RAVENS TRAINING CAMP TRANSCRIPTS: Aug. 1
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Head Coach John Harbaugh
On RB Alex Haynes:"We picked up another running back, one that was already on our team. So we had two more guys out there today, and it went really well. Le'Ron McClain was complaining that he wasn't getting enough reps today. He was taking all the reps yesterday."
On McClain getting into football shape:"He's really worked hard; he's getting into shape. He's dropped a lot of weight. There's nothing like playing football at this pace to get yourself into the kind of shape you need to be in to play football."
On QB Troy Smith arriving to practice late:"There's an issue – we've had this happen three or four times at camp – with the new drug testing policy that's in place. It's very strict, very stringent, and they have to get the drug test done before they can come out and practice in the morning or they can't get it done. Sometimes it takes guys a little longer to get it done, and it took Troy a while today to get that taken care of."
On if rookie LB Tavares Gooden and CB Chris McAlister were also late because of the drug testing:"I'm not sure about those two guys. I haven't seen the drug testing list yet, but I assume that's what happened."
On the play of rookie S Haruki Nakamura at training camp:"Haruki has been good from the first day he got here. He just has a knack for being around the ball. We kind of joke around that the ball finds Haruki somehow. It's a good quality for a safety."
On the Ravens' tradition of developing players, like OLB Edgar Jones, to play the hybrid linebacker/defensive end position:"That's an interesting question, because pretty much around the league there's a debate always raging about those college defensive ends. You like to think physically they can be 3-4 outside linebackers, and so many times it never pans out that way, except for the Ravens. The Ravens have a great history of doing that. And that's a credit to Rex Ryan and really Ozzie Newsome, down through the years, to pick the right guys."
On if there is a special skill set a player has to have to play that hybrid role on defense:"The obvious thing is you have to be able to drop. Some of those guys are a little tight in the hips, or just don't have a knack for getting the understanding of spatial awareness and coverage, I'd guess you say. Ozzie's found the guys who do have that knack."
On if he was trying to recruit "Zeus" [Orlando Brown] to come back:"No. That's funny. I actually said, 'Gosh, you look really good. We need tackles.' My guess is if we'd have asked, he'd have suited up."
On the progression of the offense through practice:"It was really good to see. Troy was the quarterback there, right? I know you guys are marking that. That was really well orchestrated, and I thought it was handled well. It was interesting – we had some bad formations early, we jumped off-sides on defense a couple times early in the blitz drill, but we sorted that out as practice went on, and guys did a much better job later on in practice."
On rookie free agent T Joe Reitz making and correcting his mistakes:"He's got so much on his plate right now. Sometimes the mistake you made, you forget you made it, because there's just so much information on his plate right now, and the game goes really fast. You see that with all the rookies. I mean, all the rookies are fighting through that really well, but there's a lot of information overload going on right now and you just have to work through it."
On having the military represented at yesterday's practice:"That was so cool. That group had been to Iraq recently – I think you guys probably knew that – and got back safe and sound, and were in great spirits. It was great for our players. They're out here in this 89-, 90-degree heat. And these guys and gals have been over in Iraq in 120-degree heat. It was a good message for our team."
On how long rookie T Oniel Cousins will be out:"I don't have the information on that yet. I'll find out about that this afternoon."
On the versatility of G/T Marshal Yanda:"It's like the old saying: 'The more you can do, the better off you're going to be.' And that's a big plus for us. We seem to be a little snakebitten right now at offensive tackle, some of the little tweaky things. But the good news is that it's not the big stuff, and we've got to continue try to take care of one another in practice and make sure that doesn't happen, though it can happen. And we want to get those guys back and get them some rest."
