HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "OK, good to see everybody. [I ] sure appreciate you being here. Good tough practice – pads – very physical practice. Guys stepped up and we had a lot of good work done. What questions do you have?"
We heard about the news about offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris. Can you talk about his impact on the team and what he does here? (Jamison Hensley)" Yes, 'Joe D.' – Joe D'Alessandris – we love 'Joe D.'; and he had a surgery earlier in the summer, and it came back a little bit – some complications have arisen from it, so he's in the hospital right now, and he'll be focusing on his health for the next significant period of time. It's a blow; it's a blow; because he's a great football coach – he's beloved by the players [and] by the coaches. He's [also] a top game planner [and] a top coach. He's a huge part of our offense and he's going to be missed very much –but we're going to be much more concerned about his health, and his welfare and his wellbeing going forward. He has his daughters with him – his daughters have been amazing all summer – they're the absolute best. I know he cherishes those girls, so it's going to be OK. And then we're bringing in George Warhop [to coach the offensive line]. George Warhop's a guy – actually, we played against each other in college. He was at Cincinnati, [and] I was at Miami [of Ohio] – the oldest rivalry west of the Allegheny mountains; it's about 130 years old – that's pretty old, right? And [it's a] continuous rivalry played every year – the Victory Bell was always at stake. They won two [games], [and] we won two [games]. I can tell you, I remember George very well as a player – he does not remember me. He didn't notice me out there, but I noticed him. He was a great player, [and] he's been a great coach in this league, and we're very fortunate and blessed to have him come aboard."
We saw the Ravens statement about TE Mark Andrews. How is he feeling and what else can you say about that? (Bo Smolka)"[Mark Andrews is] feeling good. What I would say about that, I would say wear your seatbelts. Mark wore his seatbelt, and that was an accident that happened, and it was pretty significant, I believe, and he came out of it with nothing – nothing at all – not a scrape. So, wear your seatbelts and we're thankful to God for that, for him coming out of that safe, and for God protecting him in that circumstance."
S Kyle Hamilton comes back from the injury. He had an interception today; not missing a beat. How good is it to have him back here? (Todd Karpovich)"It's great; it's great to have [Kyle Hamilton] back playing great. I mean what a resilient guy – what a leader; a leader by example; a leader by every way. But he's had two great practices since that."
We saw you had a long chat there with Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. What did you guys talk about? (Bo Smolka)"We were talking about the suicide squeeze; hit-and-run – had a little hit-and-run in there. We were talking about our teams, really. I kind of had some questions about his team [the Orioles] and [Brandon Hyde] had some questions about my team – and maybe some things that were coming up with his team. I had no advice for him; some things up with our team. That's kind of how it works. He's a joy to watch. I have so much respect for Brandon – I think he's a great coach – a great skipper. What a job they've done; the team's so exciting. Having those guys here [at practice] – they were right there behind – we got them right up there behind [the line of scrimmage] with the players. They were 15 yards away from the play, and I think they were really enjoying it; just like our guys would like to be right on the dugout rail if you could be. So, it's pretty cool having those guys here."
We saw former NFL coach Steve Wilks on the sideline today. Can you talk to us about your relationship with him? (Nikhil Mehta)"Steve [Wilks] was another guy [who] wanted to come visit practice. Steve [is] visiting certain teams here during training camp, and like coaches do, coaches like to get out and they like to learn – they like to research. And Steve is another coach we have tremendous respect for. He's been a guy that we've known for a long time, and having him here and picking his brain a little bit – that was really cool, too."
With the game on Saturday, is it kind of going to be the same philosophy for your starters, especially for someone like QB Lamar Jackson? Or will you get any core guys out there? (Morgan Adsit) "It's going to be [a] case-by-case [basis], for sure, but it will be in the same direction as last time."
Will QB Lamar Jackson play? (Morgan Adsit) (Laughter) "No. Lamar [Jackson] is not going to play."
TE Mark Andrews is not injured. I think you said in the statement that you expect him back in a few days. Is that still kind of the plan? (Jamison Hensley) "Mark [Andrews] is a guy – he's played for a long time, [and] there's always going to be the bumps and bruises and things like that. He's a definitely a guy that we watch closely. We watch those guys. We watch Roquan [Smith] closely; those guys that have played for a while, we watch them closely. You'll see some guys will come out and not have as many reps in a day – things like that. So, we're always watching those guys closely."
There have been so few headlines throughout camp. It's been kind of a quiet, good, solid training camp, and then you hear about offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris and TE Mark Andrews got in the accident. Does it feel like a day where you have to get together and talk to everyone, just to kind of be together a little more, and talk about what's important? (Pete Gilbert) "I think we talk about it every night. We have a team meeting every night. [We have] offense and defensive meetings [in the] morning and night, and I think we're talking about everything we need to talk about every day, and so much of it is, getting good at what we do in football – communicating and being on the same page with our football [team]. I don't have to say much to these guys about taking care of themselves, because they do. They get their rest. They take care of their bodies. They come in ready to go to work, and they come to work ready to work, and you see that by the way they work. I'm just proud of them. They're making the most of this training camp for sure, they really are, and let's see where it takes us."
What does it do bringing in a guy to coach the O-line, not just in the middle of training camp, but in the middle of the battles on the offensive line? (Giana Han) "Yes. It's an interesting dilemma for sure. It's definitely not something I've ever been associated with. I would just say, by the grace of God, George Warhop is available. [He's] a guy that we've known for many years, and respected. [He's] someone who Todd [Monken] has worked with in the past, in Tampa Bay. Other coaches have known him and worked with him on our staff. He doesn't know our system per se in terms of our terminology, but he can learn that very quickly, but he knows our techniques. He knows the style, the way we're running the plays, the principles of the plays – he knows all of that stuff. He's an experienced coach and that knows that stuff inside and out, so he'll step right in, and he'll start working with those guys right away. And I'll say this, [assistant offensive line coach] Travelle Wharton has been doing a great job, too. He's played all of those years, he brings that player/coach experience, and he's done a good job in the interim, and he'll continue to do a great job. [Run game coordinator] Travis Switzer has done a great job as well. We're happy with all of our coaches."
Is that going to be kind of a partnership with assistant offensive line coach Travelle Wharton? Or have you not figured out the hierarchy yet? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes. George [Warhop] will be the offensive line coach, and Travelle [Wharton] will be working with him. They'll be working together that way. [George Warhop] will be the main offensive line coach."
Were you traumatized when you got a call like that about TE Mark Andrews? (Jeff Zrebiec) "No, because the text I got said he was OK. So, it was a text, so maybe that softened it a little bit, and I saw that he was OK. [If] he was OK, I was OK."
