Speaker 1: Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass podcast. It is Thursday,
Speaker 1: January sixteenth, and the Ravens preparing for a Divisional round
Speaker 1: matchup against the Buffalo Bills. As they got ready for
Speaker 1: that matchup, today we heard for the coordinators. So let's
Speaker 1: kick it off with offensive coordinator Todd Monkey.
Speaker 2: How important do you think you people will tell about
Speaker 2: the when the weather gets cold, it's little.
Speaker 3: Wind year, the Ryant's wing your running game?
Speaker 4: You know, how important do you.
Speaker 3: Think having a strong running game?
Speaker 4: You know, you can impact the game when weather it's
Speaker 4: a factor.
Speaker 3: We're it's huge, It's huge.
Speaker 5: I mean you're first of all, you can't control the
Speaker 5: game if you can't run it anyway. So so having
Speaker 5: a strong running game, especially when the conditions go a
Speaker 5: certain way, especially with wind, certainly gives you a leg up.
Speaker 6: Other reports that you're taking head coach interviews today and tomorrow, when.
Speaker 7: Ravens fans see that, they panic about and as he
Speaker 7: focused on another job or is he focused here? Just
Speaker 7: what your response to those worries or concerns that fans
Speaker 7: have when they see these things.
Speaker 5: Well, first of all, I'll just say this, as I
Speaker 5: said last week, it's a compliment to this organization or
Speaker 5: players and our coaches that other organizations have an interest
Speaker 5: in myself, for any of our coaches. I mean, that's
Speaker 5: just a fact. I mean, that's that's how it goes.
Speaker 5: Any of the work that I needed to do for
Speaker 5: any of yous that we're gonna come up during the season,
Speaker 5: I did in the off season. So all of my
Speaker 5: focus last week was on the Steelers, and all my
Speaker 5: focus this week is on the Bills. I love the
Speaker 5: job I have, I mean, I really do, and I've
Speaker 5: got a great job here, and you know, so everything everything,
Speaker 5: the way the system is set up is unfortunate, but
Speaker 5: it is what it is, and so but I'm excited
Speaker 5: to uh to.
Speaker 3: Play the Bills. That's where my mind's at.
Speaker 6: Speaking which you said that the systems what is? Would
Speaker 6: you prefer that the NFL, the change occurred, or a
Speaker 6: rule change occurred, that these interviews for offensive coordinators and
Speaker 6: head coaches would occur in the off season or after
Speaker 6: the Super Bowl rather than in the midst of the playoffs.
Speaker 5: I don't think there's an easy way, or they'd already
Speaker 5: be doing it. I mean, it is what it is.
Speaker 5: It's like trying to figure out things that they've been
Speaker 5: trying to figure it out. There's no easy way, there's
Speaker 5: no easy solution.
Speaker 3: So it is what it is.
Speaker 7: Of the success that you had against them week for
Speaker 7: how much applicability is there whatever might have them uncoming
Speaker 7: with the year.
Speaker 3: I mean it's week to week.
Speaker 5: I mean we're gonna have to play well Sunday night,
Speaker 5: and I anticipate we will. What we did or how
Speaker 5: we did it, whatever that was thirteen weeks ago, fourteen
Speaker 5: weeks ago, we're all looking at the same tape. We're
Speaker 5: looking at that same tape, what we did well, what
Speaker 5: we didn't do well, anticipating how they react to what
Speaker 5: we've been doing lately, because we're a different team now
Speaker 5: than we were then in terms of how we attack people,
Speaker 5: our personnel, who we have, who will have Sunday night.
Speaker 5: So ultimately, for both teams, it's going to come down
Speaker 5: to what they do well, irrespective of what that game
Speaker 5: was thirteen fourteen weeks ago, what we do well, what
Speaker 5: they do well. Because when you're really good, you have
Speaker 5: tendencies you just do you just do. You got to
Speaker 5: do what you do well and do it better than
Speaker 5: they do it.
Speaker 8: Oh, how much if any will the weather play the
Speaker 8: factor of their offensive team would maybe if the benefit doing.
Speaker 3: That, I don't know if it's a benefit or not.
Speaker 5: I don't our game planning has gone in knowing that
Speaker 5: it's going to be cold, knowing that there's a chance
Speaker 5: for snow or wind.
Speaker 3: Ultimately, it doesn't change a lot.
Speaker 4: Senior wrong games theory around the season.
Speaker 1: They do guys that utilize the six out as alignment
Speaker 1: a lot in grecent weeks.
Speaker 7: What's going into that and what have you thought of
Speaker 7: the success?
Speaker 5: Some of it started, you know, when Charlie was out,
Speaker 5: so that was the initial part of it. We've used
Speaker 5: it on the goal line, We've used it down there.
Speaker 5: It evolved a little bit with Charlie out, and then
Speaker 5: you know, as you get further into the season and
Speaker 5: you want to be able to run it. The ability
Speaker 5: ability to use an extra linement is facilitated by being
Speaker 5: able to run the football, be ahead of the chains,
Speaker 5: and be winning.
Speaker 3: That's a fact.
Speaker 5: It's it's any part of your run game is a
Speaker 5: byproduct of continuing to be able to play with physicality,
Speaker 5: be able to run it, and that's going to give
Speaker 5: the other opportunities. But I think Josh done a great
Speaker 5: job when he's been in.
Speaker 9: You know, and the read option plays that you guys
Speaker 9: ran this past week, and it seemed like one of
Speaker 9: things the Steelers really struggled with was just reading Lamar's
Speaker 9: or the late bulls or late in handoffs.
Speaker 10: How hard is it for the running backs? Developed the
Speaker 10: chemistry with Lamar on those measure points to kind of
Speaker 10: create that deceptiveness and make it cool.
Speaker 3: To do done a great job.
Speaker 5: Coaches have done a great job with that has not
Speaker 5: been an issue as we know it can be, you know,
Speaker 5: and they changed up what their decision was. You know,
Speaker 5: in the past we've played them, they've taken the ball
Speaker 5: out of Lamar's hands. I mean they've done that, you know,
Speaker 5: not all the time, but that's been a major focus
Speaker 5: of them. And then this this game was a little
Speaker 5: more of like, okay, how are we going to play
Speaker 5: squeeze scrape.
Speaker 3: We're gonna utilize of safety.
Speaker 5: As you know, it was the extra tackler on Lamar
Speaker 5: and he did a great job, and the guys in
Speaker 5: the backfield did a great job.
Speaker 7: I believe we say to the number one using tech,
Speaker 7: I think pretty much for most of the year after
Speaker 7: the buy it seemed like, especially their production even ratchet up.
Speaker 11: Even more than Was there something coming out of the
Speaker 11: buy that you guys.
Speaker 4: Said, hey, let's have an increasing folks. Was that or
Speaker 4: was that just did that not really happen in.
Speaker 3: A few things, I wouldn't say that the focus.
Speaker 5: Of you know, getting the ball to Derek was that way.
Speaker 3: There's a few things we're doing differently.
Speaker 5: There's a few concepts same in the past game that
Speaker 5: you get to look at over the bye week, which
Speaker 5: we did like most teams do, and take a look
Speaker 5: at yourself, look at others. Okay, what can we incorporate
Speaker 5: as we go down the stretch here. It's a nice
Speaker 5: thing about having the late by, but we've also been winning.
Speaker 5: And when you're winning and you're ahead, that's what's this
Speaker 5: byproduct that's a byproduct of buying more opportunities. Your physicality
Speaker 5: really good on early downs, and winning allows from us
Speaker 5: to run.
Speaker 3: The football along those lines.
Speaker 12: We've seen this run game evolve where you can like
Speaker 12: pair gap and zone concepts with read options, so you
Speaker 12: have that extra layer of disception. How much of that,
Speaker 12: I guess was kind of premeditated over how you wanted
Speaker 12: to develop this run game over the course of the season.
Speaker 12: How much of that is just kind of natural response
Speaker 12: to what you see defensive and how they want to
Speaker 12: defect you.
Speaker 3: Guys all the above.
Speaker 5: I mean, we've always had it in there, but as
Speaker 5: you kind of evolve through the year, you know, with
Speaker 5: each game you're looking at what you're doing well, what
Speaker 5: you're not doing well, what tendencies you've created, the personnel
Speaker 5: that you have to be able to utilize it, because
Speaker 5: that's that's the key part of it. How do you
Speaker 5: utilize all the personnel that you have, whether it's your
Speaker 5: tight ends, your backs or receivers.
Speaker 3: How do you get them in the game.
Speaker 5: They all have an elite trade somewhere, they wouldn't be
Speaker 5: in the NFL. How can we utilize that and give
Speaker 5: us an opportunity to move the ball and score points?
Speaker 3: When you and you go.
Speaker 9: Into a game knowing you're not going to have a
Speaker 9: guy as in your role as a focus is I'm
Speaker 9: not saying that's.
Speaker 4: Going to be guess this week, but it was the
Speaker 4: case last week. What's the thought process is it?
Speaker 3: Is it more.
Speaker 8: This is how our palet of players might change, or
Speaker 8: is it more these are the guys that might piece
Speaker 8: me will be able to replace the things that he does.
Speaker 3: I think the latter.
Speaker 5: You know, how are we going to move our pieces
Speaker 5: around to give us best chance to score? I mean,
Speaker 5: that's what we're paid to do. Irrespective who takes the field,
Speaker 5: hopefully they will be able to go. But if not,
Speaker 5: we've got a lot of really good players. We really do.
Speaker 5: That's we're fortunate. We have a lot of really good
Speaker 5: players and we anticipating and playing well.
Speaker 13: But you mentioned all these guys with elite abilities.
Speaker 6: I asked you a similar question last year.
Speaker 14: But having that.
Speaker 1: All those guys with elite abilities plus Derrick Henry, now
Speaker 1: this year, is this fun for you to.
Speaker 14: Drop these players and to.
Speaker 5: Do all this to play for this I don't know
Speaker 5: if I'd call it fun. When you're in the middle
Speaker 5: of it in the season, it's a grind. You know,
Speaker 5: give it three or four weeks. Hopefully then you can
Speaker 5: say that it was fun. You know, you're always working
Speaker 5: to win the last one. I mean, that's just the
Speaker 5: way it is. You know, all the stats, all the compliments,
Speaker 5: where you're at, running the ball, throwing it, all the
Speaker 5: all the matters of Sunday night and what we put
Speaker 5: out there Sunday night.
Speaker 12: How much do Milano, Johnson Bernard matter for Buffalo and
Speaker 12: the way that they want to play defense?
Speaker 3: No other good football players, I mean.
Speaker 5: Not the guys that they had playing or professional players
Speaker 5: as well, you know, and that's part of being in
Speaker 5: the NFL. Everybody goes through injuries and other guys have
Speaker 5: to step up, and you've got to do a great
Speaker 5: job as a staff to utilize the pieces that you have.
Speaker 5: There's a reason they're starters, and I'm sure they're excited
Speaker 5: to have those guys back, But again, that doesn't have
Speaker 5: anything to do with us. I mean, their structure is
Speaker 5: gonna stay the same of how they're gonna play it,
Speaker 5: and we're excited to get after it Sunday night.
Speaker 1: Next up is defensive coordinator Zach Or.
Speaker 15: That Josh Allen is can be creative. He's one of
Speaker 15: the most dynamic quarterbacks in the NFL. To layman's eye,
Speaker 15: how have you approached the possibility of him being able
Speaker 15: to make big plays happen at integral.
Speaker 4: Times in the game.
Speaker 16: Yeah, man, you just obviously he's a great player. You've
Speaker 16: been a great player for a long time. We've gone
Speaker 16: we've gone against them, so we kind of a little
Speaker 16: familiar with his game. But I mean he's big, strong,
Speaker 16: he's fast, and he can throw the ball anywhere from
Speaker 16: anywhere on the field. So I think that you just
Speaker 16: see that in critical situations, you understand that he is
Speaker 16: gonna have the ball, he is gonna put the ball
Speaker 16: in his hands, and he's gonna try to make something happen.
Speaker 16: And we're just aware of what he likes to do
Speaker 16: in those situations, and we've just been practicing, preparing our
Speaker 16: butts off to make sure that when that situation comes,
Speaker 16: we know exactly what he's gonna do, and we know
Speaker 16: exactly what we're gonna do exactly.
Speaker 4: There was that in week before. You know, you guys
Speaker 4: did really well. There was that one completion that Josh
Speaker 4: made all the way from the sideline.
Speaker 9: How how many times have you looked at that clip
Speaker 9: this weekend and reminded, guys, how long you can extend
Speaker 9: the play?
Speaker 11: Yeah, we've shown it.
Speaker 16: We've shown it a lot, man, We've shown it a
Speaker 16: lot because that's the one big play and that's how
Speaker 16: it can happen. You can do a lot of stuff right,
Speaker 16: and you have one little mental laps or one late
Speaker 16: reaction in boom, it's a fifty yard play or it's
Speaker 16: a touchdown. And he did that to us in Week four,
Speaker 16: and he's continued to do that to teams throughout the season.
Speaker 11: You've seen that last week in their game. So it's
Speaker 11: a big point of emphasis for us that the play
Speaker 11: is never over.
Speaker 16: That no matter where you're at on the field, to
Speaker 16: who you're covering, even though you could be a dB
Speaker 16: on a on a running back, everybody is live until
Speaker 16: the whistles to the whistle's dead, and so we have
Speaker 16: to make sure that we're aware of that. We have
Speaker 16: to make sure that we try to keep him in
Speaker 16: the pocket as much as possible, and then we have
Speaker 16: to plaster in the back end until the whistle blows.
Speaker 8: Do you have a specific set of rules on the
Speaker 8: sort of mental checklists for the guys when he does
Speaker 8: get out of the pocket when he's extending a play,
Speaker 8: like you gotta think about.
Speaker 16: Whistless and that, Yeah, we got we got some we
Speaker 16: got some things that we talk about that we must
Speaker 16: do specifically for him.
Speaker 3: For sure.
Speaker 8: Exact a lot of the players have downplayed because it
Speaker 8: was three and a half months ago. As week four,
Speaker 8: your defense has undergone a lot of change since then.
Speaker 8: What do you take away from how well you played
Speaker 8: that game that can apply for this one, even though
Speaker 8: both teams are a lot different than late septimes.
Speaker 16: I just take away I like to I felt like
Speaker 16: earlier on the season that was one of the games
Speaker 16: that we actually played with the physicality and the effort
Speaker 16: that I like to see.
Speaker 11: So I think you could take away from that.
Speaker 16: Now we've changed quite a bit scheme wise, and they've
Speaker 16: actually changed a lot too since our game. So yeah,
Speaker 16: I agree with the guys that you can't put too
Speaker 16: much stock in it from the standpoint from x's and o's,
Speaker 16: but from the standpoint of a physicality mindset, you could
Speaker 16: take a lot from it. And I think that we
Speaker 16: showed that if we come out and we play physical,
Speaker 16: we play with the right effort, and we communicate that
Speaker 16: we put ourselves in a great position have a great day.
Speaker 1: Thatak how much is depending with martin accident.
Speaker 4: Proud of Us is learly something will help with defending
Speaker 4: Josh Allen the terms them, but the extent lost.
Speaker 16: It honestly helps out a lot because that even though
Speaker 16: there are two different type of players, the end result
Speaker 16: is similar in the sense of the play.
Speaker 11: Is never over.
Speaker 16: They you think you got them, they can get out
Speaker 16: of a lot of different situations that most quarterbacks can't
Speaker 16: get out of. So we understand that plastering is at
Speaker 16: a premium from day one of OTA's all the way
Speaker 16: throughout the season, even when we go good on good.
Speaker 16: So that definitely has prepared us in a lot of
Speaker 16: ways of how long we have to defend the play,
Speaker 16: how disciplined we have to be with our rush lanes,
Speaker 16: and how discipline we have to be with our eyes.
Speaker 11: Wants to play extends.
Speaker 4: Situation back in the days when we were playing with pigback.
Speaker 16: Yeah, definitely same, same, same type of situation. I think
Speaker 16: Josh might extend to play even longer.
Speaker 11: But it's very similar to big Ben. Big Ben shoot
Speaker 11: the heck of a player.
Speaker 16: He extended plays non stop and then you know he
Speaker 16: had a strong garm as well, could fire the ball
Speaker 16: to anybody at any point in time.
Speaker 12: Zack defense did such a free job of eliminating big
Speaker 12: plays from N to eleven on putting back and kind that.
Speaker 7: The bitchy got us in the third quarter, particularly on third.
Speaker 16: Downs that went wrong in this situation, it was it
Speaker 16: was our own it was our own wrongdoing, and we
Speaker 16: had great conversations about that. The thing I appreciate about
Speaker 16: it is, you know, we came to the sideline after
Speaker 16: those two straight possessions, specifically on third down, third long,
Speaker 16: when you're really at the advantage as a defense, and
Speaker 16: we said, look, they're not doing anything we didn't expect
Speaker 16: them to do.
Speaker 11: They're not doing anything different.
Speaker 16: Everything they've gotten, we had mistakes, so let's go ahead
Speaker 16: and flush it. And the thing that I think the
Speaker 16: difference between that moment and early in the season is
Speaker 16: early in the season it was a snowball. It would
Speaker 16: have just kept on happening, going, going, going, But now
Speaker 16: you know, guys were able to put the fire out,
Speaker 16: and I was.
Speaker 11: I was happy to see that.
Speaker 16: So I think it was a good lesson to learn
Speaker 16: that this, especially this time of year when you're going
Speaker 16: against playoff teams, is like I said, you lack, you lack,
Speaker 16: you lack, or you lack on your job, or you
Speaker 16: have one mishap, it's gonna be big plays. So I'm
Speaker 16: glad that it happened. Looking back hindsight twenty twenty in
Speaker 16: a sense of we understand now that we can't have
Speaker 16: those moments, and the games never over and the plays
Speaker 16: never over.
Speaker 4: A couple of other toun.
Speaker 5: Success stacking four playmakers on the one side of the
Speaker 5: field and then isolded on the other side.
Speaker 4: What's the key to defending that?
Speaker 16: Yeah, man, just switching up the looks, giving them different coverages,
Speaker 16: giving them different pressures, and just being on point. They
Speaker 16: do a lot of different stuff pre snap, a lot
Speaker 16: of a lot of eye candy to try to get
Speaker 16: you out of whack. But the good thing about it
Speaker 16: is at the end of the day, they all gonna
Speaker 16: end up in the same spot.
Speaker 11: So you know, we've seen it before.
Speaker 12: You played in a lot of very cold games against
Speaker 12: the teams that are a lot of teams that are
Speaker 12: very committed or running the ball, seems like in Buffalo maybe,
Speaker 12: despite popular misconception, once established the run, how important is
Speaker 12: you know, getting into second and long, third, long, going
Speaker 12: apeal for this defense, especially on a day or maybe
Speaker 12: things can snowball the winning tennis.
Speaker 4: Yeah like that.
Speaker 16: No, it's definitely important, man, I mean just as a
Speaker 16: as a if you talk to any defense of player coach,
Speaker 16: the number one thing they gonna say they have to
Speaker 16: do is to stop the run. Why you want to
Speaker 16: stop the run because you want to get the offense
Speaker 16: behind behind the change. Like, if offense has to consistently
Speaker 16: play in second, seven plus, third and long, it's gonna
Speaker 16: be a good day for the defense more times than not.
Speaker 16: So we always striving to get teams in those situations.
Speaker 16: Now we can unleash our pass rush. Now we can
Speaker 16: lease certain pressures and certain coverages and certain looks, and
Speaker 16: you get a chance to make the offense predictable when
Speaker 16: they're in second and three, second and four. Now you
Speaker 16: got to play a run to pass, so you're not
Speaker 16: necessarily getting a good get off if they passed the ball,
Speaker 16: you know what I mean. So I think, is it
Speaker 16: gonna be key, and it's gonna be vital. I think
Speaker 16: you made a good point, Buffalo. You know everybody thinks
Speaker 16: they just it's Josh Allen and they just want to
Speaker 16: throw the ball.
Speaker 11: They want the top rushing teams in the league. And
Speaker 11: you saw what they did to Denver.
Speaker 16: I think last week they won the game because they
Speaker 16: established a run and they just pounded those guys.
Speaker 11: So that's the number one thing we could not let
Speaker 11: happen on that point.
Speaker 10: You know, in recent weeks, Buffalo has been using six linemen.
Speaker 10: They have a full back that they like. You know,
Speaker 10: Ran was asking about sort of getting matched up with
Speaker 10: Lamar and sort of feeling.
Speaker 4: A scapable quarterback that way.
Speaker 10: And he's also beneficial to face an offense that uses
Speaker 10: some similar personnel groups that you know obviously you guys
Speaker 10: on offensive like six linemen and have pad yep is
Speaker 10: that How does that help you prepare?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 16: That helps him prepare. I mean, honestly, you know, people
Speaker 16: call me bias. I feel like we have the most
Speaker 16: physical team in the league. It's you know, it's offense
Speaker 16: and defense. So when we go, when you see big
Speaker 16: Pat come out there and our big offensive line, especially
Speaker 16: in training camp, it was some physical, physical battles, so
Speaker 16: you got no choice but to be physical and be
Speaker 16: ready here.
Speaker 11: So my guys welcome that challenge. You know, we love it.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 16: They bring out X personnel, hey, basically saying they're trying
Speaker 16: to come bloody your nose.
Speaker 11: So my guys take that challenge and accept it, so
Speaker 11: you know we'll be ready for that.
Speaker 1: Next we heard from a special teams coordinator, Chris Horton.
Speaker 3: Good to see everyone today.
Speaker 2: See how you guys are all bundled up, but said
Speaker 2: took that walk from outside right coming indoors.
Speaker 4: You know, just just for us right now.
Speaker 3: You know, it's about Uh, it's really been about us.
Speaker 13: You know.
Speaker 2: These last two days, I've been just really just trying
Speaker 2: to continue to work on us and our fundamentals and
Speaker 2: the things that we need to take into this game
Speaker 2: so we can play our best football. Our guys are
Speaker 2: going out there, we're playing hard, we're playing physical, but
Speaker 2: there's still a couple of little things here and there
Speaker 2: that we want to we want to get out of
Speaker 2: our system as we as we continue to approach these games.
Speaker 2: I'm fired up, our guys are fired up, and where
Speaker 2: we are, I think we're ready to play our best football.
Speaker 11: Questions with Sins, there is a matter of more of
Speaker 11: decision making or is a tracking the ball? What are
Speaker 11: some things that you've maybe even talk to him about?
Speaker 4: You know?
Speaker 2: Uh, one of the things one of the things you
Speaker 2: talk to a veteran guy about, you know, a guy
Speaker 2: that hasn't been a part of our system, is one
Speaker 2: you know where you are on the field, you know,
Speaker 2: and because because some guys are coached across this league
Speaker 2: other ways, and you know where they fill the ball
Speaker 2: that and things like that.
Speaker 3: And I just think referring to.
Speaker 2: That, to to that one that he dropped on the
Speaker 2: eight yard line, Well, it comes down to two things. One,
Speaker 2: you don't want to fill the ball inside the eight
Speaker 2: yard line, right and secondly, uh, it comes down to
Speaker 2: catch fundamentals. We know right now as punt returners, we
Speaker 2: want to be square underneath the ball. And he tried
Speaker 2: to catch that ball over over the side. Those are tough,
Speaker 2: so you know, it's just little things like that that
Speaker 2: we just got to keep reminding him, Hey, we got
Speaker 2: to do this the Baltimore way. And he's confident. He's
Speaker 2: a confident guy and he'll be able to do that.
Speaker 2: And we have all the confidence in the world.
Speaker 12: And how do you how do you get them all
Speaker 12: ready to simulate for kicking what might be ten to
Speaker 12: fifty degree weather in Buffalo?
Speaker 2: You know, I think it uh for the for the
Speaker 2: guys that for the guys that we have, I think
Speaker 2: it just comes with experience. You know, the the weather
Speaker 2: is gonna be what it's gonna be.
Speaker 3: Uh, We've we've.
Speaker 2: Experienced some some weather games and things like that. I
Speaker 2: don't think uh, for his code is gonna be. I
Speaker 2: don't know how you how you can simulate that, right
Speaker 2: besides the days that yesterday we went outside for a
Speaker 2: second just to try to hit some balls and kick
Speaker 2: some balls and things like that. That's the only way
Speaker 2: you can get that done. What it comes down to
Speaker 2: is really fundamentals, right, just making sure the snap's good,
Speaker 2: the hold's good, and then the kick right, and then
Speaker 2: the elements are gonna be what they're gonna be if
Speaker 2: we if we stay true to all of our fundamentals,
Speaker 2: we should be good.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I say, hardly get a few years old.
Speaker 16: He hasn't played a little while, but even he has
Speaker 16: an extensive tracker for the field of funts.
Speaker 10: Which comfortable with him as.
Speaker 2: You know, of course, you know, I think, I think
Speaker 2: the thing for Deontae is just you know, just getting
Speaker 2: it back out here's mis a lot of football, right,
Speaker 2: and just making sure that that that he's ready to go.
Speaker 2: His body's writing and you know, he's in He's in
Speaker 2: a good place. And I don't have a problem with
Speaker 2: him you know, fielding fielding punts or anything like that.
Speaker 2: It's a matter of okay, is he is he ready
Speaker 2: to go? We gotta you gotta get him out here
Speaker 2: and get him running, and he you know, he's saying
Speaker 2: all the right things, he's doing all the right things,
Speaker 2: and it's good to see him out here. It honestly
Speaker 2: is good to see him, you know, starting to pick
Speaker 2: up the speeds and things like that.
Speaker 12: The Steelers had a punt where they had no returner,
Speaker 12: they know, eleven on the line.
Speaker 11: Do you do you talk to Jordan about changing things
Speaker 11: that that in that moment.
Speaker 4: When you notice it, And do you do you ever
Speaker 4: consider putting all eleven and no punt returner back here?
Speaker 11: Situationally?
Speaker 3: Uh, we consider that things like that.
Speaker 2: But when you do see that, there's certain things in
Speaker 2: our in our protection that we have to recognize and
Speaker 2: everyone has to communicate. And when they do have nine
Speaker 2: guys up in the box, we only have eight protectors, right,
Speaker 2: so so we're short of guy. So we have certain
Speaker 2: rules in which we handle protecting the punt and and
Speaker 2: we just got to make sure, hey, we get the
Speaker 2: ball off and the most important thing is get the
Speaker 2: ball off right and then hopefully that ball that ball
Speaker 2: dies somewhere around the you know, around the ten yard
Speaker 2: line and things like that, but more importantly, get the
Speaker 2: ball off.
Speaker 9: How does a person field impact your field goal decisions
Speaker 9: that that offer?
Speaker 4: How does a frozen field?
Speaker 2: And you know, I just think when we go out
Speaker 2: there throughout the pregame, I think we'll we'll decide with
Speaker 2: with Randy and things like that. Okay, what's our line
Speaker 2: and things like that, how far can we kick from it?
Speaker 2: Like right now, you know, we really don't know. We
Speaker 2: don't know what the field condition is gonna be. Like right,
Speaker 2: I know Buffalo, I think the field will be heated,
Speaker 2: right so it might not be as frozen as what's
Speaker 2: outside right now. So all those things can change, and
Speaker 2: those things we will figure out once we get to
Speaker 2: once we get into Buffalo.
Speaker 7: Chris, with the Steelers punker being a leave left footed,
Speaker 7: doesn't that to cause a significant impact.
Speaker 6: In returners cracking the ball?
Speaker 4: That is that something that factors into this?
Speaker 3: You know, I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't necessarily think it factors into it. If we
Speaker 2: were dealing with a rookie, I would I would say,
Speaker 2: you know, that might be that maybe have a little
Speaker 2: a little bit of impact on it. But Steven's caught
Speaker 2: a lot of punts in this in this league, he's
Speaker 2: called off Righty's he's called off lefties.
Speaker 3: You know, we we have guys.
Speaker 2: You know, we shoot yell lefty jugs. The ball changes
Speaker 2: a little bit and things like that. But I don't
Speaker 2: know if that's necessarily has an impact on it. I
Speaker 2: just think you got to get yourself in position.
Speaker 4: Square up.
Speaker 2: The one that hit the ground, the ball just faded
Speaker 2: away from him. Again, the most important thing is our
Speaker 2: job as special teams give the ball back to the
Speaker 2: offense right. So whether you catch that ball or not,
Speaker 2: you know, everybody might be a little bit upset with him.
Speaker 2: We gave the ball back to the offense right, and
Speaker 2: we go score points.
Speaker 3: So that's that. We take care of that by handling that.
Speaker 2: If you don't feel comfortable catching the ball, don't put
Speaker 2: yourself in a bad situation. And I think he did
Speaker 2: the right thing. Ball fading away from him, Let it go.
Speaker 2: Ball goes to the offense. Win for the Ravens.
Speaker 1: Today at the locker room, we also heard from handful
Speaker 1: of players, including running back Derrick Henry, they just, uh,
Speaker 1: how do you kind of just try the mindset going
Speaker 1: into this game knowing all it's at stake, and.
Speaker 14: The mindset going to this game, Yeah, what do you
Speaker 14: mean want to win. I mean, so the divisional game,
Speaker 14: try and get to the next roundstry championship. I guess
Speaker 14: a a a great opponent, a really good team. You know, yeah,
Speaker 14: it's gonna be heavyweight fight.
Speaker 1: You can always say every week is supporting to establish
Speaker 1: a run? Do you feel like that's particularly important in
Speaker 1: this game? And then how big of a focus is that?
Speaker 14: I mean, we you know, we definitely wanna be afficient
Speaker 14: in the run game to help the offense up the
Speaker 14: past game. You know, but we gotta practice, sit and
Speaker 14: execute it throughout the week to make it happen in
Speaker 14: the game.
Speaker 6: Do you enjoy running in the cold weather?
Speaker 4: Do you think that's up?
Speaker 14: Ask this question a hundred times. I don't care if
Speaker 14: it's cold, hot, rainy, a snow.
Speaker 4: They gotta do my job.
Speaker 3: Derek, How much does all the work you put in
Speaker 3: during the off season?
Speaker 4: Body mean, how much do you think that pays.
Speaker 3: Off at this time of the year.
Speaker 14: I wouldn't do it if it didn't, like I would
Speaker 14: waste my time it didn't playoff. Uh uh, make sure
Speaker 14: I do that this summer ready to be able to
Speaker 14: play help my team win games.
Speaker 1: Is they likely had a pretty powerful stiff farm in
Speaker 1: the Steelers game.
Speaker 3: Obviously you did it as well.
Speaker 11: We've seen Lamar with some similar stiff arms.
Speaker 10: Did they come to you for advice since you have
Speaker 10: this kind of legend about your stiff.
Speaker 4: Farm or No, it's just kind of something that they
Speaker 4: th that they do.
Speaker 14: Uh, they're naturally gifted with I'm not uh stiff farm coordinator.
Speaker 14: It's if they come naturally, it come natural.
Speaker 10: What what'd you think of Isaiah Likely's.
Speaker 14: I mean, it's seven explanatory. You've seen the video, you've
Speaker 14: seen the film. It's hell a stiff arm, stiff farm
Speaker 14: and got some more yards so it'll help A play
Speaker 14: by him?
Speaker 10: Is that nickname Lamar cooring for your like name mc
Speaker 10: queen sticking in the.
Speaker 6: MI locker room?
Speaker 3: Do you have you watched cars?
Speaker 13: You've know it?
Speaker 4: You know what I'm talking about?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I do. I I don't.
Speaker 14: I don't wanna be calling an anything else but la queen.
Speaker 14: So don't call me Derek, just call me McQueen.
Speaker 10: No, I don't care.
Speaker 14: It was it was funny. I didn't think it that
Speaker 14: would be their comparison, But you know, ella ll he's
Speaker 14: I thought he need to be a community when he's
Speaker 14: done playing, but I definitely got uh a K.
Speaker 4: You can laugh out of that. Are you telling me
Speaker 4: has to watch more movies? Or said again, you telling
Speaker 4: me I has to watch more movies? I think Pixar.
Speaker 3: No, I just I just made sure.
Speaker 4: I said, were you seriously that he was out there?
Speaker 9: Serious?
Speaker 4: I was like, okay, then, well the queen it is.
Speaker 4: But yeah, it was funny. I don't know who he
Speaker 4: was talking to.
Speaker 14: You said it might be too old to watch the movie,
Speaker 14: but I'm sure everybody knows about the too child because
Speaker 14: everybody seemed.
Speaker 6: Like a queen Derek.
Speaker 4: Is there anything you take away from what happened in
Speaker 4: the week before?
Speaker 3: You just throw that out before.
Speaker 14: It doesn't mean anything in this game before, as we before,
Speaker 14: it used to whole another another game and another opportunity.
Speaker 4: They're they're a great team, and uh we gotta prepare
Speaker 4: a right to be ready for him.
Speaker 1: Next up is safety Darius Washington.
Speaker 13: Car Darius Washington going into the AFC division around this week.
Speaker 13: You have a different role than you did last year.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, a starter.
Speaker 13: What do you think of when do you give yourself
Speaker 13: a moment to think back and what you accomplished.
Speaker 3: All this season?
Speaker 17: No, yeah, I'll do all that thing about her reflecting,
Speaker 17: I'll say after we get to the super Bowl.
Speaker 4: So after that, that's when I'll reflect.
Speaker 13: After the year for sure, observing what went on in
Speaker 13: the last year's playoffs, did you have any takeaways from
Speaker 13: those games that you watched or that you played in
Speaker 13: a little bit?
Speaker 17: Definitely, So I came back to Chiefs games from my
Speaker 17: injury and everything like that. But uh, the takeaway are
Speaker 17: two from that that you know, we want to be
Speaker 17: back in that same uh position, you know what I mean,
Speaker 17: We don't have the same feeling to definitely be back
Speaker 17: at that same position.
Speaker 4: You know. It's we was crushed by that, you know
Speaker 4: what I'm saying. Last year. We feel like that was
Speaker 4: the one. So we got another opportunity to do it
Speaker 4: this year.
Speaker 13: What's been the message around the locker room and the
Speaker 13: meetings and the practices this week about going into Buffalo
Speaker 13: And I mean, this is a top tier matchup between
Speaker 13: Buffalo and Raven's Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.
Speaker 17: I'm gonna just go out there and you know, I
Speaker 17: handle our business, you know, and not thinking about the
Speaker 17: matchup or anything like.
Speaker 4: That, you know, But like it's the playoffs.
Speaker 17: You know, I'm sorry, it's a winna go home. So
Speaker 17: we know it's this stake, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 17: Going into their house and I heard his rowley, But
Speaker 17: you know, fans can't play.
Speaker 4: The game, you know we do?
Speaker 13: Or Darius everyone he says that you play bigger. Was
Speaker 13: there somebody that taught you how to do that?
Speaker 6: Did you figure that out?
Speaker 4: Case?
Speaker 13: Where's the credit going?
Speaker 17: I just kind of growing up, you know what I mean.
Speaker 17: I always been the smallest guys, So it just like
Speaker 17: as years going abo going on.
Speaker 4: You know what I'm saying, I got to play bigger
Speaker 4: for sure. Definitely.
Speaker 13: Yeah. What would you say is the hardest part about
Speaker 13: playing your position?
Speaker 10: Uh?
Speaker 4: Just the hardest p part about it? Mm?
Speaker 17: I mean it's really no hard part when you study
Speaker 17: and prepare, you know what I mean, It really no
Speaker 17: hard part for it. You know, like you know, you
Speaker 17: play man, you communicate, you know, you make tackles, you
Speaker 17: make plays. I wouldn't say it's a hard part, you
Speaker 17: know what I mean, fun part, fine part.
Speaker 4: Oh, definitely making plays, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 17: And then you know, out there communicating, then you see
Speaker 17: something out there on the field, you tell one of
Speaker 17: the guys, you know what I'm saying, they make a play,
Speaker 17: you know what I mean. So I guess you can
Speaker 17: say those two things definitely, Uh the best part or
Speaker 17: Darry say, you.
Speaker 13: Know you talked about the reaction from zac or a
Speaker 13: couple of weeks ago. How has it been like being
Speaker 13: coached by him and passionately has throughout this season and
Speaker 13: the turnaround for.
Speaker 1: The guys are been.
Speaker 17: I mean, it means a lot, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 17: being coached like a guy like that that's always energetic,
Speaker 17: you know what I'm saying, uplifting and the most you
Speaker 17: wanna go, uh run through a wall for that guy,
Speaker 17: you know what I mean. So, I mean it means
Speaker 17: a lot for me to being coached by him, you
Speaker 17: know what I'm saying. So to take away from his
Speaker 17: energy and uh his smartness, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 17: He knows, he knows the game, he played the game,
Speaker 17: you know what I'm saying, So learn from from God
Speaker 17: like that means like.
Speaker 1: And just for this game, Uh going up against un
Speaker 1: quarterbacks can make plays with his legs.
Speaker 4: Uh H.
Speaker 1: How do you try to make sure that you're ready
Speaker 1: for both of 'em the broken plays could come your
Speaker 1: in your direction.
Speaker 4: I mean, everyone just doing their job, you know what
Speaker 4: I mean, everyone just doing their job. And then when
Speaker 4: when he.
Speaker 17: Scrambling around and moved around like that, you know, we
Speaker 17: plaster you know what I'm saying. We find a guy
Speaker 17: to get to cause, like you know, he he's talented,
Speaker 17: he can run, he can throw.
Speaker 4: The ball on the move. So he just stick to
Speaker 4: our frontamentals.
Speaker 13: Is that?
Speaker 10: But it is kind of getting known for these third
Speaker 10: down or down tackles right at the line. What's does
Speaker 10: does your mentality.
Speaker 3: Shift when you have short yarded to go?
Speaker 6: Or or how does that that work?
Speaker 10: Why do you think you've you find yourself in so
Speaker 10: many of these players.
Speaker 17: I mean I just so happen to be there, you
Speaker 17: know what I mean. So like it's my play to make.
Speaker 17: So like whenever it's my player to make, I don't
Speaker 17: feel like anything shifted anything like that. It just make
Speaker 17: the play, you know what I mean. When his first, second, third, third,
Speaker 17: and long whatever it is, when it's time to make
Speaker 17: my play, I just think, like, you know, make that play.
Speaker 17: You know, out of the ten guys are count on
Speaker 17: me to make that play.
Speaker 4: So that's my main thing.
Speaker 10: I know you've struggled with hope a little bit in
Speaker 10: the first few years here.
Speaker 4: That being said, were you pretty.
Speaker 10: Confident this is the player you could be when you
Speaker 10: got a chance.
Speaker 17: Absolutely, absolutely, Definitely my preparation and hard work and dedication.
Speaker 4: Definitely. I definitely feel like our be this play for sure.
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