DAILY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Head Coach John Harbaugh
On whether S Ed Reed had a good week of practice:"He's had a really good week. I don't want to speak for him. I think you guys could ask him that. It looks good. But again, from a coaching standpoint, I'm going to probably be cautious. I haven't talked to him since this practice, so you could probably ask him and see how he's feeling."
On whether S Tom Zbikowski's injury from the Patriots game influences Reed's chances of playing this Sunday:"No, because we've got Ken Hamlin and we've got Haruki Nakamura. So fortunately, we have enough depth where we feel good about our safety situation. 'Zibby' [Zbikowski], I would say, hasn't practiced all week, so the chances of him going are slim at best. I wouldn't count on 'Zibby.'"
On how LB Brendon Ayanbadejo did in practice this week:"Same type of deal [as Reed's status]. He responded well, though. So we're feeling pretty good about both those guys right now. It's a matter of how much they can go, and we definitely don't want to have any setback. I think that's the main thing. That's the key word probably."
On whether it's easier to have the players on PUP come back the week before the bye:"Yeah, I'd say that's a great point. It's a plus for us because they'll get a chance to kind of challenge [the injury] a little bit to whatever extent they can play as much as possible. Hey, they may play the whole game, and they may not be able to. And then [they'll] have some time to rehab it and get it right and strengthen it, whatever that means. We're kind of up in the air with how it's going to respond [with] each of those injuries."
On whether the young players will take in how special a Super Bowl is when seeing the celebration at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday:"I hope so. To see the guys out there on the field, and to see… I'm sure the fan reaction to them is going to be really electric. As a matter of fact, they're having a little reunion in the team hotel, so we'll probably get a chance to… Guys will bump into them and stuff. They're not going to have anything formal because our guys have meetings. We do want them focused on the task at hand, but I would think that would be something that would be a positive."
On whether it is tough to focus on the task at hand this week:"Not based on the way we've practiced. We've practiced really well. It may be one of our best practice weeks, if not our best practice week so far."
On whether it scares him that the Bills are coming off of a bye:"Well, yes, I think they're going to have a great game plan for us. They're trying to find what they want to be because they're a young team with a new program. They're just building their program up. And so, I think we're not sure what we're going to see in some different areas."
On whether losing teams are more dangerous:"I think they're going to be highly motivated. They're going to be determined. They're very prideful. They've got a lot of guys that we just know their history as players and coaches. They're going to want to make a statement."
On having both WR Donte' Stallworth and LB Tavares Gooden practice today:"[It was] very encouraging to see Donte' and Tavares. They both took part in some things, and that was really good to see."
On whether it is fair to call Week 9 a target for Stallworth and Gooden:"Yeah, it's fair. Yeah, that would probably be something they're both shooting for. We won't know until probably when they start practicing next week to see how close they are. I just think it's fair to say they're shooting for that."
On how rookie LB Sergio Kindle has progressed:"I guess I don't really know the actual progress. I talked to him. He has a set of… I think it's a Tuesday and a Friday when he goes to the hospital and he works the [physical therapy] stuff there very actively. Then we have a whole protocol here that he works on. Plus, he does cardiovascular conditioning, obviously, and the weightlifting. He's in all the meetings unless he's at the hospital. So, I think we're just kind of… I don't think we've measured it yet. He's just working out right now."
On what he remembers from when the Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV:"I remember being impressed by the defense. I can remember just kind of being amazed as they started building momentum during the season. They got shutouts and they weren't scoring a lot of points and they were just playing so dominant on defense. Then they kind of catch them in the playoffs, because I think they were a Wild Card team, weren't they? And they surprised a couple teams. I remember seeing… The game I remember watching is the championship game out in Oakland, and that was kind of an eye-opener. They made the big plays on offense. And then the Super Bowl, it was just such a dominant performance. It was like, 'Wow. These guys are clearly the best team in the league.' I think they kind of came out of nowhere a little bit, being on the outside."
On whether teams get extra motivation coming off of a loss and whether he even wants the team to think about last week:"I guess you always do because we don't want to dwell on it, [but] we want to learn from our mistakes. We want to put the emotions away and become better both ways. I don't think it hurts to know that, you know what, every week is important. Every week is one win. So, if we beat the Patriots… The Patriots [game] is one loss. This is an opportunity for a win. It's really important, and our guys are motivated I think to get that."
