Opening statement: "OK, good seeing everybody. I appreciate you being here on this beautiful day for football. *(laughter) *We just had a good practice. It was our third practice with the rookies, and they have done a great job. It has been fun getting them out here. They are beginning to get orientated to how we practice and what our schemes are and what our techniques are. I have been very pleased with them this far. We have another practice this afternoon, and then a fifth practice tomorrow morning. We will get them a little weight room acclimation also tomorrow after practice. Meetings – all of the stuff that we do – we are getting them worked into our program. It has been very good."
One of the returning guys, WR/RS Keenan Reynolds is kind of a work in progress. Can you give an update on his progress right now? (Jamison Hensley):"Keenan, he has looked good. Obviously, he has a year under his belt, so he and Brennen Beyer and Stephen Houston and the guys who have been here before, they certainly have an edge. So, I think they can show the other guys how to do it. For Keenan, it is a new position, and he has obviously worked hard the last three months on his own to train himself how to play receiver. I know he has made some trips and traveled and worked at it, and he is doing a good job. It is a good advantage for those guys to be out here and get these five practices."
Coach, you get five looks at these guys during this time here. What are the types of things that you look for from these guys after just drafting them a week ago? (Jerry Coleman)"Well, of course we are curious about how they are moving around and how athletic they are and what they look like physically; that is all part of it and seeing what they do. But also, [it's about] how they pick things up. We throw a lot of football at them, and we want to see how they learn and how they can take football from the meeting room to the practice field, react to situations and just see how quickly they pick things up. I will say as a group, they are picking things up well."
The schedule came out a few weeks ago and you guys finally got that Monday night home game. Are you excited about that? (Luke Jones)"I am very excited about that. It will be our second one now in 13 years, I believe, is the number. Two of 13 ain't bad. There is a song – I think [by] Meatloaf – they say, 'Two out of three ain't bad!' We will say two of 13 ain't bad. How is that? It is great for our fans. I am excited for our fans. Monday Night Football is special. It is tough to go on the road and play Monday Night Football. The crowd is juiced up. It is also tough to travel to your next game after a Monday Night Football road game, especially when you have to go multiple time zones. We are pleased that the league smiled on us and gave us a Monday night game, and I am also really happy for our fans."
A lot was made last week about not drafting a receiver. You guys did add four rookie free agents that you signed at wide receiver. Just in general, does it seem like the talent level for these guys is a little better than past rookie free agent wide receivers? (Luke Jones)"Yes. That really is a good observation. Here is how it works: You are out there, and you do not get drafted. You and your agent and your family are trying to figure out where you should go. Well, you should go where you have the best chance to make it. Well, a lot of time that is the team that has not drafted wide receivers. It is a little tougher when you draft two or three guys at a position to recruit free agents at that position, obviously. So, these guys, they see it and they feel like they have an opportunity to make this team. We have some good guys. They have looked good so far out here. We had one guy sprain his ankle yesterday, but he will be back maybe tomorrow and certainly when we come back. It is true for the D-linemen as well. We have a couple good D-linemen. We really did not draft any defensive tackles, so it has been that way for those guys, too."
How was your first look at CB Marlon Humphrey? (Jerry Coleman)"Marlon so far is just what we expected. He is really smart, picks things up, has no problems with assignments. [He is] moving well, just doing a nice job with his skills. He is a smart guy, and he has done well. They all have. Tyus [Bowser] has looked really good, Chris [Wormley] has looked good and Tim [Williams] has looked good. The two offensive linemen [Nico Siragusa and Jermaine Eluemunor] have looked good. [Chuck] Clark has done a nice job; you can tell he is a real instinctive guy and has a nose for the ball. It is fun watching those guys.
"What is going on with the Orioles and the Red Sox fans?" *(Reporter: "It is over now.") *"It is over until they play again?" *(Reporter: "Do you think it is the new Ravens-Steelers or too early to tell?") *"It is Ravens-Patriots, I guess. It is Baltimore-Boston. That is a pretty good rivalry, too. I don't know. The Orioles and the Red Sox have been going at it for quite a few years, haven't they? It was a curve ball! It was a curve ball, right? Curve ball, it did not break." *(Ravens senior VP of public and community relations Kevin Byrne: "It was 77 miles per hour.") *"Really? That is a love tap!"
