Speaker 1: Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass podcast. The Ravens are
Speaker 1: preparing for their game Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs,
Speaker 1: and today we had a chance to hear from head
Speaker 1: coach John Harball.
Speaker 2: Good to see everybody, appreciate you being here. We're looking
Speaker 2: forward to the game, uh and the preparations essentially finished
Speaker 2: as far as the main on the field work, but
Speaker 2: we'll be working right up until game time to be
Speaker 2: ready to try to put our best foot forward. What
Speaker 2: questions do you have?
Speaker 3: Too many battles against Derek ken Ras.
Speaker 4: What's up with this work code that's got hits?
Speaker 1: What do you do?
Speaker 4: You have TV?
Speaker 2: Jamison has TV. It's an opportunity to prove all the
Speaker 2: all the pundit's wrong, people who say you have you're
Speaker 2: a radio guy. You know you have a face for TV.
Speaker 2: You're a good looking guy. Got a new haircut too looking,
Speaker 2: charp nice and you clean up well?
Speaker 3: Thank you. He's got too many battles against the years.
Speaker 3: How's it gonna feel though to have him kind of
Speaker 3: in your back in game action.
Speaker 2: It's gonna feel great to have Derek Henry Henry on
Speaker 2: our side. It's gonna be a wonderful thing looking forward
Speaker 2: to it.
Speaker 3: Coach, how do you account for his improvisational skills and
Speaker 3: making plays on the run, flicking the ball.
Speaker 2: And stuff he does, Well, you really do have to
Speaker 2: account for it, Todd. I mean, nobody does it like
Speaker 2: Patrick Mahomes does it in terms of I'm not talking
Speaker 2: about the level of I'm talking about the style of it.
Speaker 2: He is his own guy in terms of the way
Speaker 2: he plays, how quick the ball comes out on the
Speaker 2: ones down to get it outs and uh, and how
Speaker 2: long he'll take as long as necessary to try to
Speaker 2: find a completion nor scramble run on the ones that
Speaker 2: are now fast. So that's his skill he's great at it.
Speaker 2: I think their offensive line, they're passing him, everything is
Speaker 2: built around his skill set that way. They've done a
Speaker 2: great job of that and that's one of the biggest
Speaker 2: reasons that they're successful as they are.
Speaker 5: What was it important in that ies O the decals
Speaker 5: for their Joe d and Jacoby Just why was that important?
Speaker 6: So?
Speaker 7: I know you said with a season you're dedicating to them,
Speaker 7: but to have that decal and the helmet this season.
Speaker 2: Very well, it's a great question. Why is it important
Speaker 2: to honor and remember Jacoby and Joe d with the
Speaker 2: helmet decal, And really it comes back to what's the
Speaker 2: most important thing. And we do have a lot of
Speaker 2: great conversations here about games and expectations and what went
Speaker 2: right and what went wrong and how you're going to
Speaker 2: defend this player or that player and all that stuff
Speaker 2: is what we do, but it's it's not who we
Speaker 2: do it with, really, And the reason is is because
Speaker 2: the who we do it with, whether it's in our
Speaker 2: job or our family life, our friends, just our walk
Speaker 2: through life, who we do it with is really the thing.
Speaker 2: And then what we do about the people for the
Speaker 2: people with the people that we do it with. And
Speaker 2: so what an opportunity to remember, honor love two people
Speaker 2: that we were with, you know, all those years. And
Speaker 2: then I think the biggest reminder of that to me
Speaker 2: is I look at that helmet decal. It's a reminder
Speaker 2: to remember the people that you're doing it with now,
Speaker 2: you know, your family, your friends, your co workers, even
Speaker 2: your competitors you're competing against, you know, uh, to make
Speaker 2: the most of these moments because our time on this
Speaker 2: earth is short, man, it's short lived. Life is short,
Speaker 2: you know, run to the ball, it's a it's a
Speaker 2: flicker where we're grass. It burns up in the day
Speaker 2: in the daytime sun, and it's what you do between
Speaker 2: those two dates that matter. So I think it's kind
Speaker 2: of a reminder of all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 5: John, especially with Joe d It's it's still so fresh
Speaker 5: for for all you guys. How have you how have
Speaker 5: you seen guys kind of work through what you guys
Speaker 5: are going through to kind of kind of get the
Speaker 5: business of football and how intermingled are are they big
Speaker 5: in the work right now?
Speaker 2: Well, you know, it's the it's this, it's it's things
Speaker 2: happen and and but but but time still keeps moving on.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 2: I always talk to the guys about going to the
Speaker 2: ocean and sitting on the beach, you know, and sit
Speaker 2: on the beach. Some people think it's boring. I think
Speaker 2: it's fascinating to sit on the beach and just watch
Speaker 2: the waves come in because they don't stop. They don't,
Speaker 2: they don't, they don't, they don't stop. Sometimes sometimes they're
Speaker 2: kind of calm and nice and fun and warm and inviting,
Speaker 2: and other times they get a little rough, you know,
Speaker 2: and there's storms and they come in one after another,
Speaker 2: and they're high, and they can they can be dangerous.
Speaker 2: But that's that's kind of a time analogy that those
Speaker 2: waves just keep coming, man, So you just got to
Speaker 2: keep swimming. You got to keep you got to keep
Speaker 2: at it. So I think that's what our guys have done.
Speaker 2: They've they acknowledged, you know, the people that they loved,
Speaker 2: they remember them, and they keep going, you know, and
Speaker 2: that's what you have to do.
Speaker 3: John, Any folks you know, all off seats in the
Speaker 3: trading camp about you know, the AFC Championship game now
Speaker 3: two days away from the season opener. I mean, is
Speaker 3: there any carryover do you feel from that game going
Speaker 3: into this?
Speaker 2: Oh, there's always carry over, absolutely. I mean there's carryover
Speaker 2: for both teams, there's carryover strets, strategically, there's carryover for
Speaker 2: the individual battles that guys are going to have they
Speaker 2: are still on the team.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: You know, one thing always leads to the next. You know,
Speaker 2: one wave leads to the next wave, and these two
Speaker 2: waves happen to be coming right after the other one.
Speaker 2: So that's the that's an interesting thing. It's a storyline,
Speaker 2: but you know it's uh, it's part of it for sure.
Speaker 8: What are your kind of emotions or anxiety? Obviously, you
Speaker 8: know Week one every year. I'm sure you're anxious to
Speaker 8: get going when it's Is it different when it's against
Speaker 8: a Kansas City first game, prime time, all of that?
Speaker 4: Does it like?
Speaker 8: What is that day leading up to the all of that?
Speaker 2: Like for you, it's it's it's like it's it's uh.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna try to under downplay it, but I
Speaker 2: don't want you to think it's different either. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's always. It's always. There's always. It's not anxiety. The
Speaker 2: word we use is tension. There's always tension because you
Speaker 2: want to go out and do well and if you
Speaker 2: want to be strong, if you want to be successful.
Speaker 2: It's like a bridge, you know, like a like a bridge,
Speaker 2: hanging bridge. What are those called?
Speaker 4: Suspension?
Speaker 2: A suspension bridge? Right, those cables, they they have tension
Speaker 2: to hold that bridge up there and keep everybody safe.
Speaker 2: There's tension when you're lifting weights. There's tension in your
Speaker 2: arms and your muscles. There's got to be tension. So
Speaker 2: guys are gonna be tense, they're gonna be locked in,
Speaker 2: they're gonna be focused. You feel that way, and it's
Speaker 2: the first game, So it adds to that. But beyond that,
Speaker 2: there's there's not anxiety, there's not there's no fear at all.
Speaker 2: There's excitement to go play the game.
Speaker 9: John, what do you notice from some of these rookie
Speaker 9: guys that are about to place their first regular season game,
Speaker 9: real game, even Trenton sevsonho was about to get a
Speaker 9: start for the first time in this level. For the
Speaker 9: remainder of the season, you felt like you had to
Speaker 9: say anything to these guys.
Speaker 2: They're ready to go. I think we say something to
Speaker 2: them every day and how we operate, you know, and
Speaker 2: how we play and how we teach and how they practice,
Speaker 2: and and they'll stand on that going into this game,
Speaker 2: just like all the guys will. And they'll just trust
Speaker 2: their fundamentals and trust their training, trust their talent, you know,
Speaker 2: trust the fact that they've been working their whole life.
Speaker 2: The thing we want to do is you make a
Speaker 2: decision going into any game or any any a career.
Speaker 2: You make a decision about how you're going to do it.
Speaker 2: You know what's gonna come in front of you know
Speaker 2: what challenges you're gonna have. It's like, okay, ahead of time,
Speaker 2: you decide if this happens, this is how I'm gonna respond.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 2: So if I'm rushing the passer and the ball gets
Speaker 2: out quick, what am I gonna do? Am I gonna
Speaker 2: go look and see and decide if I need to
Speaker 2: chase the ball? Or I already decided I'm gonna put
Speaker 2: a foot in the ground and go chase the ball.
Speaker 2: You already make that decision. So that's how our guys
Speaker 2: are thinking.
Speaker 1: In the locker room. We also heard from wide receiver
Speaker 1: Rashaan Bateman. Where do you feel like that chemistry is
Speaker 1: with La Mark?
Speaker 10: I feel like I said a good point right now.
Speaker 10: We put it in a lot of work. You know,
Speaker 10: I was able to do training camp, so we're looking
Speaker 10: forward to it.
Speaker 1: So how did you describe the excitement going into this game?
Speaker 1: This opponent at the stage all that I.
Speaker 10: Never played out heard it's crazy, So you know, definitely
Speaker 10: up for the challenge, you know, decided to take the
Speaker 10: field of these guys and we'll see what happens.
Speaker 1: This year's second year of the offense under Todd Mounket.
Speaker 1: How how much better I guess prepared?
Speaker 2: Ready?
Speaker 1: You know, well, you think the offense this is a
Speaker 1: whole knowing that you guys have had in a season
Speaker 1: under your belt, under toide, you.
Speaker 4: Definite a little bit more comfortable.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 10: I feel like, uh, you know, switching offenses could be
Speaker 10: hard at sometimes, but playing last year having success, we
Speaker 10: kind of know what to expect now.
Speaker 4: Uh, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 10: Working with Lamar, working with UH coach Monkin, I feel
Speaker 10: like we're all on the same page. So just been
Speaker 10: out there being able to get those reps.
Speaker 4: It's been important cause.
Speaker 5: It's obviously gonna be an emotional line for those guys
Speaker 5: celebrating their Super.
Speaker 4: Bowl win, is it? And you're when you kind of
Speaker 4: see what the Chiefs have done. Is it good to
Speaker 4: have somebody to shoot for?
Speaker 5: Somebody and sort of the bull's eyes, so to speak,
Speaker 5: that that you guys can.
Speaker 10: Be got to broke through against I We're not aiming
Speaker 10: for nobody, I mean, and I'm pretty sure they're not
Speaker 10: aiming for us. I mean, they beat us far and
Speaker 10: Squire last year. And you know, I feel like we
Speaker 10: just gonna play football again Thursday night.
Speaker 9: I shall and hearing uh, John Harball here and Lamar
Speaker 9: really talk you up a lot this off season, and
Speaker 9: you had a really good camp.
Speaker 4: What what does that do for your confidence? Now going
Speaker 4: into this season.
Speaker 10: Doesn't really do anything for my confidence. It just shows
Speaker 10: me that this teammate, this organization you know, believes in me.
Speaker 10: I've always had the confidence in myself to go out
Speaker 10: in you know, play football and do the things I
Speaker 10: need to do. Uh, but you know, to sign the
Speaker 10: extension here, it it shows that you know, the Costel Pashadi,
Speaker 10: Lamar uh Hardwall, you know, Munckt, whoever it is, you know,
Speaker 10: it shows that they all believe in my abilities. And
Speaker 10: you know that's a you know, that's a a peaceful
Speaker 10: mind accomplish that comes with that.
Speaker 7: I'm sure everyone you know goes into this game with
Speaker 7: different different feelings.
Speaker 8: It's kind of how are you approaching this?
Speaker 9: Uh?
Speaker 4: Given out last year end?
Speaker 5: It is this a turn to turn the page twenty twenty.
Speaker 8: Four where you still think about how last year end.
Speaker 4: It just gonna cover your impersonally.
Speaker 10: Nobody in NFL cares about what happens the year before.
Speaker 10: We onto you know, new things, bigger things, and that's
Speaker 10: the only thing we hoping to accomplish right now. And
Speaker 10: for me, you know, this is my first f UH
Speaker 10: full off season fully healthy UH training campt fully healthy. Yeah,
Speaker 10: I know, I missed a couple of days, but it's
Speaker 10: so long as I've been on the practice field, you know, uh,
Speaker 10: since I been here. So I'm definitely excited to go
Speaker 10: out there and you know, do my thing.
Speaker 4: It's kind of how what is what is that feeling
Speaker 4: for you kind of going into the season now with
Speaker 4: that healthy off season.
Speaker 7: And you know, you mentioned how people are kind of
Speaker 7: looking to you and noticing that you're you're those.
Speaker 4: And things out there.
Speaker 10: Uh, it's definitely the exciting feeling hopefully you know it.
Speaker 4: It all can be on put on, put on.
Speaker 1: Show lots of one of your bite We saw your
Speaker 1: uh your tweet you know that kind of grew up
Speaker 1: about just kind of hoping and praying for a big
Speaker 1: year in big game on that. Yeah, I just going
Speaker 1: along with that.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 1: I how does that kind of play into the excitement
Speaker 1: that you have going into this year?
Speaker 4: What the tweet?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean does that kind of encapsulate your your mindset,
Speaker 1: your excitement going into this year?
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I mean.
Speaker 10: Baltimore drafted me and there's been a lot of you know,
Speaker 10: he says, she's say uh about me. But you know,
Speaker 10: at the end of the day. I love playing here.
Speaker 10: I do love Baltimore.
Speaker 4: I love my teammates.
Speaker 10: So for me, I just wanna go out and you know,
Speaker 10: do it right for the city. You know, put the
Speaker 10: you know, sew the guys, you know that you can
Speaker 10: depend on me, So this city that you can depend
Speaker 10: on me. So this you know, the coaching staff, you
Speaker 10: know those things as well. So I'm definitely excited to
Speaker 10: go out and you know, hopefully bring a Super Bowl
Speaker 10: back to Baltimore.
Speaker 1: We also talked with fellow wide receiver Zay Flowers.
Speaker 8: A way last year ended, how how much have you
Speaker 8: been looking forward to this game and more than kind
Speaker 8: of what are your emotions like and so.
Speaker 11: Far it's a different season now, so I ain't really
Speaker 11: too worried about last year. Were trying to get a
Speaker 11: championship this year, so that's out the window.
Speaker 4: We just gotta go win this game.
Speaker 5: So you said at the end of the last season
Speaker 5: that you could use obviously umble in the end zone,
Speaker 5: that's the slame shot to become a better player.
Speaker 4: How do you think that motivation that's transitd in the
Speaker 4: last couple of months.
Speaker 11: I'm just I just want to have a better season.
Speaker 11: So I've been practicing with the guys. We've been working
Speaker 11: towards I mayn't go which is a championship. So last
Speaker 11: season with last season, and I mean, I use it
Speaker 11: as fuel, but it ain't really I don't. It's a
Speaker 11: new season. I think about that. I'm messing myself up
Speaker 11: for this season.
Speaker 1: So where do you feel like, uh, the chemistry is
Speaker 1: with the receivers on the MA going into this year?
Speaker 12: Uh?
Speaker 11: I mean it's the second end is often so I
Speaker 11: feel like the chemistry is way better. It got uh better,
Speaker 11: connections better. You know, I can't give out too many kids,
Speaker 11: but we getting better.
Speaker 4: We working tay.
Speaker 12: Given how ye season and say that the Chiefs are
Speaker 12: from being one match up, it's not one of those thoughts.
Speaker 7: Play are going through your mind year to get the
Speaker 7: camp for this game or kind of how.
Speaker 4: You feel going into it?
Speaker 6: Uh huh Nah.
Speaker 4: I'm prepared the same way.
Speaker 11: I'm'a go out prepared, probably dance around the field, do.
Speaker 4: What I do and get ready for the game.
Speaker 11: I got my team Bahamas, so we all good tip
Speaker 11: to that end. To that point, Yet you know, if
Speaker 11: he put camped up, I mean there's something about a
Speaker 11: season opener but when you are the season open for.
Speaker 4: The entire league, I mean, how much more special is that?
Speaker 4: What do you expect you in Thurston lay?
Speaker 12: Uh?
Speaker 11: I mean we put we had a hard training camp,
Speaker 11: so I mean everybody on our team ready.
Speaker 4: We gonna be ready to go. We gonna be ready
Speaker 4: to play.
Speaker 11: Our coach I think put together a great game plan
Speaker 11: for us, so we gonna get ready to play our ball.
Speaker 6: They say you think Bateman's about ready to exploit this season.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, yeah, he gonna have a go in this year.
Speaker 11: Cause the work he put in, the work he put
Speaker 11: in this off season, you could tell he been focused
Speaker 11: in the meeting rooms. He been talking to Lamar, he
Speaker 11: been talking to He's just been getting involved with everybody
Speaker 11: more and the more involved in the offense. So I
Speaker 11: feel like it'll be a great year for him.
Speaker 7: How do you think having Derick Henry could change the
Speaker 7: way that the secondary is.
Speaker 4: Trying to cover?
Speaker 11: You guess you gotta tackle him first. That's why, like,
Speaker 11: you gotta go tackle Derrick Henry. Then well, let me
Speaker 11: put it like this way. You gotta tackle Lamar and
Speaker 11: Derrek Henry out the back flod and then you gotta
Speaker 11: worry about all the receivers, Mark lightly me bait, and
Speaker 11: people coming out the bench. So we got a lot
Speaker 11: of playmakers everywhere.
Speaker 6: He's, hey, I think Week won last season. Your first
Speaker 6: NFL game, you had like twenty targets something crazy. You know,
Speaker 6: you had a big first game. Yeah, how are you
Speaker 6: different now than you were going into Week one as
Speaker 6: a rookie?
Speaker 11: I say, the game of the speed, like the speed
Speaker 11: of the game it was, it was faster. So I
Speaker 11: was out there just I was just off of all instincts,
Speaker 11: like not really knowing what's going on.
Speaker 4: I was really more just playing football.
Speaker 8: Is there anything different about playing in prime time?
Speaker 4: One of the lights for you? Nah, I cheat all
Speaker 4: the games the same. I go out and play.
Speaker 11: I go out and play hard every game, and I
Speaker 11: really just cheat all of 'em the same and play
Speaker 11: my game.
Speaker 1: How would you sum up the the atmosphere of the
Speaker 1: excitement from a team standpoint going into this game of
Speaker 1: the season.
Speaker 11: You know, we all decided especially what like like you said,
Speaker 11: well happened last year, and we sh we get to
Speaker 11: start it off with him and start the season off
Speaker 11: with a bang.
Speaker 4: So we gonna go out there and play our game.
Speaker 4: They you seem unveils Luatacas for Joke Games Robe today.
Speaker 4: Jakobe was here during during summer. Did you get a
Speaker 4: chance of talking off?
Speaker 11: Yeah, yeah, yeah he I think I end up at Lamar.
Speaker 11: I think threw me a ball and it was like
Speaker 11: came out right off my fingertips and I was running back.
Speaker 11: He was like, hey, don blood, you better than that.
Speaker 11: I know you better than that. And I'm looking him like, man,
Speaker 11: who talking to me? I'm thinking it's a fan, and
Speaker 11: then I just see him runing up to me because
Speaker 11: you know, he was a childhood like, childhood like legend,
Speaker 11: like from when I was young. I see him taking
Speaker 11: back kid returns, punt returns, deep balls, winning games, Super Bowl.
Speaker 11: So he always been a legend in my book, like
Speaker 11: always knew who he was, always rooted from, and always
Speaker 11: cheered for him since I was a kid, always been
Speaker 11: a big fan.
Speaker 6: If you were to pick one breakout kind of that
Speaker 6: this year among your teammates, WO would have been.
Speaker 11: All the receivers, including the tight ends.
Speaker 4: Everybody gonna have a good year.
Speaker 1: And lastly, today we had a chance to hear from
Speaker 1: linebacker Trenton Simpson, who's preparing to take over a starting
Speaker 1: role in this Ravens defense, and I'm excited.
Speaker 12: I feel like all off season been training or practicing
Speaker 12: the right way, earned the respect of my teammate and
Speaker 12: my coachest. Some man, I'm excited to go out there
Speaker 12: and see the work that I put in payoff.
Speaker 4: For sure? What are you most excited out you want
Speaker 4: to come to this defense?
Speaker 12: Man? Just the versatility to all the pains we have,
Speaker 12: the players we have and playing a a along some
Speaker 12: great players. So uh, just going out there everybody been
Speaker 12: on the same page, and the speed this defense has been.
Speaker 4: I'm excited. Yeah, for for you as.
Speaker 7: A linebacker, just kind of what is gonna be the
Speaker 7: key for this one?
Speaker 3: Uh?
Speaker 7: When you're when you're going against you know, this Chiefs
Speaker 7: offense that you so many different things to.
Speaker 4: Try to throw you off. Just what'slist the key?
Speaker 12: I say, the key to success is just being on
Speaker 12: the same page. Everybody being on the same uh page
Speaker 12: one accord, Just going out there communicating and just playing
Speaker 12: at a high level.
Speaker 1: And how prepared do you feel for this season given
Speaker 1: all the work that you put in over the last year.
Speaker 12: Man, I feel like I'm very prepared, being tr started
Speaker 12: since last year all the way up into OTA's training
Speaker 12: camp and then uh, just going out there getting three
Speaker 12: preseason games under my belt. I feel like, uh, physically
Speaker 12: I'm in shape, mentally I'm ready to roll, and spiritually, man, blessing,
Speaker 12: I'm ready for this game.
Speaker 1: Uh. I know you felt like playing those preseason stats
Speaker 1: was really important to you. What did you benefit from
Speaker 1: those games?
Speaker 4: Uh?
Speaker 12: Just going out there getting game reps, seeing uh different things, Uh,
Speaker 12: seeing different offices, schemes, and uh just going out there
Speaker 12: just getting game reps, you know, getting ready for the season.
Speaker 1: How would you describe I guess for you the emotions
Speaker 1: knowing that you're going into a year as a starter
Speaker 1: and all that comes along with that.
Speaker 12: Man, I'm blessed and all I can do is thank God.
Speaker 12: But me, I feel like I put the work in. Man,
Speaker 12: I'm just excited to see my work payoff. I feel
Speaker 12: like I've came in every single day, attack to day
Speaker 12: and gave it everything I got. So I'm excited to
Speaker 12: see what comes out of this.
Speaker 7: You're close with me date just kind of have you
Speaker 7: had any words with him about you know what getting
Speaker 7: that first taste of NFL action is going to be
Speaker 7: like and kind of maybe helped calf if there were
Speaker 7: any nerves or any year now, I.
Speaker 12: Just told him be himself. You know, Nate is a
Speaker 12: special athlete, special player. I just told him go out
Speaker 12: there and be yourself, fly around, have fun, and just
Speaker 12: say everybody be on the same page, but I told him,
Speaker 12: for one, just just be yourself. Have fun.
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Ravens Press Pass podcast. That game
Speaker 1: is coming up on Thursday night, and we will be
Speaker 1: back with you with more pressers and interviews after that game.