Stories: Calm Through the Storm | Day 2 Draft Picks | Rice, Flacco Wrap Day 1 | Flacco Feeling Fine | Ravens Get Their ManTranscripts: Draft Wrap-Up Presser | Flacco Introductory Presser | Ravens Day 2 A.M. PresserBlogs: The Big Board | The Byrne Identity | Insight to the Limelight QB Joe Flacco
On how he feels to be a Raven: "It feels incredible. After my visit with them, I felt good about it, but you never know what's going to happen on Saturday and Sunday in the Draft. So, to get the phone call from them and to have them tell me they're going to pick me, it was a pretty damn good feeling."
On what it means that the Ravens traded up to get him: "Well it lets me know that they wanted me. I don't know what's more important than that. It's pretty darn important to me that it just lets me know how much a team actually wanted me and will be glad to have me down there, and I can't wait to get down there and work hard and prove to them that they made the right decision that they moved up to get me."
On how much he feels like he has to prove coming from a Division I-AA school: "I don't feel like I get any more joy than anyone else. I think I definitely have something to prove once I get down [to Baltimore], and I'm going to try to use that to my advantage like I have in the past. [I want to] just go out there and play my game and be the best I can. So, I don't think I get any more joy than anybody else, because this is an exciting day for everybody. I can't imagine how much all the other kids feel, but if they feel the way that I do, then they're pretty excited."
On how it feels to know he's coming to a team that will have an open competition at quarterback: "It feels great. The first thing that I want to do is prove that I can play football in the National Football League. To get in there and have the chance to do that is going to be an incredible experience for me."
On his impressions of head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron: "Very intense guys, they know their football, and it should be a lot of fun to work with them."
On if he got a hunch that Baltimore would try to draft him after his visit with the Ravens:"Like I said, I had good conversations with them, and I really thought they liked me, but you never know. Everybody you talk to, you get a good vibe from, so you sit down on Saturday and hope for the best, but you don't really know what to expect. To get the phone call from them and see the area code and know who was calling, it was really exciting. I didn't really know why they were calling so early because I thought they had the 26th pick, so I wasn't really too sure what was going on, and they told me they were going to trade up and pick me. It was so quick, the excitement just overtook me right away."
On Ozzie Newsome saying your reaction seemed like you felt this was the perfect place and the team you wanted to go to:"Well, I think it fits great. They're a team that's looking for a quarterback, and they're competing their quarterbacks, and they want a guy to stand out and come in and do the job for them. I live about two hours away from there, so obviously my family will be able to come down and watch the games, so that will be good for them. But it's just a great opportunity for me to go in and play football and compete and prove to people that I'm a good quarterback, so I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity."
On what his scouting report would be if he had to give himself a scouting report:"I think I'm a strong kid who can hang in the pocket and throw the ball accurately with people around him. I think a big part of being a good quarterback is being an accurate passer and being and being an accurate passer under pressure. So a lot of people say arm strength [is important] and everything like that, but I don't think it's the most important thing about playing quarterback. I definitely think it helps me in making some of the throws. But like I said, I think the important thing is being good in the pocket and being accurate within that pocket."
On how much his Delaware coach helped him get selected by the Ravens after he made a phone call on Flacco's behalf:"I don't really know about those phone calls or anything like that, but I'm sure my coaching staff did a great job and said great things about me. So, I don't really know too much about those phone conversations, but all I can say is I love those guys down at Delaware, and I'm sure they feel the same about myself. I can bet they probably said good things to try to help me out as much as they could."
On his demeanor in the huddle:"I definitely am a low-key guy. I'm not a rah-rah guy. I'm always myself. I think I'm pretty straight-forward and honest, and I want to gain the respect from my teammates. I really just want to prove to them that I can play football. Once I prove to them that I can play football, I feel like all the trust and the leadership will follow. In order to be a good leader, you have to prove to the rest of your team that you can play football. I want to serve as a good example for everybody and prove that I can play football."
On his leadership ability coming to a team whose offense needs a leader:"Like I said, I think and important part is that you can play. That you're confident enough within the offense, and with your position as a quarterback, that you're confident to be in that position. And then it's about gaining respect, gaining the respect of your team, which comes with how well do you play. How long and hard do you work? How well do you prepare? Leadership has to do with all of that. You don't get it right away. You may need help from a veteran. But it's all about proving to these guys that you can play and proving to them that you want to be a good NFL quarterback, which takes a lot. You have to work hard, and you have to do a lot of things that lets the rest of the team know that this is a business for you, and you want to do the best you can and you want to make the team better. So once I get in there, and I can do all of those things and that hopefully they'll see that and I can become the leader this offense needs and take this team to the next level."
On where he is today:"I'm back in New Jersey, I'm at my house."
On how many family/friends are with him:"A lot. I've got a lot. My mom has six brothers, and I have five siblings, a lot of friends just from around town, but a lot of family. All my grandparents, all my uncles, even my cousins and my uncles' uncles. There are a lot of people here. Believe me, my house isn't big enough to hold everybody, but everybody's just having a blast and everybody's just as excited as I am."
