The Ravens coaching staff had little time to celebrate Sunday's wild-card win over the Indianapolis Colts before turning the page to the Denver Broncos.
Not only are the Broncos one of the hottest teams in football, but the Ravens have to face them on a short week of preparation, as the two will square off Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Mile High Stadium. Meanwhile, the Broncos enjoyed a week off because of their wild-card round bye.
"We have pretty much quickly bypassed much of the tape from yesterday and moved on quickly to Denver, obviously, because we are on the quick turnaround," Head Coach John Harbaugh said Monday.
Harbaugh gave the players the day off Monday, and they will get back on the practice field Tuesday. During a typical Sunday-to-Sunday game week, the players have a light day of practice Monday and then have Tuesday off before implementing the game plan starting Wednesday.
This week, everything is moved up a day, as the Ravens will practice Tuesday-Friday, and then take off for Denver Friday afternoon.
The short week will make for some long hours of preparation, as the coaches have to turn around a game plan a day early.
"It's a big challenge, because we just have one less day to get ready," Harbaugh said. "Obviously, they've been preparing for us for a week; I'm sure they prepared for us and the Colts last week, so that's an edge."
To get through the short week and prepare the team for the Broncos, Harbaugh referenced a saying from his father, Jack, who was sitting in the auditorium watching Monday's press conference.
"We just have to deal with it. It is what it is," Harbaugh said. "It's a good problem to have. We'll attack it with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind, as Jack Harbaugh would say."
