HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement:"Before we get started, I want to welcome the family of Aaliyah Gonzalez, [a victim of the recent mass shooting in Baltimore's Brooklyn neighborhood] who are here today. I had the chance to talk with them – Aalliyah's mom [and her] amazing kids – what a great family they are, and what a tragedy it was. I just want to say and I know we say this, but we're determined to do the things that we can do [and] partner with their family, our [Ravens] foundation and others to make a difference in these areas that are experiencing trauma and this violence, which has to end. There's no reason for. I just thank them for being here for the love that they have for each other, for the great family that they are, and [for] continuing to be like we all strive to be just like them. I just want to welcome them here and thank them for coming out.
"We have all the kids out here again, and we appreciate that. We had a good practice, and we're excited about the Commanders coming in tomorrow and Wednesday to practice. We're looking forward to it. Ron [Rivera] and I have talked extensively about the practices and the practice schedule and the format and the tempos and all of those things, and we're all on the same page. We're actually going to meet with them tonight. Some of their players are coming up tonight. We'll meet with some of our players and get on the same page with the drills and things like that. That's always helpful; we've done that over the years. We're excited about that part of it, too. We just can't wait to have two productive days against a very good football team, a very well-coached team. We're looking forward to that. So, what questions do you have?"
Is that normal to meet with the players the night before joint practices? _(Jeff Zrebiec) _"Well, we made it normal to meet with them. Sometimes we do it the day of. We're practicing in the morning, so we decided to do it tonight when they come up. They're going to branch off with that group and come over here. I think they wanted to see the setup, too. But it is normal to just try to get together beforehand and build a plan and everybody communicate and try to get the most out of it we can."
How does it feel to have RB J.K. Dobbins back? (Jamison Hensley) "It feels good to have him back here on the field. He's excited. We're all excited. We'll probably ramp him up a little bit this week and work him in there and try to be smart in how we do it, but he'll be fine. He's 100% healthy. He looks good, [and] he's been training hard, so he's ready to go."
Why did today work out to be the day that RB J.K. Dobbins came back? (Childs Walker) "I don't know. It worked out for whatever reasons it worked out. I'm just trying not to look at it too deeply and be grateful."
How is OLB Tyus Bowser progressing, and is it getting to the point where there's concern about him being ready for Week One? (Luke Jones) "It hasn't come to that point. They feel good about it, and it's an agitated knee. It's not really anything to say about it than that. They are being cautious, I will say. They did say today – his knee looked the best that it's looked [when it comes to] swelling, things like that. I know he'll be back for the season, but I know as well as you can know, there's not a serious problem in there. It's just getting right for him to play at his highest level."
We didn't see WR James Proche II out there. Is everything alright with him after Saturday's game? (Cordell Woodland) "Sure. James [Proche II] had a contusion. [It's] kind of hip, back, buttocks-type thing. He could practice tomorrow, maybe, but I don't know if he will. We may just hold him out another day. We had a couple of other things, Tyler [Huntley] has a hamstring tweak, so we'll be cautious with that a for a little while here. We're not going to be in a hurry with that one either. The thing about the hamstring is you don't want to redo it. You don't want to reinjure it. We really have been really cautious with the hamstrings of late, [and] we'll probably continue that trend."
You guys didn't have very many offensive snaps in the first half of Saturday's game. Has this impacted at all how you allocated time for the next game? (Noah Trister) "Not for the practices because they're just set up already. It's kind of even [for] offense and defense. The starters are going to get a lot of reps these next two practices. They didn't play in the game. It probably won't impact it as much as all that. But the other guys want to practice, too, so they'll be out there, and it'll be just kind of what it is."
Going back and watching the film from Saturday's game, was there anything that struck you that you were pleased with and others that weren't so great?_ (Pete Gilbert)_ "Yes, exactly. That's how you always feel, no doubt. The thing that I really appreciated was the aspect of what we'd call 'winning football' which is why I wore the [Winning Football] t-shirt today. I thought our guys understood that, and we played situational football very well. The high-leverage situations we did very well in – the sudden-change situations, the turnovers we created, some of the short-yardage situations – I thought we did really well with, [also] the two-minute [situations] in both ends – both [at] the end of the half. Then, we came out and scored with the first drive [of the second half], which is a big deal around halftime. And then, two-minute at the end of the game and four-minute to finish. Those are all things that have been emphases for us, and that was really why the game was won in the end. It wasn't that we outplayed anybody – we probably didn't. [The Philadelphia Eagles] probably did, because they played very well, but we won the game because of those things."
The team applied a lot of pressure during Saturday's game with four sacks, but there seemed like there were some plays that were not all the way there. Were there any specific adjustments that jumped out to you? (Kevin McNelis) "Yes. I mean, four sacks are pretty good, so we're not complaining about that. But, there were more that were close, and sometimes you don't get there. That's a big, physical, good offensive line. The ball comes out quick with that offense. They got the ball out quick on some seams [routes] and some fades [routes]. I thought that they made good throws and catches on. That was really the bulk of their offense – and quarterback scrambles. They did run the ball a little bit more with the inside zone stuff with their tempo than what we would want to see, so we want to firm that up. But, mostly it's the seams and the fades and the quarterback scrambles is where they got most of their yards."
Where are you expecting the intensity levels to be at during the joint practices with the Washington Commanders? (Cordell Woodland) "Oh, it's going to be an intense practice. There's no doubt, because that's how these guys are. NFL teams always practice very well and very hard, and especially when you go against each other, you want to put your best foot forward. We want to put our best foot forward in every way. We want to put our best foot forward in terms of how we execute, our effort, our attention to detail. We're here for football – we want to get the work done. That's what we'll be focusing on, and that's what we're going to try to do."
The depth at cornerback has been a concern. Are there any updates on some of the injuries at the position? (Brian Wacker) "Yes. Jalyn [Armour-Davis] is really close. Rock [Ya-Sin] is not quite as close as Jalyn, but still close, so pretty soon – maybe to the game [at Washington]."
What is Arthur Maulet's injury status? (Brian Wacker) "Arthur Maulet, again, really close. Same category [as Armour-Davis and Ya-Sin]. Damarion [Williams] is different. Damarion is going to get surgery again on his ankle, unfortunately. It's going to be … It's not going to be a season-ender. It'll be early season – October maybe, something like that, he'll be back. What happened is, the screw in there, it caused the bone to crack a little bit – the screw that was in the surgery – and that's something that does happen sometimes, we were told. So, that's where he's at, unfortunately for him and for us in that sense. We did bring in Tae [Hayes]. You saw that. So, we're excited to get a look at him. He's out here today, and he'll be thrown right into the fire."
Do you think that you'll add any other cornerbacks, or will the signing of Tae Hayes help for right now? _(Jamison Hensley) _"Well, it'll help us out for now and the door is still open – corner and safety. We'll still be looking at guys to see if we could add some help."
Is the greatest concern not having enough guys to practice and play or is it more not getting the chance to evaluate them? (Childs Walker) "Both. You want guys to get the reps and evaluate – we kind of know our guys. There is some evaluation, but also just development. That's really important for guys who miss, but also, you don't want more reps going on. When you have one position get light, then the guys who are practicing take a little more reps than you want them to take, and then they are more at risk. So, we're really conscious of that. That's very important."
