DAILY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Head Coach John Harbaugh
On how practice went this week after a tough loss last weekend:"I thought we had a very good practice today, and I thought we had an excellent week of practice. And one thing about our guys, they're professionals. I heard a couple guys say it: It's a tough loss, and I think everybody has a tough time getting over it – fans, coaches, players. You know, it means a lot to all of us. The Ravens mean a lot to all of us. But, we've got to bounce back and go to the next week, and we've got to start focusing on the next team, and as players and coaches, you really don't have until the next game to do that – you have to do it the next day. Really, the next day, after 24 hours. And I thought our guys did a good job of that."
On whether there are any updates on TE Todd Heap:"I think he's got an outside chance [to play]. I would say, realistically, it'd probably be tough for him to get back. I'll hold out hope as always, because he's a tough guy and he's been rehabbing it like crazy. And we made a lot of progress from yesterday to today, but we'll probably plan for the worst and hope for the best."
On whether there are any changes in the game plan if TE Todd Heap is unable to go and TE Ed Dickson starts: "There's probably some subtle changes. You might not do as much with Ed as you would do with Todd. Todd has been around for, what, eight years or so? He's really an accomplished player. He can do so many things. He's very versatile. Ed is in his first year, so I think we have to keep that in mind. But, Ed is capable of doing some things that are special. He's fast, he's athletic, he'll get in there and fight you blocking, so we've got a lot of confidence in he and Dennis [Pitta]."
On WR David Reed's status for Monday's game: "Well, he'll play. It's not something that really affects his football status, certainly at this time. He'll have a chance to tell his side of it in the proper way when the time comes, and we'll just have to see how it all shakes out. It's in other people's hands right now, and I think time will kind of work that out as we go."
On playing back-to-back prime-time games:"I think it speaks for itself. The guys know it's a Monday night game. They know how excited everybody's going to be down there in Houston. I don't know how many Monday night games they've had down there, but it's going to be really big for them. They're dressing everybody out in red; I think all the fans are coming in red. The place should be packed; it'll be loud. I don't know if the roof will be open or closed, but it'll be loud either way. We know how important of a game it is to the Texans. The Texans have got seven losses, and the way the AFC is going, this is it. So we have to go down there and take care of our business, but I think we know that the environment we're going to be in… We had the home environment last Sunday, which was good for us, and now that'll be an advantage for them."
On whether it matters if the roof in Reliant Stadium is open or closed:"Probably not. It just depends how cold it is. I think they have a policy down there – 50 to 80 degrees, they try to leave it open. But, we'll just have to see."
On how rare it is to see a guy like Texans RB Arian Foster who went from being on the practice squad to leading the league in rushing TDs:"You'd have to look at that stat. I haven't really studied that stat, specifically. But, I think in Denver they took a lot of backs that really weren't big-time, high-draft-pick-type guys, and turned them into unbelievably creative backs. So, they've got a track record of that in that system."
On whether going against the Texans' secondary will present a good opportunity for the passing game:"Every week presents its own challenge. We've got our hands full in a lot of ways, and I think we've just got to go out there and focus on what we do and try to do it well. [We'll] try to attack the defense that's presented to us, and they have a lot of good players. Those two outside pass-rushers, if you don't handle those guys, nothing really matters. They've got a nice little blitz package, so it presents a big challenge for us."
On whether he thinks Houston's 5-7 record is misleading:"No question. They're a team that was, by many people, a favorite to win the AFC South before the season started. They're one of the most talented teams in the league, by far. We understand what kind of team we're going down there to play, and we understand their mindset going into the game."
