Speaker 1: Welcommanded the Ravens Press Pass podcast. It is Tuesday, June fourth,
Speaker 1: and today the Ravens continued with organized team activities. Today
Speaker 1: we had a chance to hear from second year linebacker
Speaker 1: Trenton Simpson.
Speaker 2: Man a year of growth.
Speaker 3: It's just it's it's been full circle.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 5: It's taking every day my rookie year, just day by day,
Speaker 5: learning from Rokowann and Patrick Quin, you know, just taking
Speaker 5: it day by day and now it's just like, man,
Speaker 5: I'm ready to roll. Like just every practice I'm getting
Speaker 5: more comfortable and more comfortable. So just taking it day
Speaker 5: at a time, being blessed for the opportunity and just
Speaker 5: making every play count.
Speaker 2: It's been the most difficult thing to learn.
Speaker 5: Uh, just I mean really just just getting reps, you know,
Speaker 5: just got to keep repping and being on the field
Speaker 5: with the guys, you know, being on the field with
Speaker 5: Rock on who I'm gonna play. Besides just making the
Speaker 5: things more a lot natural and more easier for me
Speaker 5: with the communication and just being ahead of the offense
Speaker 5: before the boss.
Speaker 6: Now, what's the biggest area of improvement that you've seen
Speaker 6: in your own game from you know, this time last.
Speaker 5: Year to now I say communication, like talking, relaying the call,
Speaker 5: everybody being on the same page. You know, that's just
Speaker 5: what the year of growth gives you. Just being being
Speaker 5: a part of a great defense like the Ravens. You know,
Speaker 5: everybody on the same page, loud communication. You know, it's
Speaker 5: He'll take the defense. So far talked about the.
Speaker 7: Growth, but you were able to play in that.
Speaker 6: Regular season finale against Pittsburgh going into the off season
Speaker 6: and knowing the expectations for you and your two how important.
Speaker 8: Was that game for you to apply everything to.
Speaker 5: Learn and get results in It was the great the
Speaker 5: best thing that could have happened to me, because it
Speaker 5: was I had to be patient throughout the season for
Speaker 5: my moment to come, and when it came, I was
Speaker 5: prepared and it was just that boost confidence that I needed,
Speaker 5: Like you said, heading into the off season on like man,
Speaker 5: I belong. You know, I'm ready to play. So it
Speaker 5: was a blessing. It was God's tim and I feel
Speaker 5: like when I got a chance to go out there
Speaker 5: and display what I can do, I feel like I
Speaker 5: made the most out of it.
Speaker 9: Officially said elsewhere, was it kind of like Okay, let's go.
Speaker 9: You know, this is I'm definitely gonna get my answer.
Speaker 9: How did you kind of process that?
Speaker 5: Yeah, No, it was definitely a blessing. You know, I
Speaker 5: wish him the best. You know, we had a great relationship.
Speaker 5: He was a great mentor for me for my rookie year.
Speaker 5: But I learned so much from him. So now just
Speaker 5: taking what he learned and you know, just making the
Speaker 5: most out of my opportunity and coming in and you know,
Speaker 5: doing the best that train simps can do.
Speaker 7: I think even as a true freshman at Clemson, you
Speaker 7: played in every game. So for you last year, I
Speaker 7: know you were getting reps on special teams, but was
Speaker 7: it was it tough for you in any kind of
Speaker 7: way to be not the you know it, like a
Speaker 7: prominent piece on defense.
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 5: Yeah, it definitely humbled me a little bit, but it
Speaker 5: was it was exactly what I needed because it was
Speaker 5: a year of growth and it was a chance to
Speaker 5: come practice in the NFL, you know, And that's a
Speaker 5: blessing because I wasn't rustling through into any type of press.
Speaker 5: I was able to grow every week on scout team,
Speaker 5: and then when I got a chance to play on
Speaker 5: week team, I had seventeen weeks of practice you know.
Speaker 3: So I was, I was ready to row man.
Speaker 5: It's a blessing and everything happens for a reason, So
Speaker 5: I'm blessed to be here and ready for your two Sure,
Speaker 5: what was.
Speaker 10: Your mentality like coming into this year understanding you know,
Speaker 10: obviously the position that you're in to be have a
Speaker 10: bigger role, but also you know it's your second year,
Speaker 10: you're no longer a rookie.
Speaker 5: Man just ready to roll, you know, just attacking every day,
Speaker 5: make every every practice rep like a game rep, you know,
Speaker 5: just communicating, being on the same page, and just every
Speaker 5: day just learning something like I'm meeting with coach Marty
Speaker 5: every day watching practice films so he can see how
Speaker 5: I see the game and he can teach me.
Speaker 7: Man.
Speaker 5: Just taking taking a more professional approach, taking care of
Speaker 5: my body, you know, just you know, it's my time
Speaker 5: to go, so you know, I just take every day
Speaker 5: and it's a blessing to make it count.
Speaker 6: So exacts, you're just your coach last year and now
Speaker 6: him or the whole defense.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just that.
Speaker 9: Has that helped you and the answer your understanding of
Speaker 9: you know, your role of.
Speaker 6: Where it fits getting the larger picture.
Speaker 5: Yeaes sir, definitely like being in the room him as
Speaker 5: my linebacker coach, just us getting annoy each other on
Speaker 5: a personal level, and then just being able to talk ball.
Speaker 5: He understands me and I understand him. So it's made
Speaker 5: a very natural transition for me. And I'm excited, you know,
Speaker 5: just that that room and then just seeing him at
Speaker 5: decoordinator and then the linebacker coach Martin, We're all just
Speaker 5: everything is going in the right direction for sure.
Speaker 1: In line for a you know, for a starting job
Speaker 1: after after what is the what is the thought process
Speaker 1: and as the feeling going into this year, you know
Speaker 1: that you.
Speaker 3: Have that you know, that opportunity from here it's a blessing.
Speaker 4: Man.
Speaker 5: I mean, I'm living my dream, you know what I mean.
Speaker 5: And just to be able to be in the National
Speaker 5: Football League something I dreamed us since I was six
Speaker 5: years old. It's like, my opportunity is here and and
Speaker 5: life these don't come around that minute, so you got
Speaker 5: to make the most out of it. And starting from
Speaker 5: when we started back, you know, getting going with the
Speaker 5: OTAs to now just taking it every day at a
Speaker 5: time and then by the time is ready to row
Speaker 5: for game one, I'll be ready, you know, just taking
Speaker 5: it day by day?
Speaker 6: What was the what was the thought?
Speaker 3: So my mother actually wore twenty.
Speaker 5: Three in softball and basketball, and I got a great
Speaker 5: relationship with my mother, very tight, and I just wanted
Speaker 5: to you know, that's something that's connection between me and her.
Speaker 2: So yeah, like.
Speaker 9: Lining up next to Rope, you know now that that
Speaker 9: you're just far with him and here's such an out,
Speaker 9: such a dominant player.
Speaker 3: How do you how do you mess with that man?
Speaker 5: Blessing because that dude is a dog man mentality every
Speaker 5: single day, you know, seven in the morning, early workout.
Speaker 5: That mentality is the same which I'll see on Sunday. So, uh,
Speaker 5: it's a blessing to be besides someone like that. Learn
Speaker 5: from him. Also, sitting right beside him in film whenever
Speaker 5: I got a question, you know, he's there to answer it.
Speaker 5: And off the field, the relationships has grown a lot also,
Speaker 5: So this every single day just learning something from him
Speaker 5: and you know, matching his energy. You know, that's something
Speaker 5: I've picked up communication and matching energy every day as
Speaker 5: a linebacker and lead the defense.
Speaker 2: You know, so.
Speaker 9: Even when you're not here and kind of what's the
Speaker 9: what's the nature of that and and how impores that.
Speaker 3: Maybe it's a building partnership there.
Speaker 5: Man, it means a lot to know somebody in their
Speaker 5: background and you know, going to go grab dinner, you know,
Speaker 5: hanging out and watching the game takes a relationship so
Speaker 5: much farther cause you know you'll go that extra mouth
Speaker 5: for somebody that you know and you you got a
Speaker 5: great relationship with. So man, it's been a blessing to
Speaker 5: you know, get to know him more and more going
Speaker 5: on into your two for sure.
Speaker 2: One off that.
Speaker 4: pH said that bro never shuts up.
Speaker 8: Have you gotten used to that?
Speaker 2: Well?
Speaker 5: Nah, I mean I love It's it's his personality is man,
Speaker 5: it's amazing. You know when he comes around, he gonna
Speaker 5: say something funny, gonna make you live. So uh, just
Speaker 5: that personality and that smile. You know, it's an affectious
Speaker 5: to everybody around him, and it it makes you just
Speaker 5: like you always say, just take advantage of every day.
Speaker 5: You never know it's gonna be a live So you
Speaker 5: know it's we're playing football. I mean, what other better
Speaker 5: job can you have? You know, So his personality and
Speaker 5: the way he texted the day every day, I feel
Speaker 5: like it it it impacts everybody around him.
Speaker 2: For sure, I'm talking about going into year two from
Speaker 2: year one.
Speaker 7: It's a kind of trippy to have Nate come in
Speaker 7: as a former teammate and and sort of like you're
Speaker 7: you're now in the position of, I guess helping him
Speaker 7: acclimate and giving him advice.
Speaker 3: To that kind of trippy.
Speaker 5: Yeah, man, cause it's cool because I seen him coming
Speaker 5: in at Clemson as a freshman. I was going into
Speaker 5: my sophomore year. So uh, just being back with my
Speaker 5: college brother, you know what I mean, It's it's gonna
Speaker 5: be awesome. I'm excited to see him grow as I'm growing.
Speaker 5: And uh, just that off the field relationship and being
Speaker 5: on the field. We already had that bond since Clemson,
Speaker 5: so uh, just taking it to another level with the Ravens.
Speaker 11: Now, what should people expect since yeah, a lot of
Speaker 11: people have seen that, What could people expect him?
Speaker 3: High effort?
Speaker 5: One player that goes back to mine with me is
Speaker 5: that play against North Carolina, him running and punching the
Speaker 5: ball out. That's that's him as a player. You know,
Speaker 5: I got a chance to play with him for two
Speaker 5: years and witness stat every day in practice.
Speaker 3: He's super competitive.
Speaker 5: So man, I'm super excited like when I seen we
Speaker 5: draft him, I'm like, that's the right fit, you know
Speaker 5: what I mean. He's he's a hard working guy, high energy,
Speaker 5: and y'all gonna love him.
Speaker 7: You tell his looks more physically filled out than the
Speaker 7: guy you remember at Clemson.
Speaker 11: Yeah, yeah, he's definitely gaining a little weight, you know.
Speaker 5: So I mean he's he's so fast, man, nobody's gonna
Speaker 5: run past them.
Speaker 3: So any whatever the nutrition staff and the coaches feel.
Speaker 5: Is best for him, and I'm excited for him, But
Speaker 5: I know nobody's running pass Nate Wiggins.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know that for a fact.
Speaker 7: About was physically getting figures, like how did you approach
Speaker 7: that Offason and the where you at from a physicality
Speaker 7: standpoint and in size standputing your.
Speaker 5: Work this time last year, I'd say I gained a
Speaker 5: couple of pounds. I'm up to like two thirty five
Speaker 5: to thirty six. But I just nutrition wise, you know,
Speaker 5: trusting Sarah and the staff, you know, with shakes and
Speaker 5: the way to eat, you know, just becoming a pro
Speaker 5: taking care of my body, massages things like that is
Speaker 5: just another level of the year two that I'm taking
Speaker 5: it too. Learning from Rokwan and PQ that's those things
Speaker 5: they did to get ready for games. So just learning
Speaker 5: every year for sure.
Speaker 10: Obviously last year you're a rookie, you're learning the defense,
Speaker 10: and this year you've got Zach or taking over the
Speaker 10: defensive coordinator. Is it like you're relearning all over again
Speaker 10: or is it does it feel like you're kind of
Speaker 10: picking up off.
Speaker 2: Of last year? Man?
Speaker 5: The blessing is I mean it's the same defense, you
Speaker 5: know what I mean, we have the same terminology, so
Speaker 5: it'll be able to I've been translating very well. And
Speaker 5: then just the extra one on one time with my
Speaker 5: coaches and you know, studying film on my own at
Speaker 5: home more often has made the transition a lot easier
Speaker 5: for sure.
Speaker 6: Is happy?
Speaker 7: And did you flip a switch on the field.
Speaker 2: On the tenacity?
Speaker 5: Yeah, when we get between those lines, you know, it's
Speaker 5: it's a whole another person. But you know, outside the ball,
Speaker 5: you know, I'm just loving outgoing. But when it's time
Speaker 5: to put that helmet on this, you know it's time
Speaker 5: to go. So you know, you know, you gotta have
Speaker 5: that switch as a football player, But when it's time
Speaker 5: to get in the lines, you know it's go time.
Speaker 2: For sure.
Speaker 1: We also heard from veteran wide receiver Nelson Agawar.
Speaker 12: Guys like yourself had a year job system, how much more?
Speaker 6: I guess how much help would you think that would
Speaker 6: be for the guys coming back to be in.
Speaker 2: The here too.
Speaker 12: Uh, it's a it's very helpful because we know how
Speaker 12: he thinks, and even in this.
Speaker 2: This off season, he's done a really good.
Speaker 12: Job of allowing us to die even deeper in his
Speaker 12: thought process and how he sees his offense working between
Speaker 12: him coach Harrorball, you know T Martin, you know coach.
Speaker 2: Lewis, our receiver coach.
Speaker 12: Everybody wants us to truly understand the objective, why we're
Speaker 12: running routes, why we're getting out of routes, what we're
Speaker 12: seeing from defenses, and what it looks like for us
Speaker 12: to you know, do what we need to do well newly.
Speaker 7: From from year one year two.
Speaker 3: I know these are kind of.
Speaker 7: Early days in the install, but how much would you
Speaker 7: say it's changed for for this offense?
Speaker 12: First, I mean, familiarity is are positive, so we're more familiar.
Speaker 12: So in terms of change, I would say it's just
Speaker 12: a better understanding. Better understanding allows you to play fast.
Speaker 12: Better understanding allows you to make adjustments. So the change
Speaker 12: is more of the knowledge and how we're teaching things
Speaker 12: that work really well and how we're trying to eliminate things.
Speaker 2: That we may have struggled at. That's what got better
Speaker 2: in the.
Speaker 7: Last game in the playoffs is always one that the
Speaker 7: second guys who asked a couple of guys felt like,
Speaker 7: you know, how they're moving on for some you guys
Speaker 7: are just thinking about some guys are moving on our.
Speaker 6: Our you approaching that Kansas City game that is in
Speaker 6: the last season.
Speaker 12: Uh, I probably have a different pos than most because
Speaker 12: it each year has a new life. You're always motivated
Speaker 12: by shortcomings, but you also have to embrace the new opportunity.
Speaker 12: Everybody has the same goal right now in the NFL.
Speaker 12: Every player has the same goal, every team has the
Speaker 12: same goal, and that's to get the Lombardi. So what
Speaker 12: happened last season can fuel you in terms of your focus,
Speaker 12: but you have.
Speaker 2: To be present with what you're being taught.
Speaker 4: Now knows you're signing the the extension. I guess how
Speaker 4: did that come about? Why did you want to be
Speaker 4: here longer?
Speaker 7: And what are your goals?
Speaker 4: Just you know in this next year.
Speaker 2: Well, first of all. I'm blessed to be in your ten.
Speaker 12: Like I mean, if you told me as a child
Speaker 12: I played ten years in the National Football League and
Speaker 12: feel the way I feel, I would scratch my head
Speaker 12: cause I feel may I have a lot of fun
Speaker 12: doing what I do. I mean, I run all day
Speaker 12: and have a good time, So that's a blessing.
Speaker 2: But then to do it here, this place makes it
Speaker 2: even more enjoyable.
Speaker 12: You know, this is family, this is home, familiarity, and
Speaker 12: just a great group of dudes, from my quarterback to
Speaker 12: the guys I play receive you with, to the guys
Speaker 12: I practice with every day on the defensive side of
Speaker 12: the ball.
Speaker 2: They make me better, but we also just enjoy each other.
Speaker 12: So I couldn't be more happy that I got to
Speaker 12: play year ten in Baltimore and live here and do
Speaker 12: what I do.
Speaker 9: You're in your tens days in your two, Chelle, it's
Speaker 9: in your four.
Speaker 2: What do you think we're gonna sit in these twos? Competition?
Speaker 2: They're gonna compete, They can get better. They make a
Speaker 2: lot of plays.
Speaker 12: I think those two guys are two very electric players,
Speaker 12: but also two very tough minded dudes, And that's what
Speaker 12: you get from veterans, you get tough, minded, you get resilient.
Speaker 12: Where next play mentality because if everybody thought that you're
Speaker 12: gonna be perfect week in and.
Speaker 2: Week out, that's a lie.
Speaker 12: A veteran, it separates himself from a rookie because he
Speaker 12: has a next play mentality and he's able to bounce back.
Speaker 2: When things don't go ideal.
Speaker 12: And I think those two guys have done a great
Speaker 12: job of that. You know, Bateman has done an amazing job.
Speaker 2: And say, man, he's he's hungry, he's hungry and he's
Speaker 2: a great player.
Speaker 7: No, yeah, I think you've worked out with him a
Speaker 7: couple of times on your own asse. What's stuck out
Speaker 7: to you about just what it's like working out with him?
Speaker 12: I just love the way he likes to work, honestly.
Speaker 12: You know, he's a young dude that loves football. He
Speaker 12: loves grinding. He loves just anything about it. Whether we're
Speaker 12: out running, whether we're speed training, whether we're weightlifting, whether
Speaker 12: we're doing recovery. He's embraced everything I've kind of introduced
Speaker 12: him to or ideas he's had. He's like, Yo, Nell,
Speaker 12: you want to join me with this? Or Nelly, can
Speaker 12: I join you with that and it's cool because you
Speaker 12: know that's where the brotherhood comes from. And that's when
Speaker 12: you know crucial situation, third and whatever. You know, you
Speaker 12: trust each other and you work well for each other.
Speaker 10: Know when you think of the two rookie corners, TJ.
Speaker 10: Tampa and UH Wiggins, Uh, what do you? What have
Speaker 10: you seen from them?
Speaker 2: And U? What do you?
Speaker 10: What is it like when you're lining up against these guys,
Speaker 10: When you're the veteran corn up against some of these
Speaker 10: rookies that you approach it differently?
Speaker 2: How do you go?
Speaker 12: First thing I do is I I truly wanna make
Speaker 12: them feel comfortable in terms of like, I'm happy you
Speaker 12: are here because they will make.
Speaker 2: Us a better football team. I truly believe that.
Speaker 12: And then when we compete, if I even get one
Speaker 12: little bit on them, I'll let them know so they
Speaker 12: could feel like, man, I'm not gonna let this old
Speaker 12: head like you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: Like it's a good thing.
Speaker 12: And they're both super competitive and they have great feed
Speaker 12: and they got good feel and they're gonna get better.
Speaker 12: It's my job as an older guy to be present
Speaker 12: and alive when I go against them. I can't relax
Speaker 12: I have to like do things different things I know
Speaker 12: from creativity, from guys I've learned from back in the day,
Speaker 12: and also share some information.
Speaker 2: I know of other.
Speaker 12: Corners I've gone against, but I think they're too talented dudes,
Speaker 12: and I'm great to play with him.
Speaker 9: You guys have a lot of confidence in Josh as quarterback.
Speaker 9: But what's it like to have when you have a
Speaker 9: practice in and.
Speaker 12: You have Lamar after a throwing the ball, I mean
Speaker 12: Lamar Jackson's Lamar Jackson. You know, he does an amazing job,
Speaker 12: you know, just kind of going through his progression. You know,
Speaker 12: he has unreal arm angles, but he also just knows
Speaker 12: how to see everything the way he needs to see
Speaker 12: it in the game, and you know, when the defense
Speaker 12: is giving you something, does a great job. But like
Speaker 12: you started, you're talking about Josh, Josh has done an
Speaker 12: amazing job this offseason.
Speaker 2: You know, he just continues to lead.
Speaker 12: He continues to like put everybody in position, and he's
Speaker 12: also doing a good job helping the two younger quarterbacks.
Speaker 12: You know, and and Lamar does a great job because
Speaker 12: those two young quarterbacks see a guy just execute.
Speaker 2: And just have command. Lamar has command without it being
Speaker 2: overly like, uh, he could just do it. You know,
Speaker 2: he does it and we understand it.
Speaker 6: Speaking of Lamar, looks like you joined you know, him
Speaker 6: and Zay down in South Florida. I think it was
Speaker 6: last week. Did you did you run you know, run
Speaker 6: stuff with them? And what kind of stuff did you
Speaker 6: did You all sort of work on talk.
Speaker 12: About top secret, but we were were training getting better.
Speaker 12: You know, we're all Floridians, so we enjoy training down
Speaker 12: there in that heat and it's a good time.
Speaker 6: And what do you see just from him? I know
Speaker 6: it's obviously early days, but you know from your first
Speaker 6: impressions that you got here last year to now.
Speaker 12: I mean I I I got to spend time with
Speaker 12: him last all season also, and I just I always say,
Speaker 12: people don't realize how cerebral Lebron Jackson is, the conversations
Speaker 12: he has with you one on one about what he
Speaker 12: sees and what you may see, like even today, like
Speaker 12: I'll be honest, I had a in cut like basic
Speaker 12: and my mannerisms was the reason why I didn't complete
Speaker 12: the ball because I saw something and he saw something else.
Speaker 12: And whether we completed it or not, just then I
Speaker 12: got better when I walked to the sideline and he
Speaker 12: showed me on the film.
Speaker 2: He's like, yo, Nelly.
Speaker 12: The reason why I'm thinking keep going is because I
Speaker 12: look at this NIKEL when I see his biling as.
Speaker 12: I said, Well, I did take a snapshot the nickel
Speaker 12: and I thought he's gonna drop, but he said.
Speaker 2: He ain't gonna get there by the time. I'm a
Speaker 2: zippit it. I'm a zipp it two yards here.
Speaker 12: And that was what makes a special quarterback special because
Speaker 12: you may see something, but when they allow you to
Speaker 12: see what they see, you now can be consistent with
Speaker 12: your you know, mannerisms and your cuts.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Nellie appreciated.
Speaker 1: Today after practice, we also had a chance to hear
Speaker 1: from defensive line coach Dennis Johnson, who joined the staff
Speaker 1: this offseason.
Speaker 11: Good afternoon, I know this is my first time speaking
Speaker 11: with you all. I wanted to say how thankful I
Speaker 11: am to Coach Harb's and the Raven organization for having
Speaker 11: me here to be a part of this, this team
Speaker 11: with the defensive line and a special group. So would
Speaker 11: you have a question?
Speaker 2: You have ready to take.
Speaker 6: Them definitely the iron process.
Speaker 5: And will be in this such a HELI opportunity.
Speaker 11: So I've been in an a good situation in college.
Speaker 11: I've been a part of you know, some really good
Speaker 11: defense with some really good defensive mind coach. So it
Speaker 11: take like, you know, a special place like this to
Speaker 11: get your interest to pull you away, you know, a
Speaker 11: defensive rich program like this. You have to try, you
Speaker 11: know what I mean? And I know the process is
Speaker 11: kind of long. You know, they get to know you
Speaker 11: on and off the field, bring in for interviews, you
Speaker 11: talk to everybody. It's just it kind of moves kind
Speaker 11: of fast on you. But uh, it was, it was
Speaker 11: I learned a lot even within the interview process with
Speaker 11: the questions they ask, and you know the defense that
Speaker 11: they're run. You know, you have your film and you're
Speaker 11: watching their film and you get to talk ball. So
Speaker 11: it was a real, real cool educational process.
Speaker 6: Dennis, how did you.
Speaker 1: Approach becoming the coach of a group that is returning
Speaker 1: off from last year the four or five Ravens defensive planning?
Speaker 11: Great question. So that that's a veteran group, right, and
Speaker 11: so you want to add to it, show them things
Speaker 11: that they may not know, new techniques, I progressions, Uh,
Speaker 11: where I want to put my hands in certain alignments,
Speaker 11: you know, just fine tune them to make them better.
Speaker 11: You know, I know some of the run stuff that
Speaker 11: we we've kind of changed and improved, They've taken to it,
Speaker 11: you know, like a fish and water. H So they're eager.
Speaker 11: That group wants to learn. They want to know how
Speaker 11: can I do it better?
Speaker 2: Coach?
Speaker 11: How can I do it faster? And that helps with
Speaker 11: that entire process.
Speaker 2: Trust Jones took a.
Speaker 9: Step forward unless year probably still didn't get a ton
Speaker 9: of attention for a community. Do you see him as
Speaker 9: a guy who could break out in a big way
Speaker 9: like Justin did last year?
Speaker 11: I mean that is, does he have that kind of
Speaker 11: backage From what I've seen from trave He is a
Speaker 11: special human first, special man and then a special football player.
Speaker 11: Talented and he wants it just as bad as anybody
Speaker 11: you'd be around. You wanna talk about attention of detail,
Speaker 11: That's how he approached every day, whether it was football
Speaker 11: school or it's been OTA's in the meetings. I think
Speaker 11: he should be. You know, he has continue to work
Speaker 11: in which I know he will, but he'll be in
Speaker 11: that type of position, you know, to have a successful season.
Speaker 4: Just being hired in the off season how quickly did
Speaker 4: you jump into the draft process? And I know they
Speaker 4: invested early in a d lineman, So did you have
Speaker 4: any input on drafting and dcent?
Speaker 2: What have you seen despite him being insured?
Speaker 11: Uh So, that's kind of like when when I first started,
Speaker 11: you know, the whole draft thing, and that that was
Speaker 11: the first thing that that happened. You know, you're watching
Speaker 11: all these guys, but the beauty of it. I was
Speaker 11: coming from college, so I've either like recruited a lot
Speaker 11: of guys or watched a lot of film crossover film,
Speaker 11: so I had a chance to really know the majority
Speaker 11: of people in the in the draft luckily. But Desa
Speaker 11: is a is a good player. He kind of can
Speaker 11: give you power, he can give you speed. He's intelligent,
Speaker 11: He's learning the the defense pretty fast, and he he
Speaker 11: does a good job with the group. Uh He blends
Speaker 11: in well and the and the guys were taken to him.
Speaker 6: What is it like working with Chuck Smith?
Speaker 11: Uh So, I've known Chuck for quite some time. I
Speaker 11: remember when his son was coming out of high school
Speaker 11: and he brought him to camp when I was, uh
Speaker 11: the outside linebacker coach at LSU at the time. Uh So,
Speaker 11: I I've I've known Chuck for in it, knowing the
Speaker 11: things that he does excellent past rush coach. The guys
Speaker 11: love him. He's smart, you know, NFL player, he knows
Speaker 11: how the game goes. He's really done a great job
Speaker 11: of even like mentoring me. You know how how things
Speaker 11: are different from where I was in college to the NFL.
Speaker 11: You know things how we practice, and you know how
Speaker 11: how some guys learn how guy's communicating. So it's really
Speaker 11: been like a great team effort working with.
Speaker 7: Chub And did you know John much before he reached
Speaker 7: out to you.
Speaker 11: And said he wanted you, uh, not a whole lot
Speaker 11: other than what I seen on film. And again, like,
Speaker 11: you know that his team is gonna play great defensive
Speaker 11: football and they're gonna be competitive. And that's one thing
Speaker 11: that you know, no matter where you are, if you
Speaker 11: know anything about the NFL, you know the Ravens are
Speaker 11: gonna play great defense. And so I've always admired the
Speaker 11: entaught him and the entire program from Afar. I'm telling
Speaker 11: the guys, you know, sometimes you get a little extra
Speaker 11: time in the season when you're in college, you turn
Speaker 11: on the NFL tape, you know, to watch different stuff
Speaker 11: and you're always turning on the Ravens tap and so
Speaker 11: you get a chance to really see and learn and
Speaker 11: watch how they do it the right way.
Speaker 7: Do you think your experience in in the random system
Speaker 7: kind of gave you a leg up and a lot
Speaker 7: of what they do here in Baltimore.
Speaker 11: So yeah, again, I've been blessed to be around a
Speaker 11: lot of great defensive coaches and coach Aroanda, you know,
Speaker 11: one of one of the biggest mentors that I have,
Speaker 11: and so just the amount of football like I learned
Speaker 11: from him to to translate that here, that helped a lot.
Speaker 11: You know, it helped a lot in the interviewing process.
Speaker 11: It helped a lot coming out here in the d
Speaker 11: staff because of you know, a lot of the stuff
Speaker 11: that I've learned. I mean, it was coming from Coach Horanda.
Speaker 11: So absolutely, as a lot of the Rabis, that's a
Speaker 11: lot of different that's blidment.
Speaker 6: Opports do throughout your bactive coverage is just how unique
Speaker 6: of the system is being rand here with with Zach.
Speaker 11: Or with your helping Zach doesn't a tremendous job of
Speaker 11: one presenting the defense. You know, first to you know
Speaker 11: the defensive staff and then you know to our guys,
Speaker 11: so we're all on the same page. But that's again
Speaker 11: what makes you know this place so spec you can
Speaker 11: do so much, all right, but to them, like the players,
Speaker 11: is not as little, you know, just because of you know,
Speaker 11: maybe the word association or something like that, you know,
Speaker 11: And so the ability to do all those things you're rushing,
Speaker 11: you're dropping, you're slanting, you're playing technique really makes the defense,
Speaker 11: you know, goes especially with the effort that the guys
Speaker 11: put into it to play it. I mean, when you
Speaker 11: got that type of X and o's and you have
Speaker 11: that type of effort on film, you're gonna you're gonna
Speaker 11: play well like they have, you know, and we want
Speaker 11: to continue that and improve in the areas that we
Speaker 11: need to improve. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Another newcomer to the staff is inside linebackers coach Mark Delone,
Speaker 1: and he talked with the media after practice.
Speaker 8: Uh, first just want to thank you know, uh coach
Speaker 8: Harbarr and the Ravens or bringing me and my family
Speaker 8: here to Baltimore. You know, it was my first time
Speaker 8: talking to you guys, and just wanted to make sure
Speaker 8: you know, you guys know how appreciative I am and
Speaker 8: thankful for that.
Speaker 2: So go ahead, Mark, what.
Speaker 8: Are you seeing at our trendon Simpson early?
Speaker 11: I know there's a lot of expectations for him.
Speaker 8: Yeah, trans' awesome right now, you know, every single day
Speaker 8: getting a little bit better, uh, you know, making progress,
Speaker 8: you know, one day at a time, right, you know,
Speaker 8: young player hasn't played the position for very long, So
Speaker 8: like I'm just looking for every day just better than
Speaker 8: the than the day before, and we continue to work
Speaker 8: that progress.
Speaker 9: Particular improvement that you're looking for or seeing.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think just seeing the game right, it's a
Speaker 8: lot different, you know, you look back like from when
Speaker 8: he got to college, and like he played a lot
Speaker 8: of safety right, transitional linebackers, so like you're seeing the
Speaker 8: game at a different level, right, from.
Speaker 3: A third level player to a second level player.
Speaker 8: So I think every day seeing how he sees the game,
Speaker 8: getting his run pass reads, all those types of things,
Speaker 8: that kind of progress I think is really good. I
Speaker 8: think we all know, you know, how athletic trending is
Speaker 8: and how fast he is and those types of thing.
Speaker 8: He's great there, right, So like just seeing that every
Speaker 8: day in that progress and I love to see him doing.
Speaker 6: That just by the eye test. It feels like he's
Speaker 6: really physically transformed.
Speaker 3: He looks like a bigger guy.
Speaker 6: I mean anything that you've seen that speaks to through
Speaker 6: the physical transportations out to the.
Speaker 8: South seasons, Yeah, I mean, you know from Yeah, obviously
Speaker 8: I wasn't here with him last year, but like from
Speaker 8: what I've seen from where he is, I mean, he's
Speaker 8: about as good looking a physical specimen rights as anybody
Speaker 8: have been around.
Speaker 3: So I mean he from that standpoint, he's great.
Speaker 8: And the way he burst and his speed and acceleration
Speaker 8: is all like really good.
Speaker 3: So oh yeah.
Speaker 8: I think anytime you get to play next to a
Speaker 8: player like Roqueline at any position or any sport, right,
Speaker 8: a guy who sees the game the way Rope sees it, Uh,
Speaker 8: that's gonna make anybody who plays next to him better.
Speaker 3: And I think for Trent, as a.
Speaker 8: Young player going in the first year, he's playing a lot, right,
Speaker 8: that's a great deal.
Speaker 3: To be able to line up next to.
Speaker 8: A guy like that and communicate with a guy like
Speaker 8: that is really really good.
Speaker 4: Mark, how mean does this job with the linebackers finishing
Speaker 4: elevated to defensive coordinator? I guess what is that like?
Speaker 4: Having someone who've coached the same position, played this position
Speaker 4: that you coach, being the defensive.
Speaker 8: Coordinator, It's amazing because I can go to him anytime
Speaker 8: I want and ask him, Hey, what what what were
Speaker 8: you coaching here?
Speaker 3: How'd you coach this? I get the exact answer.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 8: The way Zach and I see the game is very similar,
Speaker 8: like how the how the position is supposed to be.
Speaker 3: Played right, And that was like a big deal.
Speaker 8: I think in the process when I got hired was
Speaker 8: him and I were very aligned.
Speaker 3: And how we saw the position.
Speaker 8: So for me, you know, being able to work with
Speaker 8: him and and and learn from him and talk to
Speaker 8: him and talk to him about linebacker play, that's been amazing.
Speaker 8: So I love it going to work with him every day,
Speaker 8: I know.
Speaker 4: But he's carrying on some of the same things that
Speaker 4: Mike still have last year. What was it about the
Speaker 4: defense that attracted you think? Is the system that you
Speaker 4: want to work with?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 8: I mean the system that's been built in here here
Speaker 8: in Baltimore is really special.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 8: The way that we can do things defensively schematically, you know,
Speaker 8: and then the way that we put the players in
Speaker 8: the positions right, so fronts, coverages, that's all really good
Speaker 8: and we can mix those things, but also the way
Speaker 8: we put players in position to succeed and the different
Speaker 8: ways that we can do it where it's complex for
Speaker 8: the offense but really simple for us.
Speaker 2: Mark.
Speaker 7: Did you have a much of a relationship with John before
Speaker 7: you got hired and how did that process.
Speaker 3: Kind of on?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 8: No, I mean, really, the first first time I met
Speaker 8: coach was was when I came here on my interview.
Speaker 8: You know, THO was the one person I had had
Speaker 8: a relationship with was was Roquand obviously I coach from Chicago,
Speaker 8: but I worked for for Coach Read for six years
Speaker 8: and obviously there's a connection there with with coach Harbond.
Speaker 8: You know, definitely I have some mutual connections there and
Speaker 8: was able to work out really well and could it
Speaker 8: be more happy to be here? An?
Speaker 6: You know, how much did you kind of lean on
Speaker 6: him because you know different.
Speaker 3: Guys than can when you have his kind of.
Speaker 7: Standing with the polo and you know his role in
Speaker 7: the locker room.
Speaker 3: How much I got to come to you transition.
Speaker 8: I mean, I don't know how much I leaned on
Speaker 8: him to get to know different guys, but I would
Speaker 8: say anytime you get to coach somebody like Roquan Smith
Speaker 8: is a blessing.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 8: Rowan Smith's a uh he's a great player. We all
Speaker 8: know that he's a better person than he is a player.
Speaker 8: So for me to have the opportunity to coach him again,
Speaker 8: be able to do that two times, that's really special.
Speaker 2: Role.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, you know, he's he's a little more mature now.
Speaker 8: You know, he's getting older and all that stuff, but
Speaker 8: he's he's the same great person he's always been and uh,
Speaker 8: you know what he goes day in and day out.
Speaker 8: The kind of person is the kind of man he is.
Speaker 8: You know, he's my I got three boys, He's their
Speaker 8: favorite player, and I'm happy about that.
Speaker 7: So, Mark, what did your years at Kansas working as
Speaker 7: an analyst? I know that that that role is kind
Speaker 7: of nebulous and a lot of people do different things
Speaker 7: depending on where you are. But I guess what did
Speaker 7: maybe stepping back or zoning in whatever you did at
Speaker 7: Kansas kind of help you, you know, just appreciate football
Speaker 7: or or study football.
Speaker 3: And oh yeah, definitely.
Speaker 8: I mean I feel like that the role I had
Speaker 8: in Kansas was much more of a big picture right
Speaker 8: thirty thousand foot view type of role. So it allowed
Speaker 8: me to step back and kind of look at the
Speaker 8: game through a different lens, you know, a more wide
Speaker 8: picture view, you know, which I think definitely now coming back.
Speaker 8: And then also you know, being able to see college
Speaker 8: football and the things that are different there as opposed
Speaker 8: to NFL scheme wise, right, and then I think that
Speaker 8: definitely helps me as I as I get into the
Speaker 8: next next phase here in the NFL. What's kind of
Speaker 8: closed with Zachy and the party as anything, whisht it
Speaker 8: out as a cours how he's with together defense.
Speaker 2: How he's correct everything out there, anything kind.
Speaker 8: Of standing out to you about that, Yeah, I mean
Speaker 8: it sends out to me like how organized he is,
Speaker 8: how detailed he is, I mean, how he sees the game. Man,
Speaker 8: he's like a savant zo Zeo like sees the game.
Speaker 8: Uh in a way that that's that's.
Speaker 3: Rare, you know.
Speaker 8: So for me to be able to go in that
Speaker 8: room every day and be with him, especially when he
Speaker 8: coached the position that I coach, you know, uh, it
Speaker 8: is great.
Speaker 3: It's special. Every day I really enjoy coming to work.
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