HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
WR Zay Flowers left with that knee injury on Saturday. What's the latest information you have on him? And what do you think his availability will be for the wild card game? (Jamison Hensley) "It's not a season-ending injury, so it's just going to be day to day. [Zay Flowers] is going to try to do everything he can do to get back as soon as he can, and we'll see where that takes us."
What do you see from Pittsburgh? Much has been made about its losing streak heading into the playoffs, so what have you seen from them the last couple of weeks? I don't know even know if you've had a whole lot of time to go over the film from recent games because you guys have been on a limited timeframe, and you didn't know who you were going to play. (Jeff Zrebiec) "No, yes, we've been studying them. And that's what we make of it [is] what we study. What we look at the football, what they're doing schematically, the players – how we think that they're going to attack us [and] how we can try to attack what they do or don't do. We know them, [and] they know us pretty well. There's always that little chess game going on – Game of Thrones [or] I don't know, whatever – with them because it's always something different. There are always wrinkles thrown in every week, so that's the part of it that we study really hard."
Just really quick, on WR Zay Flowers, can you confirm whether that was a sprained knee? (Brian Wacker) "No, I don't really have any confirmation on anything like that. It's not really what we're required to do. It's his knee – I can tell you that."
What's the challenge of playing a team like Pittsburgh for a third time at this time of the year? You just played them a few weeks ago. What is the difficulty for that in terms of game planning, particularly if you have to deal with injuries and so forth? (Brian Wacker) "I don't think there's any specific difficulty in it – this process is still the same. You probably have certain things that are understood. There's a lot of things that have kind of been ingrained in your knowledge of a team in division like that who you've already played twice, so your jumping-off point is further down the road for sure. That's about the only difference."
Following up on that, I believe it's the fourth time you've done this, so can you draw back on the experience playing this team for a third team in the postseason? (Jerry Coleman) "I don't really remember the other times that well, to be honest with you that specifically, I just think it's part of the process. We played the Bengals a couple of years ago once or twice, right? A lot of our teams in this division make the playoffs. [When] we run into them, it's probably pretty normal."
I just wanted to piggyback on WR Zay Flowers. WR Rashod Bateman obviously made a bunch of plays after Zay went out of the game. I know Zay is still up in the air, but how do you feel about Rashod's ability to lead this wide receiver group and about how played against the Browns in the second half? (Kyle Goon) "Yes, it's the same as I've always felt about it. [Rashod Bateman] has always been high on my list and on my charts. I think he's a tremendous player, tremendous athlete, tremendous competitor [and] excellent wide receiver. He brings a tremendous skillset to it. He's been playing at a high level all year. He made big plays for us in that game [against Cleveland] this past week. He was a factor in those drives in getting us into scoring position numerous times, so yes, he's good, but it's not just Rashod. I don't think it's about one guy – it's everybody. We have a lot of weapons. We can move guys around in different ways, scheme those guys up, and they can all make plays."
Over the course of the season, the offensive line, they steadily made improvements. Can you speak to the job that offensive line coach George Warhop has done, especially given the circumstances in which he came in? (Carita Parks) "Yes, I sure could. Those guys have played at a high level, and [offensive line coach] George [Warhop] has done a great job. Knowing George, like I said earlier, last week or the week before, since we were both 25 years old when he was working for Mike Gottfried at Kansas – he played for coach Gottfried, [and] Coach Gottfried and his family were actually here for the game this weekend, so we had a chance to reminisce a little bit about that and laugh a little bit. We were two young guys back then, but over the course of the years, I kind of followed his career – we weren't pals or anything like that. Those O-Line coaches, they tend to kind of ... They stick together. They're called the 'mushroom club.' They say that they get shoved in the dark, and they get fed crap, like mushrooms. So they're the mushroom club, and he's a full-fledged member of the mushroom club. But [he's] one of the all-time great O-Line coaches, and the fact he was available to me was a God thing, and it's worked out really well. But he's just done a great job. He's been able to pick up on the offense in a short period of time right when he came in – the calls, the line calls, the techniques he had to kind of merge. And also, at the same time, [he had to] coach it his way, according to his style, and I believe he's a really smart guy. [He is] very experienced, [and a] very talented teacher, and he's done a great job of that."
I know we've asked you variations of this question over the course of the season, but do you feel, now that you're going into the playoffs, that RB Derrick Henry gives you a different element than you've had in recent years and really in your whole tenure here? (Childs Walker) "Yes."
We all know what TE Mark Andrews was going through at this time last year, trying to get back from the injury. With the way he's played down the stretch, knowing how big he is on third down and in the red zone and knowing how important those elements are and magnified in January, just how excited are you for him to be healthy and what he does for the offense in those areas? (Luke Jones) "Yes, Mark [Andrews is] playing at a really high level, for sure. He's been playing well all year. [He has] made some plays, [and he's] running fast. He has to be one of the fastest tight ends in the league, he just has to be. His ability to get open and make contested catches really showed up in this last game [against Cleveland] – he made some phenomenal catches. I mean, the one down the right sideline; I don't even know how he saw the ball, let alone find it, [and] get to it and catch it. And then Lamar [Jackson]'s trust in Mark, of course. All those things; he's been really great."
I know earlier in the year, you kind of had the quote of you didn't know how much you guys wanted to use RB Derrick Henry, and it wasn't the plan to go 25-30 carries a game. But just looking at it, in the games that he has had 20+ carries, in eight of those games, he's gone for 100+ yards and has had 10 total touchdowns. What does that do for you personally going into the playoffs knowing that you can kind of ride this guy on the offensive side? (Cordell Woodland) "Yes, it's exciting. It's great to have a great back. [Derrick Henry]'s obviously running really hard and really physical and downhill. Our guys are blocking well, and there's other elements to the offense that allows that. If you look at his career, he's definitely not getting first contact as early as he has often time in his career – that's been great. All those things have come together well, and it's going to be a big part of our approach in the playoffs."
A big narrative this week of course will be QB Lamar Jackson and his 2-4 record in the playoffs. I know you've used the term a lot of times about how players get calloused, how they have to go through some experiences, whether it's physically ... Do you think the past experiences that Lamar has had, will that serve him well going forward? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes. There's your answer. I'd like to elaborate, but there's really no elaboration. It's pretty clear that that's the truth."
I know they can't interview this week, but have you gotten any slips on one of your coordinators for a head coaching job? (Jeff Zrebiec) "If I had, I wouldn't probably announce it. Maybe, I don't know, do they put that out? Like, [does] the NFL put that out or whatever?" (Senior vice president of communications Chad Steele: "The insiders usually put something out.") "Yes, so you can get it from the insiders when it happens, I guess."
There was so much attention on defensive coordinator Zach Orr early in the season and Dean Pees was brought in five games in. Just what were those conversations between you and Zach as the weeks went on, and secondly, why in your view was he able to navigate that and have you guys able to continue to improve defensively to get to this point? (Brian Wacker) "We stuck to our ... Like you always do, it's week to week. You stick to your principles of what you're trying to do. You try to solve the problems. So much of everything in life is problem solving, no more so in this kind of a deal. Football is a multi-faceted game. There's just so many things that go into it. There's a lot of scheme things. There's a lot of personnel things. There's a lot of personality things. There's physiology [and] matchups – there's just a lot that goes into it. There's day-to-day personal lives. There's psychology, I guess you'd say. So you just try to do the best you can week to week [and] day to day and try to improve. And, you have a growth mindset towards all of these things and stick to your guns and not panic, don't overreact [and] don't bite – like what you were saying, [there's] a lot of talk that was coming from the outside – don't really bite on that; stay confident, believe in one another and try to do the best you can. And that's what everybody does. I believe all the teams do that. That's the great thing about sports, they say it's a metaphor for life. I hope you do it in your own life, so anybody could understand that process, and that's what we try to do."
I don't know if this will illicit an elaborate answer, but QB Lamar Jackson said after the game the other day that it was a T-shirt and hat game, and he's really focused on what's ahead. Is that sort of the team focus and your focus and the message? (Jerry Coleman) "Yes."
Do you have an update on your expectations for RB Justice Hill and OL Patrick Mekari and their heath for practice this week? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, they're trending well. They were [out due to] illness at the end [of last week]. Patrick [Mekari], as you know, played. I just felt like he ... I wanted to help him ... He would have played [the whole game], believe me. He would have played. He wanted to play, and Justice [Hill] wanted to play, too, but he wasn't as close at Patrick, so those guys will be much stronger this week than they were last week."
We've talked a lot about how the defense has improved in the last two months. You guys also have an interception in four straight games. How has winning the turnover battle, in your view, overall impacted how this defense has turned around in the last few weeks? Is there anything you've seen that has made the defense more successful at coming down with those turnovers? (Kyle Goon) "Yes, it's all like anything else. It's turnovers, it's tackles, it's sacks, it's big plays against, it's penalties [or] whatever. They're all individualized. They come when they come. Usually, it's a result of a foundation of chasing and trying to do things the right way, and, again, trying to improve in whatever area we're talking about and just not be stuck and mired in some idea that everything is fixed, and it's just the way it is and the way it's always going to be. You get interceptions by pressuring the quarterback, by covering tight, by disguising coverage [and] by catching the ones they throw to you, which we didn't do a few times early in the year. It cost us one game, probably. Those kinds of things are very important. Running to the ball is important, because when the ball gets on the ground, you want to have people around there to recover it. Sometimes the ball bounces to you, sometimes it doesn't, but having more people there lengthens your odds. Hitting, showing up, showing up for the run game, showing up when people catch passes before they get turned around, punching the ball out, punching the ball out when they're on their way to the ground, having enough people to punch the ball out, having an extra guy or two there – all of those things are part of it, so it becomes a reflection of just playing better defense. Even when you play great defense, sometimes they don't come to you, but that's just part of it. It all kind of goes together."
I feel like it's been a while since we've asked, but do you expect DB Arthur Maulet to be able to come back in the postseason? (Cordell Woodland) "I don't know. That's up in the air. I don't have a great handle on that right now."
Going back to RB Derrick Henry for a second, can you just articulate how having him impacts the calculus, particularly in the playoffs when these games are tight, late in the year, all of that, and just the impact he has on QB Lamar Jackson when there is so much focus on him? (Brian Wacker) "I really can't articulate the calculus, because I don't really see it as a math equation. Maybe it is, but if it is, I really don't have time to work it out. I don't have a big board here in front of me with ... You know like that movie? Good Will Hunting. The calculus is ... I don't even know what you're asking me for. I think it's pretty self evident, the answer to your question, and that's why [Derrick Henry]'s here. He's done a great job, and we're going to be leaning on him big time, just like we are [for] all of our guys. It's a team game, and that's what we're going to [do], try to bring every aspect of what we bring to the table, all our fire power. We'll try to execute as best we can, try to put the best schemes together as we can to make the calculus add up at the end of the day. That's it. That's how it works."
When you talked to the team at the beginning of this week, do you talk at all in terms of a four-game mission – or a five-week mission, however you want to put it – or are you straight week to week right now? (Childs Walker) "It's both. I've talked to them already about that, but we're going to be focused on this game."
