Speaker 1: Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass Podcast. It is Monday,
Speaker 1: December thirtieth. The Ravens are gearing up for the regular
Speaker 1: season finale against the Cleveland Browns this weekend. The NFL
Speaker 1: announced last night of the game is going to be
Speaker 1: Saturday at four thirty pm at M and T Bank Stadium.
Speaker 1: It's going to be an AFC World Saturday for football fans.
Speaker 1: The Ravens play at four to thirty and then in
Speaker 1: the evening and eight o'clock game is going to between
Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals. Today, we had
Speaker 1: a chance to hear from head coach John Harriball as
Speaker 1: the Ravens prepare for the Browns this weekend.
Speaker 2: Okay, appreciate everybody being here. We're back at it after
Speaker 2: a few days away since our last game, focus and
Speaker 2: locked in on the Browns. This is our start, tough
Speaker 2: opponent division game. We understand that kind of team they
Speaker 2: are and how physical this game is going to be,
Speaker 2: and we're preparing for that challenge. What questions you have, John,
Speaker 2: if any difficulty.
Speaker 3: And when you know the last night to go.
Speaker 4: Oh, by the way, you're playing on a short week
Speaker 4: a seventy game.
Speaker 2: Now we knew there's a chance, you know, it could
Speaker 2: go either way, So we were planning on being here
Speaker 2: today either way, and then you know, the next few
Speaker 2: days would would be adjustable. So tomorrow we'll be back in.
Speaker 2: It'll be like a Wednesday, and we'll be on our
Speaker 2: normal week schedule that.
Speaker 5: Way, how you guys spelling? Obviously a lot made at
Speaker 5: the three games in eleven days, but you come off
Speaker 5: but by you win all three of those games decisively
Speaker 5: as well, and seems like for the most part intact
Speaker 5: health wise. I mean, how do you feel about just
Speaker 5: making out of that stretch right now?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 2: Feel good about it. I mean it was a good accomplishment.
Speaker 2: It was the goal you know, going into it, was
Speaker 2: to come out of it with that kind of an outcome.
Speaker 2: So I felt like, you know, we we we got
Speaker 2: the outcome we wanted, but we also within that we
Speaker 2: accomplished a lot in terms of improvement, uh, you know,
Speaker 2: obviously pointing toward the opportunity in this game and then
Speaker 2: into the playoffs, uh, to be the best team we
Speaker 2: could be, and and we we made steps in that
Speaker 2: direction too. Now we just gotta gotta maximize that and
Speaker 2: play our best football.
Speaker 5: Missed improve and our loves obviously, the defense has vastly
Speaker 5: improved from the start of the year.
Speaker 3: What do you feel like, you know, some.
Speaker 5: Of the things that had has been that you guys
Speaker 5: have been able to do defensively here in the back
Speaker 5: end of the season going into the posts.
Speaker 2: Uh, yeah, we're playing solid football. I think we're we're
Speaker 2: top down. Uh, you know, giving up as many big plays.
Speaker 2: The run defense has been pretty consistent. Uh, getting to
Speaker 2: the quarterback you know, a little bit better, but uh,
Speaker 2: the bottom line is a pass defense overalls has been
Speaker 2: a lot better.
Speaker 5: Know, son, Charlie Kohler got hectagated for return, doesnted to return?
Speaker 3: How much does that help you guys?
Speaker 2: Give him you know, gutn't get up block and will
Speaker 2: for the team.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Having Charlie back is good. Uh he Uh, this is
Speaker 2: kind of the target game, you know, where when when
Speaker 2: it happened. It usually when you have a break like that,
Speaker 2: it's pretty predictable. So they were they were telling us
Speaker 2: that we'd have a good chance Forting to be back
Speaker 2: for the Cleveland game. So we'll see how it looks
Speaker 2: this week. Hopefully he's feeling good and ready to go.
Speaker 1: The toughest divisions in football.
Speaker 3: I'll see a bit of it as we get a situation, right, you.
Speaker 2: Know, to win this week, the win the division very significant.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's definitely a goal. It's it's one of
Speaker 2: our our five main goals is to win the division
Speaker 2: from a team perspective, and it's a big deal. It's
Speaker 2: a tough division. We respect these teams tremendously. I think
Speaker 2: you saw you saw the games this last weekend. You
Speaker 2: saw the Bengals. You know they're still They're still in
Speaker 2: It tells you a lot about the character of the
Speaker 2: teams in this in this division. So we know we're
Speaker 2: going to have a tough game. We always do. We
Speaker 2: always do against every team in the division. The Browns,
Speaker 2: we always have these these knockdown drag outs with so
Speaker 2: h But if we could get it done, it would
Speaker 2: be a great accomplishment.
Speaker 4: Marlin Humphrey was very complimentary orders Washington the same. Hey,
Speaker 4: if you ask the players, the Treeny came Hipper Trinny
Speaker 4: came to say, always one of the best guys in training.
Speaker 3: Kid, he's been on a roster bubble and taught for
Speaker 3: a long time.
Speaker 6: But do you recall him as an undrafted guy on
Speaker 6: the radar when his.
Speaker 1: First team in that first year, do you do you
Speaker 1: remember what do you remember a geam?
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was a highly recruited undrafted free agent. He
Speaker 2: was a guy that was on the bubble to be drafted.
Speaker 2: He was a draftable player on our board. So we
Speaker 2: worked really hard to to convince him to come in
Speaker 2: and he did, and I think right from the get
Speaker 2: go he showed it he was a good player. He's
Speaker 2: always been one of those guys, you know, it's it's
Speaker 2: not the size of the dog and the fight, it's
Speaker 2: the size of the fight and the dog kind of guy,
Speaker 2: you know, And he's always had that fight, and really
Speaker 2: it's been injuries has set him back over the years.
Speaker 2: So for him to be healthy now and to get
Speaker 2: a chance to get in there and show what he
Speaker 2: can do is it's been great to see.
Speaker 4: Marlin said he feels like Ardarius Is maybe had the
Speaker 4: most difficult job in the second area because he's had
Speaker 4: to really make.
Speaker 3: The team every year. I mean, do you feel like
Speaker 3: he's a guy.
Speaker 2: Who's sort of turned that difficulty into a positive in
Speaker 2: his career, in his life. I definitely think that that's
Speaker 2: exactly right. I mean, he's he's uh, he's probably had
Speaker 2: to overcome that his whole career, you know, all of
Speaker 2: high school, college and now the pros, and it's made
Speaker 2: him who he is. You know that he has been
Speaker 2: forged by all those experiences with Lamari ever since.
Speaker 4: He got in the league, talks about the sustainability of
Speaker 4: his style up play, what do you think has been
Speaker 4: the key? I mean we're now in seven and he's
Speaker 4: playing better than.
Speaker 3: He's ever has.
Speaker 4: What do you think has been the key to kind
Speaker 4: of his sustainability?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean it's just a question. I don't even
Speaker 2: know why I have to answer that, because I was
Speaker 2: never I was never proposing that theory, you know, so
Speaker 2: I think the people that were proposing that theory should
Speaker 2: have to answer it. But uh, he's you know what
Speaker 2: we always thought, he's he's a smart player, you know,
Speaker 2: and he knows how to take care of himself. And
Speaker 2: he always said that. He always said, I know how
Speaker 2: to take care of myself. I know how to protect myself.
Speaker 2: And not that he hasn't been injured here and there,
Speaker 2: you know, like every player, but he's just he's a
Speaker 2: he's the ultimate competitor. I think he's playing his best football.
Speaker 2: Like you said, he's playing the position at the highest level.
Speaker 2: Every aspect of the position he's taken continues to take
Speaker 2: to another level, take his game to a higher level,
Speaker 2: and hopefully that continues. I mean, I know it will.
Speaker 2: I'm counting on it getting even better.
Speaker 6: John, I would support running back question. How important was
Speaker 6: it to get Pete Mitchell's before, Like the amount of
Speaker 6: work he got and with two of those guys knock
Speaker 6: down out sideline, does that become a position you may
Speaker 6: have to look to get from the.
Speaker 2: Guyame in you Yea, I think I'm just gonna refrain
Speaker 2: from all the speculation about, you know, roster and all that.
Speaker 2: But the answer is no, they're fine. Justice is just sick,
Speaker 2: so he'll play. And it's it's great that Keaton got
Speaker 2: the time. And then what was the other part of
Speaker 2: the question, Oh, that was it? Okay, it's very complicated.
Speaker 2: I couldn't keep track of it. Layers.
Speaker 7: I know, you guys have a franchise for a lot
Speaker 7: of resources into ingyry prevention to be where you guys
Speaker 7: are right now, to have as small and injury reports
Speaker 7: you guys do knock on wood. How gratifying is that
Speaker 7: and just like how much of that experience every year
Speaker 7: is just kind of done with how it helped falls.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's a great question. Probably maybe a better
Speaker 2: conversation for the end of the season. You know, up
Speaker 2: up to this point, we're really happy with where we're
Speaker 2: at with that. I do think a lot of work
Speaker 2: has gone into it. Couldna give the players a lot
Speaker 2: of credit to, you know, for the work they put in,
Speaker 2: and then all the people involved in that have done
Speaker 2: a great job. But it's it's definitely fueled our success
Speaker 2: for sure. It's something that is a big deal in
Speaker 2: the National Football League. So we're happy with it, but
Speaker 2: hopefully we can keep it going here.
Speaker 5: John, earlier in the season of a kind of back
Speaker 5: to Lamar. Early in the season, a lot was made
Speaker 5: that you saying, you've thought Lamar was the best player
Speaker 5: in in football at the time, and we look at
Speaker 5: his development over the years, a lot of people are
Speaker 5: saying that this is the best he's played. When you
Speaker 5: go back to him at his rookie year, I'm sure
Speaker 5: you you were always on his side, But did you
Speaker 5: think that that we'd be here or what year eight, whatever?
Speaker 3: Year.
Speaker 5: This is that we're still talking about, you know, him
Speaker 5: continuously ascended.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I did. I mean, that was the idea,
Speaker 2: you hope. So, I mean, you don't know for sure.
Speaker 2: I mean, nobody knows the future, but that was the
Speaker 2: idea when we drafted him, and that was the idea
Speaker 2: when we played him in the first year, and it's
Speaker 2: been the idea ever since. So i'd say we're on schedule,
Speaker 2: but we have a lot to accomplish, you know, with
Speaker 2: all that, all that's part of it. All that's the history,
Speaker 2: right and that's that'll all be you know, people that
Speaker 2: study football history in the National Football League, I'm sure
Speaker 2: you'll have these conversations and write about these things and
Speaker 2: all that. But right now, it's just a matter of
Speaker 2: kind of trying to make that history, you know, trying
Speaker 2: to do what we can do, to do what we
Speaker 2: do and try to win the next game and carry
Speaker 2: it forward from there.
Speaker 3: The MVP in your mind this season, you know.
Speaker 2: Hey, he's my MVP. You know, he'll always be my MVP.
Speaker 2: I promise you that. Yeah, as far as I'm concerned,
Speaker 2: he's he's our MVP. He's he's our guy. But you
Speaker 2: know what, that's really not what we're thinking about. I mean,
Speaker 2: I haven't heard anybody talk about that. I haven't heard
Speaker 2: Lamar talk about it. And we're just trying to win
Speaker 2: the next game.
Speaker 6: John's three day, three games in eleven day winning on
Speaker 6: a Wednesday.
Speaker 4: This is not a world map that the league has
Speaker 4: used before.
Speaker 6: Who don't we see in your organization that should really
Speaker 6: get credit for making all that happening go winging.
Speaker 2: At Oh, it's just everybody. I mean, everybody's involved in
Speaker 2: that bough. It's a team effort for sure. I think
Speaker 2: a lot of people do a great job, you know,
Speaker 2: even the travel logistics and all that, with Joan and
Speaker 2: uh Dan Parsons and Megan and everybody.
Speaker 7: It's everybody'd you I hear from him anyone around the
Speaker 7: league and after they saw your your workout montage on
Speaker 7: my partner.
Speaker 2: I did, I guess if I guess if I got
Speaker 2: a couple of couple of a couple of nods, you know,
Speaker 2: I didn't hear from my brother. I was kind of disappointed. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: I think he took it as a challenge of some kind.
Speaker 7: Uh I didn't see stand there of the carry out
Speaker 7: there today, any any concern.
Speaker 2: They're Yeah, they're dealing with some some you know, flu
Speaker 2: like symptoms and sickness type stuff. They should be back tomorrow.
Speaker 3: And do you have any New Year's resolutions this year?
Speaker 2: I don't do New Year's resolutions, you know, try to
Speaker 2: try to stay consistent.
Speaker 4: You know, with the uncertainty at quarterback for the Browns,
Speaker 4: and there's different styles of the quarterbacks that they could
Speaker 4: throw in there. How much added work does that put
Speaker 4: in for the coaching staff, you know at that position
Speaker 4: when they could go maybe one of three different directions.
Speaker 2: Well, well, we'll have to build some tape on on
Speaker 2: on the guys that we don't have tape on right now.
Speaker 3: ZAPPI.
Speaker 2: We'll go back and pull some tape from New England
Speaker 2: in different places, but we won't probably go back to
Speaker 2: western Kentucky on him. I won't go back quite that far.
Speaker 2: But Winston we know, dtr we know, and then then
Speaker 2: him will have to prepare for I do think we'll
Speaker 2: probably know tomorrow or.
Speaker 3: The next day.
Speaker 2: I would think what we'll see, you know, maybe they'll
Speaker 2: try to keep it under wraps. But whichever way it goes,
Speaker 2: we're playing the Browns, and Browns are playing the Ravens
Speaker 2: and we'll be ready to go.
Speaker 3: John. There's several running backs I guess.
Speaker 5: We're going to the playoffs who have made big impacts
Speaker 5: with new teams this year. What made Derek such a
Speaker 5: seamless fit for what you guys like to do.
Speaker 2: That's a great question. I mean, I think it's just
Speaker 2: Derek being Derek, you know, Derek Henry. All he had
Speaker 2: to do was come in here and do what he
Speaker 2: does and be who he is, and and he fit
Speaker 2: right in and fit like glove, you know, and like
Speaker 2: it was always meant to be that way.
Speaker 1: In the locker room today, we also heard from tight end,
Speaker 1: I say, a likely.
Speaker 8: You know, if that happens, playoff football is back at Baltimore.
Speaker 8: You guys at least get one game.
Speaker 3: How big is that? I mean that's big.
Speaker 8: I mean, you know, the bank helps us, helps us
Speaker 8: a lot, I know from the defense standpoint, from the offense,
Speaker 8: you know, just handing the crowd or the fans being
Speaker 8: into us.
Speaker 3: You know, you love was letting get home.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I know it probably takes some time, but Charlie
Speaker 8: was back on the practice field. This topic is that
Speaker 8: for you guys in a tight end group, that it's
Speaker 8: not just too.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that's love.
Speaker 8: You finally get brother back out there with you, I know,
Speaker 8: like he's been eager to get back out there, finally
Speaker 8: going to make plays again. I mean that's just a blessing.
Speaker 8: You know how hard it's been working.
Speaker 3: They can't.
Speaker 7: I said, what's that meaning? To be in a situation
Speaker 7: where you win and you win the division? Like you
Speaker 7: don't have to scoreboard watch you.
Speaker 1: Just know if you take care of your sustayment, play the.
Speaker 6: Division as yours.
Speaker 8: I mean that just you know, a testament to everybody
Speaker 8: putting their head down and really just you know, blocking
Speaker 8: out the media and really just you know, focused on
Speaker 8: wanting no mentality to put us you know, back in
Speaker 8: the po uh possibility of being able to win the Vision.
Speaker 8: But yeah, I'm about to about you and mar or
Speaker 8: see now Satis prize?
Speaker 3: Is that think you got to have sixteen touchdowns to bind?
Speaker 3: The kind of work? I mean, it's great.
Speaker 8: I mean, you know, watching you know, Mark day in
Speaker 8: and day out in practice, you know, makes me go harder.
Speaker 8: And then that's not really just only Mark, but that's
Speaker 8: the whole tight ending room. I mean the testament to
Speaker 8: old line testament to L, Derek and the receivers. I
Speaker 8: mean that's just everybody trying to get better in them
Speaker 8: and then me and Mark just being have, uh have
Speaker 8: the finally have the tandem that we wanted, being being
Speaker 8: out there making plays and you know, smiling head bund
Speaker 8: each other.
Speaker 3: I mean that's always a blessing. Is there?
Speaker 8: Where your reaction going back and watching that touch down
Speaker 8: past to you and Lamar kind of knowing it was
Speaker 8: going it was just what were the talks about that play?
Speaker 8: I mean I didn't even see him doing uh the
Speaker 8: three pointer shot that he did with Bait last time.
Speaker 8: But I mean that's just L being in his element.
Speaker 8: I mean I feel like when he's you know, at
Speaker 8: that that height right there in the middle of games,
Speaker 8: he's untouchable. I mean he's just you know, a magician
Speaker 8: back there. So I feel like, you know, when L's
Speaker 8: being L back there and when nothing feels like anything's
Speaker 8: impossible for him, I mean, that's the L that's really
Speaker 8: scary in my eyes, and that it just made it
Speaker 8: easy for me to just catch it overpass, Like how
Speaker 8: do you how do you.
Speaker 3: How do you practice?
Speaker 4: How can you practice?
Speaker 8: Those those kinds of players really just knowing, you know,
Speaker 8: the play is never over until eight's on the ground.
Speaker 8: And I feel like, you know, having him back there
Speaker 8: any plays a touchdown, uh, And I feel like, you know,
Speaker 8: when he's running around at that point, it's just you
Speaker 8: trying to get open because it don't matter where you are.
Speaker 8: Sometimes they just throw it across the body, across the field.
Speaker 8: As long as you're opening you you show him that
Speaker 8: you make the play, He'll do it ten times out
Speaker 8: of tense week.
Speaker 1: What did you think celebrate?
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean I was crazy. I mean that was
Speaker 8: just like like Mark said, that's street ball. I mean,
Speaker 8: that's just him having fun back yard football, you know,
Speaker 8: just celebrating when it plays.
Speaker 4: Me.
Speaker 1: Here's center Tyler Winderbaum going into this game. Obviously you
Speaker 1: win it, you win the division. What's the mentality knowing
Speaker 1: what's at stake here?
Speaker 9: Yeah, it's a huge game, opportunity to win the win
Speaker 9: the North, put ourselves in a position to have home
Speaker 9: field advantage for the first game, which is excited for
Speaker 9: the opportunity.
Speaker 3: And you know it's a team that got us, you know,
Speaker 3: earlier in the season.
Speaker 9: So just gotta go there, play our game, execute and.
Speaker 3: And know what's at stake?
Speaker 1: What does it mean? You know, you don't have to
Speaker 1: be scoreboard watching or anything like that, but it needs
Speaker 1: to know that that you're firmly control of your own
Speaker 1: destiny here at the last game of murder season.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I mean, you know, this is this is why
Speaker 9: you know, the regular season's played, you're and try to
Speaker 9: put yourselves in these positions. You know, it certainly wasn't
Speaker 9: easy road, but it's it's made the team that we
Speaker 9: are up to this point and just got to carry
Speaker 9: that on into this last game and then push her
Speaker 9: forward into the playoffs.
Speaker 1: The offensive coming off of a team of roll come
Speaker 1: off the big game against Houston, But how do you
Speaker 1: keep things continuing to roll offensively? You guys been so
Speaker 1: good this year, but how do you keep that momentum?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 9: Just it just comes out of execution, you know, limiting
Speaker 9: you know, one, just taking care of football turnovers, you know,
Speaker 9: limited in the penalties, continue to you know, gives ourselves
Speaker 9: the best advantage possible, you know, in first second down,
Speaker 9: to be favorable in our position, and just at the
Speaker 9: end of the day, just you know, trust ourselves, don't
Speaker 9: try to do too much, know that we got playmakers.
Speaker 3: And the rest will take care of itself.
Speaker 1: You mentioned just kind of have a times been a
Speaker 1: challenging season, up, a little bit of a down at
Speaker 1: ten times. But how do you think those lessons will
Speaker 1: serve you well, getting you know, the postseason.
Speaker 7: And just breaking.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's big.
Speaker 9: I mean, this is why the season is so long,
Speaker 9: you know, just to you know, figure out, you know,
Speaker 9: figure yourself out as a team, figure out the things
Speaker 9: you're that bad at, how teams are going to attack you,
Speaker 9: how you're going to attack teams, and you know, just
Speaker 9: at this time of the year, it has to all
Speaker 9: come together if you want to succeed down the road.
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