
Speaker 6: the expectation of Baltimore is double digit wins cloud appearance.
Speaker 6: Do you ever take it for granted that you guys
Speaker 6: are we find yourself back?
Speaker 14: I mean a guy like me that's that got drafted here,
Speaker 14: I might because I haven't seen anything else since I've
Speaker 14: been here. I guess the first year, second year, we're
Speaker 14: a little bit streaky, but it's just been dominant consistency, discipline.
Speaker 14: That's you know, it's the Ravens. So for me, yeah,
Speaker 14: I might, but I really I tried really not to
Speaker 14: because I have vets and guys that have come from
Speaker 14: other teams that know, like, this is not easy to do.
Speaker 14: So I feel like that's a good blend of young
Speaker 14: guys and old guys, so we understand like the opportunity
Speaker 14: we have and we capitalize on them. Oh no, you're
Speaker 14: just thought because I thought he was gonna hurt him,
Speaker 14: so when he went down, so he was just like, yo,
Speaker 14: we're having you good, and you know, just pumping him
Speaker 14: up because he couldn't have happened anyone better.
Speaker 6: So yeah, app sire.
Speaker 1: We also heard from running back Derrick Henry. He finished
Speaker 1: with more than one hundred yards on the ground and
Speaker 1: a pair of touchdowns for his birthday. He certainly was
Speaker 1: excited about winning the division and coming up with another
Speaker 1: big game in the process.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 15: This plus, man, it's been about three years since I've
Speaker 15: ever been able to do this. Love his team, love
Speaker 15: his organization, great coast to be able to have this moment.
Speaker 15: And yeah, fun your fantage point on Michael Pierce? Your
Speaker 15: vantage point of Michael Pierce?
Speaker 12: What did you see it?
Speaker 6: Then? Oh?
Speaker 15: Man, like up here he's got light feet many now
Speaker 15: he couldn't move.
Speaker 14: He ended up getting this this first.
Speaker 15: Pick in his career, which is so cool for him.
Speaker 2: Man, he works hard.
Speaker 6: He definitely desertly happened more.
Speaker 8: That's very I under saying two touchdowns on your birthday?
Speaker 6: How do you feel about that?
Speaker 1: Yeah, God is good.
Speaker 15: Thankful for my teammates, coaches, for me to have success,
Speaker 15: and yeah, man, just just grateful. I'm thirty one, so
Speaker 15: let they make them come around to alten. You know,
Speaker 15: the the clock is ticket, but we're definitely grateful and
Speaker 15: thank you.
Speaker 1: Rat second, then.
Speaker 2: We're sixty parents eight yards Massinison.
Speaker 15: But thirty years, I think we just got in the rhythm.
Speaker 15: You know, we started off slow a little bit as
Speaker 15: an offense. We just had to get things going and
Speaker 15: we're calling goodell and then.
Speaker 4: Dereck, you mentioned that it's been three years, has been
Speaker 4: in the playoffs, and uh, these opportunities, how do.
Speaker 8: You kind of take the urgency at these moments?
Speaker 15: Yeah, you know, definitely grateful to be able to have
Speaker 15: opportunities to get in the playoffs. Like you said, it's
Speaker 15: been three years. The reason why I came here to
Speaker 15: have off the opportunities that.
Speaker 14: We know in that thing, you know, we gotta do.
Speaker 15: You know, we got to lock in and you know,
Speaker 15: prepare right and get ready for this week down of
Speaker 15: the bye.
Speaker 9: Week for wings, for this team, how much has the
Speaker 9: mind set shifted or what's ahead of you in the
Speaker 9: playoffs since that, by way.
Speaker 15: Let's just credit everybody in this whole organization just just
Speaker 15: locking in. Don't know what we need to do to
Speaker 15: give ourselves a chance of going into the playoffs the
Speaker 15: right way, and like everybody did a great.
Speaker 6: Job doing that.
Speaker 12: Starting.
Speaker 15: But yeah, definitely before you know, that's what you know,
Speaker 15: that's what you want going to the playoffs at home
Speaker 15: home playoff game in front of the home crowd, out
Speaker 15: the momentium your side.
Speaker 6: That's gonna be big for us and whatever. We would
Speaker 6: really do that sign here you get the fields.
Speaker 4: So what it what it would feel like to be
Speaker 4: a part of this team and to accomplish these goals.
Speaker 4: Now that you guys to the one game north, I
Speaker 4: know you guys, you're not finished, but kind of how
Speaker 4: does this home field right now with the woman.
Speaker 6: Everybody you guys area, So I'm grateful. I love it.
Speaker 6: This is why I came here.
Speaker 15: You got the first the goals done is winner division,
Speaker 15: but it's still a much more route we need to accomplish.
Speaker 15: Enjoyed this one and then get ready to.
Speaker 1: Playoff and then last but not least, we also heard
Speaker 1: from Michael Pierce. He came up with an interception late
Speaker 1: in this game to put the nail on the coffin
Speaker 1: as the Ravens won this one. You don't see defensive
Speaker 1: tackles come up with too many interceptions, so it was
Speaker 1: a big moment for Mike and the team definitely enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: Here's what he had to say after the.
Speaker 2: Game, congratua, thank you, thank you, thank you, and how
Speaker 2: could have started to this game?
Speaker 6: Too talented?
Speaker 11: This was impress with the way you finished, say a time,
Speaker 11: this was I pressed with the way you guys finished stop.
Speaker 7: Yeah, no, man, We've had a lot of trouble finishing
Speaker 7: games and do all that stuff throughout the years, not
Speaker 7: only this season. So for us to just come out
Speaker 7: finish the season the way we want to, more importantly
Speaker 7: going to the playoffs.
Speaker 10: Right whereas defense came together, offense really came together, new
Speaker 10: second and talking about both sides really putting it together
Speaker 10: a new.
Speaker 7: Seconds complimentary football. So, like the coach says, everybody preaches
Speaker 7: the simple football going into January and then you know,
Speaker 7: hopefully rolling into the again of February, ain't complimented football, defense,
Speaker 7: off and special teams. Everything coming together is what's most important.
Speaker 7: So for us to do that, you know today, like
Speaker 7: I said, hopefully that continues to roll over next week,
Speaker 7: the next week, the next week. So now I'm proud
Speaker 7: of everybody. We we had a blast today. It was good,
Speaker 7: but uh, like I said, the real the real work
Speaker 7: starts next morning.
Speaker 8: It's your first career in I want to try six.
Speaker 7: So there's a long history of turning big guy interceptions
Speaker 7: and fumble and all that stuff, and the means so
Speaker 7: at the risk of ruining a career.
Speaker 8: Play like that for myself, it's time to go home.
Speaker 6: So which us was out of gas?
Speaker 8: We're good.
Speaker 6: It's not the first interception that you ever had.
Speaker 7: Yes, first for a couple a couple of fumbles, but
Speaker 7: first time catching this, like, like ever win.
Speaker 2: What that means?
Speaker 6: It means everything.
Speaker 7: Man, it's a year nine, Like I had an injury
Speaker 7: this year, so just trying to find my way back
Speaker 7: from my rhythm and all that stuff.
Speaker 6: It's kind of tough.
Speaker 7: But uh, I had that happen, like God is God
Speaker 7: is a funny, funny God. So I'm grateful and uh,
Speaker 7: like I said, I got to call it more important.
Speaker 6: Can you describe the emotion shoes that you went through
Speaker 6: when you caught that ball? Yeah, I'm gonna be honest.
Speaker 6: I don't want to curse on.
Speaker 7: Luck on TV, but oh, gess word. You know what
Speaker 7: I'm saying, say, oh my god, you really do this football.
Speaker 7: So no, I got fairly decent hands. I'm glad I
Speaker 7: called it, and uh like I said, coach Spreech the
Speaker 7: smart football and like I said, I don't end up
Speaker 7: on the meme or Instagram, my wife and everybody laughing
Speaker 7: at me.
Speaker 2: So we we did the right thing.
Speaker 8: We got down to Kevin moving.
Speaker 11: How satisfying is that this team started to go in
Speaker 11: to defense really put in the work.
Speaker 7: Yeah, no, I mean that was really tough to be
Speaker 7: completely honest, Uh exact question, have us question you know,
Speaker 7: we brought a lot of people.
Speaker 6: I'm sure they questioned the air decision making.
Speaker 7: So for us to fight back to uh, you know,
Speaker 7: have a good run defense, pass defense gotten a lot better.
Speaker 6: More important.
Speaker 8: That puts us in the chances, you know, to to
Speaker 8: get to the big one. So now it's it's what
Speaker 8: you work for.
Speaker 7: So we were definitely glad to have everything on the
Speaker 7: right track and have some momentum one forward.
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