HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "OK, good seeing everybody. [I] appreciate you guys being here. [It's a] beautiful day. [We had a] good practice. We have a lot on our plate. The guys have done a good job. It's been a good week of practice – a very focused week. We have to try to go out there on Sunday and put our best foot forward and play our best game; that's what we're striving to do. What questions do you have?"
With CB Marlon Humphrey not really practicing at all this week, what do you think his chances are for Sunday? (Jamison Hensley) "We'll find out as we get closer to Sunday. We'll get the injury report today and then see where we are on Sunday with really all those guys."
On the flip side, how excited are you to get CB Arthur Maulet back given some of the guys are banged up on the secondary and knowing what he did for you guys last year, defensively? (Luke Jones) "Arthur [Maulet] has done a great job of working hard. He's been out for a while. He's been champing at the bit. He's been anxious, and he's worked hard. We'll see how it looks and see how he looks, and we look forward ... Anybody that we have that's healthy and wants to play and is a good player, we like to have them out there."
There was a report while you guys were out there that ILB Roquan Smith was fined for that hit in the game. We didn't get a chance to ask you about that on Wednesday. What did you make of that play? Did you see any element of a hip drop when you looked at that on film? (Childs Walker) "You can parse all of that. It becomes really fine. It's fine-tuning to determine those things. I'm sure they look at every element of that, and I'm sure there'll be continued conversation on that. Just as far as 'Ro' [Roquan Smith] goes, 'Ro' was fighting to go make a tackle there. We're trying to get off the field; we're trying to get out of the game with a victory. He would never do anything ... Well, number one, he would never do anything to hurt another player – everybody knows that – and he would never do anything that's outside the rules; everybody knows that. That's how he plays. [He] tries to do it according to the rules, just like all our guys do. I think Kyle [Hamilton] showed that too with that hit downfield on the receiver. You try to do as best you can within the rules."
Obviously that type of tackle isn't being coached. It seems more instinctual than anything. How tough is it to kind of take it out of the game? I know that's what the league wants. (Cordell Woodland) "I'm probably not in a place in my mind right now to have that whole debate and conversation. We had that conversation in the offseason, and there's a lot of ins and outs to it, but right now – for me, for 'Ro' [Roquan Smith], for all our guys – just try to do the best you can to play within the rules and do it the right way and the effective way and the fundamentally-sound way and the safe way. That's what we try, always, to do our best at."
Do you think that CB Jalyn Armour-Davis could come back on Sunday without a lot of rust after missing time? (Jonas Shaffer) "There' a lot of possibilities for who'll be active on Sunday and playing, so we'll be working through that, for sure. We have 48 hours – really, it's a little less than 48 now – it's about 47 hours and 50 minutes. We'll probably be able to work through all of that by gametime, hopefully."
How pleased were you with what you saw from RB Keaton Mitchell throughout this week? (Cordell Woodland) "Yes, it's good to have Keaton [Mitchell] back, and he's ramping up."
Likewise, having WR Zay Flowers back, how much does that help the offense? (Brian Wacker) "It's self-evident; [that's] probably the answer. Zay [Flowers] being back, if he's back, would be awesome. He's a big part of what we do for sure."
CB Marlon Humphrey's injury aside, how impressed have you been with him this season? (Sam Cohn) "I've been very impressed. The thing about that game last week was the fact that – and this is true really of any game – you have to step up and make plays at some point in time. Just get stops. Somebody has to make some kind of play. You have to make a tackle at least, a sack, a sack-fumble, a turnover, an interception, a recovered fumble, a fourth-down stop [or] a third-down stop. All those things are playmaking things. Marlon [Humphrey] made two huge plays in that game, and it's probably indicative of how he's played all year. He's not perfect; he wants to get better. We're all chasing improvement every single day, but that was huge for us."
WR RASHOD BATEMAN
On the offense's confidence level: "I'd definitely say we're feeling confident in ourselves and the work we put in. We know what it takes to win at this level, and hopefully we can keep doing the things we need to do to win."
On how he feels about his game currently: "I'm blessed. I feel good, but [I'm] always hungry for more. I'm just following the leader of Lamar [Jackson] right now. We're only on Week 8 right now; it's a long season, and we're trying to get back to the AFC Championship. I'm thankful, and I'm blessed, but my main goal is winning more games."
On if the vibe in the locker room is the same as last year: "It's definitely the same, as far as the vibe, but this team does a good job of separating the two seasons. Last year, what we did doesn't carry over into this year, and we've done a good job of keeping the two [seasons] separate and just coming to work every day and showing up and putting in the hours that we need to. The guys that were here last year know what winning feels like, and the leaders that we have on this team have done a good job of sharing what they know [on] how to continue to win games."
On if he notices how difficult it is for defenses to stop Baltimore's offense: "I would definitely assume it's probably hard. There are a lot of weapons that you have to think about, especially with the run game doing what it's doing and the pass game doing what it's doing, and you have to account for Lamar [Jackson], always. So, I'm just glad I'm not a defensive coordinator, because I don't know how I would do it right now."
On if explosive plays are a point of emphasis for the offense: "We want every play to be a big play, so every run that's called, every pass – no matter what it is – our job is to turn it into a big play. It might not happen every time, but that's the goal every play. So, hopefully, we can make every play a big play."
On having chemistry with QB Lamar Jackson on broken plays: "It definitely comes with time and practice, and I've been able to be on the field with Lamar [Jackson] and kind of feel what he wants, and he can kind of feel what I want. I've been able to put in those hours with him and learn how he plays football, and it's been carrying over."
On if the deep pass that he caught from QB Lamar Jackson on a scramble drill speaks to the chemistry that he and Jackson have: "We can call it chemistry, or we can call it unavailability. I haven't been available for Lamar [Jackson] for him to be able to be comfortable with me in those situations. I am on the field more, [and] I'm getting more targets than I ever have since I've been in the league, so I think that's kind of bound to happen at some point."
On if he sees a difference in coverage and the safeties playing up more due to the Ravens' running game: "I just feel like we see a lot of different things, just because we do a have a lot of weapons, and there are a lot of different ways you can play us; there's not just one best way to play us. Everybody is going to give us their best shot and give us exotic defenses, week in and week out, but it all starts with Lamar [Jackson]. He's doing a good job of dissecting everything and breaking it all down, and hopefully, we continue to do that."
On if he's satisfied with his play so far this season after all that he's been through: "Not right now. It was so bad that all I can do is just want more for the team and for myself. I've always been confident in what I can do and my abilities, but I don't know why I got hurt in the past. It really wasn't anything that I could even do to prevent, even with the injuries that happened to me. So, right now, I'm just thankful, but just being a competitor, [I'm] just coming to work every day. [I'm] not trying to get complacent."
