JOHN HARBAUGH FRIDAY QUOTES: WEEK 15 VS. SAN DIEGO
Opening statement: "Good to see everybody. We just finished up a good week of practice, and we're getting ready to travel out to San Diego. We're excited for the opportunity."
Ray Lewis worked all week. Do you feel good that he wouldn't just be a game-time decision? (Aaron Wilson) "We'll see. We'll see. You know who's playing anyway, so just report what you know. (Reporter: "I don't know. I'm asking.") You know. You report all the time. Sometimes you're right, sometimes you're wrong. You're about 50/50 right now. (Reporter: "I think my percentage is better than that.") I'd say 50/50, maybe 60/40 – give you the benefit of the doubt."
Billy Cundiff got some rest this week. Do you feel confident that he'll e ready to kick for you on Sunday? (Dan Kolko) "Same answer. We'll see."
Same would apply for Lardarius Webb? (Jerry Coleman) "Same would apply for Lardarius. We'll see. You really don't know. I mean, I'd love to give you guys information, but I can give you something, and then it's not right, and then you think I'm not giving you right information. You really don't know for sure. It just depends on how they improve, how the thing responds to practice, how they feel the day of the game. It's just the reality of it. So why sit up here and try to speculate? We'll know Sunday night when we put it on that piece of paper."
Did you see improvement from the guys that did work [this week]? (Aaron Wilson) "Some guys, yes. Sure. Why am I going to try and give information out that's going to help our opponent? You know? You guys keep asking questions about it, and I'm going to keep giving you the same answer. It's OK, it doesn't bother me, shouldn't bother you when I don't answer it. So you shouldn't have to ask it four times. (Reporter: "Do you really think it does help [an opponent]?") Yes, sure it does. Of course it does. Think about it. How could it not? We're looking all the time. We read what their guys are writing all the time to see if we can get something out of it. Every little piece of information is valuable."
Since there's so much on the line for both teams, do you expect a playoff like atmosphere? (Ryan Mink)"I think every road game in this league should be treated as a playoff game. If you want to win on the road, you better take that mentality, because it's really tough. Every one of these environments is really tough. This is going to be Sunday night, loud stadium and a really good football team. It's an exciting game to be a part of. It's kind of what the National Football League is all about, especially this time of year."
If Ray Lewis is back, how much of a boost would he give you guys, just having a Ray Lewis back around? (Aaron Wilson) "I mean, you've watched us for a lot of years; you know the answer to that. We'd love to have Ray Lewis out there. A Raven defense will definitely take the field. We'll be wearing black helmets with a Raven decal on the side, and we'll be in our purple and our white."
What happens all day Saturday out there? (Stash) "You want the whole schedule? We just prepare. We have meetings in the morning like we do on any normal Saturday. Then in the afternoon, we'll get away a little bit, let them relax a little bit. Then we come back and we'll have night meetings which go for about two-and-a-half hours. Pretty standard preparation schedule."
Can you talk about the mismatches that Antonio Gates creates? I know the Packers, for example, put Charles Woodson on him, and he's just a tough guy to try to cover. (Matt Vensel) "He's a tough guy to try to cover. You can't really match up a particular guy if you play defense the way we do. We don't just come out and play man coverage the whole game. There will be different guys matching up on different defenses. Sometimes it'll be double, sometimes it'll be one guy. Sometimes it'll be a safety, corner or linebacker. It just depends on the defensive call. Whoever covers him is going to have to do a great job; but it's not just him. They've got great receivers across the board. They've got two backs that are catching a bunch of balls. So you've just got to play the defense out, I think, and play good solid defense."
Have you had any talks with Chuck Pagano about going up against his brother? (Dan Kolko) "You mean like what, advice? He's done it a lot more than we have. (laughter) The Pagano Bowl, exactly. The pressure is on, so we expect a victory, absolutely."
How impressed have you been with Antwan Barnes getting the opportunity to play there and having seven sacks for that defense? (Luke Jones) "He's looked good on tape. Good player, obviously. He's played well for them, especially rushing the passer, so no surprise there. We've always had respect for Antwan as a player and a person. He's done a nice job since he's gotten out there."
