Speaker 1: Welcome to the Ravens Press Pass podcast. The Ravens return
Speaker 1: for the bye week and head coach John Harbaugh talk
Speaker 1: with the media. He discussed where the team sits at
Speaker 1: this point of the season, as are nine to three.
Speaker 1: They currently tie for the best record in the AFC.
Speaker 1: He talked about some of the takeaways and lessons from
Speaker 1: the bye week and the challenges that the Ravens have
Speaker 1: in front of them.
Speaker 2: The rest of the way.
Speaker 3: Okay, appreciate you guys all coming out. Welcome back. Good
Speaker 3: to have you back, and it's been good. Had a
Speaker 3: very productive week. A lot of work went into the
Speaker 3: week in terms of the coaching staff and trying to
Speaker 3: turn over every stone and figure out every avenue that
Speaker 3: we can do to create opportunities and advantages for our
Speaker 3: team and for our players going forward. We know we've
Speaker 3: got a big challenge in front of us, but we
Speaker 3: also have a great opportunity and we're looking forward to it.
Speaker 3: We just can't wait. The guys were great today, They
Speaker 3: were locked in, had a really good practice, great meetings,
Speaker 3: felt great about that. They'll be off from preparing tomorrow.
Speaker 3: Got to just kind of get themselves right for for Wednesday,
Speaker 3: and then we'll be off on the week. So with that,
Speaker 3: what questions you have?
Speaker 2: I mean, right now, after you know I'm coming off
Speaker 2: the buy, you have a two game.
Speaker 1: Leading the division.
Speaker 3: If you win all your games, you'll you know, you
Speaker 3: you basically control your fate for the number one seed.
Speaker 3: I mean, how do you feel about kind of the
Speaker 3: state of the team right now heading to the final
Speaker 3: five games? Which is I'm I'm excited, just like all
Speaker 3: the players are. I hope the fans are uh with
Speaker 3: the opportunity that we have and that that our guys
Speaker 3: have have created for themselves, you know, and you do
Speaker 3: that by just taking it one day at a time
Speaker 3: and trying to be the best football team you can
Speaker 3: be and try to play the best you can. So
Speaker 3: I feel like our guys have done a good job
Speaker 3: of that. But it's always looking forward. Challenges are in
Speaker 3: front of us and we need to be ready for them.
Speaker 4: The rest and kind of helping the corporation standpoint, did
Speaker 4: you feel like this week off was was good?
Speaker 2: From the pot the guys when you say.
Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, yeah, they're they're good, I'm sure it is.
Speaker 3: I mean, they see them, but they feel good. They're
Speaker 3: full of energy. But it's a long season, you know,
Speaker 3: it's a big challenge, and every one of these games
Speaker 3: is a really physical type type of a game. So
Speaker 3: our guys can use it. I know a number of
Speaker 3: teams other teams had it this week. So we're the
Speaker 3: last bye I think, and so everybody will be uh
Speaker 3: full on for the rest of the way.
Speaker 2: John, do you allow your Do you watch the games yesterday?
Speaker 1: Do you root against the Steelers?
Speaker 3: And did you watch the games? I watched most of them? Yeah,
Speaker 3: I didn't. I didn't. I can't say I was right
Speaker 3: glued to the TV for every single play, but I
Speaker 3: don't have a package or anything, so I got to
Speaker 3: watch the red zone a lot of times. So I mean,
Speaker 3: why would have I'm I'm at games. I mean, I'm
Speaker 3: not watching games. I'm not gonna pay for that, no way.
Speaker 3: But then on the bye week, I will say, on
Speaker 3: the bye weekend, on the Thursday game, I was kind
Speaker 3: of mad at myself for not having it, you know,
Speaker 3: but absolutely you root against all the teams that are,
Speaker 3: you know, in your way. So that's what we did.
Speaker 3: We had a we had a good day watching Joe
Speaker 3: and the Orange or the Browns and playing the team
Speaker 3: you're gonna play. I was rooting against Joe and the Browns,
Speaker 3: you know, that's that's what we did. You know. I
Speaker 3: think Joe's cool. It's cool what he did. He looked,
Speaker 3: he looked really good. But I couldn't root for him yesterday.
Speaker 2: So obviously played well in that game. Stafford's healthy and
Speaker 2: looked good as you know what you what you see.
Speaker 3: From them, right, Yeah, the Rams. You know, we've been
Speaker 3: studying those guys really pretty much last week as well,
Speaker 3: and they won three in a row. They're coming on.
Speaker 3: I think Sean has done a really good job with
Speaker 3: their team. Their coaches have done a good job. They're young,
Speaker 3: built around to two you know, superstar players, one on offense,
Speaker 3: one on defense, you know who they are, and then
Speaker 3: a number of you know, young guys, rookies. You were
Speaker 3: playing well for him, uh playmakers, very physical, team play,
Speaker 3: super hard on defense. It's just very impressive what they've done,
Speaker 3: you know. So we recognize the challenges in front of us.
Speaker 3: We understand what they're bringing. Their fighting for a playoff spot,
Speaker 3: but we were fighting for things too, you know, and
Speaker 3: we've got a lot, a lot to play for, so
Speaker 3: you know, I'm caught from our guys are gonna be
Speaker 3: out there, you know, playing well and playing their best touch.
Speaker 4: On the on this a little bit before about but
Speaker 4: how beneficial is it to have it at this point
Speaker 4: of the season. And secondly, just is there any sort
Speaker 4: of mental reset for you guys kind of pulling in
Speaker 4: on Obviously you're looking at this is the game, but
Speaker 4: they come upon, you know, the final six games, and
Speaker 4: you've been sort of the home stretch to do it well.
Speaker 3: I think you guys have a chance to focus in
Speaker 3: on what's in front of them, you know, and then
Speaker 3: you know, you get that week to kind of think
Speaker 3: about it and put in perspective. Our guys have a
Speaker 3: good perspective on it. They understand where we're at, what's required,
Speaker 3: and what's what's possible, you know, the opportunities that are creating.
Speaker 3: They understand that, and I think they're focused in and
Speaker 3: locked in and ready to go.
Speaker 4: Do you have since twenty nineteen?
Speaker 2: You have eleven players too, You have eleven players remaining
Speaker 2: since from the twenty nineteen team, And you talk about
Speaker 2: the ways and the challenges of retaining culture that you
Speaker 2: kind of agreed with these teams as they kind of
Speaker 2: rotated and out and the turnover rate is so high.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that's what the national football he is,
Speaker 3: you know. I mean that's what you try to do
Speaker 3: every single day, every week, every year. That's what we do,
Speaker 3: you know. And I love our guys. We got the
Speaker 3: right kind of guys who understand what we're about, what
Speaker 3: we stand for kind of from a football standpoint. So
Speaker 3: our guys has done a great job. I love our culture,
Speaker 3: so to speak, the environment, the way, the values that
Speaker 3: people have here. They love football. They want to work hard,
Speaker 3: they want to be at practice, they want to be
Speaker 3: in meetings, they love to go play games. That's where
Speaker 3: we start. We're football. That's what we're here for, and
Speaker 3: we're here for football. We've got a bunch of guys
Speaker 3: that love football. So I love working with guys who
Speaker 3: love football.
Speaker 2: When you have the time to do these kind of
Speaker 2: big picture analyzes, do you find yourself more curious looking
Speaker 2: at why you've done the stuff that you've done well.
Speaker 4: As supposed to stuff that you could be doing better?
Speaker 3: Is there a campus you're kind of more drawn to
Speaker 3: and looking at everything? I mean, I appreciate that you
Speaker 3: have such great analytical questions and you make me like think, Okay,
Speaker 3: what do I think about that? I don't really think
Speaker 3: about that. I mean, I just you look at everything
Speaker 3: all the time. These coaches over here, we got some
Speaker 3: of the best high school coaches in the area, the
Speaker 3: most successful guys here, all nominated for Coach of the Year,
Speaker 3: high school coaches in the area, just fantastic football coaches.
Speaker 3: And it's the same for you guys as it is
Speaker 3: for us. I don't think it's any different. You look
Speaker 3: at your team, you got the eye test, what you
Speaker 3: see on tape, you got the analytic tests. Is what
Speaker 3: the numbers tell you. And you look at all that stuff,
Speaker 3: and you say, Okay, what are we doing well? What
Speaker 3: are we not doing well? Where are our opportunities? What
Speaker 3: can we leverage to give our guys an advantage going
Speaker 3: forward to you know, make plays and be the best
Speaker 3: players they can. And that's really what we're trying to do.
Speaker 3: And some things you say, hey, we need to do
Speaker 3: more of some things less some things, you know, not
Speaker 3: at all. It's not good for us anymore. We can
Speaker 3: take advantage of this. We don't need to take advantage
Speaker 3: of that. You just do the best you can figuring
Speaker 3: all that stuff out, and you go forward and go
Speaker 3: fightings that you did coming out of the last game.
Speaker 3: I guess Matta Vick the protocol of Marylin with the
Speaker 3: Katherine and are those are those looking pretty good right now?
Speaker 3: They are looking pretty good right now? Yeah. I think
Speaker 3: on Wednesday probably have a more definitive type of an answer,
Speaker 3: but I'd say right now there's a lot of optimism.
Speaker 1: Zach was released by.
Speaker 4: The Cardinals last week. How much interest did the Ravens
Speaker 4: happen in him?
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, you know all the guys that anytime
Speaker 3: a great players is out there, he's sure look at it.
Speaker 3: But I would say this about that right now, we
Speaker 3: like our tight ends, you know, we really like our guys.
Speaker 3: And you know, like I said, I'm not rolling out
Speaker 3: Mark Andrews for the down the road future at all.
Speaker 3: This Mark is so darned tough and and Mark marks
Speaker 3: one of those guys that really, really and truly say
Speaker 3: a guy eats, sleeps and breeds football. That's Mark Andrews,
Speaker 3: you know. So you know he's gonna do everything he
Speaker 3: can to get back down the road. But the guys
Speaker 3: that we have right now are young guys, They're real guys,
Speaker 3: they're real players, and I think right now, we'll just
Speaker 3: roll with those guys.
Speaker 1: That would say coach John Harball. You're listening to the
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Speaker 1: back with you on Wednesday.