HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "Good seeing everybody here. I appreciate you being here. [We had a] good practice [on a] beautiful day. I really enjoyed being out there. Guys were sharp, and we had a good practice, so we're getting ready to get locked in and play a very tough football game on Monday night. We're looking forward to it. I have one announcement. Deonte Harty will be going on IR – the four-week IR – with a knee issue that's been hindering him. That'll probably come out this afternoon, and you'll have that. What questions do you have?"
With that, how do you feel? You've dealt with WR/RS Deonte Harty's absence before, but as far as your return game – do you guys have to change up some things back there? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes, we'll just change up the returner. We have Tylan [Wallace] who does it, and other guys that can go back there as backups or even as a two-return type of a format."
With WR/RS Deonte Harty, when you say IR – do you think it's something that ... It's not season-ending? (Jamison Hensley) "Right, correct."
Is the RB Rasheen Ali ankle injury not super serious? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, we'll just kind of play that one by ear. No, it's not super serious. It's like being superstitious. Remember the Michael Scott [from the TV show 'The Office'] line? That's one of the greatest lines ever – 'I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.' It's not super serious, but it's a little serious. That could work, actually."
With CB Arthur Maulet, I think you have until next week to decide anything, whatever that is. Do you think there's a chance he can be activated for this game or probably not? (Jamison Hensley) "I think there's a chance."
We've seen defenses blitz you guys less. Maybe, not coincidentally, QB Lamar Jackson has had more kind of autonomy over the offense. Do you find that there have been trickle down effects to Lamar being able to get this offense in better spots from down to down and maybe be able to take some of the sting out of the defense? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, absolutely. Lamar [Jackson]'s done a great job with that – the guys [and] the communication. We're always chasing perfection with that. It's not like we haven't had a few wrinkles with that – you've seen it in games. We do our best. The guys, starting with Lamar, because he orchestrates it, are doing a great job with that."
S Marcus Williams, we heard – you obviously talked about him on Monday. Defensive coordinator Zach Orr said he had his strongest practice of the year this week. What does that look like when a guy has a great practice? (Brian Wacker) "I guess you know it when you see it. Wasn't there a Supreme Court justice about 50 years ago who said, 'You know it when you see it. I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.' Referencing something that I'm not going to reference right now." (laughter) "I guess that's kind of what it's like. As a coach, you know it when you see it, and the players know it when they see it. It's just being on point, being ahead of things, not chasing things; you're not surprised by things and executing what you do. We talk about 1-of-11 all the time. You do your 1-of-11 [part] to the best of your ability – [being] on point [and] ahead of operations and communications and everything else. That's probably what [defensive coordinator Zach Orr]'s talking about."
