On whether he finds it ironic that K Steve Hauschka hasn't attempted a field goal in a few weeks, and how does he keep him sharp:"It's been a while. Practice is what you do. You go out there, just like every week. It really doesn't affect what you prepare for, because you're going to prepare for kicks. If they don't come, they don't come. You just do the same thing next week. It really doesn't change how you prepare for it. That's the life of a kicker. The opportunities come, and you try to make the most of them. If they don't come, you move on to the next week."
On Vikings WR Percy Harvin being instinctive on finding the hole during returns: "Yes, he is. He's a guy that you can tell that in his college experience, he's had the ball in his hands a lot, and he knows how to exploit holes, cut off the blocks, and he does a very good job of that."
On how much playing time he expects from WR David Tyree: "We'll have to wait and see on Sunday."
On whether he sees leadership qualities in Tyree, much like he did in LB Brendon Ayanbadejo: "He just got here, so it's difficult for me to make that statement when I've just worked with him one day. But, the thing that he brings, is he brings the same body of knowledge to our club that Brendon has. He's been a performer on special teams at a very high level for a long time. As he gets more indoctrinated into our system, I think those talents and those qualities that David has will certainly come out."
On whether it is rare to see a guy like Harvin have success in returns at the NFL level after not doing it in college: "I don't know if it's rare. I think it's not rare to give those kinds of guys the opportunity. Just like everybody else, you want your best athletes, your most skilled ball carriers, carrying the ball in the open field. And even though he really didn't do it in college – that wasn't his role because they had another really good returner – he is that kind of player. So, that's why they're using him. They're using him wisely."
On speaking to the performance of rookie CB/RS Lardarius Webb's returns: "Well, I think he's made the most of his opportunities. He's hit the hole with speed and made good cuts and had good vision, and we look for more of that."
On what makes LS Matt Katula a good long snapper: "Well, as in any long snapper in this league, consistency. As we all know, it's a lot like they say about umpires: The good ones you never notice in baseball, because the game just flows. And that's the way it is with long snappers. You really don't notice them unless something goes wrong. And the key for Matt is [that] he throws a real good ball, and he's consistent."
On if the Vikings have the best front seven he's seen all year: "They're good. The numbers speak for themselves. They're good, not only at home, obviously they've been pretty good away from home, too. We're going into a tough environment, but you really don't want it any other way. You want to go against a good defense on the road – find out what you're all about – go in there and meet the challenge."
On how unique the DE Jared Allen challenge is: "I've experienced it twice a year in the AFC West [when Allen was with Kansas City]. Indoors on turf is even more of a challenge than outdoors in Kansas City, when we played him there. He is one of those high-motor guys that is just a great player, end of story. He loves to play the game."
On if it was frustrating not getting WR Derrick Mason involved more in the offense last week: "That's a great question. I think I addressed it on the Ravens Extra show we do. I'll leave it at that. That might be something worth checking out. (laughing) It falls squarely right here. It's unacceptable for that to happen. It's my responsibility, period. We'll do everything we can. Can I guarantee it's not going to happen again? I know Derrick doesn't really care as long as we win the game. He's sincere about that, but I don't blame you. We've got to get that guy involved. He's one of our best players, if not our best player."
On if the same thing goes with the running situation and RB Willis McGahee: "There's no doubt. Ray Rice… We all knew it was coming. The bottom line is we've all been in this league. We know how it works. There's only one football on offense. Offense is different than some other positions because everybody doesn't have an opportunity to get the ball. When Ray Rice is playing at a high level, which he is one of the best in the league right now, through the course of the season is how you've got to measure this thing. But there are going to be game situations when things don't work out. You can always look back because we all know how it works. Anything you didn't do, would've worked. But we all know that's not true either. That's what makes this game so great. That's why I love being a play-caller. I love being in the situation I'm in because everybody wants to be the play-caller. Everybody has the call that you need to have made, and I'm no different. Fortunately, I've been doing this since I was 15 years old. I've experienced all these things after you get beat – what you didn't do, [what] you should have done. We as coaches and players have to execute better. You've got to look and say, 'Whatever the circumstances and plays that were called, could we have executed at a higher level to help us win that game?' The players here are saying, 'Absolutely.' The coaches are sitting there saying, 'We could have given them some better opportunities,' and that's why we'll eventually pull out of this thing. Does that make sense to you guys? I love the fact that everybody is that interested in what we're doing. But we all know – we've got to remember – everything you didn't do is not always the answer to solving whatever happened in the game. I think you guys all know that."
On if he is amused by all the suggestions about play-calling: "I love it. I love it because if you live in my world, our offensive world, the NFL quarterback world, it's 365 days a year. That's what we get. If I go to Five Guys, somebody's going to either tell me, 'What a great call!' or 'Why didn't you make this call?' I'm getting one of the two. I go there usually every Friday afternoon or Saturday, and now they now I'm coming. That's what makes it great – the love. Everybody is excited about NFL football. The minute you can't handle that kind of criticism at this position, it's time to move on. I love it, personally."
On why WR Demetrius Williams hasn't been active in the offense this year: "No. 1, he's been active every game. Our receivers are playing well. They practice well. When you're the fourth [receiver], there are not always opportunities to get the fourth guy in the game, especially when you have a Todd Heap, a Ray Rice, a Willis McGahee and a Le'Ron McClain. You're still looking at your roster – you're top 11 players – then 12, 13, 14, 15, however. You're pushing those guys out there, and Kelley Washington is playing lights out."
On how good Minnesota is up front and what they do well: "One of the best in the league. There's no doubt about it. They're physical. They're athletic, and they all play with a high motor."
On what do the Vikings do so well that helps them lead the league in take-a-ways: "Pass rush. If you look at, I think it was last year or the year before, one of every seven sacks is a turnover. So, they lead the league in sacks. Teams that lead the league in sacks are going to get more turnovers than teams that aren't getting sacks. They obviously do a good job. They're pretty much a zone-coverage team, so everybody is looking at the ball. The quarterbacks have to get the ball out relatively quick, and they know it. So they're just starring at the quarterback and have been getting great breaks on the ball because they know the ball is going to come out fast. That helps the secondary tremendously."
On LB E.J. Henderson anchoring the Vikings' defense: "In that defense, without that guy, you can't play the scheme without a player that can do multiple things – cover the middle of the field, play backs, matchups – those kinds of things. The guy is critical."
On how he keeps the last two weeks' games from getting into the players' heads, and if they're able to put that behind:"You have to. You have to. It's all about confidence. Those players know they're prepared. They know what they have to do. They know how they have to do it. I think the biggest thing is you've got to remember in a way that it helps you so you don't make the same mistakes again. But, then you've got to move on and go to the next game. It's a long season, and that's what our players have to do, and that's what they are doing."
On how it's going with the replacing of LB Bart Scott: "Tavares Gooden is playing coming off the injury, came back and played. If you're alluding to the fact that [the Bengals] ran the football, there were a lot of things in there. It didn't come down to not having Bart Scott right there. The biggest thing in that game is we wanted it so much that some guys tried to make plays out of their gaps, and then what ends up happening is you lose your gap integrity instead of everybody saying, 'OK, I've got this one, I'm going to play to here, and the next guy plays to there.' That's exactly what happened. I don't know that it was about whether Bart Scott was there or Tavares Gooden was there."
On how he would assess what he's seeing from the young guys like ILB Tavares Gooden, LB Jameel McClain and LB Dannell Ellerbe in terms of filling the void:"I think they're doing a great job. I think they continually work. All I can go by is when they're in the game how they play, and then what are they do during the week to prepare. They work tremendously hard. They always know they're a step away from being in there full time, just like Ellerbe was against the Patriots. I think they're working very hard."
On DE Dwan Edwards' improvement:"He, from Day One in OTAs and in training camp, he continually improves, and he continually works hard. He shows when he goes in there, every game he's gone in there, he's made plays. He's done what he's supposed to do, and has been very, very physical."
On how much OLB Jarret Johnson's aggressiveness fires up the defense:"Jarret Johnson is the top there is, there's no question. He plays 100 mph every game, and I think that's the way everybody in the Ravens feels – that that's how you're supposed to play. That's the way we play. The thing about Jarret is [he's] playing nicked up, and he's playing through pain and everything like that. He just continues to go. You can't say enough about Jarret Johnson."
On if the many dimensions that Minnesota presents are the most he's seen all year:"Yeah, you would say that with [Adrian] Peterson and Brett [Favre] and then their wide receivers. But the thing I believe this league, everybody has a great running back, and everybody has a quarterback that can put it in there. Everybody has great receivers. It's just which ones get hot, which ones you allow to get hot. That's the thing that, in my opinion, this league is unbelievable the way everybody has equal talent, it's who ends up playing that day. Peterson's outstanding. Brett, you don't have to say anything about him. And the thing they've added, Percy Harvin has added another explosive receiver to their corps."
On what Peterson brings to the table and if he's seen a runner that's as physical:"That's the thing where he really sticks out to me is, every snap that he gets the football, he's going as hard as he did on his best one or his worst one. You've got to keep him in the box. If you give him the edge, he's going to make you pay for it. He's got, for a bigger running back, he's got a great knack to be able to start downhill, move his feet and bounce out without losing any speed."
On any insight he has into Harvin being that he coached at Florida:"Very, very competitive, quick, fast football player. The thing that people don't realize about Percy is he's so strong. He's a really, really built-up, strong guy. He's very, very explosive. You knew he was going to be a hit in the league. You just knew that. That's the way he's always played."
On what he expects from the run defense this week after allowing a 100-yard rusher last week:"They've already done it. They've worked very hard on their technique this week. That's a big pride thing for us. Again, I say that's over. The only thing you can do is learn from it. By the way they've practiced, working on the run and working on all those things we didn't do well, you can see they believe in it and they are working hard to make sure they get that corrected."
On if he tells the defensive backs that they will have a lot of opportunities: "DBs always have a lot of opportunities. That's the thing. People want to talk about the secondary. That's the nature of that position. In this league with the wide receivers, with the great quarterbacks, your secondary is always under the microscope. The thing that people have to realize is it's not always them. A lot of times when they're out there, we should have gotten more pressure. The thing that people are doing a little more to us – I guess it's because of the blitz potential – you're getting a lot more max protection. You're getting guys staying in. You saw that last week a lot, which, again now, you either have to decide to bring an overload, and you've all seen what happens if you don't hit with those. Or, you 'mazo' rush three and try to get maximum coverage. That's going to have the quarterback hold the ball longer, and that puts a lot of pressure on a secondary."
On what to do if the guys are in the right coverage and a play still happens: "You just keep working. You just keep working. You have the ability, you have the speed, or you wouldn't be here. And so, when something negative happens, a lot of times it's a small little technique thing. It's whether you didn't bend down enough, whether you turned too fast, those kinds of things. [That's] what our coaches do a great of, and our players have done a great job of working at it. Our secondary is going to continue to improve, and I have great confidence in our secondary."
On if the defense is as pure of 3-4 as before, or if they're going with more 4-3 tendencies:"I think we're not maybe quite as much 3-4, but I think if you looked, a lot of people that say they're 3-4 aren't as 3-4 as much. That's kind of a, 'You're a 3-4 team.' We have that in our package, but we are more with a Terrell Suggs putting his hand on the ground, or standing up rushing, that kind of thing. I think we're still the same as we were."
On how he feels about the pass rush so far:"I think it's got to improve. I'm one of those guys that always believes, if you look at every snap when it's a passing situation, if a guy is one-on-one blocked, it's not acceptable. If you count the numbers, unless they are maximum protecting, there's going to be one or two guys that are one-on-one, and I think we've got to do a better job of beating that one-on-one and getting to that quarterback."
On if DT Haloti Ngata is drawing more double teams than he did last year:"I think that's a true statement. I think people have gotten to really respect him, and so you're going to get one guy and a guy coming to help, or two guys on him a lot of times."
