DAILY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
WR Anquan Boldin
On how his transition to Baltimore has been and how he feels he fits in so far: "I feel like I fit in pretty good. I think it's been a pretty smooth transition for me overall, just getting familiar to new surroundings. I've been in one place for seven years, so to finally get a chance to move, I think it's gone pretty smooth."
On whether it is a relief to have some time off during the bye week: "For us all, I think it came at a good time – coaches, players. I think it came at a point where we can use the rest, but also where we ourselves, as a team, can look back and evaluate exactly where we are as a team. And, I think that's exactly what the bye week is for. We've been fortunate enough with injuries, actually, to get some guys back just this past week. In that department, I think we're good. But like I said, we get a chance to evaluate where we are as a team."
On what WR Donte' Stallworth will bring to the team: "Everybody knows Donte' is a fast guy. He's able to stretch the field. He just brings another playmaker to the offense."
On still being in position to achieve all of this season's goals: "Exactly, and I think that's where you want to be at this point in the season. We would love to be 6-1 or 7-0, but right now we're 5-2. But, we're right in the thick of things. We're right at the top, so we're still in a position to achieve all the goals that we sat out at the beginning of the season."
On whether the offense is beyond the "feeling out" process: "I think we're still in that mode a little bit. I think the thing is, we just – and it's a good problem to have – we have so many guys that can make plays on the field. When you look at it, the receivers that we have, getting Donte' back soon, the running backs that we have, it's almost like a three-headed monster in the backfield. And, we have a group of tight ends that can really make plays down the field. It's just trying to figure out a way to get everybody the ball, which like I said, it's a great problem to have."
On what the key for QB Joe Flacco was to turn things around following the Cincinnati game: "Just for him to trust in himself. He's here for a reason. He's a great talent. He has every physical tool there is needed for a quarterback on this level. I think the most important thing is just trusting in himself and believing in who he is."
On Flacco's new Halloween "Jersey Shore" haircut: "Nice. (laughter) I'm trying to get him to wear it for the rest of the year. You know, switch up the designs a little bit, but keep that overall haircut for the rest of the year."
On whether he shaved the design for Flacco: "No, I think [Tavares Gooden] sent him to one of his barbers."
CB Chris Carr
On whether he has any fun bye week plans: "Yeah, [the] Inner Harbor, I might walk around there. My neighborhood is kind of fun. My bed, I love my bed. Yeah, my bed's pretty nice. *(laughter) *I'll be hanging out here trying to get ready for the next week coming up after [the bye]. I'm just going to be relaxing, trying to get my body right for Miami."
On this being a time to get better and get rest as opposed to just having fun: "You've just got know yourself. You can go out and have fun, but if you've got injuries to take care of, then you should take care of them. If you want to go out there and take your mind off and have fun a little bit, you've just got to be smart about it. It's just your own discretion. You just have to know yourself and your body and what you're going to be doing, and just make sure you come back and you're well rested. There's still time to go have fun, you just have to be smart about it."
On whether he feels the tackling needs to improve following Sunday's game: "Yeah, yeah, you could say that. But, it's one of those things, too, [where in] football, you want to be consistent, and consistency is the name of the game. It's kind of like we've been tackling very well and we've been covering well this whole season, so we just don't want a pattern of this. It's one of those things that's glaring on film that you know that you need to correct, so hopefully, we come back and we'll correct those mistakes."
On whether he thinks teams will try to attack with the spread offense a little more going forward: "I'm not sure. You never know. We have to be ready for whatever. I haven't really watched any Miami tape yet, so I'm not really sure what they are going to do. But yeah, definitely, whatever deficiencies you have, they're going to go out there and try to attack those. So, you just have to try to shore up those mistakes that you had and try to really just get better in everything. There's always room for improvement. As the season goes on, teams are going to get better. So, if you don't get better, you're going to lose a lot of games. We need to get better to be where we want to be."
On whether he said anything to CB Fabian Washington about his struggles on Sunday: "Initially, after the first touchdown, I'm just like, 'We love you. Don't worry about it. It's the next play.' Just knowing [him], Fabian just has a very good spirit. It's kind of hard to explain unless you're around him, but we know he's going to bounce back from this and he's going to play well for us. He's been playing excellent this whole entire season. As a cornerback, those games happen sometimes. I've talked to him today. I know Fabian. I've been around him a long time, so it's not like I feel like I really have to talk to him. I know he's not really going to go in the tank. He's going to shake this off, and he's going to be fine. He knows that we're not disappointed with him. He knows that it could happen to any of us. He knows that he wants to get better and go out there and play well, so we fully expect him to play well all season. That was just one of those games."
On how the NFL Player Development session was with former Ravens RB Jamal Lewis and LB Peter Boulware: "That NFL development… That was pure life skills. It was good to hear from guys who have actually played in the NFL tell us their stories and how they approach different situations. So, it was good to see [Jamal] and Boulware in there. Just talking to those guys, listening to them, it was helpful. I'm not going to say the whole thing was helpful, but whenever you hear a motivational speaker, maybe there's one thing that you can take from the speech and apply for your life. So, it was definitely beneficial."
QB Joe Flacco
On his new haircut:"There was a Goodwill [charity] party last night for Halloween with Todd [Heap] and Mike [Oher]. And it's a bye week, so I don't have to worry about my hair too much, so I figured I'd just have a little fun with it."
On what he went to the party dressed as:"I was like a character from 'Jersey Shore', so I just kind of spiked my hair up and put some designs in it."
On which character from the TV show he was supposed to be:"Not any of them, necessarily. Just somebody that goes there."
On who came up with the idea:"I really came up with the idea. I kind of asked around the locker room, and they told me I should ask Tavares [Gooden] where I should get it done. So yesterday when we got done over here, I went over [to get it cut]. It took about an hour and 40 minutes to get it done, and then I headed over to Todd's party. So like I said, it's fun."
On whether he watches the TV show a lot:"I watch it a little bit, and it's funny. And I saw a recent haircut of [TV show character] 'The Situation', and he had some designs in it, so I thought, 'Hey, that would be fun to do.' I'm going to cut all of this off [on the top]. I'm going to cut this off just like I get my normal haircut when I go home this week, but all the designs will still be in there."
On whether he has any other big plans for the week:"This is pretty much it. (laughter) I don't think the coaches really know how to react to [the haircut], but I'm just having a little bit of fun."
On whether this is the most time he's had off for a bye week since he arrived in Baltimore:"No, I think… I don't know last year what we did. I think last year we might have gotten out of here Wednesday. I don't know. I think we were pretty brief last year, too. I don't know if we were this quick, but I think we've been working hard and everybody has a good grasp on what we're trying to get done here."
On how his health is right now heading into the bye week:"I feel great. And obviously, anything can happen on any given week, just like you saw Tony Romo [last night]. It's not like he was injured beforehand, but anything like that can happen at any time of the game. But, as of now I feel pretty good."
On what WR Donte' Stallworth can add to the offense when he returns from injury:"Well, obviously he has a lot of speed, and teams are going to have to prepare for some different packages when we get him back. And hopefully, he can stretch the field for us a little bit and at least scare some teams."
On how much he thinks Stallworth can add to the mix by going deep and lengthening the field:"Well, hopefully a good amount. We'll see. We'll see how much we can get him involved. You know, we've got a lot of guys on this team that demand the ball and are good at doing things with the ball. So obviously, we're going to have to be patient with him and let things happen. But we'll definitely see in the next coming weeks, because we'll definitely try things."
On where he sees things with the team, big-picture-wise, heading into the bye week:"We're feeling pretty good. [Quarterbacks coach] Jim Zorn always talks about [how] there are four quarters to the season, and we went 3-1 in the first, 2-1 in the second so far. And as long as we keep that up then, I think we're going to put ourselves in a good spot to continue to be successful. I think we're feeling pretty confident about where we are. We just have to continue to go out there and play hard and play our best every week."
On whether he feels like he's gotten himself into more of a rhythm in the past few games:"I don't know. I think I feel pretty normal. But we've definitely had some success, and it's all about being consistent and going out there and putting consistent games back-to-back. And I think as long as you do that, you'll see your offense and your team progress as each week goes on."
On how he would assess his chemistry at this point with new receivers such as Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, as compared to Week 1:"I don't know. Obviously, it gets better. And we talk about things during the week and we've all developed a better relationship throughout that time. But, I think we came into the season having a pretty good relationship, and it's going to continue to grow throughout the rest of the season. I don't really know if I can compare where we are now to where we were in the beginning, but we're definitely making strides."
On whether there is a benefit to winning close games:"I think so. When it comes down to it, you don't panic. You're able to stay calm and continue to play the game like it was the first quarter, and that's what you have to do to be successful in those games. You have to amp it up a little bit, but you've really got to just stay consistent and play the game as it's been the whole game and let it play out. And I think the more experience we have with that, the better suited we'll be when it comes."
On addressing the team at halftime on Sunday and WR Derrick Mason saying that it means something more to the team when Flacco does that:"People make way too big of a deal about that. It's not like I stood up and said something to anybody. I sat on my bench – that I always sit on – and just kind of said a one-liner. It wasn't very much. I think we were all feeling pretty confident at the time. You know, if there was a speech needed, it was probably after the first quarter, and I'm not going to be the guy to give the speech. But when we got done with the second quarter, I think we just needed to keep that going. We needed to stay on that roll, and I felt like every time we had the ball we needed to go down there and put points on the board. That's really all that was addressed and said. Like I said, I think everybody was feeling pretty good at that point, so we just needed to keep it going."
LB Ray Lewis
On QB Joe Flacco's Halloween "Jersey Shore" haircut: "Yeah, he's just going through some things. It's OK. When you're young, you can do things like that."
On how satisfied he is being 5-2 going into the bye week:"I think it comes at a good time. You get, really, all of your pieces back now. [We're] pretty much totally healthy as a team. I think Tavares [Gooden] will probably be the last one that we've probably got to get back. I just think sitting where we are, kind of what I told the guys, bottom line is, to go through the stretch that we went through and now to be sitting at 5-2, completely healthy, you can't ask for nothing more."
On how much of a boost it is to have S Ed Reed back from a leadership standpoint:"I think that is… And I think that proved itself on Sunday. There's no greater leader back there to do that – to command. And even [with] the day that they had, the bottom line is it's one thing for somebody to beat you, it's another thing for somebody just to be given something. And Ed came in and made some great plays. And just him being back there, communication picks up and things like that. So, I just think it's always big getting a personality like Ed back."
On how much the time off during the bye week is needed:"I think the bottom line is just like when we come off our bye week we have an impressive record ourselves – coming off the bye week – because you have two weeks. And bottom line, your body completely heals, you get away from the game [and] you come back refreshed in your mind. And then, you actually get two weeks to prepare for a team. We saw that for the last two weeks with New England and now Buffalo. So, you do see some different twists; you do*see some things are there. *But bottom line, I think for us, [is] just to get away from it for a minute, come back healthy, and here we go."
On whether the defense "being tired" is fair criticism:"I don't know what that means. Unless you sit down and watch film with us to see what getting tired is, it [isn't] about getting tired. Even last… Both of these games that we were in, a fourth-quarter field goal changes both games. We can come out of New England winning that one, too. So, the bottom line is when you're talking about defense getting tired, we went into New England and put them three-and-out three times in overtime. So, when you get into all that stuff, all you have to do is turn on the film, and the film speaks for itself. Bottom line is where we're sitting right now, I think we're happy."
On how he would assess the tackling in the Buffalo game:"I think it's simple, and it's more an emphasis when it's the secondary, because when you miss a tackle then the big play is the big play. But those little dunks and dinks and dunks happen all the time in the front seven, but it's just exposed more when a corner misses a tackle and he breaks for 30 or 40 yards. Bottom line is, turn him inside, make the play and just hold him up and just slow him down. That's the way we've always played defense. It's a very simple process, actually."
On what the defense has to do better to stop the run:"I just think you just keep playing. That's one thing about it. It's never… Anyway you start is always where you finish. Bottom line, you go up and down. Sometimes things miscue because of this, because of that [or] whatever it may be, and you go back and look at it on film and say, 'What's this adjustment? What's that adjustment?' – kind of what we did on film today. And for us, I think it was big to see that, because it's some things that small that can take a game from getting out of hand, yardage-wise, to being almost a total shutout."
On whether Flacco and the offense is where he expected it to be at this point:"I think more importantly, you always sit back and watch that and see that. But I think as a team, I think I'm more impressed of where we are as a team and what we're building offensively, defensively and special team-wise. If you go through all seven games that we've played, it's always been one side that had to either bring another one up or have another one's back and things like that. And, that's the mold of a true team – of a team that's building towards something. And that's kind of what I'm more excited about – getting away from it and then coming back – and we all work together again."
On whether he expects CB Fabian Washington to bounce back after a rough game:"Anybody that plays on our defense I expect to bounce back. The bottom line is some things are rough. Some things are rough if somebody just beats you, beats you, beats you. But, Fabian can tell you himself. His face speaks for itself. But Fabian can tell you himself, bottom line [to] stay in front of him, make the tackle. Simple game."
On what he has noticed in rookie OLB Sergio Kindle since he arrived: "I think when you do watch Sergio, what you do [notice] is he really misses it, like he really wants to be out there. He was even out there messing around wanting to practice, wanting to do walk-throughs, wanting to do all these things. I just think, and I always try to encourage him with some type of just a good word, a good vibe, telling him, 'Everything happens for a reason. Trust me when I tell you that.' And, I think he gets it. He gets it as a young kid. Hopefully, he can come back and play. Hopefully, he can come back and play. Hopefully, that head injury goes away and that young kid can come back and play, because he's a great talent. Great talent."
On what he has seen from rookie DT Terrence Cody thus far: "Cody, 'Big T.C.'… That's the big baby of the bunch right now that has all the gifts. We've just got to start turning him loose a little bit, have fun with him. And, he's really settling in already, which is a good thing. Nine times of out 10, when any player that has that type of talent starts to settle in, the next thing that comes, he starts to build confidence and confidence and confidence. You see what he did at Alabama, and now coming here, I just think his upside is great. He has a great upside."
On whether it is tough for Cody to see playing time with the other defensive linemen playing so well: "I think that's always going to be the thing, all the way around the table, not just at that position. There's just a lot of depth right now that we do have on the defensive line and at the linebacker position. I just think we do a great job rotating them though. We do a great job, and coach [Greg] Mattison and coach C.B. [Clarence Brooks], they do a great job getting those guys in, sparing them when they need breaks, things like that. But, I just think what he's coming in to do, I think he's really progressed way past his time."
