HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "OK, [I] appreciate everyone being here, thank you. [We had a] good week of practice. [It's a] big challenge in front of us. Many things that make this game – great game – make it a challenge and an opportunity. We're looking forward to it. We have a little over 48 hours to keep preparing, and we'll try to keep preparing for this great team we're about to play. What questions do you have?"
It was a while back, but in Philadelphia, weren't you and current Bills head coach Sean McDermott running buddies, or jogging buddies or anything like that? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes, [Sean McDermott and I] worked out together a lot. I was a little younger then, but he's a great guy – wrestler and defensive back, William and Mary guy. I reminded him that Miami [of Ohio], we played them a couple of times. We never lost to William and Mary. We weren't in the same era, obviously. Sean's a heck of a guy, great coach [and] great family. We talk about our kids all the time. His daughter is a softball player. She's getting recruited D1 for softball, so all that kind of stuff. He's done a great job with the team. It's a team that reflects his personality – both sides of the ball, all three phases. You kind of see how they're built; that's kind of who he's always been as a coach. You could see early on that he was going to be a great coach. He certainly fulfilled that."
Do you think your defense seeing QB Lamar Jackson prepares them for facing Bills QB Josh Allen, with the whole dual-threat quarterback, or does that not really translate? (Todd Karpovich) "Every player, right, is his own entity – their own style. Nobody can play like Lamar [Jackson, and] nobody can play like Josh [Allen]. They're unique, and yet the problems they pose to the defense are similar, to your point. They can hurt a defense in so many different ways. We're just focusing on Josh and the different ways that he moves the ball, the way that he gets the chains to move. The plays that he makes [and] the way they build the offense around him, we're trying real hard to be ready for that."
How has OLB Yannick Ngakoue looked in his three practices? (Ryan Mink) "[Yannick Ngakoue]'s looked good. He's looked good. [He] looks like he's in shape, looks like he's in a great place spiritually [and] mentally. It was fun to have him out there. He and Ronnie [Stanley] had some battles this week for sure."
What is the difference to you between football shape and fresh off the street, but still in good shape, but not football shape. What is the difference there? (Kyle Phoenix) "It's like anything else; there's just some movements that you can only really replicate by playing the game. The combination in football is probably really unique, because the acceleration, the deceleration, the change of direction, the loads that you take, the unexpected loads – whether it's a load where someone pushing on, and you have to set your feet in the ground [and] maybe throw somebody by – and all the different range of muscle reactions that have to take place that you could never replicate in a workout, and you could only replicate by doing football. So, getting out there and playing the game and doing it helps. Most guys that just come right in and play, they'll usually get some strains and things like that. That's why practice is so important."
We didn't see G Andrew Vorhees all week in practice. What do you think his availability is for you guys? (Jamison Hensley) "It's going to be right up until gametime. That's what I was told, and we'll see."
We haven't asked you about CB Arthur Maulet since this summer. We saw him out there, I think last week, running. I know he can't play this week, but is it possible that he could be ready when he's eligible? (Jeff Zrebiec) "It's possible. [Arthur Maulet]'s looked good. It seems like he's in good shape. We'll see how he looks when he can get out there. He can't go out there and practice yet until next week, but we'll see what it looks like next week."
With WR/RS Deonte Harty playing his former team, he had a pretty difficult summer, but you guys really stuck with him through all that. What have you seen from him so far? (Matt Ryan) "[Deonte Harty]'s been great to be around. Deonte's had so many things in his life that have just snuck up and been a part of his life, family-wise, in the last four or five months, and he's dealt with [it] so well. He's been a rock for his family, so that part of it – the personal part of it – had been interesting and good to go through it with him, to some degree, and then to see how he's handling it as a pro. He's handled it great. He's looked really good as a player. He's been very secure. Every time he gets the ball in his hands, I can hear the whole crowd hold their breath a little bit. He's that kind of a player. He's a return guy, so I'm excited to see him. Maybe we can break him loose here real soon."
On OLB Yannick Ngakoue, do you feel like you have a good grip already on how long the ramp up will be until he might be an option? (Childs Walker) "Yes, I think so. I mean it's a lot of factors that go into that. We have a lot of good players – young players – rushing the passer, too. It's just going to be [Yannick Ngakoue] being ready, which I'm very confident that he will be very soon and then the opportunity expressing itself. When it does, he'll be out there, and I believe he'll help us."
ILB ROQUAN SMITH
On what kind of challenges QB Josh Allen presents: "It'll be a great a challenge for our defense, but we love challenges. We have to first stop the run, like any other week – eliminating the run with [James] Cook and the rest of the [running] backs – and make the guys one dimensional. I feel like if we do that, we'll [get] things in our favor."
On how RB James Cook's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield challenges the defense: "[James Cook] is a really good [running] back out of the backfield, and it'll be a great challenge for us as linebackers, safeties – and whoever is covering him – corners [in] whatever the situation may be. Just having that, we're looking forward to it, and I think it will just reveal just exactly how good we are. But I have a lot of respect for him – former 'Dog' [Georgia Bulldog], as well, but I'm very excited about the matchup."
On what needs to happen for the defense to play four good quarters of football: "As cliche as it is, we just have to communicate and have to be on the same page. That's what it is, and that's something that we're honing in on and just making sure [of] before each play, and then pre snap, and then post play – like actually knowing what we're doing, [and] if they're motioning or doing this, what we're going to in our checks. If we do that, we'll eliminate a lot of the mistakes that's been happening out there, because they're self-inflicted. There haven't been many people that [have] just actually [driven] it 80 yards consistently. If you can do that on our defense without us giving you gift-wrapped presents, hats off to you, but you don't see that very often. We just have to stay true to who we are as a defense and communicate throughout each and every play."
On how to stop offenses from having success over the middle: "I think it's a combination of a couple things. This is the NFL, so teams definitely do make adjustments in a sense. But I think it's us going back to communication and being on the same page, whether if a guy is doing this, and you're expecting someone to be here doing that. So, I think it just comes back to everybody being on the same page and not 10 guys doing their job, but all 11, because 10 guys can do their job on a play, and if one doesn't do their job, then it can make everybody on the defense look crazy. So, that's what I think it is [about] – just all of us getting on the same page, at the end of the day, and that's something that we definitely will do."
On if there's something different about playing in a primetime game like this upcoming one: "I'm very excited about the game, just because it's at 'The Bank' [M&T Bank Stadium]; we have to protect 'The Bank.' Obviously, the last time we were in here, we didn't do that, so we definitely have a sour taste in our mouth, even after the way we finished last week. [We] just [want] to show the world exactly who we are as a defense. We're excited about the matchup, and we know exactly what we bring to the table, and it's about playing four complete quarters. And if we do that, we'll like our chances. I can promise you that."
