Ravens Will Send Plays Into NFL
During the fourth quarter of Monday night's 44-13 win over Cincinnati, cornerback Lardarius Webb came off the edge on a blitz and drilled Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in the back as he was releasing the football.
Webb hit Dalton when the ball was still in his hands, but he was flagged 15 yards for a personal foul, which brought an eruption from M&T Bank Stadium and the Ravens sidelines.
Webb told reporters after the game that he thought "the refs made a mistake" by throwing the flag and Harbaugh said on Monday that as the team plans to send a few plays into the NFL office for review, which is a standard procedure.
Harbaugh did not say if the Webb penalty was one of those plays.
"I don't know that I'm at liberty to comment on which plays those are, but we're sending a couple of those in," Harbaugh said.
The performance of the replacement officials has been a hot topic around the NFL, as the league is currently in a labor dispute with the referees union. Overall, Harbaugh said he was pleased with how the game was called by the officials.
"I thought all in all, in all fairness, they did a pretty good job of keeping the game moving," he said.
No Serious Injuries vs. Bengals
In addition to starting the year off 1-0 with an impressive victory over a division rival, the Ravens have something else to celebrate.
They came away from opening weekend with no serious injuries.
"Everybody is fine, we have nothing serious," Harbaugh said.
Safety Ed Reed was the most notable injury, as he told reporters after the game that he strained his hamstring during an interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter. He went to the locker room after the play and didn't return, but the Ravens had a three-score lead at that point.
Reed said after the game that the injury was "minor." The team will release an official injury report after Wednesday's practice, which will say whether Reed was limited at all during practice.
Harbaugh-Schwartz handshake Compared To Grant and Lee
The San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions play this weekend, and there will likely be as much focus on the post-game handshake between the two coaches as the game itself.
Last season, Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz and 49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh stole the headlines because of the fiery exchange after the game. The two had to be separated by players and staff members.
So was how does John think the handshake will go when the Lions and 49ers see each other again this week?
"You know, I was thinking about that a little bit – I don't think there's been so much attention paid to a handshake since [General Ulysses S.] Grant and [General Robert E.] Lee shook hands at Appomattox," Harbaugh joked, referencing the famous handshake that signified the end of the Civil War.
"It took a little time to think about that today. I thought it was appropriate."
Harbs' Flacco Comments Tongue-In-Cheek
Quarterback Joe Flacco stole the show on Monday Night Football, and after the game Harbaugh joked that Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti needed to "pay the man."
On Tuesday, he made sure that the media understood those comments were tongue-and-cheek.
"For the record, on Joe's contract thing – Steve [Bisciotti] might be listening to this – I want to clarify my remarks there. It was tongue and cheek," Harbaugh said, laughing.
Harbaugh Respects Mathis
When the Ravens were looking for offensive line help during the offseason, free-agent guard Evan Mathis was on the short list of candidates.
The Ravens brought Mathis in for a visit and even offered him a contract, but the veteran guard ultimately decided to stay with the Eagles. The two sides will now match up against each other this weekend in Philadelphia.
"I have a lot of respect for Evan," Harbaugh said. "Obviously, we made a run at him. He chose to stay there, like you said. A lot of guys do. I just have a lot of respect for him as a player."
