On whether he is the only one that has a 'Mighty Men of Baltimore' shirt:"No, no. In fact, if you'd look out here, you'd have most of the staff wearing it at different times. This happens to be the only thing clean I had, so you know, we recycle them through there, and that's just one of the shirts we wear when we're practicing."
On whether it gets repetitive to keep being asked questions regarding Rex Ryan:"No. Rex Ryan is a tremendous football coach. I had a great opportunity to work with him, I learned a great deal from him, and all I try to do each day is try to do the best job I can as coordinator and get these players to play the best they can. It has nothing to do with who is where or anything else."
On whether they will maintain the base package in the preseason or mix it up a little: "Yeah, we have our base package, and we have exactly what we want to play. Obviously, it isn't going to be everything we'll do throughout the year, but there are things that we definitely want to get in game situations that we'll use."
On the status of LB Terrell Suggs: "You know what, that's up to 'T,' but I see him running around a little bit and we're very hopeful that he'll be back very soon. But, that's totally up to the doctors. And I know he wants to be out here. That's one thing I know: Terrell wants to be out here."
On the extra work he does on the sidelines with LBs Paul Kruger and William VanDeSteeg:"I had a full head of hair when Paul came here. *(laughing) *No, Paul is going to be an outstanding football player and… The thing that we decided once I became coordinator is I was… I wanted to coach. I just don't think I would be happy just walking around. And the rush [linebacker] position is a position that's kind of between a defensive lineman and a [linebacker], so I decided that I would coach that position, and it's been great. And we've had two young guys – with [Suggs] being injured… It's given me a lot of time to work with him. And it's an intricate position. It's a hard position for a guy who maybe just played rush at one time or linebacker one time. They've both been doing a great job of trying to get it."
On whether they show those guys film of classic players who may have played that role:"I don't show anybody but our players, and we have classic players, and I get a chance to show almost every technique that they have to watch in [Jarret Johnson] or watch in [Suggs]. And that's what's great. All we have to do is put the film on and you see those two guys do it the right way – sometimes, not very often, not the right way – and you learn both ways. But players love to watch other players that they're with. And that's the other thing, that Terrell has been tremendous with those young guys. And if you happen to notice him in the last ball game, he was coaching those guys every snap. When they came off, he was watching them. He was trying to help them. And that's what the Ravens do. And Terrell has been great about that."
On what he sees in some of the new guys playing nickel in CB Samari Rolle's absence: "Well, you're right. We would love to have Samari out here. He is a tremendous part of this program, of the Raven defense. But since he's not here it does make another person have to accelerate his progress, and the thing you've seen I think is… You've seen the guys who have played that position, all of them, step up because they're a big part of our blitz. They're a big part of our coverage, and I think that's been a chance for them to really show what they could do earlier."
On the progression of DT Will Johnson: "Will is like the rest of our young guys: He's working really hard. Obviously the thing… When you come from college – no matter what program you are – and you come to the Raven defense, it is a huge step. And I'm sure some of those guys sometimes think, 'Oh my God, what is this?' But he keeps coming out working every day. He had a bit of a hamstring [tweak] at one point, and he just keeps working. You know, his progress has been like the rest of the guys. They're working very hard."
On if they expect Rolle to make it back for the season: "I don't know. I haven't talked to 'T' [Bill Tessendorf] on that. That's just really out of my control. I don't know that."
On how much LB Antwan Barnes has progressed: "Antwan Barnes has really had the spotlight on him this entire camp because we know what he can do, we know what we need him to do. He has done a very good job, throughout camp, of rushing the passer and working as the SAM at the linebacker position. So, we're excited about him."
On the progression of NT Kelly Talavou: "Kelly's doing a great job. 'C.B.' [Clarence Brooks] does such a great job with that defensive line. All of them work through there… It's the same thing I mentioned before – when you're doing the individual drills, those guys see the best – doing it all the time. All Kelly has to do is see Kelly Gregg. From that point on he says, 'Hey, I see how I'm supposed to do it.' That's been such a plus for him."
On if what he thinks about guys not wanting to be known as the weak link in the defense: "I don't know if you would ever use the word 'weak link.' I don't believe there is a weak link in our defense, when they're all playing. What you find out in our meetings that makes the Ravens defense so special is they have to be accountable to each other. So, as you're watching the tap and you put the red dot on a player, that does something good or something bad, you're going to hear echoes throughout that room of 'great job' or 'Hey, that's not how we do it.' It's other people always talking in there, not just the coach. That's the thing we keep talking about, about the Ravens and their attitude."
On how much of a challenge is it to match strategy with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron: "It's a full-time job. One thing about Cam Cameron – you better make sure all your phases are covered because he's a tremendous offensive coordinator. He will sense, immediately, if you're doing something – when he's watching it and he sees it – that's not sound. You can bet that the next time he's going to exploit that. That's one of the things that makes him a great coordinator and great football coach."
On what CB Frank Walker brings to this team: "To be a corner at any NFL team, you can't have a conscience. You have to go out there and play every play one at a time. When that play is over, good or bad, you better line up and do the next one or you're going to have problems. I think all of our corners… Chuck [Pagano] has done a great job with those guys about, 'Hey, when that play is over with, it's over – go to the next one.' Corners are under the gone the entire game, especially the way we play. I think all of them do that same thing."
On if he likes seeing Walker's enthusiasm out there: "I love enthusiasm. I love enthusiasm out of every player. The whole thing is… As long as it doesn't hurt the defense. But, I love enthusiasm. It's too hard of a game not to be enthusiastic about it."
On how LB Tavares Gooden is progressing: "He's doing a good job. The entire 'backer crew is working very hard. One thing that Vic Fangio has done a great job of is, he's made the WILLs play the MIKE and the MIKE play the WILLs so that if something ever happens to somebody, you have flexibility. At some points, that gets harder for them because there are different things with each defense. That's caused them to really have to work at it, and they've all done a good job of it."
On if he likes seeing some of his defensive players being used in offensive packages: "I like anything that scores points. That's one thing you find… Statistics are important. Obviously, the only statistic that's meant anything to me is whether we win or lose. If that means taking our entire defense and putting them on offense, then go do it and go score points."
