BALTIMORE RAVENS
Head Coach John Harbaugh
(opening statement) "I still appreciate you guys being here. We walked away with a win. Very happy with the win. And a couple things that jumped out: I think our guys played really hard. That's always what you want your guys to do. And I love the way the guys are playing – I don't feel one negative vibe from the way our guys have played all through preseason. Guys are flying around, giving all their effort, and that's what you look for. Defensively, I thought we played spectacularly. We came up with turnovers when we needed them. I think we had six or seven batted balls. We had a turnover that we turned into a score offensively – we did a good job on that. And then getting a turnover at the end – that was big. I'm happy with the way they played. Our offense played well except for the penalties in the first half. Especially at the end of the first half, when Josh [Woodrum] went in there. There were a couple of miscues with the cadence, which are probably somewhat to be expected. The pass interference penalty was really disappointing. I'd coach them to do the same thing the next time. The holding penalty, I was disappointed with, I would tell them to block in the same way that it was a hold the next time. We're not going to coach guys away from things that we see are good plays. I'm happy with the way we played, and I'm happy with the win. We'll go to work and keep improving."
(on if he encourages K Justin Tucker to make a tackle if the play presents it) "I would prefer that the ball not get to him. Our kickoff coverage was great the whole game, except for that play. We ran a scheme where we didn't quite get where we wanted to get. That's the responsibility of the rest of the guys – to keep the ball away from him."
(on the play of the offensive line) "Not enough to comment on. I'm going to have to watch the tapes."
(on ILB Patrick Onwuasor's growth) "He has a large role on the defense. He plays a lot on the defense. He's competing the same way Kamalei [Correa] is competing. We'll look at the tapes and see all the details, but that play was a huge play. We want to have guys that make plays that count the most. On the sideline, I heard [Terrell] Suggs say, 'We need someone to step up and make a play.' That's what has to happen in those situations and in these types of games, and 'Peanut' [Patrick Onwuasor] came up with the big play."
(on the play of CB Jaylen Hill) "I think he has come up with plays – guys try to find a way to make plays. That's important, and he did it in college. I remember watching him in college – his stats and his tape – and he did just that. To see it translate to this level in preseason is a big plus. I'm happy with him. He's a guy that we have to continue to work with on his technique and the details of the game. He's a young guy, just like any other young player, but he has come up with a big play every game so far."
(on if the versatility of DL/FB Patrick Ricard leaves space for an additional player on the 53-man roster) "Sure, that's what we'll have to figure out. We don't have that set in stone. When you find a guy that can do more than one thing within the defense, that's a plus. But, when you have a guy that can play on both sides of the ball and is a blocker, that's kind of rare. He has done well so far, and I can't wait to see the tape. I thought he had a couple good blocks."
(on QB Josh Woodrum's performance tonight) "Ryan [Mallett] has gotten a lot of reps in the preseason. Ryan played really well tonight, we just decided we wanted to see [Woodrum] play a little earlier. I thought because [Woodrum] had been doing so well recently – today he did OK. He made a few plays, scrambled, and made a few throws. He had a ball or two drop, so he's progressing well."
(on if the starting offensive line will play at New Orleans in Week 4) "We'll go with the traditional way of handling it. We haven't played our front line guys in maybe nine years, so we're not going to do it now. Our guys need to get ready for Cincinnati. Our guys need to get ready to play the Bengals. But, we do have players that will make the team that will be playing in the game against the Saints. They won't necessarily be starters, but there will be guys that are going to be role players for us, special teams starters for us, and guys who are battling for spots on the team. There are going to be a lot of tough decisions that we're going to have to make very soon. This game is going to be a big game, in terms of opportunities for guys to make the team. The other part of it is that we want to win. No matter what anyone says about it, we want to be 4-0 in the preseason, and we want to win on the road."
(on if QB Joe Flacco will practice this week) "He will be back for the Bengals game. I promise you that."
ILB Patrick Onwuasor
(on his forced fumble and fumble recovery) "Willie Henry held him up for me, and I just came and finished it off throughout the game. I was just frustrated, because I was missing tackles. I know that was one of Coach Harbaugh's points of emphasis going into this game. Coach Wink [Martindale] wanted to take me out in the third quarter, but I told him to leave me in so that I could play the rest of the game because I wanted to do better with my tackling. At the end of the game, everything came together."
(on the Ravens' aggressive defensive mentality) "That's what our defense is about. That's our mentality. Three-and-outs is what Coach Harbaugh stressed in practice this week – the linebackers coming downhill and everyone playing fast and physical."
(on the Ravens' defense feeding off of each other) "KC [Kamalei Correa] is doing a great job. He comes to the sidelines and he lets me know what's going on out there. Sometimes we play together, and it's great for us."
(on competing for a starting job) "I leave that up to the coaches. They're doing a great job of rotating us in. He [Kamalei Correa] could start the game and then have me come in and relieve him. There are no 'twos' on this defense. We're all 'ones.' The coaches expect the same thing from me if I go in and relieve him if he needs a breather. We all help each other out. Everything else is up to the coaches."
(on his strength as a player) "My strengths are that I can cover a tight end, slots, backs and stuff like that. I need to work on coming downhill and getting the big guys off me a little quicker."
OLB Za'Darius Smith
(on the defense's preseason performance) "We have been doing great on defense. We go to work every day and we practice hard. That is the No. 1 thing – everybody gets their reps. I see young guys getting their reps and helping out the defense. The older guys didn't play a lot tonight. Our young guys definitely showed up and made plays. I feel great about our defense."
(on what his focus was tonight) "I wanted to get to the quarterback. I wanted to set the edge – but the main focus was to get to the quarterback. It seems like every week I've been getting to the quarterback right before he gets the ball out. That's an improvement from last year and not getting any sacks. But, this year, getting to the quarterback is a big thing. I want to focus on that, setting the edge, and my tackling and getting sacks."
(on the value of the depth at the outside linebacker position) "We have a lot of guys. We can stay fresh at the outside linebacker position. I can even play inside, sometimes, on third downs, so that's good to help more guys rotate outside. As a defense, up front, we are going to get it every down."
(on the defense's focus moving forward) "We just have to be consistent in what we do. We have a bunch of young guys, and a lot of young guys come with mistakes. But, at the same time, our guys are working on their mistakes in practice. We have a great rotation, and we're going to be great on defense."
(on if he feels like a veteran in the outside linebacker group) "Yes, I feel like that. We still have 'Sizz' [Terrell Suggs] who is a 15-year NFL veteran. I always take advice from him and pass it along to the young guys. I know he still has some years left to play, but I might be the next man up. So, I have to keep working and grinding and helping our young guys."
QB Josh Woodrum
(on getting into the game earlier and finding more playing time) "It's just another opportunity really to get some more playing time, get some more film. It was nice to get in there with the 'ones' a little bit, and kind of get in a groove with them. [Ryan] Mallett runs with the ones all during practice during the week. You kind of notice a little bit of an adjustment period, I guess, whether it's our snap count or how we talk or however it is, but I think once we started getting going, I thought we started to mesh really well."
(on how things got better once he settled in with the offense tonight). "When you practice, I practice with the 'twos' all week, and Ryan [Mallett] goes with the ones, so being a different person, a different voice, a different cadence, whatever it is, there's always going to be some kind of barrier you're going to have to break through or a little buffering area. I mean, I thought once we were able to get through that, we were able to put together a couple of little drives, and I think our biggest thing is we need to sustain some longer drives. I thought that was kind of our biggest problem tonight, is that we weren't able to put together some long drives. We kept getting good field position, but then we kind of would sputter out, we'd have a penalty or something. That's all stuff we can clean up and sharpen up for next week."
(on how playing well in the first two games helped him grow for Game 3) "I think you always want to grow as you go on, whether it's with a practice or with a game or whatever it is – you want to build on it. I always talk to my parents and people that I know about stacking good days. In this league, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. There is no staying the same. So, it's kind of what I'm…about, and always will be, is putting together good days, whether it's consecutive good games or consecutive good practices, just stacking good days on to each other."
K Justin Tucker
(on what he was thinking on the tackle play where he got hurt) "We wanted to cover a ball, so we gave them one to incite a return, and he just kind of split our coverage, and it's my job to make the play and at least force the returner out of bounds. I was doing my best just [to] get my head across and go low and protect myself, and I just got hit in kind of a specific way. Thankfully, I'm good to go, but it's one of those things. If it's preseason, you just want to just do your job and make a play. At the exact same time, you want to be available and ready to go Week 1. I will be. I'm ready to go right now."
(on how scary it was) "I wouldn't say scary. We're all playing a sport that we know what we're getting into. Hits are delivered, and hits are taken. It's just part of the game."
(on if OLB Terrell Suggs had any comments to him this time) "No, not this time."
(on if he'd ever change his approach – or will go in to make the tackle each time) "I think you just ramp it up a little bit when we get into the regular season. I think I've been involved in five or six or -- you can probably count it on two hands – contact plays in the last five years where I've either had to make a tackle or been hit. Some of that's admittedly kind of nice about my position. But at the same time, of those seven…hits I've been involved with, in [the] regular season, both ways it's faster. That's probably the only difference is when you get in the regular season is I'm going in to light somebody up. I'm not just trying to make the tackle. I'm trying to do a little bit more than just that."
(on if this is the first time he wondered if he might have a concussion) "Yes. The good news is we have people that are, it's their job specifically to take care of us as players and make sure that we're healthy and ready to go, and we knocked out everything that we had to quickly and efficiently. I'm thankful for those guys for making it less of a process and more of just like a, 'Let's get you back on the field and ready to go.' At the same time, I'm freaking out down here thinking like, 'Oh, man, I'm going to miss the opportunity to kick a PAT.' Maybe that tells you how neurotic and crazy I can be sometimes. It is what it is. I'm glad to make it out alive."
(on if this hit was worse than the fake FG Super Bowl hit) "We're talking about like apples apples here. I won't pick one. I'll just say a hit is a hit. There's guys out there that put their bodies on the line, not just every single day [but] every single play. When you're involved in a collision that can kind of awaken you just a little bit, it really makes you appreciate, especially me as a kicker, really makes me appreciate just that much more – all my teammates and all the stuff that they go through on a daily basis."
RB Taquan Mizzell
(on how it felt to score his first NFL TD) "It is a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life. Josh [Woodrum] did me a really good job of delivering me the ball, and I just wanted to make a play. First NFL TD, I couldn't be any happier."
(on the importance of being able to be a receiving threat as a running back) "That is huge for me right now. Watching around the league, those pass-catching running backs who can block and also run the ball last in the league for a long time. This is a dream that I have had to play in the NFL since I was eight years old, and I just want to show that I belong."
(on the offense's performance tonight) "I felt like we did solid. They try to key on our run game. Our backs did a good job of making plays when they were presented, and it was enough to win the game. Shout-out to our defense also, they held them to just nine points."
(on his focus moving forward) "One day at a time. My main focus is getting better tomorrow at practice. I'm going to definitely celebrate this for a little while – this is the NFL; this is my dream. But, I just have to finish strong and try to find myself a way to make this roster."
CB Jaylen Hill
(on how he feels about his progress this season) "I feel pretty good. It is more that I need to do and things I need to fix, but I am happy to make plays for my team and put us in a position to win."
(on what it like to see that he can be successful in the NFL) "It just lets you know that everybody has to prove themselves every day. You can't go off the name of somebody or who they are and where they come from. Everybody comes from different situations, but you have to go out there every day, every down and every play. It never stops. Even after this, when we go to New Orleans, I have to prove myself again. It is good that I can make these plays for my team, but you have to prove yourself every down and every play."
(on if proving yourself is the life of an undrafted free agent) "Yes sir. You have to do whatever you can, whether that is playing defense, special teams or offense. Anything that you can do to show the coaches that you can play on this team."
(on how bad he wants to make the Ravens) "I want to really bad."
(on playing in front of Baltimore's fans) "I love to play for them. I give my all every down, every play on this team."
(on if he has done enough to make the Ravens) "I don't know. I don't judge that. I leave that up to the coaches. All I know is I can come out here and do my all."
OLB Matthew Judon
(on how he felt he played tonight) "I think me and [Tyus] Bowser both played well. We both played well, and we're both out there competing. So, I think it's going to come down to a couple of plays that I think we can rotate in there if we're both playing special teams and keeping each other fresh out there. We're going to cause havoc for other teams."
(on getting a leaner body style and if that helps him more in pass rushing or coverage) "In my whole game, man. I leaned out, so I'm more explosive, and my hips are moving better out there in coverage. It just helped me with my all-around game."
(on his thoughts on this year's defense) "We're just going to keep building off of what we're doing this year. We're not going to compare ourselves to last year, and we're not going to look back. What's in the past is in the past, and we're going to keep moving forward and keep stacking games like this."
(on if there is enough room on the field for all the pass rushers the team has now) "We're going to find out when the 53- [man roster] comes out, but whoever is out there, opposing teams are going to have trouble trying to stop all of us."
(on how close the defense has become) "It's a family out there. On the practice field, we're going to fuss, we're going to fight, but in games we're going to get it right, and it helps. It helps when you can just rely and count on the person behind you, knowing he's going to get the job done. Or the person to the left of you, if [Michael] Pierce is to the left of me and knowing he is going to take on the double team and be where he's supposed to be, it really helps. And we're having fun out there, so when one person makes a play, we're all right there celebrating and cheering each other on."
