QB Joe Flacco
Q: How frustrating are the penalties?
A: Yeah, we've been running it out for the first six weeks now and there's a couple of times this game where we get down there in a good position and we go backwards instead of forward so it definitely hurts. It's frustrating.
Q: Joe, you had the offense rolling a bit early on – how much do you look back on not being able to add?
A: It's tough, man. You get ahead that early and have our defense getting stops – you've definitely got to score there and make it 17 or more. You know, we had the opportunities to do it, and like I said, a lot of times penalties have been hurting us.
Q: Joe, when you talk about penalties – sometimes people talk about lack of discipline, can you put your finger on it? Because it seems like it's a consistent thing.
A: Yeah it's guys fighting in there, man. I think, you know, we've had some holding calls – and it's guys fighting, trying to block as hard as they can and sometimes it's tough in there. And the other one that we've had is trouble lining up, getting on the ball and stuff like that. It's just a combination of things but you know they both have to stop if we want to be successful.
Q: Now, with three losses in a row, you just have to hang in there?
A: We've been there before, man. It's a tough league. It's a lot of tough games and a long road ahead. We've got to stay as confident as we can and we've got to move forward and just keep our head down – and our division is still up for grabs, and a lot of things are, so we got to keep fighting and do our best to win games.
Q: Joe, I know you don't want to make excuses, but with a lot of backup offensive lineman, how much does that play into some of these penalty troubles?
A: Hey, I mean those guys, like I said, a lot of the time those guys are in there fighting. They're going against good players on the other side, so they want to do their best to open up hole and keep the quarterback clean and, like I said, sometimes you get on the edge and sometimes things happen like that. Having said that – just as I said before, if we want to be successful – if we want to win – we've got to find a way to stop committing them.
Q: Joe, how tough is it when you're very far from being...
A: Hey, you don't think about that stuff while you're out there. You don't really think about it now. There's no real excuses for anything and you can't think about that. Every team is dealing with something every single week, and this week, this is what we had to deal with. A lot of guys were going down and we knew it, we were ready for it, we were prepared, we fought and fought and fought and came up short in the end.
Q: You guys threw the ball down the field today really successfully. I mean it's something you've been missing almost all the entire season.
A: Yeah, I think it got us some penalties, we made some big plays and definitely kick started us a little bit after we were in a little bit of a rut there after the first couple series.
Q: Joe, it seems that week after week it seems like it's always down to the last minute… I mean you guys, especially…
A: I think somebody said it going into this week, it was maybe nineteen weeks that we've been decided by one score or…
Q: Eight points or less.
A: Hey, that's what happens to football teams that go out there and fight, are dealing with a lot of things, and there's times, you know, obviously last year we weren't the best team, but we went out there and gave it our all every time and we're a team that's getting better. We've got a lot of young guys and we've got a lot of guys who are gaining experience in the NFL, so sometimes that's what you've got to deal with. We've got to find a way to win more.
Q: With the offensive changes this week—philosophically—different kind of game plan today?
A: A little bit, yeah, I mean obviously when you change your play caller you have to feel the personality, it's a different guy behind the gun, so things will change a little bit.
Q: Did you feel that today in some sort of positive way?
A: Yeah, I mean, definitely. I think you guys can see it. I think we ran the ball well today, I think we took some shots down the field, I think it paid off for us. We got some PI (pass interference) calls and we hit some, so, it definitely helped out.
Q: Big Mike on that answer, you know, after the score...
A: Yeah that was big. I don't think we ended up getting in there. Did we? Which was big, but that's the one we didn't get in.
Q: That was the fourth down.
A: Did the guy tackle him by his facemask?
Q: Yeah.
A: Is that what happened there?
Q: Yeah, at the five.
A: So maybe if he doesn't get tackled, so good play, good penalty by that guy because end up not getting in. You know, we have to get in there. That was a big four downs and for us not to get in the end zone from the two-yard line or whatever it was, that was really tough.
WR Mike Wallace
Q: You guys got a lot of penalties today. How frustrating is it for those to happen?
A: If we eliminate those penalties, we're like 6-0. We do these every single game. We all have a hand in our offense. It just has to get better. If we take that away, we're in it every single game. We have the ball and they have the ball. But that's 15 penalties today. We just have to get better, myself included. I had a penalty today. That's just our season, honestly. If we clean that up, we're a much, much better football team. We don't have to sit in here and worry about any bad questions. It will be all good questions. We all have a hand in it and we have to eliminate those penalties.
Q: How hard is it to clean that up?
A: On my end, it's easy. It's a matter of being on and off the ball. On the interior, I've never played there before, so I can't speak on that. I know it's a lot tougher in there. There are a lot of grown men in there. But we have the guys to do it and we have the coaches to do it. We just have to use better technique. We'll be better. I know it's three weeks in a row, saying the same thing, but at the end of the day, that's what's killing our season – penalties.
Q: At times we saw what this offense can do, does that give you a positive outlook?
A: Definitely, definitely. We came out early and got it going early. We slowed down in the middle and then we picked it back up in the end. We just have to keep it going. Coach Marty Mornhinweg was doing a great job. He did a great job today. It's just the simple fact that we didn't help him out when we made those penalties. It's kind of hard to call good plays, plays that are really going to be positive, when it's second and 27, second and 30. We can't do it to ourselves, especially when we do it on third downs and we get a first down, like my illegal formation. We get a first down, but it's called back because of the illegal formation. Those are drive killers and morale killers that we can't do. I can't do that. Whoever is getting penalties, none of us should be doing that. It's no more of the same penalties. That's killing us. We make a good play, we come back and it's second and 15. We chop some of that down to third and 2 and then there's another penalty. We're just doing it to ourselves. If you eliminate that, we're a much better football team. We put way too many hours in it. We're there every single day. Our coaches do a really good job of going back and reviewing the plays that we may have gotten penalties. There's nothing more that they can do. We have to take ownership of not taking those penalties and killing our drives and our team.
Q: With the amount of vertical shots you guys took, is this what you had in mind as far as being more aggressive down the field?
A: Most definitely it was a great job. We had two completions: Kamar Aiken's completion on a big fourth down. It wasn't like a bomb downfield shot, but it was an extremely big play. I got a penalty. Breshad Perriman got a penalty. That's four big plays on vertical passes that we have guys who can connect on those as well. That's the type of team we have. We have those type of guys. It's exciting, but at the same time, we have to come in and talk about a loss. It would have been a lot better to talk about those couple plays we had and how to build on it, in a W. But we'll build on it. I think we're so close. We could be the best team in the league or we could be the worst team in the league. It's up to us and stopping these penalties.
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Obviously tough loss, disappointing. Got off to a good start. Didn't extend the lead like we needed to in the 2nd quarter. Gave them seven there at the end of the half, should never happen. Let them back in it. Let them drive the field. Around halftime I think they scored 10 points, right around the two drives at halftime and got themselves back in the game. That was on us defensively. Had a chance at the end obviously and didn't get it in the end zone. Before that, we just made too many mistakes, just way too many. Until we stop setting ourselves back in drives, we're not going to be the offense we can be. I think everybody can see the potential there but you can't be in 1st and 20 and all that stuff.
Q: How is Terrell Suggs?
A: I don't know.
Q: How difficult was it on the secondary when those guys started going down?
A: That's a challenge. Obviously when you have as many injuries, I think we had 44 healthy guys, for this game. And that makes it a challenge but we're certainly capable of not giving up big plays. So, that's the thing, it's not going to be okay. We get the ball thrown over our heads in double moves and all that, we're not going to give long touchdown passes. It's not going to be the case, you're just not going to do it. That's it, that's the bottom line back there. That's your job in the back end at corner, you can't let that happen. We're going to work at it, we're going to look for guys, we're going to teach our guys, we're going to coach our guys. Our guys are going to work hard at it. We have good guys. I believe we have talented guys. We have guys who are fully capable of covering guys out there. We've done it all year. But, we don't have our eyes in the right spot all the time. So I want disciplined guys back there and those are the guys that are going to play going forward.
Q: How key was that when you had four shots at the goal line?
A: You always want to score on the goal line. We're on the 1-yard line, and we expect to be able to score there…touchdown.
Q: You put up almost 400 yards, are you pleased with what the offense did today?
A: I didn't like the mistakes. We set ourselves back way too much…the penalties.
Q: Do you wish you had taken better advantage of opportunities when you had the early lead?
A: Like I said, we didn't extend the lead there in the second quarter like we needed to. That was our opportunity and we put ourselves behind the eight-ball too often. That's where we should have extended the lead, real simple. We had a chance to do that and we didn't do it.
RB Terrance West
Q: You've run well the last three games, but you haven't been able to win those games. Last week you said you'd trade those in for the win. Would you say the same thing again today?
A: For sure. I wish we'd have come up with a win. Status means nothing. I just want to win.
Q: Do you think the offense is on an uptick after today?
A: Yes. You can tell we're getting better. I feel like we were well balanced today and were getting in a groove. Every time we're just one play away to separate us. We have to stop having close games like this.
Q: With that last touchdown, it's third and one on the run and you had to get in. Were you surprised they called the run play?
A: No, I wanted the run. The offensive line did a great job with the push and I saw a little crease and ran in there. I wouldn't let that happen twice where I got to the goal line and not score.
Q: The team is 3-3 now. Everyone else in the division lost. So at least you didn't lose any ground.
A: Yes I guess that's the upside to it. Everyone lost, but we can't keep depending on other teams to lose. It's not going to keep happening and it's not going to go our way all the time.
Q: So what do you do to turn that around?
A: We just have to win. We have to make the plays when we have to and win. That will clear up everything.
Q: Penalties are really hurting this offense right now. What do you think is the issue?
A: I can't really tell you the issue. It's 50-50 penalties sometimes. We just have to stop the penalties. We could be in field goal range and then one penalty pushes us out. I think we missed out on six points because we were backed up. So if we stop that, we have a bigger chance to win.
Q: The timing of the penalties also played a big part too.
A: I feel comfortable with this team. We are a great team. We have weapons all around. We just have to put everything together. I felt like we were well balanced today. We passed the ball, right and we ran the ball, right. We just came up short.
Q: What did you see on the fourth and goal from the one-yard line that you guys weren't able to punch it in?
A: The play was designed to go straight to the pile-on. I wish I could get that one back and plant my foot in the ground and go get it.
S Eric Weddle
Q: How much do the injuries handcuff this team? It's not just regular players, its big name players.
A: Every team goes through it. It's disheartening when you don't have the full guys out there, but we built this team with depth. The back-ups aren't as good as the starters, but they should be able to be in there and play the way we want them to play. It's unfortunate for ourselves. We played outstanding the first half. We talk about never giving up the big play and that's what we've done the first five weeks. It's a reason why we're number one in the league with big plays, with 20 yard plays and 40 yard plays. Today, you can see what happens when the ball goes over our heads. It's not just one guy, it's our whole defense. It's the secondary as a group. We will work on it. We'll get better. It's little things. If you're beat, you're not looking back. You go get to the man. Better angles. Knowing the situations, your leverage. If you're outside and you know the situation, you're probably going to get a slant. Learning from those situations and understanding that it's all of us. It's not just one guy. I look at myself first. How can I get better? How can I get this group of guys to be better? And move forward.
Q: What was your vantage point on that last Beckham touchdown? What happened on that play?
A: We were in man. We had low hole help, post help. It's just a simple combination. The tight end goes to the flat and I got over the top. The corner was behind a little bit. I clipped him. In that situation, you shouldn't be getting inside. One of these outside receivers should be inside. But hey, Odell made some amazing plays out there. You have to credit him. We held him down the first half. We had some guys go down. The guys behind them have to step up. That's why we're here. We play an aggressive style defense with man guys up. We just didn't get it done.
Q: Your team has lost three straight now. You're 3-3, but Pittsburgh is only one game ahead. Factoring in the injuries, where do you see this team right now after three losses?
A: We're a .500 team. We're 3-3. We're 3-3 in tight games. We've won some, we've lost some. You could easily say we could be 5-1, 6-0; or 1-5, 0-6. The biggest thing for us, as an older guy, you don't waver. I'm not going to come in and be all mad and get pissed off at my teammates. It's a long season. It's about being consistent. It's about understanding the details, the little things. It's about taking care of yourself and taking care of your job first. Don't try to do more than you're supposed to do within the defense. Play for each other. I believe in this team, the organization, the coaches. We're just in a rough patch right now. It's just going to take one game to get us over the hump of playing a complete game in all three phases. I thought special teams was outstanding today. Our punting was incredible, giving us long fields to deal with as a defense. Our kickoff team, that was a definitely a positive the last few weeks. There's always room for improvement. The biggest thing for us is, we're 3-3 and everything is right there for us. But, if we don't take advantage of the situation and look at yourself first, you're going to waste this opportunity. You want to be playing your best ball in November, December leading into the playoffs. That's what we expect to do.
Q: Is it frustrating to get all those penalties?
A: Yes, it is. You're in field goal range and you get a penalty and another penalty. You look at it and it's 3rd and 27. How are you going to be successful doing that? Those penalties have killed us in our three-game losing streak. They really have. Coach preaches every day, 'We don't play dumb football.' We talk about it. We play smart, tough, Ravens football. When we don't do those things, look what happens. You kill drives. You take points off the board. When you're in a close game like this, those are the little things that compound and put you in a situation where you have three shots at the end zone and instead of taking a knee to win the game, you're in a situation where there's a Hail Mary toss it up and you're trying to win that way. Those are the things that kill you. It adds up at the end of the game.
Q: You made it one-dimensional. You held them to 30 yards rushing. A lot of times when you do that, it translates to better pass coverage. Was it more the injuries?
A: You have to play tight coverage. You have to tackle. You give up a double for a touchdown. You give up another fade route when you're in perfect coverage or another 65 yards. That's 104 yards right there out of 400. Then you get a slant and two missed tackles for another 65 yards. That's over 200 yards of 400 out of 50-something passes. Big plays always kill you. We say it every day. We've been a great tackling team. I thought we were in it for the majority of the game. When you miss a tackle or are out of position in a quick passing game like this, it can kill you. That's what happened. We'll get better from this. You learn from your mistakes and get better.
OLB Terrell Suggs
A: It's just so disappointing because you play so hard, but good teams don't make the same mistakes twice. Good teams make different mistakes. You don't want their offense to take the lead at the end. Excuse me, what was it a 75-yard slant. It's just very frustrating man. You don't want to lose a game like that. Then to put it on your offense to try to drive the length of the field again. Especially with the issues they have been dealing with. It's very frustrating. Got to go back to work.
Q: How difficult was it? I mean you guys had so many people out before the game and then you lose Jimmy (Smith). It has to be challenging.
A: It is and there's no other word for it. You know, that's why it's the NFL. You know it's a 100% injury rate. Guys just go out there. You've just got to be a competitor. I'm not going to be the one to cost my team. That's in between and playing across. You know what I'm saying? We've all got to take a look at ourselves and see what we could do better so we could stop losing these games. This is very unfortunate. Very unfortunate, but this isn't a death sentence. Started out 3 and 0 and now were 3 and 3. We're just not playing very good football. Until we start playing better football, the results aren't going to change. We can't hear the same things and expect different results.
Q: Terrell, how are you feeling after this game?
A: I'm all right. You know what I'm saying? I mean, I'm not a doctor but we'll get everything looked at before we find out what the diagnosis is and go from there.
Q: Is it in your left arm?
A: Yeah, it's the left arm. Like I said, I'm not a doctor but we will have our doctors look at it and go from there. Whatever it is, you know who I am, and you know what I represent so it's whatever.
Q: What's the solution for getting the pass rush going? I mean was the ball just coming out quick or do you guys just need to blitz more?
A: Well you know, Eli has been doing a great job all year at getting the ball out and I don't think there's anything wrong with the pass rush. I mean that's what your job is, to kind of find faults. Some hope it's the pass rush but I think we're doing a good job there. I think we're doing a good job stopping the run. We will continue to work.
Q: Sorry if you were already asked this, but is everything ok with the arm?
A: Well I don't know. Like I said I'm not a doctor. You know who I am and what I represent, so we'll get it looked at and make sure everything is all right.
