*M&T BANK STADIUM PRACTICE: AUG. 12 TRANSCRIPT
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening statement: "It was fun to be here. The dogs had a good time. I hate the song ['Who Let the Dogs Out']. I can't believe you played it. I knew it was coming. (laughter) *You ran out of dog songs? We had to stoop to 'Who Let the Dogs Out.'" *(Reporter: "That was the Ravens' song in 2001.") "That is the Browns' song. That is the Cleveland Browns' song. I don't know about 2001; I just know the Browns play it every time we go in there, don't they? Am I wrong about that? The Dawg Pound, you guys are familiar with that, right? But, that is OK. The dogs had a good time, and I think the kids had a great time. They are getting autographs now, and this is another great day at M&T Bank Stadium. It is great to see fans here that get a chance to be in this stadium; it is awesome. Then, also after Thursday night … We played about 35 hours ago when we started practice. Our guys did a good job of bouncing back. It is a pretty quick turnaround, and I thought we had a pretty spirited practice. It is good to see, so I am proud of our guys, and we will go to work this week and point toward next Thursday."
With the announcement QB Joe Flacco not being in the preseason, would you describe it more as a precautionary move? (Jamison Hensley) "I don't think it is important to categorize it any way. It is the situation, as far as him being the most ready to play in the [regular season], according to the doctors and our back specialists. That is what we go with – what the doctors say."
With T Austin Howard getting out here for his first practice, what were your first impressions? (Ryan Mink)"I thought he looked good. He is moving around. He looks really big, did you notice that? *(laughter) *He is a big guy, and it is good to have him here. We are happy. He is excited; he really wanted to practice. He has been wanting to practice. I think he was excited to get out here and practice."
T Austin Howard and G/T James Hurst have played guard before. What do you like about Hurst inside? (Jeff Zrebiec)"James, he is a versatile player. That is one of the things about James. He is very smart. He has the kind of athletic ability to play inside or outside; he can really move his feet. He wants to do it, and he is excited about it, so let's roll."
How nice was it to have CB Marlon Humphrey and CB Sheldon Price back? (Ed Lee)"It was nice to have Marlon and Sheldon back. We were a little thin at corner without those guys. Obviously, those two guys are really … Obviously, Marlon is making a run for a starting job, and he is in that mix, and Sheldon is making a run for the team. Those guys want to be out there at practice, and they are long, athletic guys who are both having really good camps. It just adds to that group. We have a pretty strong group of corners. I am excited about it, and I love seeing them practice."
With G/T Alex Lewis, was it just the shoulder was not getting better? (Jamison Hensley)"It is just one of those things. Yes, that is exactly what it was. It did not really respond in a way that we thought he would make it through the season. It was really going to be tough for him to not re-injure it. It was one of those things that could be re-injured worse, and really, it was up to Alex in the end. He decided to go out and get it fixed and be better off in the long term. I walk by faith, not by sight, and I think things happen the way they are supposed to happen for the right reasons. I am looking forward to seeing the outcome. Alex Lewis will be back next year 100-percent healed and ready to go, where if he had pushed the thing back, he would be fighting a shoulder surgery and the whole offseason, rehab-wise. There is a lot of wisdom in what he did."
Is WR/RS Tim White one of those when you discovered the next day? Because he seemed to be fine after the game. (Jeff Zrebiec) "Exactly. All of a sudden we got a deal, and his thumb is hurting. We got a MRI, and he had some ligament tears in there. So, it's just one of those things you just have to get fixed."
You mentioned at the Navy practice that every defensive lineman is playing at an extremely high level. Did that play out again against the Redskins? What can you do when you have so many defensive linemen? (Bo Smolka) "Is that a rhetorical question? *(laughs) *It's a great problem to have. We have a lot of really good D-linemen, and they can't all make the team, probably. But we have depth, and I'm really excited about those guys. That competition makes everybody better. We're going to have a heck of a group, and I'm sure people are going to be calling us here shortly with some of our guys. We just have to see how it plays out, but we have a really good group of guys."
