DAILY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening statement: "Good practice – good, hard practice. We made some progress."
On what the final preseason game means to the young guys trying to make the team: "Great opportunity for the young guys, no doubt about it. They'll be playing, obviously, the majority of the game. This is their chance to get some tape and get some live NFL action to prove to us and the rest of the League what they can do."
On what the coaches are looking for from QB Hunter Cantwell: "You just look for him to play well. He's made some throws and he's gotten better in practice. I'd like to see that show up in a game. Run the offense, make the protection adjustments – all those different things. It's a great opportunity for Hunter, just like all the other guys."
On the increased importance of the final preseason game this season: "It's just another way of asking the question, 'Who's playing?' but it is different. We're just going to see how we're going to handle it. It's really to be determined. We've talked about it and we're going to figure it out. But it is different, and that's why it's not as cut and dry as it usually is."
On what the first big road trip will mean to the team: "For the veterans, it's no big deal. But for the young guys, it'll be interesting for them. That's a loud stadium even in the preseason. We've been there before. All of the process of doing that… For the guys that make the team, it's really important because they'll understand how that works now for the regular season."
On how he plans to evaluate the players who are trying to make the team through special teams: "I don't know, to be honest with you. You can tell only so much in practice, like will a guy really go out and make a tackle? The guys have had limited reps. A lot of times, early in the preseason, a guy will miss a couple and then he'll start making them. You can see the progress. We just haven't had enough reps in the kickoff team to see it. We've seen it on punt, but we haven't seen it on kickoff. So, I think it's a legitimate issue. It's a negative for the young guys because it makes it tough for them to make the team."
On what this last game will mean for WR James Hardy: "We just haven't seen him, and it's no fault of his own. He's worked really hard to get that hamstring back. The trainers will tell you, he's been a model citizen in there. But, this was a big camp for him and he missed it. So this is his one shot."
On the progress T Bryant McKinnie has made since coming to the Ravens: "I'm really pleased with Bryant so far. He's doing a nice job picking up the offense. He is a veteran player. He and Ben [Grubbs] look good next to each other."
On how he feels about the progress S Bernard Pollard has made through the preseason: "[I'm] very pleased. He's is another veteran guy. You know, the veteran guys have an edge. They know NFL defenses and offenses, and there is a process. We're a lot different from any defense he's ever been in. He'll tell you that. So, he's still learning a lot. But, he's a football player, and we're happy to have him."
On whether he feels the offensive line is finally clicking: "Yeah, clicking… I don't know what the word is, but they look good. They've done a nice job together. [Offensive coordinator] Cam [Cameron] and I were talking… If this is our starting point, then we feel real good about that. They've been together for two practices, three practices now. So, we've got a lot of work to do."
On how beneficial it would be to have the starting offensive line play on Thursday: "It would help; it would be better than not playing. But, there are risks involved with that. So, like we said before, that's the dilemma."
