Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening Statement:"Thanks for being here; appreciate you guys being here. A couple of things: Elvis [Dumervil] has returned. [We are] very excited about that, certainly. You spoke with him already, so you know how he feels about it. It's a big plus for the Ravens. Breshad Perriman is also off of PUP [Physically Unable to Perform]. He'll continue to practice as the trainers allow him to. He'll be in the later AACT practice, which is the slower version of practice with the mental stuff, and that will be good to see where he's at with that. Chris Matthews is back. Of the guys that you didn't see practicing today, the only guy that has a major issue is Matt Elam. Matt Elam fell on his knee in the game – didn't find this out until yesterday – and has to go and do an orthoscopic surgery to clean it out. He had a chip come loose in there. It won't be a season-ending injury by any stretch. They say it's about some number of weeks into the early part of the season. We'll see how that goes, and it's unfortunate for him, but Ozzie [Newsome] will deal with it roster-wise however he decides to deal with it."
How pleased are you that WR Breshad Perriman is off of the Physically Unable to Perform list? (Luke Jones)"[It's] very exciting. I'm sure we'll all be holding our breath a little bit; that's just natural. He is in great spirits. He has worked extremely hard. He's really grown through all of this, and he's learned how to really work with the rehab. He's been forced to do that. I'm looking forward to seeing how he looks when he comes back."
**When did you say he would be back practicing? *(Jeff Zrebiec) *"This afternoon."
After looking at the film from Saturday's game, what did you learn? (Jerry Coleman) "We learned a lot of things. It's a question that I get asked, and I'm like, 'Let me think of the 150 things that I know from the game,' but that's OK. To put it generally, we played really hard. We played really hard. We competed and we found a way to win the game. That's not something that should be taken lightly, ever, because that's the essence of what we're trying to do, is win football games. For us to make the plays that we made … Anthony Levine [Sr.] is a great example of it. Getting three turnovers was really important. I thought we did a lot of good things to win the football game, and that was really positive. Certain guys made plays; Jeremy Butler making a bunch of catches. To see Chris Moore come out and make catches [was good]. I could go on naming guys, but that was the good part. The bad part is, to me, we didn't play the way we need to play in terms of winning football. We had too many mistakes in some of our pressure packages, our blitz patterns. We didn't have coverage mistakes. That was positive, so we didn't give up really big plays. But the quarterback getting out and running for the yards he did, that's something you can't have. You can't stop the run if you let the quarterbacks run for 40-plus yards. The one turnover really hurt us. We could have extended that lead there – it was big. And then the penalties … Some of the penalties you can live with. I tell the guys, 'There are going to be some penalties that you're not going to agree with. There are going to be calls that are going to be judgment calls.' Holdings are like that sometimes. DPI [defensive pass interference] is like that, and OPI [offensive pass interference] sometimes. You just have to play the game and try to do it within the rules. They're going to make some calls. Those are going to be big plays in the game, and they're going to be wrong sometimes, but you have to play past those. You don't compound that by stupid penalties that are of your own creation, because that's when you have 11 penalties. That's when you have seven first downs for an offense created on penalties. That's a great learning experience for us, and that's unheard of. I've never heard of that. Being in the neutral zone the last play of the game is unfathomable, but those are young guys mostly creating those penalties. That's what we go to work on in meetings tonight and try to play winning football every week."
Specifically, you had some concerns about allowing four yards per carry. What did you see are some of the challenges there? (Todd Karpovich)"Like I said, there are two things to that: The quarterback contributed greatly to that. Andrew [Luck] had a couple of long runs, and I think that's where you get the four yards per carry. Otherwise, it would have been three or three-plus [yards]. I would say that for the Ravens, thee yards per carry from the running backs is still too much. We have a high standard around here – a high bar – for being about low twos or mid-twos per carry for running backs. That's what we'll be looking for this year."
*As far as WR Breshad Perriman, did you get any indication he might be close? Or were you surprised as well that he was activated today? *(Jamison Hensley) *"No, I get more information than you guys get. *(laughter) So, I had a pretty good idea."
Had you heard that progress was being made and that he would be back soon? (Jamison Hensley) "I think that the medical people probably, for good reason, are very conservative in what they say. So, no, I didn't know it was going to happen right away, but I felt like watching him run … My diagnosis was he was getting close, but they don't go by my diagnosis, unfortunately. He looked like he was running well. He still has to get in shape. He's not in great shape. That's the next challenge, as far as running route after route and play after play. But he's a young guy. He's always been able to run. He's always been in shape, so we feel pretty confident. He's been working on that part of it, too. It's not like he hasn't been. He's been working on that as well. We'll just see how he does when he comes out. He's still not going to do the full practice until they tell me when. I don't have a day on that. Maybe it's tomorrow, maybe it's not. We'll just see what the trainers say."
I know it's early, but if he can participate in the full practice, will he be on the field of the third preseason game? (Jamison Hensley) "Again, that's going to be up to the medical [team]. If he can play, believe me, I want him out there playing, and he wants to be out there playing. If he can play, he will play."
John, is TE Dennis Pitta's finger injury worse than you guys thought? He has missed quite a bit of time. (Luke Jones) "It's absurd that it even happened. It's a break in the finger, as it turned out, when they did the MRI. They're afraid that if he gets it hit again, then they may have to put a screw in it. It's just that kind of a fracture. We want to get him out here running and in the AACTs. I want to get him timed up with Joe [Flacco], but he really can't catch right now, and he definitely can't get his finger banged up. It's ridiculous. It's sad and I'm disappointed about it, but like it was pointed out to me this morning when I was moaning in self-pity about Dennis Pitta's situation, maybe things happen for a reason. Maybe there's another injury he hasn't had occur because of that. The guy has played a lot of football. But we have to get him and Joe timed up. That was really coming early on. It was really exciting to see, so we need to get him back as soon as we can. It's not going to be this week. A bone has to heal before they can put him out there."
**We saw CB Will Davis play a little bit of slot corner on Saturday. He's mostly been an outside guy from what we've seen. How did he do there? How has he come along returning from a knee injury? *(Luke Jones) *"It was really good to see how he played there. He played a lot of plays, and he played well at slot. To see him in there do a pretty darn good job – especially in man coverage. And now we're teaching him all the zone coverage things today; that's another option for us that would be a real plus. He had a good game. I think that was his best game. He looked, coming back from the knee [injury], the best he has looked in camp so far."
John, with S Matt Elam, he seemed to be having a pretty good camp. Do you think the safety depth is there, or is that something you will have to look at? (Jeff Zrebiec)"We may bring in a camp safety-type of guy. If you ever bring in a guy like that and it surprises you, that would be great. But I feel like we have the safeties in-house right now."
As far as OLB Elvis Dumervil and having him back out there, do you feel like everything is progressing as well as you were expecting, with players returning from injuries? (Jamison Hensley) "We knew we were going to get those guys back. It was just a matter of exactly when. The trainers probably did a good job of brainwashing me into the fact that it was going to take a while to get those guys back. Under promise and over deliver, I feel like that's what our medical staff has done with these guys. I'm on to them now. *(laughter) *I know their strategy now, but we're happy to have those guys back."
Where have you seen WR Jeremy Butler make strides? (Ryan Mink) "I think that's actually a great point. It's really, actually, a very good question. He's just been more consistent. Even when you watch Jeremy, he can be more consistent. That's the thing [wide receivers coach] Bobby Engram, yesterday in our meeting, brought up. We still need Jeremy to be playing every play like it's the most important play of his career. And yet, he has done that so much better now than he has in the past – in games and in practice. I think that's why he's making so many plays."
OLB Elvis Dumervil
On how it felt to get back on the practice field: "It felt great – good. [It was] awesome being out there with my teammates. I kind of got tired of the training room, so it was good to be outside."
On if he is still getting to know some of his new teammates and his thoughts on one of his teammates asking, "Who is 58?":"I sit in on every meeting. I go through everything throughout the whole camp. That was a joke." (laughter)
On if he feels like he has missed much:"You always want to go out and work on your craft; I'm a believer of that. But I have been getting a lot of mental reps – watching film, studying. I studied myself. I was very productive in the time that I had. Now, going out and trying to work on your craft, it is a different game."
On if he has put his foot injury completely behind him:"It is a work in progress. It's something where you kind of take it day by day, increase the load as we progress. I am headed in the right direction, so that is awesome."
On if he can elaborate on his recovery and injury:"It is tough when you have a surgery and you try to get all your muscles back firing. It is a lot of tedious exercise, where you feel like, 'Am I doing something?' But it helps, so you have to believe in the process. It has been great. Those guys inside – [assistant certified athletic trainer] Ron [Medlin], [vice president & head certified athletic trainer] Mark [Smith] [physical therapist] Sam [Bell] – those guys have been doing a great job of getting me back to where I need to get to."
On the biggest challenge to get back to where he wants to be:"It is always a challenge. But I love the challenge. It is going out and just working on your craft – the get-off, being explosive and trying to get your leverage, your leaning, those types of things as a pass rusher – and your hands. It is a bit of muscle memory. It is kind of like riding your bike; once you get on the bike it might be … After a while, we will start rolling."
On if he and OLB Terrell Suggs can still play at the level they were at when they led the NFL in posting the most sacks by a duo (29 in 2014):"We are going to try our best. I know we both love this game. We are both itching to come back and be the guys that we were. It is a work in progress, but we are excited, and we are looking forward to that challenge."
On if he expects to play in the preseason:"I don't know. That is a day-by-day situation. We will see how that works out."
On if he can play in the season opener, without a preseason rep:"The goal is the opener, for sure. If I could try and get a preseason game in, that would be awesome. If not, we are looking forward to the opener."
On if his body is fresher than it would be after having the summer off:"I didn't have the summer off, now. *(laughter) *I was able to get other parts of my body really caught up with the rest and recovery. In a sense, that helped. But it is a Catch-22, where you've got to try to now get off and get going in football shape. I was able to go in the weight room and really get good conditioning, but now football shape is different. That is what I'm working on this week."
On how much last season wore on him:"It was a tough year for all of us on many levels. But that is the good thing about football and life – you always have a second opportunity. We have to make sure we maximize and seize the moment."
On if he feels like he can still be explosive as he used to be:"You are on the list. (laughter) *You are on the list, now. (laughter) *In all seriousness, especially as you get older, you understand your body kind of goes against the grain. That is why you have to do the necessary things that make sure you can be as competitive with the young guys. I look forward to being explosive, still."
On his thoughts on rookie OLB Matt Judon:"It looks good. Guys are making plays; that is what it is about. It is obvious there are still things they can improve on, but I thought the guys … It is a good test for them. I think we are getting a lot of good rubs, a lot of good things on film that we can get better on. But it is a lot good stuff, so that is good."
On his thoughts on his career and longevity:"I think as a veteran, as long as you love the game and you still enjoy and you are still having fun and … Obviously, you have to be productive. The game will tell you when you can't play anymore. That is why you go out, you compete, and you don't take a day for granted. You appreciate when you are healthy, because that is not always the case, especially in this game that we play. To answer that question, I am going to play as long as I am a productive player."
On if a year like last year gives him reservations about playing longer:"A year like last year can't keep happening, [or] we will all be gone. I have been around that – when you clean house when you go 5-11 – so we have to make sure that is behind us."
