Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening statement: "[It's] good to see everybody. I appreciate you being here. It's a beautiful day. Happy to get outside. It's the second day in a row we're getting outside, so we appreciate that. What questions do you have?"
Were you able to celebrate your birthday last night? (Jamison Hensley) "I had some cupcakes with my wife. She didn't eat any; I ate the cupcakes. I ate them all. Does that make me a bad guy?" (laughter)
Is there anything you can say about the COVID situation? There have been some reports out there, but I don't know what you're allowed to say. (Jeff Zrebiec) "We haven't put anybody on any COVID list at this point. I'm not allowed to comment on it past that."
Is this just a course of business-type thing that you knew you probably eventually were going to have to deal with at some point this year? (Jerry Coleman) "Like I said … There's really nothing to say about it. [We're] just not allowed to."
I know he's been out for a while, how is DE Derek Wolfe progressing? (Luke Jones) "I think he's progressing well. It's some back things that he's had, that's basically what it is. It's just one of those things [where] time is hard to determine."
What do you think of LB Patrick Queen's play this season? (Mike Preston) "I think he's done some things exceptionally well. He plays super hard, making plays. [There are] things that he needs to work on, as he knows. Young linebacker things that he continues to work on."
It's a family affair this weekend with Coach Lynn [defensive backs coach D'Anton Lynn] going against the other Coach Lynn [Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn]. Any sense that there's any extra meaning for him? (Jonas Shaffer) "It would be for any … Yes, it would be for me. You too, right? I'm sure it's very meaningful, you can imagine. I don't believe it's the first time, really. [Defensive backs coach] D'Anton [Lynn] has been in the league for a few years now, and of course, [Lions offensive coordinator] Anthony [Lynn] is one of the most respected coaches in the National Football League. I think it's really cool. Now they're going against each other with matching wits – offense and defense. I'm rooting for the kid, man. Definitely."
With RB D'Andre Swift, it seems like they like to use him out of the backfield to throw to. How much do you have to especially keep track of him, not just running the ball but out of the backfield catching it? (Jamison Hensley) "You do. You do. He's a factor in the passing game – both of their guys are. They try to use everybody, and they also have guys throwing the football, believe it or not. We have those guys. We know they're right-handed. We talked about all those kinds of things."
Earlier this week, RB Latavius Murray was talking about getting acclimated and trying to learn everybody's name. He admitted to not knowing everyone's names. So, I'm wondering, for you, how difficult is it when people are coming through the doors constantly? Do you sometimes, honestly, have to fake it like you pretend you know who you're talking to? I'm not just saying this year specifically, I'm saying over 13 years. (Jerry Coleman) "You're not pointing out any person specifically that I might not know their name?" (Reporter: "I have trouble remembering people's names, so I'm just wondering how it is for you.") "Do you know my name right now?" (Reporter: "I know who you are. As far as the people that come through the door, it's a carousel sometimes.") "Sometimes, I think 'big guy' works well. 'Pal.' 'Bud,' that's a big one." (Reporter: "My man.") "'My man.' 'My man.' (laughter) Now, when they play really well, they become 'my man.' We have some of the guys … Odafe [Oweh] was 'Big Rook' for a while, and it really was for 'Wink' [defensive coordinator Don Martindale], because he probably couldn't pronounce Odafe at first. Then he said Odafe let him know that he really didn't … He wasn't comfortable with that. So, 'Wink' [Don Martindale] said, 'Really? Calais, do you hear that?' And Calais [Campbell] said, 'Yes.' He said, 'OK, I'm going to try to remember that, 'Big Rook.' (laughter) So, of course, he was 'Big Rook' throughout training camp. But after the game, I think, I'm pretty sure… Actually, I'm 100% sure that 'Wink' went up to him and gave him a what? 'My man.'" (laughter)
With the opponents when you give us numbers, is that because you don't know their names? Or is it because you're trying to be discreet? (Jerry Coleman) "No comment." (Reporter: "I'm just curious, because sometimes, you'll give us …") "I think we're getting a very good insight, and so are all the fans out there, into the level of the depth of your thinking, which is informative." (Reporter: "I'm trying to get some content for a show tomorrow.") (laughter)
On Draft Night, I do remember that we were first introduced to OLB Odafe Oweh as Jayson, and then we learned that throughout his time at Penn State or his pre-school, he just wasn't comfortable with the way that folks had a tough time pronouncing it. If that's a part of his maturation process, as somebody who's the leader of this team, what's it like to watch that unfold and also have success early on on the football field? (Bobby Trosset) "It's pretty cool. I think you advocate for yourself. As a young person, it's great to learn how to do that. He's doing that and what he's comfortable with. I think it's very respectful to his family, obviously. He's showing great respect for his family, so it's awesome."
Are you going to listen to CB Marlon Humphrey's and T Ronnie Stanley's podcast anytime soon? (Ryan McFadden) "No, not anytime soon. No, sir." (laughter)
LB Patrick Queen
On facing RB D'Andre Swift: "That's my guy. We trained together for the [NFL] Combine, and we trained again in Florida, so it's going to be good to go against him. I know the guys that were training with us are going to be watching and looking forward to us playing, so I can't wait."
On if he has additional information from training with RB D'Andre Swift: "No. From when we played him in college, we watched a lot of tape on him, so I know a little bit. But I know he's studying us too and trying to find tendencies on us too, so we've just got to play football at this point."
On if he has bragging rights over RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire after the Ravens' victory on Sunday: "No, we're 1-1 against each other. But it's a new season, so I'm going to take it – 1-0." (laughter)
On assessing his own performance so far this season: "I feel like in the [Las Vegas] game, I played good; I felt pretty good about it. I feel like [against] Kansas City, I played well but could have played better. I feel like it wasn't the standard that we require, so I feel like I can improve this game."
On what the standard is: "Just no missed tackles. I feel like I missed too many tackles. I missed two tackles that I shouldn't have missed. Just wrapping up – that's all I've got to do."
On the defense's sense of urgency to put a strong, full game together: "Well, we're all upset about it, because it's the standard, [and] that's what we want to uphold. So, it's just a mindset. We've just got to lock in, stay focused and just eliminate the small mistakes, and that's just from communication. All we've got to do is communicate, and we'll cancel all that stuff out. That's the biggest key. We all know that, we've all been talking about it, [and] that's what we've been focused on – just communicating."
On if communication has been made more challenging by all the roster turnover: "Sometimes it should, but I feel like it shouldn't at this point, because we've been here so long. We've been here through camp, we've seen different guys in and out, so it just should be a point that we all should be comfortable now, [and] we all should be able to talk – starting with me, starting with Chuck [Clark] – and just elevate through everybody else. We've all got to hold that standard up to each other."
On assessing his pass coverage through two games: "I feel like I'm pretty good. I could be way better, though. I'm always looking to improve; I'm always looking to grind it out and try to be the best that I can be. So, I feel like right now, it's good. I'm probably at 85% confidence that it looks good to other people and looks good to my coaches and stuff, but I feel like there's still a lot more that I can do and make plays on."
On working with ILB Josh Bynes: "He knows the game, knows the game. When you all say, 'Knows the game,' he knows the game, so anything that you will see on film, he'll be like, 'They're about to run this' – that's him. So, he's been a big help since the first day he came in. He's been giving us keys, giving us clues, giving us stuff to look at on film and how to just play the game. We're thankful for him."
On what makes QB Lamar Jackson so elusive in the open field: "He's just Lamar. He's different. You can't really put a label on him. He's just … Like you said, he can make people miss. He can stop on a dime, and you don't even know that he's about to stop, and he just goes to the opposite direction. Then he [goes] the other direction, [and] you think you've got him, then he goes the other direction. So, he's elusive. He's just that guy. He's Lamar. So, you can't put a label on him at all."
