Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening Statement: "Good time, great venue, crowd … [There are] a lot of kids here. It's just neat to see all the kids out and everybody having a good time and laughing. The players are all signing autographs now. We had a good practice. [There were] a lot of situations – a lot of two-minute, game-like situations, and the crowd noise to do all that. So, it was a really good practice for us. The only injury situation that we had come up was TE Ed Dickson. His hamstring grabbed a little bit, so we pulled him out for precautionary reasons. We'll take a look at it tomorrow and see how it looks and see where we're at."
S James Ihedigbo missed practice. You said it was something minor. What is the explanation on that? (Aaron Wilson)"We're just giving James [Ihedigbo] a rest on the neck. He kind of got tweaked a little bit – [there's] a little strain in there. It's from the special teams drills. He goes pretty hard in there, so more than anything, I want to back him off a little bit."
What about WR David Reed? (Aaron Wilson)"Nothing serious with David. Just the same thing – just resting him. I think he had a little bit of a groin. [We're] just resting him."
**What did you think of K Justin Tucker in those situations? He's got that strong leg and he's testing it out. *(Aaron Wilson) *"It was fun. It was great to see him out here in front of the crowd and get the long field goals. I'm always disappointed when he misses those 69-yarders, you know? *(laughter) *But I think he made a 63-yard field goal, wasn't it? He came in those two-minute situations, and we put him in some game situations. It's really effective for him to come off the sideline and try field goals, as opposed to a normal field goal drill. So, he does a good job with that, and it helps him get ready for games, which is really what we're preparing for."
**How is it for you guys to have the first preseason game a week away? You guys have been in camp for about two weeks … Just to get the guys out of Owings Mills – change the environment and see how they react. *(Luke Jones) *"It's always exciting to get to the first preseason game, and you're right, because we go against each other really all through the offseason in the mini camps and the OTAs, and now again for two weeks in training camp. And they really are tired of seeing each other. You can't tackle to the ground, and you have to take care of one another. The game is a little bit different. The game is the game, and we'll learn a lot. We'll have a chance to move forward from there because there will be some things we're expecting to see that we'll see. But there will be other things that we'll be surprised about – good and bad – and we'll have to build off those things."
**Could you talk about being here in Annapolis and moving the camp around? I know you're big into symbolism. With the excellence that the Navy has, and you guys coming off a Super Bowl trophy, could you just talk about the excellence and being here? *(Comcast) *"We started camp in Gettysburg, and now we're moving through Annapolis, so that should say it all. We've got great respect for the military – the Navy, the Marines, in particular. Of course, the Army and the Air Force, as well. We just really feel strongly about who the heroes are in our country. We understand that the freedom we enjoy to make all of our dreams come true – the American Dream – is made real by the sacrifices that are made by the American heroes in our military all over the world. We understand that. Coming here is a small way for us to say, 'Thanks.' It's important for us to do that."
**CB Moe Lee – it just seems like he keeps showing up, making plays. *(Aaron Wilson) *"Moe Lee – he does. He keeps showing up. But he's got a long way to go, in all honesty, from a standpoint of understanding defenses and technique and all those things. He does make a lot of mistakes that you don't see. But, it's also hard to coach that knack, and we saw that from Omar [Brown] last year, and maybe we're seeing a little bit of that from Moe Lee this year."
**You talked about the knack of S Omar Brown as far as finding the football. It seems like Omar has found it again these last few days. What have you seen from him? *(Matt Zenitz) *"Omar [Brown] has had a good camp. He's the same guy. He's made a bunch of plays on the ball. He's tackled well. He's really in the mix, and he's proved it for the second year in a row. He's got lasting power, and that's a good thing."
**When T Jonathan Ogden was thanking the Baltimore fans last night and saying that he was so happy to be the first Raven into the Hall of Fame, what went through your mind as far as the pride that Baltimore's feeling? *(Comcast) *"Great pride. It's great for Baltimore. It's great for the Ravens. I think it cements, in a lot of ways, the Ravens in Baltimore. A lot of things do that, but this is one more opportunity to do that. The first ever draft pick for the Ravens. It's a tribute to Jonathan [and] his family, but also to [general manager & executive vice president] Ozzie [Newsome] and the organization. It's pretty amazing when you think about it."
**DE Arthur Jones said the other day that he was feeling more explosive. He said he was down a little bit as far as weight. Is the explosiveness something that has shown up on film from your perspective? *(Matt Zenitz) *"Yes, Art [Jones] is having a tremendous camp. He really is. He's quick, he's fast [and] he's playing with better technique than he's ever played before. Art is having his best camp."
**How has RB Bernard Pierce fared in pass protection? I know he's been getting opportunities to do that. Have you liked what you've seen from him in that regard? *(Matt Vensel) *"Good question. Bernard [Pierce] has done really well in pass protection, which is kind of new to him. Coming out of Temple, he's just carried the rock. He's also done a nice job with the routes and the catching part of it, too. That was part of his game that you really weren't sure about a year ago, which he has really developed so far this year."
**Do you see a difference in your guys when you have practices like this? Maybe they're a little more fun, or a little more competitive? *(Kristen Berset) *"The great thing about it is that you get in a situation like this, where you're in a stadium. It's amazing how guys' brains seem to shut down the first time they get into a new environment. So, you go down to Tampa and you go on the road in a game, and it's hard for them, so they start making little mistakes. I think this will be a stepping-stone towards that. You put them in a different environment and they have a chance to think through these distractions. It's a big plus for us."
