Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening statement: "Good to see everybody. We have a nice fall day, leaves blowing around. Seems like football, doesn't it? Good practice, good week, we are in good spirits. [We are] getting excited to go play on Sunday."
With [FB Lawrence] Vickers, he was the Texans' fullback in the playoffs and also played with the Browns. What's your take on him? (Aaron Wilson) "He's a good player; he's a really good player. He's physical; he's a fullback – does a nice job, very competitive guy, very emotional player. I have a lot of respect for him."
Can you talk about Miles Austin's strength out of the slot receiver spot, the way they like to use him in that position? (Jason Butt) "Miles – he's in the slot, and when he's not in the slot, they pretty much target him a lot of times, too. Miles Austin – he's one of the best receivers in football. Over the years … We don't play the Cowboys all the time, but I'd be watching these guys on tape or watching them on TV, and he shows up. He's a phenomenal playmaker – very smooth, fluid. He's a guy that we are definitely going to have to keep an eye on."
When you haven't seen a team a lot, is the week of preparation different at all compared to teams like the Steelers who you see all the time? (Garrett Downing) "It's different, because you start from scratch a little bit more. You have more of a foundation of information on teams that you play all the time. You have to go back to the beginning and build from the ground up a little more when you play a team that you haven't played."
Coach, looking over the tapes and stuff, Dallas is up and down. It's a talented team, but they're struggling. Tony Romo threw five interceptions a few weeks ago. From one tape to another, does that change because they are so up and down? (Bill West) "The fact is most teams are up and down in the NFL because everybody is so good. So, every week presents a new challenge. It's a very fine line. The margin of success and failure is just that much – it's a play here or a play there. I don't think it's any different than any other team. That's kind of the way it is for everybody. That's what makes the National Football League so good, so entertaining."
John, there was an ESPN The Magazine story this week that named M&T Bank Stadium the best homefield advantage in football. Can you talk about why you probably agree? (Glenn Clark) "I've been saying that for years. Finally, everybody else caught up with that. It's nice to see that the rest of the country is on board with Baltimore. I think we all know that. It's just a phenomenal place. [I] just love our fans. Our players love our fans. It's a great football town."
Can you talk about what it means to be wearing pink in honor of breast cancer awareness? (Ryan Mink) "Obviously, the pink and the Breast Cancer Awareness month and the fact that the NFL goes out of its way [to support] breast cancer [awareness] … I also think it's symbolic of all cancers and all the things that challenge us health-wise. But, it's just a way to make a statement about the women in our lives – our moms, our wives, our daughters, our sisters – that mean so much to us. It's just a way of saying, in this kind of male-dominated football kind of a world as players and coaches, that, 'Hey, you know what? You mean everything to us.' It's great that we do it for that reason."
