Postgame Quotes: Ravens at Rams
Head Coach John Harbaugh
(On game) "Any time you don't win a football game you are disappointed. We are disappointed because we want to win every football game we play. We came up a little bit short. I was proud of the way our guys played this game. We played 41 players this game. We did not play 80. They got out there 14-0 and got after us pretty good, but I thought our guys battled back. They brought their seconds in and our guys played all along and continued to play throughout the game. Basically we won the game the rest of the way out.
I am looking for positives and I am proud of the way the guys fought. Now we move on and the next thing is the regular season. We have to make some cuts and make some decisions in the next 48 hours, it is going to be difficult but we are going to try and put the best 53-man roster together that we can."
(On being angry during some of the plays) "Some of the run defense disappointed me by some of the young guys, I thought they tried to do too much. They ran behind the blocks and didn't hit the right gaps all of the time, and that is the type of stuff that you want to see. I want to see guys playing well, being in the right spot and paying attention to the football. I loved the play we made on the interception, but I didn't like finish to that because that is not who we are. To his credit, the guy who did that realized right away that he could do better than that. The personal foul penalty that we had, we can do better than that and that is what we are looking for."
(On QB Troy Smith) "Troy competed out there. I thought he made some plays. I am sure there are a few plays that he would want back. I thought he competed and showed what type of guy he is. I am proud of him."
(More on the play of Troy Smith and how to evaluate him) "It is hard. Sometimes you have more time than you think. But you don't always consistently have time. Troy knows that he can make plays with his feet and sometimes he relies on that. He will look at the tape and say, 'I could have hung in and thrown it here' and other times he couldn't. There are tough circumstances."
(On the muffed punt) "I didn't really see his technique that much I was watching the blocking up front. There is a technique involved with that turn and run like a centerfielder and you square up behind the ball. I don't think he did that as quite well as he should have."
QB Marc Bulger
(On his return to St. Louis) "It was fun. I got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in about six months. The atmosphere is a little different in preseason, but it was nice to see everyone and say hello all at once."
(On if he asked Coach Harbaugh to play a series early in the week) "No, we focused on the Jets early in the week and then they're were kind of playing it by ear. They made the decision on Wednesday (to start Troy Smith) and I was onboard with it."
(Overall comments on the Ravens and the upcoming season) "We've had a productive preseason. We've gotten better each week and that's all you can ask for and we've got 10 or 11 days until the opener on Monday night. We've got some work to do, but we're in good shape right now."
LB Dannell Ellerbe
(On his interception return for touchdown) "It landed in my hands and I just ran it in. It was my first touchdown, so I was excited."
(On Coach Harbaugh's reaction to his celebration) "He said I needed to do it with more class, but it was my first touchdown. I had a lot of stuff going through my head."
QB Troy Smith
(On how he played and what he wanted to accomplish tonight) "It's a battle. There are definitely some things as a Quarterback I wish I could take back but being the last preseason game and being in there with those guys, those guys are special to me, you know what I mean? We battled all the way through. As you can see we came up a little bit short but that's just the way it is. I had fun with those guys."
(On if it was tough at times because the Rams played some starters) "I mean to tell you the truth, offensively; we could have done some things better. When you're in that type of situation and your back is against the wall you just continue to fight and that's the only thing that you know. Hats off to those guys, they did a tremendous job."
(On the play at the one yard line that resulted in an interception) "You know just immediate pressure. I could have done a better job with getting the ball out. You got to think we either go into the half riding a little bit of momentum or none at all. Obviously we bounced back tremendously because that huge play that Jalen Parmele (Running Back) made, I mean that speaks volume to what type of man, what type of player he really is. He (Jalen Parmele) did give us a boost when we got back out there and just continued to battle. Sorry that the game didn't come out they way we wanted it to but that's life."
(On how he scrambled tonight) "I mean that's just a part of making plays, a part of knocking the rust off. It's been a while since I've had four quarters of ball playing, but like I said every single one of the guys that I got a chance to be out there on the field with played tremendously hard. I'm leaving this stadium with my head held high and I'm okay."
(On if he thinks he showed enough to remain with the team) "Oh, there is no doubt. I think what we have here is tremendously special. I think it can't be matched anywhere because we have been through the tough times and we have been through some great times too. This team is tremendously talented and we got a chance to do some special things."
