**RAVENS WEDNESDAY quotes: WEEK 2 at EAGLES
**
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Coach, their misdirection can create a lot of problems. How tough is it to identify what they like to do in that aspect in the pre-snap, especially when you're trying to study them on film? (Jason Butt)"They've got plan-misdirection, which is difficult as it is, because they've got a really good scheme put together. They understand their personnel really well, and they've built the offense around their personnel. [Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator] Marty [Mornhinweg] and [head coach] Andy [Reid] are historically West Coast-type guys, and you see the elements of that offense in there. But they've moved it a long way in the direction of the players they've got playing for them, and try to take advantage of their skills. Then you've got the unplanned misdirection, with both their quarterback and their running back and their wide receivers. So, you just have to play the full width and the full depth of the field against this team."
Considering the success you had on Monday night, what can be done to sort of carry that momentum over to Sunday? (Ed Lee)"You've just got to work, practice well – the same things we did probably going in [to Monday night]. It's always going to be that way. You just try to continue to get better every single day. You don't try to maintain it. I don't know if 'carry over' – from our standpoint – is the right word. [We're] just going to prepare for this game – it stands on its own two feet – and try to take the best execution into the game that we can."
What is it about Michael Vick that makes him so unique? (Aaron Wilson)"He's just an unbelievable athlete. First of all, he can run like crazy. We had a debate in our meeting room this morning who was faster – Tyrod Taylor or Michael Vick? Of course Tyrod, he says they were tied. *(laughter) *So, the good news is we've had a chance to prepare for it a little bit, because we have seen Tyrod all through the offseason and all through training camp. But he's elusive. The thing you can never underestimate is his arm talent. He can really throw the ball; you can never underestimate that. He's very accurate, he's got a very quick release [and] he throws a BB out there. So, he's got just lots of talent."
How deceiving were his turnovers, and even the score last weekend, to what their offense is capable of doing? (Morgan Adsit)"You really can't go by the score in terms of evaluating that. Go by the yards, go by the big plays. I think they overcame a number of penalties. [They] dug themselves in a hole and got out of the hole and moved the ball. They've got weapons, and they've got the ability to really gain chunks of yards at any time."
QB Joe Flacco
On playing in his hometown:"[There are] a ton more Eagles fans [than Ravens fans]. Hopefully, I will have a couple of guys that will convert for a week, but we'll see. They're pretty diehard around there."
On winning AFC Offensive Player of the Week: "I'm happy, because it means we had a good day on offense. [We] put up some points, but really our focus is on Philadelphia now. [I'm] not too concerned about what happened last week."
On balancing the number of touches RB Ray Rice gets: "I think Ray is going to be a big part of it. Obviously, by us not … The other night, he didn't have a ton of touches, but when he did touch the ball, they were pretty meaningful. I thought he looked really good back there, put the ball in the end zone twice, made some good decisions, and just because he had how many touches he had last night doesn't mean he's not going to have a lot more than that the next week. I'm sure if you talk to him, it's also a good thing for him when he can have that many touches and have that impact on a game. It's going to be able to keep him healthy, and it's going to be a plus for us come later in the year."
On if there is a worry of a letdown factor going into this game: "John [Harbaugh] talked to us a little about that just because the last few years we have come out on the opening week and played really well and then had a little bit of a letdown the next week. We're doing the best we can to make sure to get our bodies rejuvenated on a short week so that we can go out there on Sunday and just get after it as best as we can."
On if the excitement at the end of practice was the team announcing his award: "In our huddle at the end of practice? No, Jameel [McClain] just gave a good speech, so we were all just applauding him at a job well done."
On the challenges the Eagles' defense will bring: "They have a good front. They've had a good defense there for a lot of years. They have good DBs. They can put pressure on the quarterback, and then they can cover in the backend to even create a little more pressure. They do a really job, and it's going to be a tough task. It should be a great test for Week 2."
On how much he enjoyed the creativity in the offense on Monday night: "I thought it was really good. I thought Cam [Cameron] called a great game. I think we were able to keep the guys off balance and stay one step ahead for most of the game. If we can continue to do that, it will be great. It will be put us in a lot of advantageous situations."
On his thoughts on the Ravens' offensive line that started on Monday night: "From what I could tell, I thought they did a great job, especially [in] Week 1 against a good defense. The Cincinnati Bengals are a great team, and they've been a great defense; they are a great defense. For those guys to step up and do the job they did, I felt really good about it."
On the impact that new QBs coach Jim Caldwell has had on him: "Jim's great. He's a great quarterback coach. He's got a lot of experience. I think the biggest thing is he just helps out communication and making sure we are all on the same page. Just a great guy to have up there to bounce things off of and to make sure that we get the game plan as solid as possible."
On how much input he had on calling the plays during the game: "I'm not here to talk about how much input I had. It's Cam's offense, and as the week goes on, we all have input in it, and it's my job once the game plan is in to kind of see the things that I like and see the things that I don't like. Obviously, everything that we run I like, and the things that I don't like you guys will never see, because I don't like them. But yeah, I'm not going to stand up here and say how much input I have. It's Cam's offense; he puts the game plans together for the most part and it's our jobs – assistant coaches and players – to make sure that we get to him and let him know what we like and what we think is going to work that week. Then we see how well we run it in practice and see how it goes."
LB Ray Lewis
On QB Michael Vick being very dynamic:"Everybody knows it. It's no secret who this guy is. This guy is fantastic with the football, without the football, however you want to deal with it. So, I just think that we have to go in there and we have to play our game. You can't be enamored with what he does or not. He is Vick, and he is a very, very, very, very special talent. But, we are ready to go play a full football game."
On if the defense will spy Vick at times:"Whether you spy him or not, either way you take somebody, you take [out] the integrity of your defense. You start to kind of compromise it a little bit. So, I just say that if you're going and you play your defense the way your defense should be playing, it should take care of itself. Anytime that you try to do something extra, for one player, no matter who it is, I believe it kind of messes up your scheme of things."
On how the team can carry the momentum of Monday night's win into this week's game against the Eagles:"The only thing that breaks momentum is anything outside of the building. If you are inside of the building, you understand it's a 16-week course. You are not here to win every game, but you are here to fight the next week and go into the next game with a different mindset, and that's what we are right now. We are just in a different mindset. Practice was crisp. Practice was fast. Everybody really got their legs back under them today. That is definitely a positive, looking at it from that standpoint. Last week is last week – it's over. We're 1-0 in the division, and now it's time to move on."
On how tough it is to identify the misdirection aspect of the Eagles' offense before the snap:"They do a lot, and there is a reason they do a lot. I just think, once again, it goes back to the point of just settling in and letting everything play itself out. If all else fails, just understand [to] keep your technique and keep the integrity of the defense, then pretty much everything with pan out. They do have some things that can pull you out of this or pull you out of that. But, if you stay with your eyes on what you are supposed to be looking at, you should be able to take care of yourself."
On what the main critiques are for the defense after Monday night's win vs. the Bengals:"Every team across the National Football League is going to have something to work on. We do, like always. Whether it's communication or whatever it is, on the defensive side of the ball … There is one thing about playing on the road: We do get a little better communication because we can hear better and things like that. So, I think we're excited, definitely, to go and play a team like this, who has a very fast-paced offense. But, I think the communication overall is probably the biggest thing we'll work on from Week 1 to Week 2."
On what he sees from RB LeSean McCoy:"A complete back – complete back. He is one of those guys that he has a little flavor. I don't want to put him that high up there with [former Lions RB] Barry Sanders, but he has that type of ability to really jump in the hole, jump out of hole the way you saw many highlights of the many people he made miss time and time again. So, you really have to cradle him. You have to keep him in the box and make him play football inside those boxes, kind of where he doesn't want to be. But, he is a complete back, catching the ball out of the backfield, catching the ball on screens, running inside and outside. So yeah, we have our hands full this week."
On playing at his lighter weight:"Playing at it is one thing. I have practiced at it the whole year. It just feels good. Running around feels awesome. I won't make too much about it. I like the way I feel right now. I like the way that I am just getting around everything, and we'll just keep going from there."
On how it is to see the offense performing the way it did in Monday night's game vs. the Bengals:"You can answer that for me. It's awesome from my side. I just think it's awesome as a team to go out and just click on all aspects. I know a lot of people are putting emphasis on our offense and what our offense does. But, we've always believed in our offense, and I just think Joe [Flacco] has a lot of new pieces now that he can really play with. And that fast-paced offense … You watch all the great offenses around the league, they are really moving to that fast-break offense, and for us to go to it right now, with all the pieces we have, I think it's a great thing."
On how much he takes from the Eagles' last game vs. the Browns:"Nothing. Same rules that we have. Really, it's the 24-hour rule. You have to move on, and for us to go in there and say, 'The Eagles are not as good as they said,' we'd be fooling ourselves. We know that this is their home opener. We know it's going be loud, it's going to be rowdy, and they are going to be ready to play. We can't look at last week and say, 'They are going to play as bad as they played against the Browns.' No, I don't think that at all. I think we are going to get everything they have as Philadelphia Eagles."
On if Philadelphia's last game shows the Ravens their vulnerabilities: "I'll tell you what: The only vulnerability they can show us are the ones we create. This is the same offense that can throw four picks, and it can put up 400 yards, and you see it week-in and week-out. It's the National Football League. Some days you have good days, some days you have bad days. Hopefully, for my side, they can put two days in a row together, but we're not going to put all our chips on that. I think we're just going to go in there and get ready to play a fast, fast, fast-break offense."
On if the preparation is harder because of Vick or if it is the same: "Yeah, preparation is the same. You don't go and do anything else outside of that. He's just one of those guys; he can make plays with his feet. A lot of guys, a lot of quarterbacks in this league can make plays with their feet. Whether it's a small sidestep or just breaking the pocket and making somebody miss. So, you don't change anything inside of your scheme for that. You just play sound football, and keep your eyes on him and don't let him pretty much break the pocket to make big plays out of the pocket."
On if the defense is able to take more chances/be more aggressive because of the offense's success: "I mean honestly, I think that's what any, any good defense, any good defense … You have a team playing from behind, it's going to be rough, because you have to take chances that you wouldn't normally take to get back into the ball game. For us, we thrive on that, that anytime somebody has to do things that they aren't normal to doing, then the odds are going to favor us the majority of the time. So anytime our offense can go that fast pace and put points on the other side, it's going to put pressure on the other side."
