HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "I appreciate everybody being here. [There's been] a lot of work has gone in since after the game until right now. All of us coaches [are] going through every part of the game with a fine-tooth comb [with] every single play, every single player, every single situation [and] every circumstance to make sure we understand where we're at, and then now, to make a plan for where we're going. We'll continue to do that. Players are the same way; [they are] taking care of themselves physically and getting back from the rigors of the game and getting in position to get ready to play the next game and [the] next practice and prepare for the next game that we have down in Dallas, which will be a big challenge. So, you go to work, you move forward, and you try to continue to improve. I've heard it said [that] the NFL season is a race to improve to become the best team that you can over the course of the long haul. The race is a marathon, and we have to try to continue to improve as much as we can every single day. I think sometimes your improvements show up, and sometimes it doesn't. We had a disappointing game yesterday; we're not happy about it. We want to play better; we want to play winning football. We didn't. We didn't do the things that we needed to do to win. We need to keep pounding the rock, and the rock is going to crack. But that's our job to keep pounding [and to] not get discouraged, not think all is for nothing, and continue to work, and our reward will be out there in the future if we continue to do that."
I know you were asked this yesterday, but being a day removed from everything, do you anticipate making any kind of moves, as far as personnel, starters, or anything along those lines? (Jamison Hensley) "We'll look at every possibility as the week goes on. I think we're always going to be searching for ways to make our team better. There's a lot of variables here and there. It's not just in like, who's starting and who's not starting, it's in who's playing in what groups, how many reps guys play, what plays they play in. Same thing on defense [and] defensive personnel groups. We're going to look at everything all the time. You're always going to do what you can do with the players that you have [and] the schemes that you have to try to get better. A lot of times it's changing schemes. A lot of times it's changing drills to try to get better. It's changing workloads for different guys, giving other guys an opportunity – all of those types of things are things that you do, and you do it [not only if] you win or lose, you do it all the time. You especially do it when you don't win a game."
You have two new starters at guard obviously. G Andrew Vorhees is kind of like a rookie after missing all of last year. G/T Daniel Faalele is in a new position that we've asked you about throughout the offseason. What are you seeing from those two in these first two games? Are you seeing progress from them? What's your assessment on where they are right now? (Luke Jones) "Talking about the two guards, those two guys, Andrew [Vorhees] and Daniel [Faalele], yes, we're seeing progress. But, big-picture volume, it's not progress that's measurable in a sense of, if you look at the thing and say, 'OK, overall, it's getting better.' There's progress in areas and there's other areas it'll show up, and I think that's pretty normal for young players. So, when you put a young group of guys out there, young players at any position, especially it the offensive line, there are going to be growing pains. There's no doubt about it. I think we have to continue to work as hard as we can to make as many good plays as we can. We have a lot of good plays happening out there, but we're just too inconsistent. And you talk about the offensive line, I think that's a fair evaluation, it's inconsistent. It's almost randomly inconsistent; that's something that we have to work through, but also across the board with our whole team. We're not a consistent football team right now. And if we become a consistent football team, and when we become a consistent football team, then we'll be a winning football team. Until then, it's going to be hard to do that. We need to work to make that show up on Sunday – that's the goal, is to be a consistent executing team on Sunday."
What was the biggest difference with RB Derrick Henry in that first half and second half? (Todd Karpovich) "I don't know if I'm comparing halves; I just haven't thought about it that way. I think we ran the ball pretty well with Derrick [Henry]. We had some good runs. I can think about the runs we had, but I'm kind of in the weeds with that right now, on certain plays – why we didn't get as many yards, [when] other plays [we] get more yards. I'm sure [their] defense starts to get a little bit tired. I'm sure we got beat on some blocks and things like that. Over the course of a game, you expect your running game to improve as the game goes on. That's what you hope for."
During the offseason, you talked about going back to the drawing board with the offense, kind of revamping it and continuing to rebuild it around QB Lamar Jackson. Through these first two games, have you seen some of the points of emphasis that you wanted to see through this offense so far? (Cordell Woodland) "There's a lot in there, but it's kind of hidden right now. It's in the bushes. You're going to have to dig in there and look for it right now, because the results are what we want them to be. The things that we're trying to build are being built. We're working on the details, and there's a lot of plays getting made, there's choices being made, there's play decisions that are being made that I'm happy with, and we have to continue to build on that. We're [going] in the right direction. We have the right plan. We just have to learn to execute it better and more consistently, and I think we'll do that as we go. We'll continue to get better, and that's every single guy doing the best they can. I'll say this, the most consistent player we have, consistently executing and consistently playing is Lamar [Jackson] on offense. Lamar is playing very well. He's making good decisions, he's taking charge of the offense, he's making throws, he's moving around when he has to, [and] he's running the ball. Sometimes when it's a run-pass option, he's throwing the ball when he should on a run-pass option. I feel really about the direction that way."
You said yesterday you wanted to see the TV copy if you could, but on the pass interference call against DB Brandon Stephens, what did you see when you looked at it again; and big picture, what have you seen from the secondary overall in these first few games? (Bo Smolka) "Well, on the pass interference calls, I believe there were two of them, is that right? You had Marlon [Humphrey] and you had Brandon [Stephens], right? When you look at those plays from a coaching perspective and not from a perspective of evaluating the officiating, because that's not our job –that's not what we do – you look, and you say, "Well, what can we coach?' On the second one, Brandon's one, there are things to coach technique-wise. Brandon will be the first to tell you, because he played the other one down in the end zone the other way perfectly. There are things that he would say he could do better there that would have put him in a better position not to have that call happen, so that's something that we can avoid. The other one, with Marlon, I wouldn't have any coaching point to tell Marlon he can do better. I didn't see anything there that he could improve on with his technique. I thought he played it really, really well on that first [penalty called]."
Has WR Zay Flowers spoken to you or the coaching staff about any point of frustration? Following yesterday's game, he reposted a fan's comment on X saying that, "It's the second week in the row that Flowers has had a big first half and he's not getting him the ball." Has that been any point of contention from Flowers? (Kyle Phoenix) "Not that I'm aware of. Zay [Flowers] has been great. [I've had] great conversations with Zay. I'm not aware of any of the social media stuff."
Going back to the secondary, what's been your overall evaluation of how they've played so far to this point? (Brian Wacker) "The secondary overall is on track, but we're not consistent – we're not consistent. We need to do ... It's not just the secondary, we're talking about pass defense. Pass defense is at all three levels. Of course, the linebackers are involved in that, and the pass rush is involved in that. We can play coverages better. Sometimes it's a one-on-one thing where they make a good play – I can think of the tight end made the play on the diving catch coming inside for the first-down conversion to the right of the offense over there; that was number 89 [Brock Bowers]; that's a great play; that's well covered [and] he makes a play. The fade ball on the left sideline to [Davante] Adams, No.17; that's well played; that's an offense making a really good play. There's other plays where we're not ... We don't play it as well as we could; we're not in position, [or] we don't see it quite the same way, [or] we react a little late – there's a few completions that way that happened, especially down the stretch in the two-minute stuff; I thought a couple times. Then a couple other times [Gardner Minshew II] made it out [of the pocket]. [In] certain situations, especially in the fourth quarter, that you can't let the quarterback out of the pocket, because it just extends plays and makes it impossible, and they had the ball down inside the five-yard line one time there, and it led to a touchdown. That's on the front level. So, everybody takes responsibility for pass defense, across the board. The bottom line is at the end of the game ... And this past game, we have a 10-point lead; it's on all of us as a team to maintain that lead. Our punt team needs to be better, that's for darn sure. Our offense needs to be better, and our defense needs to be responsible to get stops – stops have to be made, [and] plays have to be made. If you make plays to get the stops, then you leave with a win. When we learn to do that consistently, then we're going to win all those kinds of games. Giving up a fourth-quarter lead is never OK – it's not acceptable; it should never happen. You do it because you don't play consistent football to get the stops that you need to get, and our guys know that – they'll take accountability for it. Coaches will take accountability for it. When I say, 'Us,' I mean all of us – players and coaches together. That's our job to get that done."
When you guys lose a fourth-quarter lead fans will link that to other games in which that's happened and say, "Oh they have an issue with that." Do you even look at it that way or do you look it at it more as a result of a lot of smaller things that happened in the game that added up to that, I guess? (Childs Walker) "I mean no two things are the same, so I don't know ... There's no way to pinpoint it exactly if that's what you're looking for. I'm not really kind of sure exactly how to answer the question other than to say that you can't give up 10-point leads in the fourth quarter. Whatever happens to play consistent football to make the plays that need to be made, I mean a ball needs to get batted down; a sack needs to be made; [the] quarterback needs to get tackled; a player needs to get covered. [They have a] scramble drill – it needs to get plastered. Somebody needs to catch a pick; over the years you look back – don't drop a pick – that didn't happen this game, but you know what I'm saying. Plays need to get made to get yourself off the field. Offenses don't take themselves off the field – you have to get them off the field by the way you play. I just feel like we just need to do a better job with that. That's something that over the past four or five years, that's something that's been the difference. Now the fact that you have so many leads in the fourth quarter probably lends itself to, you're going to lose more leads than most teams, so I understand that part of it. But I also want to win those games – we all do. We just need to do a better job with that."
Is there anything you can do to improve your efficiency with those challenge calls? I know when we asked you yesterday, you said it was partly a reaction to where you were, just time-management-wise. Just big picture, you haven't really had a whole lot of luck over the past year. (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes. You have your choice. Basically, you decide, if you want to have a winning percentage in challenges, just don't challenge stuff. Just let it go. If you miss a challenge ... If you have one that you should have challenged that you don't challenge, it doesn't get counted against your record, but I don't think that way. I'm not worried about the record that someone might be printing about what your challenge record is. I'm trying to think about the opportunity and the game to see if we could have a chance to use a challenge to our advantage to try to win the game. So, the first one, like I said yesterday, that's probably a situation where I don't mind taking a chance there on that one, because Zay [Flowers] did have his hand under the ball, and maybe there's a chance that they'll turn that over. I thought probably it was less than 50/50 when I saw it, because I saw it; I looked at it. I saw it. I knew what happened right away. I thought, 'You know what, I don't mind a timeout right here. Let me see if we can get them to turn that one over,' because his hand was under the ball, but I can see why they didn't overturn it. The second one was moving fast, and I saw it from afar, I saw it quickly on the replay board – it was a quick shot in the booth – [and] I thought to myself, 'It's really close. There's a good chance his toes are still on the ground, but there's a chance his toes are off the ground,' and we didn't have time to get another look at it, so I decided in the heat of the moment to go ahead and take a shot at it, because I felt like if we win it, that's going to really help us, and if we don't win it, I'm hoping that timeout's not going to come down and be the difference, but I don't have the luxury to know that we're going to need that timeout for sure. If I'd have been more conservative on that, I wouldn't have thrown the flag, because usually, I throw the flag when I'm ... In situations like that, I'll usually throw it when I'm sure. I decided on that one to take a shot, and it ended up hurting us, because we didn't have the timeout at the end of the game."
How pleased were you with the way that OLB Odafe Oweh played? He had 2.5 sacks. We've asked you a lot about him, as far as taking the next step, but it seems like he was very active in terms of pressure in the pocket. (Luke Jones) "Yes. I think Odafe [Oweh] is just really ... We've been saying it all along – that we have pass rushers – and I feel kind of proud of that, that these guys are coming on. We're two games into a long season, and we're starting to establish ourselves as having some guys who can really get to the quarterback. I'm really excited about that [and] fired up about those guys. I think those guys are going to continue to get better: 'Dafe,' David [Ojabo], [Kyle] Van Noy – the old guy in there. He's rushing the passer well – and Tavius [Robinson]. Then, you have your guys on the inside between Nnamdi [Madubuike] and between Travis [Jones] and others. They're doing a good job, too."
Just going back to the offensive line, it looked like T Roger Rosengarten took a step up in his second game. What did you see from him and his progress? (Ryan Mink) "I did. Roger [Rosengarten] took really good improvement from Week 1 to Week 2. He was a rookie [in his] first game, now second game. I thought he stepped it up and played well, so that was – obviously, he's only played two games – but it was a major improvement from the week before, so let's hope he keeps on that track."
We know you've been rotating T Roger Rosengarten in there sometimes with OL Patrick Mekari. We've seen Patrick Mekari pretty much go back in each time. Would there be a situation if you felt like Roger Rosengarten was hot or whatever at that time that you would just stick with him? (Cordell Woodland) "Well, it's possible, sure. Pat [Patrick Mekari]'s playing well, too, but Pat, he's going to have some plays that he wants back, so the more plays you play, the more chances [there] are to have some inconsistencies. But yes, we're going to keep working both of those guys in there. It's a good thing to have them both; it's a positive thing, and I want to get to the point where the whole offensive line is playing at a consistent level. That's what we have to fight for – that we're playing at a consistent level across the board with the offensive line."
I know that rotations aren't ideal, but is that the only spot you would think about doing that type of rotation with during the game? (Cordell Woodland) "I'm not opposed to it. It just depends on who you have and who the options are."
I know it's easy for us to nitpick, but your play-action rate was lower than it usually is. Was that something you expected going into the game, or is that something that looking back was just how it developed over the course of the game? (Jonas Shaffer) "No, I think play-action passes are really important for us. That's a big part of what we need to do – as much play action as we can get – and there's different types of play actions. We threw more screens than we usually do. I think that probably took the place of some play-action passes probably in the count, if you're counting. We also ran the ball more than we have in the past, so that probably might have taken some of the play-action count out there. I think there's always going to be ... You might have more play actions, you might have fewer runs, you might have fewer screens [and] all that kind of stuff, so it goes hand and hand. Play action passes are something we do really well, and I'm a big proponent, man. I want to see [us] show them the run [and then] throw it behind the linebackers."
You're going into Year 2 with offensive coordinator Todd Monken. I know you talked this offseason about emphasizing giving QB Lamar Jackson and wanting to see more responsibilities of changing calls at the line. Is there still a learning curve even though it's Year 2 that you guys are still adjusting to that new level of communication? (Giana Han) "Well, you're always going to grow, and the game is never going to stay the same. We're definitely trying to take this offense to another level with just being able to do stuff on the field with Lamar [Jackson]. Lamar ... I would say Lamar has the keys to the offense. He's the driver of that car. He drives it on the field, [offensive coordinator] Todd [Monken] is calling the plays, [and] the staff is putting the plan together, but Lamar has a lot of tools at his disposal, so that's something that's going to continue to grow and improve, and we're going to build on that as we go. I think Lamar is doing a very good job with it, and I'm excited about what we can do with it."
The outside perspective – they're not in your meeting rooms and stuff – is that G Ben Cleveland has held his own when he's played and played solid football. What does he have to do to become an option to play more snaps? (Jeff Zrebiec) "If Ben [Cleveland] had earned at the job at right guard, he'd be the starting right guard. So, [when] you look at the tape, he didn't beat out Daniel [Faalele] or anybody. I think Ben is a good player. I like Ben. I want Ben to take the next step. He's in the ... What year is he in – third year or fourth year? He's in his fourth year. Ben knows what he needs to do. If he wants playing time, he knows how he needs to play, and he knows how he needs to practice, when he gets that chance. So, our evaluation right now is that Daniel outplayed Ben – just a fact, straight up, matter of fact. If we had thought Ben had outplayed Daniel, he'd be the starting right guard. So, when I see – if I see – that Ben is playing better than Daniel, then Ben will be the starting right guard, and he practices every day. It's just like I tell all the guys: show me. We're talking about Ben, because that's the question. I love Ben, and I think Ben can be a great player; I want to see it, just like I want to see it with Daniel, just like I want to see it with all the players. So, we'll keep fighting for that, and those guys will keep fighting for that. We coach our guys, and our guys compete, and we're going to continue to improve."
From a big-picture perspective, it seems like when you line up in 12 personnel without FB Pat Ricard most teams are playing nickel and dime personnel to match. How have you kind of seen that play out – leveraging what you are getting up front in the run game and the pass game? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, we're trying to run the ball as much as we can out of that group that we call 'Tiger,' with Mark [Andrews] and with Isaiah [Likely] on the field, which is going to be seen as a passing group. It's going to be seen very similar to 11 personnel – or if you want to call it 'Zebra,' like the West Coast teams do, and like we do, you could call 'Zebra' in here, too. There are a lot of ways [and] things you can call it. So, that's going to be seen more like 11 [personnel] – 12 is – with those guys. And then, when you put Pat [Ricard] out there, even 11 [personnel with] Pat might be seen either as a pass protection type of a deal or a run deal, so you try to balance all that out. But a lot of it is going to be [situational], too, so you can be in third-and-8, and it doesn't matter what you put on the field, you're going to get nickel or dime. So, you can put whatever you want on the field, and you're still going to get the passing stuff. You might get single-high [safety] more than two-high [safeties], maybe, because they might think you're going to try to run the ball, but that might be true more on third-and-3, third-and-4, third-and-5. So, we understand all that, and you try to keep people honest; you do the best you can. But you're not going to be 50-50; there are going to be tendencies. That's part of the deal. There is a reason that Mark and Isaiah are out there. But you also want to take advantage of the fact [that] if they loosen it up too much, then you run the ball, and we try to do that, and we'll continue to try to build on that."
You had 11 penalties yesterday – probably a couple of questionable ones. I think you had seven penalties in Week 1. How much of an emphasis has that been in conversations and in meetings over the first few weeks? (Brian Wacker) "I would say [that] it's a massive point of emphasis – has been a massive point of emphasis and will always be. It's just not OK. You can talk about some calls here ... You can talk about a holding call, you can definitely talk about a call that was called as a facemask, you can talk about one of the pass interferences, and those are game-changing plays – no doubt about it – but you can't talk about false starts, and you can't talk about obvious holding [and] things like that; you can't talk about not lining up correctly. Those are things that we have to take responsibility for, and that's ... We're not there yet – by any stretch of the imagination – in terms of playing consistent football across the board and not making mistakes that are costing us opportunities to move yards. So, I would say that we cost ourselves more plays than our opponents do right now on both sides of the ball, and that's something that, just, we have to clean up."
You mentioned that the punt team has to be better. On that P Jordan Stout 24-yarder, was it a mechanical issue? Did he not strike the ball cleanly? Have you seen the tape on that? Did you have a conversation with him after? What happened on that punt? (Kyle Barber) "Yes, it's a technical issue. Punting, it's kind of like golf. [In] golf, fortunately, the ball doesn't move, but it seems so hard, and [with punting] the ball is moving. I still don't think it's as hard as ... Well, who of us in here can punt the ball? Probably none of us, but some of us think we can play golf, so I recognize [that] it's hard. But Jordan [Stout] is one of the best punters in the world, and that punt has got to be made – he knows it – and not just that one; it wasn't a good game. It wasn't the kind of game he's capable of, [and] it's not the way he punted in practice, so you've got to take your practice performance, and you've got to take it to the game; you've got to help us. So, he's very conscientious, [and] he wants to be the best. Sometimes you've got to take a deep breath and just go through your technique and do it the right way, and he's capable of that, and we're going to keep supporting him and keep coaching him, and I'm confident [that] he's going to get the job done. But the job wasn't done in the last game, and it hurt our team."
People were surprised to see CB Nate Wiggins show up on the injury report last week with a concussion. Do you have an update on where he is at? (Jonas Shaffer) "I don't have an update, really. I'm hopeful [that] he'll be back this week, though."
Did you get out of the game otherwise healthy? (Jeff Zrebiec) "I think so, but you never know. But I feel pretty good about it."
