SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR CHRIS HORTON
Opening Statement: "It's good to see everyone today. What do you guys have for us?"
With CB Desmond King II, how was it like seeing him return some punts? (Jamison Hensley) "I just think when we got an opportunity to get [Desmond King II] on our team, you kind of always knew what he could do. He has been a returner in this league for a long time, so he's had a lot of returns, so when you watch him, he catches the ball great, he's strong, he can break tackles, and he gets vertical. Those are the things we always want from our guys, and most importantly, secure the ball first and then get vertical."
Was that on your guys' radar, when you brought CB Desmond King II in originally, for him to potentially move him to this type of role? (Cordell Woodland) "I think so. I think that's always one of the opportunities. Desmond [King II] is a versatile player. He's a good nickel player, so he's got a lot of skill, outside of his ability to return punts. He's played a lot of defense, too, so he's a versatile guy, but for us, when I had an opportunity to look at him, it was like, 'Whoa, this is a no brainer. This guy catches the ball cleanly, he gets vertical, he understands, and he's scored touchdowns in this league, as well."
You guys have been working at it and working at the return game, to get the 59-yard kickoff return, to get the punt return, to be able to go back to the guys and say, "Hey, that all paid off. We hit." How valuable is that and beneficial for your unit? (Ryan Mink) "It's just a testament to the guys and things that they've done and the things that we've been coaching. We've been trying to hit big plays, and we've been very close, weekly, and Sunday was it. I think I stood up here, and I talked about it. I thought our guys are working very hard to make the most of these plays, and we only get one opportunity, and for Justice [Hill] to come out there and go 59 yards right away, it really just set the tone for the game, and that's what we do as special teams players and as special teams units. We set the tone. We start the game, either on kickoff or kickoff return, and it's just exciting. Our guys were fired up, and after that, it was, 'OK, let's go make more plays.'"
What's been the conversation or confidence level with K Justin Tucker the last few weeks? Obviously, he made all his points this past week, but where would you describe that confidence level? (Brian Wacker) "I think 'Tuck' [Justin Tucker] is in a great place. When he came back from the bye week, he's been happy, he's been outside, he's been smiling, and he's focused. He's ready to go. He's waiting for those opportunities any time he goes out there, and he gets an opportunity to kick."
Do they still go to the stadium on a Friday and work in the stadium when you have a weekend home game, or do they not do that anymore? (Jeff Zrebiec) "Well, we've done that during training camp. We would do those things there, but we haven't thought about that or done anything like that [during the season]."
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TODD MONKEN
I saw at the beginning of practice you wanted to emphasize more ball security. I guess that's one of the big focuses that you feel like going against the Steelers? (Jamison Hensley) "It's every week, but I've been here for three games [against the Steelers], and we've turned it over eight times; we've fumbled it seven times. If that doesn't tell you that [it's] a priority, I don't know what is."
Last time you guys got off to a slow start on the opening possessions and penalties were a part of that against the Steelers in Week 11. What do you kind of see out of opening possessions this season and how to improve? (Kyle Goon) "[We] started off really well. [In our] first five games, we scored every time we had it, and since then, it's been a number of things – turnovers, penalties [and] missed opportunities – that have stopped us from starting off fast."
You mentioned the turnovers and getting behind schedule, which obviously impacted you in the Steelers game. Aside from that, what challenges do they present and things they throw at your offense? (Brian Wacker) "[The Steelers have] good players. It starts up front. They're physical inside. Their edge guys are difficult – run and pass. Linebackers are downhill [and] very aggressive. [In the] secondary, they've got good cover guys. I mean they've got good players, [and] they do a great job with their scheme. They obviously know us very well, and we've got to play our best."
WR Devontez Walker gets in the end zone on Sunday. What have you seen from Devontez from the start of camp to getting an opportunity and making the most of it on Sunday? (Alex Glaze) "Well, you know, [Devontez Walker] got hurt early on, and that's going to stunt any player's growth. Then ... [when] you get banged up a little bit, you lose time, and then you get into the season, and you're playing games, and it's on to the next game [and] on to the next game. Who's playing? Who's dressing, and how do we get them involved? That's been an issue for every player, not just him. But he has competed every day. When he hasn't been running reps for us, but against the defense ... And you could see him coming on. You could see his confidence building. I think some guys like him, as well, when they play on special teams, it gives them a chance to get some confidence. They're playing in the game. That wasn't his first play in a game, per se. It was his first catch [and] first target, but he had played. The moment wasn't too big for him, but he's done a great job of continuing to grow, like all of our players are constantly growing, and again, that's what you hope for with your young players."
Are there any points of emphasis offensively that you guys had going into the first game against the Steelers that you may not have been able to kind of check that box and that you're hoping to do this time around? (Cordell Woodland) "Well, [to] not turn it over. I think that's a big thing. Last game [against Pittsburgh], we had penalties and turnovers. You're not going to win when you do that, I don't care who you're playing. So, we've got to be a lot better [and] a lot cleaner than that. It doesn't matter who you play, let alone a really good football team like this [who has] a really good defense. So, we've got to play cleaner."
How do you handle a situation when obviously a guy like Steelers LB T.J. Watt, who's as good as he is, is dealing with injury, and you're not exactly sure what his status is? (Ryan Mink) "It doesn't really change for us. We assume [T.J. Watt]'s going to play. It's much easier if he doesn't. So, you react when he doesn't, as opposed to assuming he won't. We'll expect him to play, and I'm sure he will."
Obviously, one of the best things about QB Lamar Jackson is that opportunity to have a second play. With this kind of pass rush, where do you kind of see the value of the quick game and taking some of the sting out of those guys who are rushing? (Jonas Shaffer) "I think that all plays into it. [The] screen game, quick game, ability to check the ball down [and] get through your progressions are a huge part of it. We've got to continue ... That's every week, of continuing to incorporate all of those aspects into our passing game so that we're not 'Big little' – either big play, or we're second-and-10 [and] how do we get to where ... And we've been good at that for most of the year. We just got to continue to do it this week."
I know all of your focus is on Pittsburgh, but with the short turnaround next week for another tough opponent in Houston, how much of the gameplan for this week is sort of layered over for next week so you can make that smoother? (Kyle Goon) "None. I haven't even thought about Houston."
Is there any prep that you've done during the bye week to get ahead of it? (Kyle Goon) "Sure. Yes, we did some prep in the bye week. We did some prep, obviously understanding we would be up against it. But we were up against it [when we played on Thursday] against the Bengals. You know, we played Houston twice last year – not that they may not have changed or [had] a few little tweaks here and there, but our focus is on the Steelers."
QB Lamar Jackson has struggled in his career against the Steelers. When you look back, is there anything specific the Steelers do that gives him problems? (Alex Woodward) "Oh, I don't know. I don't know how many games [Lamar Jackson]'s played against [the Steelers]. [You have to consider] the sample size and how many [games he's played] at home. [When] you play them on the road – that's a tough environment. We all can coach better, play better and play better around him. That's what you do. That's what you do as a team. You've just got to ... Again, it starts with us. You've got to design it better; you've got to be able to run the ball; you've got to be able to stay ahead of the chains; guys have got to play well around him; [you] can't turn it over; [you] can't have penalties that put you behind the sticks against good teams, or you're going to struggle."
We didn't see RB Justice Hill out there today. I know that's a developing situation. Can you just speak to how important he has been for this offense to this point this year? (Cordell Woodland) "Well [Justice Hill]'s been a weapon for us. All he does is come in the building and work hard and smile a lot and embrace his role. He didn't blink last year when Keaton [Mitchell] came on. [He] didn't blink. Keaton was getting a bunch of opportunities, and I think about the Miami game last year where [Justice] had a kickoff return really to start the second half that kind of really ... Then we scored to kind of seal the game. He had a huge ... Early in that game [he had] a screen that got us like 25 yards on third-and-13 [where we] called a rail route for, I think, our first touchdown. That was after Keaton – that tells you exactly who he is – after Keaton was already getting a number of the reps. [Justice] had probably fallen to, in terms of running the football, maybe the third guy. Maybe I think Keaton was out. Maybe I got it reversed. Keaton got hurt, so screw that. He was [number] two by then, but he was embracing it up until that point. I'm all fired up, and then I left out when he got hurt, but he's been great. He really has been. He plays special teams, [and] he does everything we ask him to do and that's why he signed an extension during the year. He's a valuable asset for us [in] running the ball [and] catching the ball out of the backfield."
RB Justice Hill has become such a reliable part of the offense, who would be the third-down back if you didn't have him for a game? (Childs Walker) "Well, we'd end up using both of the guys we would use. Whoever's up as the third back, and then it'd be Derrick [Henry]."
I think the Steelers blitzed pretty often on early downs last game. Without kind of giving away your gameplan, is there an easy answer for a team that brings pressure, especially when it's a blitz to kind of stop the run as well as get after QB Lamar Jackson? (Jonas Shaffer) "We've seen that from a number of teams. Not recently. We saw it kind of [in the] middle of the year – a number of teams that pressured [us]. You know [the Steelers are] going to bring pressure. They're going to force the issue. They've done that before, and when we've executed, we've been fine. So, obviously, it's protecting [the football], being able to run the ball get [and] our IDs right and then be able to get the ball out on time."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ZACH ORR
You guys kind of mixed and matched at the safety spot until you settled on S Kyle Hamilton and S Ar'Darius Washington. Why do you think this group has worked where previous iterations did not? (Jonas Shaffer) "I think part of it is having 'K-Ham' [Kyle Hamilton] back there. He stabilizes that unit [and] stabilizes the defense in the back end. Those guys look to him for answers and he's a real smart player, so he gets everybody lined up quickly, and then I just think the emergence of Ar'Darius Washington. He was our starting nickel last year. He was having a heck of a start to the season, then he had the unfortunate injury, and he just picked up where he left off at throughout camp. I think when we finally gave him his opportunity, he went out there and made the most of it, and I think he's really become a real good NFL starting-caliber safety. I think the combination of those two things – those two guys work well together. They both can cover man coverage, play zone [coverage] and tackle really well, so I think the combination of that is really what you've seen."
When you think back to when you were a player and then now as a coach, when you have a game like this that has obvious high stakes, do you like to play that up during the week, or do you like to not have that be a big part of the message? (Childs Walker) "I think you speak about it, and you understand it, because you can't hide from it. Everybody is going to talk about it, and it's what you work for – it's the moments that you work for. Any competitive [person] would want to play in these types of games, especially this late in the season. But at the end of the day, you understand what it's going to take to win that game, and it's going to take us doing our job [and] playing disciplined football for however long it takes. You definitely are aware of the stakes, but we expect to be in these games, especially here in Baltimore, and our players do that. Yes, it's a big game, but it's nothing that we're not accustomed to."
We didn't see ILB Trenton Simpson until late in the game on Sunday. What would you hope he learns when he watches? Head coach John Harbaugh kind of called it a breather. How do you look it? And what you do hope he learns maybe not playing the snaps he was? (Jeff Zrebiec) "I look at it just as an opportunity for some other guys to get in there and give us something that we've kind of been missing, kind of help stabilize [the] position, and Trenton [Simpson] is still part of that. I think he's had a good year. He's had some ups and downs, but I think he just has to learn, just watching, just understanding and everything. I think he can improve on everything just like everybody else. I don't think it's a big deal in a sense of what he has to learn going forward, I just think he has to continue like everybody else to get better. And I told him, 'We're going to need you before the year is over.' We might need him this game. So, he's definitely not out of the picture. I think it's a move that we made that we feel like is best for the team right now, and we still have the utmost confidence in him and that whole room."
What has impressed you the most about LB Malik Harrison and ILB Chris Board these last couple weeks from barely playing at all, to playing real roles and how've they've handled that? (Sam Cohn) "I just appreciate [Malik Harrison and Chris Board] being ready. I've been with those guys for a long time. I've been with Chris since 2018. I know we both left [the Ravens] – I left for a year, and he left for a couple of years, but we've always had the utmost confidence in him. And then Malik Harrison, he's started games for us before. He's played a lot of good football for us before, so I'm just proud of those guys in how they've stuck with it, they stay prepared, they've been professionals, and I think those guys are perfect examples of everybody, like, 'I'm just doing what's best for the team, and then when my number is called, and I get my opportunity to play more, [I'm going] to go out there and play good football,' and both of those guys are playing good football for us. We're happy with him, but it's not [anything] we're surprised by, by any means."
You were a young linebacker in this league. How valuable is experience at that position with understanding what's going on in front of you, and there's a lot of moving parts and all that stuff. How valuable is that experience for LB Malik Harrison and ILB Chris Board and what ILB Trenton Simpson will get? (Ryan Mink) "It's really valuable. My rookie year, I knew I wasn't playing on defense. They were going to move people around before I got in at linebacker, which was fine. Honestly, I wasn't ready. Linebacker is a really tough position I think that's underrated that doesn't get talked about enough. I think people just think guys go out there and run and hit, but at the linebacker position, you're asked to do every single thing. First, you're the communicator on defense. You have to get the front lined up, you have to know what's going on in the back end, you have to be able to take on blocks like a D-lineman, you have to be able to cover like a DB, and you have to be able to read run schemes and everything like a linebacker. So, it's a lot that goes into it, especially in our scheme and especially with what offenses have given us nowadays and in the NFL today. So, I think it's going to be really valuable. The more you can just sit and watch, and you learn from the things that people do well, learn from the things they might have struggled with, [and] when you get the chance to go back out there, get it right."
I'm sure, in a game like this, there's an emphasis on limiting mistakes and self-inflicted issues. After all the penalties last week, what are the discussions like with your guys? Especially this late in the season, how do you hope to turn that around? (Kyle Goon) "Yes, it's frustrating. We show the penalties, and we talk about it, and it's nothing that we're going to hide from, because obviously, we want to play winning football; that's not winning football – when you have self-inflicted wounds. Like, we had eight penalties on defense – that's eight too many – and a lot of them are things that we definitely [can] control. Like, we can't be grabbing guys in the back end. When we're hitting quarterbacks, we can't land on them; we have to roll to the side. It's something that we've always made emphasis and awareness of, but we just have to keep hammering it home until we get it right, because when we get in these games – like we're having [Saturday] – we can't go out there and have eight penalties on defense and expect us to go out there and play well. So, it's something that we had a really good meeting about. I think the players are taking ownership about it. Nobody is malicious about doing what they're doing, but we've just got to practice and play with better fundamentals and technique. So, we just continue to show the examples – show the good examples, show the bad examples – and just continue to put emphasis on it. Like, we're not going to be able to win football games by having all these penalties."
When you look at the stakes of this game, you could argue that it's the biggest Ravens-Steelers game since the Christmas Day game in 2016, which I believe was your last game. Do you use that at all as motivation with your players – to leave it all out there, knowing that this game has divisional implications? (Luke Jones) "No, if I felt like I needed to, I might have. But right after the game, in the locker room – after the Giants – guys were already talking about the Steelers. They were like, 'OK, we handled business here. Now it's [on to] back home to get ready for Pittsburgh.' So, I like it. Our guys are going to be ready to roll. They're ready. They came locked in. We've had two great days of practices, had great meetings and great walk-throughs, so I'm excited – when the ball kicks off Saturday – to see what our guys can go out there and do, because they're ready. There haven't been too many ... There have been some serious talks, [but] there haven't been too many pep talks. Our guys are locked in and ready to roll. We know what's at stake. We know what we've got to do. And we said coming out [of] the bye week that regardless of who we're playing, what the stakes are, where we're playing at, we've got business we've got to take care of."
Just with your decade of experience with this organization, hearing that the Steelers have won eight of the past nine games against the Ravens, how does that hit you? How does that make you feel? (Kyle Goon) "It's frustrating. It's definitely frustrating. It's something that I honestly don't think about – in the sense of – now, [but] in the offseason is really kind of when it bothers me, when I've kind of sit back and looked at it. But right now, you can't worry about that. You've just got to worry about the next game, because no previous game has an effect on the next game. So, if you're worried about all the games ... I mean, eight of nine – nine games [against the Steelers] – that's like three [or] four years ago. A lot of these guys weren't even here, so you can't really focus on that, because at the end of the day, what's happened has happened. All we can focus on is what's coming up on Saturday. So, there hasn't been much talk about that from our side, and we know it doesn't matter. The only game that matters is the next one, and that's Saturday."
Do any of those same emotions from your playing days going against the Steelers bubble up this week, when it's Ravens-Steelers week? (Ryan Mink) "Shoot, man, my emotions always bubble up. Shoot ... It's not just because it's the Steelers. I'm just a competitor, man, and I love it. I'm around a lot of competitive guys, competitive coaches and competitive players, so it's hard for me to be in this organization, specifically, and not have my competitive juices flowing, because it's always competitive in this building – trust me." (laughter)
I think a lot of fans see what the defense does in the secondary and wonder why you guys don't have cornerbacks travel with receivers. Can you give a layman's explanation as to why you guys do what you do at left cornerback and right cornerback, instead of maybe being less rigid with that? (Jonas Shaffer) "I think there are times when you can travel a guy, match a guy, but [there's an] average of – what – 60-something plays, and there's a lot that goes into it. When you're traveling [with] a guy ... In offenses, they move guys in the slot, they move guys at the X, the Z, guys in the backfield, so when you travel [with] a guy – unless you're just going to sit here and say you're going to play man every snap – that affects everybody else. Now this person has to learn ... Everybody has to learn safety, nickel [and] corner in all the different coverages [and] all the different checks, so there's a lot more that goes into it. But there is definitely a time when you can definitely travel and put a guy on a specific guy and help guys out. But like I said, we've got confidence in our guys. We feel like, when it's critical situations, and we need to take a guy away, we have enough in our repertoire to take guys away and make sure that they don't wreck the game."
