POST-GAME TRANSCRIPT
Head Coach John Harbaugh
(opening statement) "Okay, [regarding] the game balls. It was O.J.'s [Brigance] birthday [on Thursday] and his spirit runs through this football team. He communicates with our guys all the time, so that's what that's for. Pat [Modell]… we love Pat Modell. We love Pat Modell, and we love Art Modell. Art talked to the team two weeks ago. What the Modells mean to the city of Baltimore, and what the Modells mean to kids in the city of Baltimore,and they're responsible for everything you see here, as far as bringing this franchise here. So, Art and Pat Modell- we love you."
"It was an unbelievable game. It was the best defensive performance I thought I'd ever seen, and the most amazing defensive performance I thought I'd seen was the Pittsburgh game with the seven turnovers against that offense. But, this topped it. To have three returns for touchdowns off of turnovers by your defense, has it ever been done before? Maybe it has. You guys can find out. You guys look that stuff up. That's pretty impressive to say the least. It was a team victory, but our defense carried us. But, I think our offense understood that and we got after them a little bit early, and we moved the ball really good early. But, we saw how the game was going. I thought our offense played smart and did some good things. Our special teams ended up being solid after the kickoff return, which was obviously disappointing. It gave them some life, but beyond that, our defense was the story of the game."
(on if Lardarius Webb's return for a touchdown was a game changer) "Oh I don't know. You have to write that one. There were so many game changers, this game back and forth. We had a couple early and then they came back and made it close, and we had a couple more. We give a lot of credit out there."
(on how effective the subs were on defense) "Well, I think it's pretty impressive with the fact that we had seven inactive guys who were all hurt. So, we had seven guys that would have been active that were down in this game, and a lot of those guys were on defense like you're talking about. So, to be able to run those guys into those packages who really hadn't been in those packages before, haven't had a chance to play as much, I think speaks to those guys and it speaks to our coaches and the job they did getting those guys ready. So, you're exactly right about that."
(on how good this defense is) "Well, the Ravens have had great defenses ever since Ray Lewis got here. There's been a host of defensive coordinators, and I think every one of them would tell you that obviously the common thread is Ray Lewis. Then, you add on Ed Reed and there's a bunch of players before that. Then, you talk about [Terrell] Suggs and Haloti [Ngata] and now the young guys stepping up. So, to me it's the players. But, I do sense something special with this defense and with this team. I think there's a spirit in this team that's hard to describe and I wish I could put it in words for you. I saw it the first day the guys came back. We'll see where it takes us, but I couldn't be more proud of this team. You either do or you don't, and those guys did it tonight."
(on if DB Danny Gorrer looked good tonight) "Yes, I think that's a really good observation. Danny played really well. We asked Danny to play great technique. That's what Danny does. He's become a fundamentally excellent corner over the last year, and he can run, and he has good ball skills. He's going to be a really good corner. I think this was kind of his opening salvo of his career."
(on if he can explain why the passing game got really low) "I think we played against a really good defense, and you want to be smart about the kind of throws you make when you have the corners out there covering receivers real tight. Do you want to know what I remember? I remember the third down completion to LaQuan Williams, where we were running the ball about 14 times in a row, and then we got that third down conversion to get about three more minutes off the clock. So, to me that was a great throw and a great catch against really good corners. Credit our offense for finding a way to win a game. We had some fireworks early, and I thought they did a good job early. But, that's a really good defense over there."
(on the effectiveness of the running game) "You have to credit the offensive line and the backs to run the ball in the teeth of that defense, into the teeth of that defense when they know you're running and they're putting extra linebacker defense out there. Everybody's playing downhill and they're all within five yards of the line of scrimmage. I think it says a lot about our guys, and I'm proud of the guys for that. That was impressive."
(on the bye week schedule) "Well, the guys are negotiating for days off right now. So, they already negotiated four days off with the CBA [laughs]. They want more. But, we have a little bit of work to do, and we'll try to condense that work as much as we can. I think they've earned that. We've already had some negotiations take place in the locker room before I got in here, so we'll see where it goes tomorrow."
C Matt Birk
(on the Jets having a very stout defense) "They're very stout. We have high expectations for ourselves, and we're going to look at the film and grade ourselves hard, and know that we can get a lot better. But, certainly, you know, you hear all this stuff about the Jets' defense isn't what it used to be… I mean, their demise was greatly exaggerated, basing it off one game. We knew it was going to be a fight, and it wasn't pretty, but the defense stepped up and made plays and offensively we did what we had to do. And the bottom line is we got a big win at home."
(on whether the team will meet for tomorrow then go sleep for the bye week) "I doubt it. We've got some work to do this week, even though it's the bye. We'll get a couple days off, but it's still a work week. It's still a chance to get better, and then get away from it for a while and heal up physically and freshen up a little bit, because when we come back it's going to be a long stretch of football."
(on running the ball more after developing the late lead) "Yeah, at that juncture of the game, that's what we had to do. And quite frankly, we weren't real happy with how we were running the ball up to that point. Now, you give them credit, because it's a very good defense, very good run defense [and a] very good defense overall. But, it's nice when you get into a little bit of a rhythm like that. The biggest thing was we moved the chains, got some first downs and took some time off the clock."
RB Ray Rice
(on what tonight's win says about this team) "From a defensive standpoint, it says that those guys are phenomenal. But from an offensive standpoint, it wasn't pretty on our part, but we got the job done. And give those guys credit on the other side; they're a great team. Regardless of win, lose or draw, they always make it far later in the year. But a conference win, early in the year, going into the bye week feels great. Your body gets time to rest, and it just made a statement, because… Ups, downs, highs, lows; we stayed on an even keel and finished this game."
(on his touchdown play) "I just followed the big men, O-line, [and] got it done. I'm running behind Vonta [Leach], and it was a close call, but I was just happy to get it in."
(on what it feels like when he watches the defense have a game like this) "When you're watching the defense out there, it's almost like you don't want to let those guys down. So, for me, as one of the leaders on the offense, I tell the guys, 'Let's just get it going for the defense.' Those guys are scoring points in the second half, and we buckled down and said, 'We've got to run this ball.' Regardless of what the average yards per carry is, we ran the ball and slowed the clock down. The defense did the rest."
(on what kind of momentum this gives the team heading into the bye week) "Great momentum. I'm going into the bye week pretty healthy, and the bye week always gives you time to get more healthy, and we're a quarter of the way through. No need to say it, but there's a lot of football left to play, and we're only a quarter of the way through. But it does give you extra motivation to go into the bye week 3-1. It feels great."
TE Ed Dickson
(on how it felt to get targeted so often today) "It felt good. It was an opportunity. We saw a lot of stuff this week that we can exploit. Joe [Flacco] threw the ball very well and the o-line gave him a lot of time."
(on whether the Jets showed them anything they weren't expecting) "[Darrelle] Revis played off of us a little and they played off of us in general a little bit. We tried to take a shot at them in the beginning of the game. They played off us, and we made them come up, and we took it to the pass again. We ran the ball a lot and we passed the ball a lot and that makes it hard for teams to key in on one thing we do."
(about the week of preparation for the Jets in general) "Whenever we play the Jets or the Steelers, we know it's going to be physical. We love them off the field, but once we come on the field, we're going to battle them for sixty minutes. We knew that the team that was most disciplined and came out to play was going to win the football game. Give them credit—they stumbled a little bit, they came back a little bit but we finished them off."
(on if he thought this was his best game personally) "My best is yet to see. I just want to keep getting better each week. But give them credit. They made some adjustments that stopped us a little bit and we turned the ball over. You have to give our defense a lot of credit. They played their hearts out and the game ball goes out to them today."
S Ed Reed
(on the first play, the sack and fumble setting the tone for the whole game) "It was big. We wanted to get it started but they bounced right back and returned the kick so we have to channel that and learn not to get too hyped too early and it's a sixty minute ball game."
(on what the penetration and hit on Sanchez did for the defense mentally) "We knew that we could get to him. And we know that he's going to hold the ball a little more and think. It definitely helped going forward in the game and you saw us get more pressure and more turnovers."(on Rex Ryan being on the other sideline- Were you trying to send him a message?) "No, not at all. We knew we had to play ball. We knew they were going to play ball. Rex knew that and we knew he would have his guys ready and pumped. We know how Rex is- he loves this game and he is such a competitor so we knew he was going to have those guys ready to play."
(Where is this team mentally at 3-1?) "Right now, we're on a bye week. We talked about how we can get better tomorrow. We're going to watch the tape, note the mistakes that we did make. We're going to take this bye week, get better, and get prepared for the next game."
(Did [Mark] Sanchez even see you on the first play?) "No. They must have thought we were in coverage or something. We actually ran the blitz according to the way they were set up- we must have caught them off-guard. I thought he threw it at first but then when I saw the ball up there, I knew from watching him on tape that he would pump it, and sometimes hold onto it. It was a blessing that I got there in time."
(on whether he thought they set the tone early defensively) "Yeah but it was kind of taken away when they returned that kick. Honestly, I was like, o.k., we know this team is ready and Joe McKnight is a great returner and we still had to kick-off to him. I knew our special teams were prepared. Those guys work really hard so it was back even at that point. It was just a matter of getting back on them at that point."
QB Joe Flacco
(on the win) "It wasn't too pretty but anytime you get a win in the NFL it's a good one especially when you are playing a good team like that. Our defense really showed up today. I thought we were able to do some things really well on offense early on, it was a great team win."
(on the fifty yard completion to Ray Rice) "We were able in the beginning to make some big plays and we were able to drive the ball based on those big plays. A big part of our game is getting Ray [Rice] singled up underneath, and that's kind of what happened on that play and we just went from there."
(on making some tough throws) "When you're one-on-one, I have to have confidence that my guys can got and get it. That's what I'm trying to do, lay it out there for them, and let them go and get it."
(on establishing the run) "It starts with your offensive line. When those guys are able to do something up there and get a push, it makes it a lot easier for the backs and those guys did a good job."
DT Haloti Ngata
(on the win) "It was great. We got three defensive touchdowns. It's great that our guys can make plays and score. Overall, it's just awesome."
(on playing against Rex Ryan) "It was awesome. He helped a lot of us grow as players when he was here. Now to go against him is fun. It's great that we can beat him like that, it felt great."
(on rattling Mark Sanchez) "I think we wanted to get him to try and beat us in this game. Once we knew they were going to start passing, we just pinned our ears back, and tried to get to him as fast as we could. I think we rattled him and got him off his mark, and we were able to make plays off of him."
(on how turnovers helped the defense) "It allows us to really start pressuring them. We call blitzes to try and make their offensive linemen think more. I think we did that and got to [Mark] Sanchez often."
(on the defense clicking) "I think we are really doing a lot of good things. Hopefully, we can continue to get better as a unit and create more pressure and make more plays."
(on his sack fumble for touchdown) "It was a stunt – [inaudible] came on an inside blitz, and I was supposed to have contain. I felt [D'Brickashaw] Ferguson leaning hard to the inside, and I gave him a quick swim move. I was able to get around him and his [Mark] Sanchez."
(on the defensive performance) "Definitely one the best defensive performances, they only scored three points and that was on a short field. We were able to get up the field often, and our offense was able to stay on the field. It was a great team game."
(on beating a good team like the Jets) "It's huge. They're a good team. Hopefully, we continue to get better and get more wins."
LB Ray Lewis
(on his relationship with Rex Ryan) "There's one thing about this game – the game will fade but brotherhoods like that will never fade. That man taught me too much, and I have too much respect for him, The game will always be the game but partnerships like that last a lifetime."
(on tonight's defensive performance) "It was old school. We started out the year kind of hot like this, got back on track last week against St. Louis, and this week we kind of came out and carried it over. It was a pretty good all around win."
(on being 3-1 at the Bye) "We can't ask for anything else. The season is a journey, you may have a pitfall every once in a while, but as long as you keep your head focused and come back to work and get better every day, things will get better."
(on Ed Reed's sack fumble on the first defensive play of the game) "Ed Reed is Ed Reed. Ed Reed will always be Ed Reed, but our defensive coordinator [Chuck Pagano] deserves a lot of credit for coming out and making that call. He and I went back and forth on what call to make. For him to switch up at the last minute and make that call, Ed's going to make plays like that, you're talking about "Superman" back there, so I just think for us to get started like that meant a lot."
(on defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano) "He's not afraid of anything. We learned some personal stuff about him a long time ago that makes us realize he's never going to be afraid of anything. The biggest credit to Chuck [Pagano] is the trust he has in his players. When you're on the field, you can actually see how he works with us and the conversations we have in-and-out. It's just a beautiful part of working for him."
(on watching young guys make plays) "I go to Lardarius Webb and 29 [Cary Williams] every week, and I tell them 'you are the key to us. Be great.' There's two kinds of people. People that are going to watch people make plays and there's the person that's going to make plays. For them to keep playing the way they are playing, and play at the level they are playing at, it's beautiful to watch."
(on ranking this defensive performance all-time) "I guess when you go back and watch the film you can rate that, but the best defensive performance is the next one. We are looking to get some rest, come back completely healthy, we get Lee Evans back, we get Jimmy Smith back, we get a lot of people healthy back, we are really looking forward to that."
LB Jameel McClain
(on his fumble recovery for a touchdown) "Basically, on the play, Lardarius [Webb] had the opportunity to grab it, but he bobbled it, and me being a great teammate, I helped him out. I grabbed the ball, and I got in the end zone with his help, and Ed Reed and so many other players. It was a good play – a team play. I got a [touchdown]. I needed that. It's my first touchdown [of] the regular season. It was great."
(on if CB Lardarius Webb's interception was a game-changing play) "There were so many defensive plays, you know, so how do you describe it? But, it was definitely a momentum-changer. It was what we needed – he came out and responded automatically. That's what he does, and that's what the defense does in general."
(on how good the defense can be) "It's about carrying on tradition, you know? You don't step into a position like this half way. You know everything that this defense has done, and you know what this organization is about. It's an honor to be here, and for us to stand here, coming from where we've came from, our humble backgrounds, we are just going out there, perform and to be a part of something great. Where can it go in the future? Obviously, going up to the top like everybody. Our goal is to get better every day, consistent and to become consistent players."
CB Lardarius Webb
(on his interception for a touchdown) "Mine was unexplainable. You know they had just turned the ball over… We turned the ball over. We needed a big play. We just needed to keep them out of the end zone. The defensive linemen had a great rush. The defensive line and linebackers had a great game. He [Mark Sanchez] had to get the ball out in a split-second the whole night. It just made it easier on us in the backfield. 'Sizzle' [Terrell Suggs] getting a rush helped me get my interception. I give love to all of them because it felt great."
(on whether he anticipated his interception) "It was in Cover 2. I didn't really have to see it. I was already out there. So, then I just read his eyes and played it."
(on the team's preparation this week) "This week, the guys were so focused. This game meant a lot to everyone in the locker room on all sides of the ball – offense, defense and special teams. This was a big game for us, and we came out ready to play. You've got Ed [Reed] and Ray [Lewis] in the locker room and it makes things easier. The leadership in our locker room is phenomenal."
LB Jarret Johnson
(on harassing Mark Sanchez and causing the turnovers) "That was our goal. It's always our initial goal, just to move him off the spot, obviously. But when you're able to get after him like that and actually hit him and get sacks and force turnovers, that's always a goal. He hit the ground pretty quick a few times, and you could tell he was feeling the pressure, and that's our goal. So when we see that, we're going to keep coming. He's a guy, you don't want to let him build a lot of confidence because No. 10 is a stud, No. 17- stud and No. 81 is, too. So if he gets [connected] around those guys; he can hurt you so we just didn't want to let him build any momentum."
(on his thoughts on his TD and if it might be overturned) "Honestly, I was in coverage. I didn't see the hit. I didn't know what happened. I just saw the ball bounce in front of me. I just grabbed it and took off running. Haloti made a huge play, and, you know, I got to reap the rewards of what Haloti did. Huge team effort. I think we had three defensive touchdowns, which is just huge."
(on if he felt a bit cheated since he was in the end zone but needed to wait through the replay) "I'm not going to dance, regardless. I have no moves. So I probably would have reacted the same if I would have known it was a turnover."
(on if he got to speak to Rex Ryan afterwards) "Yeah, me and Ray and Sizzle ran up to him and I got my punch in the gut and we got to talk to him a little bit. Obviously, he's upset. Rex is a super-competitive guy so when he loses a game like that, he's going to be upset, but it was great to see an old friend, and it was great to compete against him. Great to see Bart [Scott] and those guys. Former brothers – and there's nothing like getting after them like that. He created us, now he had to deal with us. It was fun. "
(on Derrick Mason and his apparent frustration) "Derrick was cool coming out. Derrick's always going to get fired up. Derrick's a competitor, and he's going to come out talking. [Paul Kruger] got an extra shot at time, which was great, I thought. He's another one, former Raven. Great to see him."
(on how much he believes in this defense after four games) "It just shows our potential, our depth. I don't know how much you guys notice how much we roll, especially our sub package. I mean, we're constantly rolling guys in, which we've never really done. I've never come off the field before, and now we're able to get…Kruger's rolling in. We're rolling DBs in. The interior, with [Pernell] McPhee and Art Jones coming in, made some huge plays at the end of the game. We haven't done that in a long time. We haven't had this much depth. It just shows the potential that we have, and it shows that we need to dominate like this. This is the NFL. We're going to have some games when we're going to havfe to grind it out. But it shows the potential that we have."
