BALTIMORE RAVENS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
RAVENS HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
"Great win for the Ravens. On behalf of our fans, I want to congratulate and thank our players and our coaches. I think our fans would appreciate that. I know our fans are proud of us right now: proud of our coaches andproud of our players. That was really a special win. To make the point to me the way the game was won, I goback to the very first two series of the game. They hit us with that reverse; beautiful call, well executed. Lardarius Webb tracks him down, makes a tackle, and keeps him (Joseph Morgan) out of the end zone. He veryeasily could have walked in. Haloti (Ngata) makes a huge stop. Then we get the ball back and our offense goes on a seven or eight minute drive and puts seven (points) on the board. To me that makes a statement about our football team. That's courageous playing. After that it was just a dogfight like we knew it was going to be against a really good team that is well coached and played their hearts out. It is an ultimate team win: all three phases, fighting through adversity and finding a way to win the game against a really good football team. I am proud of our guys and our fans should be proud too. And on behalf of our players and coaches, thanks to our fans. We had a bunch of fans here, we have thousands of fans here. Our fans are great and I think they're going to have a great time in New Orleans tonight."
(on Will Hill's pick-six) "Obviously Will Hill's play was the difference in the game for a lot of reasons. There's seven points so that's the most obvious reason. There's also the fact that we could make a play on defense, we could come up with a play. Not just a stop, we made plenty of stops; not just a fumble but an interception. Go grab it and take it the other way. That's something that has been lacking, that we needed, and it came at the right time."
(on Justin Forsett's performance) "First of all the offensive line, we had 215 yards rushing. Justin Forsett had 182 yards rushing. And not just Justin, it was good to see Bernard Pierce step up and run the ball. Our offensive line really did a great job. Rob Ryan had done a tremendous job on the game plan: a lot of pressure, zero pressure, coming from everywhere and everybody throughout the course of the game. The quarterback did a great job of handling that. He made a couple of throws against zero-two that were huge for us, they got a couple of drives started. Torrey (Smith) came up with some great catches. Steve Smith had a number of catches, but the first drive he made that fade catch down there. That's about as good a catch as you're going to see; he was tackled while he was making the catch and he still comes down with the football."
(on AFC North teams all winning this weekend and importance of this win) "It is big. You are going to have to win a lot of games to win the division. You are going to have win a lot of games to make the playoffs in our conference. It's just a fact. You're going to need every win you can get. To get this win was very big. Next week's going to be even bigger."
(on pass rush and Terrell Suggs getting 100 career sacks) "Our pass rush was relentless all game. We had four sacks and numerous hits. It is hard to get Drew Brees; the protection is very good, he gets the ball out fast and knows where it's coming from, he is really shifty in the pocket. We got four or five hits in the first quarter. He's a courageous guy for hanging in there the way he did. And then Terrell Suggs, he's the 30th all time (pass) rusher right now in the history of the National Football League, 100 sacks. I feel like he's just beginning. It'll be fun to see where he goes from here. Great football player, great leader. He's the guy that grabbed us up as a team this week. He pointed us in the right direction all week with what he said and how he practiced."
(on if he is worried about the 4-7 record) "I'm not worried. I just know that there is a sense of urgency to get better, to improve, and to come out and put together a complete game. That is something that we haven't done. It's a race for us to get better."
BALTIMORE RAVENS PLAYERS
QB #5 JOE FLACCO
"Obviously the way the running game was working, we decided to stick with it. The offensive line and the running backs all did a great job, and that's what we've been working on for a while. It was huge for us today."
(on first touchdown pass to Steve Smith Sr.) "Their corner came up on the line and pressed him so I knew I had a throw there. I knew I had to get rid of the ball quick and that's what happened. And the timing worked out and Steve made a great catch."
(on Will Hill) "I think Will (Hill) was on Jimmy Graham the entire time out there. And as a quarterback you
notice that: seeing a safety on a big guy like Jimmy Graham. It was a pretty good match up and they (Saints) tried to take advantage of it. But Will did a great job for us."
WR #89 STEVE SMITH SR.
(on touchdown reception) "I mean Joe (Flacco) threw a great ball to me. You've just got to make a play. I tried to keep my feet in bounds and just tried to make a play."
(on altercation with Kenny Vaccaro) "He tried to tackle me and I gave him a stiff arm to the ground. He threw a punch and I kind of went after him after that." "They (Saints) don't have to worry about me anymore and I don't have to worry about them. Whatever happened between us in the past is the past – we've both moved on."
RB #29 JUSTIN FORSETT
"It is crazy when you think about where I was at this time last year – mostly doing a lot of scout team work. I am just thankful for the journey I'm on. God has been faithful for me, and to just get the opportunity when I thought I would never get it again; it's a blessing."
"When you get a lot of opportunities like I've been getting, it allows you to get into a rhythm. I think that was the case tonight. We were able to get something going early. And then we kept it going all the way thru the 4th quarter so we all definitely enjoyed that rhythm."
S #33 WILL HILL
(on interception return for touchdown) "On that play I saw (Drew) Brees was in trouble. He was out there looking for his No. 1 guy (Jimmy Graham). And then I saw him throw the ball and I noticed it was a little bit behind the receiver. And I just took the opportunity on the ball and ran with it."
(on defending Jimmy Graham) "That was my task the entire week and in coming into this game. All of the coaches came up to me and asked me if I was up to the challenge to defend him. And I told the coaches, 'are you serious?' That's what I look forward to. I just accepted the challenge and told myself, this is Monday Night Football and you have a great chance to make a statement." "I studied a lot of film on him and noticed his tendencies. I mean, a guy like Graham, he's real physical. He's a really big guy and he doesn't expect anybody to get up on him. I think I caught him off guard a little bit."
