DT Zach Sieler
(Obviously you have a little bit of familiarity with Baltimore having spent some time with them. I guess as you kind of start to do the quick turnaround, what sticks out from that offense with Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman, QB Lamar Jackson, and where do you think they’ve grown the most over the past couple of years?) – “They’re a powerful offense. Coach (Harbaugh) is going to have them running the ball, getting the ball. They’re going to be a hardworking team. They’re not going to be soft. They’re going to really try to take the game in their hands.”
(I know there’s obviously turnover from year to year, but guys like DT Brandon Williams or maybe LB Pernell McPhee, do you have any relationships with those guys still?) – “Yeah there’s a few guys there I still enjoy talking to and seeing them. My first two years were there. It was a great organization and some great guys there.”
(As somebody who has been a part of the Ravens organization, they have what somebody here interviewed as the Ravens DNA in terms of the physical brand of football. How do you get that DNA?) – “They definitely try to make their guys have that when they bring them in and they’re going to try to instill it in them every day, every practice and it’s something they look for. I think it’s something we know going into this week and we know we got to out-physical them.”
(So it’s like a toughness DNA? Like they have to be tough?) – “Mentally tough, physically tough, it’s everything. It’s just as a person.”
(You were talking a lot about your Baltimore days. Obviously you played a lot against them at practice. What do you see form QB Lamar Jackson up close that makes him different?) – “He’s a great quarterback, he’s got some really good quick-twitch as everyone has seen probably by now. We’ve got to control him and help the defense have a great game.”
(I’m a little intrigued about this whole thing about their DNA and their philosophy. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a football coach say I don’t want my team to be physical. Nobody ever says that. So if everybody wants to be physical, how come the Ravens are able to do it no matter who’s lining up for them? What are they doing that other teams aren’t?) – “I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s what they do. We have a very physical team here. I think we do the best to instill that on our players here as well and that’s what we look for here as well.”
(I know it’s been more than about two years but this is going to be the first time you face the Ravens. Any extra, any special motivation for you facing the team that gave up on you back then?) – “I’m thankful for all my time there. I’m thankful for the opportunity they gave me. Learned a lot while I was there but I’m more thankful for Miami and what I’ve been able to do here and what they’ve done for me in teaching me, coaching me and grooming me into the player I am today.”
(Last year, you guys had a lot of success for most of the year defensively. It seems like these last couple of weeks you’ve got back to whatever you guys were doing as far as the blitzes as far as the front. What has changed over the last few weeks for you guys defensively?) – “I think we’re doing a lot of the same things. I think things are finally starting to click. We’re starting to play better as a team. We’re starting to complement each other and that’s what we’ve gotten these last couple of weeks.”
(You guys just defended QB Tyrod Taylor. He’s got some mobility but maybe not the same as QB Lamar Jackson. How many of your keys or your gameplan tendencies can you roll over to defending a guy like Lamar?) – “I think when you have a quarterback like that, there’s a lot of similarities yes. We’re going to have to take this week for what it is, adjust what we need to adjust and go from there.”
WR Jaylen Waddle
(I wanted to ask as you’re halfway through your rookie season, what have you most enjoyed about – I know the wins haven’t come as much as you wanted but what have you enjoyed about this first year in the NFL and where do you think you’ve grown the most?) – “I think I’ve just enjoyed going out there and competing with my team, honestly. Week in and week out, just going out there and competing with the guys that you prepare with is always fun. Obviously, a lot of the outcomes are not what we want but just going out there and competing really.”
(Where do you think you’ve grown the most? Obviously, you’re seeing a lot of different NFL defenses, different defensive backs. Where do you think you’ve improved and grown the most?) – “Truly just being more vocal. Going back to the quarterbacks, coordinators and position coaches, telling them what I see, things like that and how I can help the team.”
(I know you’re close with QB Tua Tagovailoa from the Alabama days. I’m curious how much time you’ve got from QB Jacoby Brissett and how you can quickly get that chemistry with a guy who hasn’t been taking those reps with the ones?) – “I worked with Jacoby a lot when Tua was out earlier in the season. We’ve got some stuff down with Jacoby and he just has been in the league so long it’s kind of easy to prep with him throughout the week. He steps in and gets the job done.”
(Speaking of former Alabama players, I don’t know how much contact you’ve had through the years with CB Marlon Humphrey. I’m curious what kind of contact you’ve had with him and how much are you looking forward to going up against him since he tends to cover the best receivers on the other team?) – “I got to talk to Marlon when we went back for the first Alabama game. Great guy, great player. Overall, he’s just a ball hawk. A great player who’s going to do it all and a good dude, too.”
(How have you seen your role on offense evolve from when you first got here to what it is now?) – “I honestly just do what they ask of me, to be honest, no matter what it is, where it’s at, what down. Just trying to execute when they put me out there.”
(You know QB Tua Tagovailoa well. Do you talk to him when some things like this happen? Like the injury with the ribs earlier or the finger and try to give him any encouragement?) – “Yeah, definitely. I see him every day so we talk – mostly about football, mostly not about football. It goes on and on. (laughter)”
(I saw you smile when you mentioned. I’m curious what’s the most common non-football talk that you talk about?) – “Just anything. I’m not going to lie to about it. We talk about a whole bunch of nothing to be honest.”
C Austin Reiter
(I don’t know if you’ve had much of a chance to look at the Ravens on film yet. I’m hoping you have. I was going to ask you your impressions of them in terms of the physical nature of their game, which is nothing new to anybody it seems?) – “No. I’ve played these guys a handful of times in my tenure in Cleveland and Kansas City. They definitely have a DNA to them. They are a physical defense. They fly around. They’ve got a lot of energy.”
(How do you deal with that? What’s the best way to fight someone who’s pretty much coming for a fight?) – “I think you fight fire with fire. You’ve definitely got to figure out some ways to take away their strengths and play to our strengths. I think you’ve got to bring the fight to them. That’s what I’ve done in the past and had success versus them.”
(You guys had a commitment to the run yesterday. You ran the ball plenty. Why do you feel, in your estimation, you couldn’t get more out of it?) – “I think we just needed to play better, to be honest and frank with you. I think we had a hard time getting to the second level, which had it’s impacts in the run game and making those two-yard runs into four and five-yard runs. I think that was some of the difference there in our run game was getting on the linebackers. They were doing a good job of freeing those guys up and making tackles.”
(Obviously you’re new because you haven’t been here for the full season and you just got elevated into a starting role, but when you have a unit that seems to be struggling just about every week, how much pressure do you guys put on yourselves to fix this for the rest of the team?) – “There’s no excuses around it. We can definitely play better ball as a unit but I think going to work everyday and finding little things each and every day that we can improve on, it’s going to work out in the end in the big picture. I think you’ve just got to keep taking the sludge hammer to the rock and keep chipping away. You’ve got to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
LB Jerome Baker
(How did you feel waking up after the first game back from a knee injury? As you look ahead to Thursday night, what are some of the key coaching points for you guys on defense when you’re facing QB Lamar Jackson?) – “When I woke up today, I felt good I guess. When it comes to the Ravens, they’re a physical team and Lamar is Lamar. He’s been making plays since he got in this league. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us but we’re definitely excited and we’re definitely ready to take on that challenge.”
(On your interception, give me your thought when you see QB Tyrod Taylor approaching the sideline and just casually flips the ball forward? And kudos to you for having the wherewithal and the presence of mind to re-establish yourself back in the field of play. What was going through your mind through that whole thing?) – “So that play, I don’t remember exactly the call or anything but he was rolling out or whatever and was going to the sideline. I kind of relaxed and was like he’s going to throw it away. I could tell he was throwing it away but it wasn’t far enough out of bounds. I was like oh snap, it’s really coming to me. So I got my feet in, caught it and the rest is history. It’s definitely a free one and I’ll take all of those.”
(I hate to bring back bad memories but how long did the last game against Baltimore stick with you? Are you still having nightmares about how that whole afternoon went down?) – “Back in 2019? Yeah, that was a tough one. That was definitely a tough game. But this team is completely different. I always tell the story of back then, I didn’t even know some of the guys I was lined up with. I didn’t know their names. But this team is a lot different. We’re better coached, we have better players. Thursday is definitely going to be a challenge. We’re definitely going to have some fun Thursday.”
(It seems like the last couple of games, and really yesterday, you had a lot of different blitzes and got home a lot more. Has there been anything different as far as what you guys have been able to do as far as different blitzes?) – “I think that’s a credit to our coaching staff. They kind of have that mentality of they’re going to let it all loose. They’ll say let the bullets fly and empty the chamber. That’s a credit to them. They definitely put us in situations to have good blitzes and good disguises and they teach us really well. That’s a credit to all of them. We just execute but at the end of the day, they come in every week and it’s either something new or it’s something we can really expose the offense on. That’s really a credit to all of them.”
(When you are able to get the sacks, pressures and interceptions that you were yesterday, does it feel like a lot of what you guys were doing when you were at your best last year?) – “Yeah it’s definitely fun to get to the quarterback, get interceptions and get sacks. All of that is fun. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to execute that first-down play to get to that third-down special pressure you have. We understand that we can definitely do that. But we definitely have to handle the early downs before we get to all of the exotics and doing all of that. It definitely felt good to get to the quarterback and have turnovers. Definitely happy for that.”
(It seems like the coaches were kind of wondering about your availability when the day began yesterday and you wound up playing 68 out of 69 snaps. Does that surprise you? Did you go into the game thinking you were going to be able to go that far?) – “I don’t go into the game thinking how many snaps I’ll play. I’m one of those guys that when I’m on that field, I just try to do my job and try to do it well. My knee is taking it day by day but it felt good yesterday. Overall, I’m just happy we got the win.”
(Following up on the interception, you re-established yourself and then you still had to tiptoe to make sure you were in bounds, and you’re a linebacker. So where is all of that coming from? Do you have any receiving in your background going back to high school or anything?) – “Yeah, in high school I actually played running back. I was recruited to play running back coming out of high school. Linebacker was really like my second option. I’m really an offensive guy, I guess you could say. But now I play defense. I guess that’s the background of it.”
(Did you change over to defense kind of kicking and screaming or were you open to the change?) – “Nah, I was open to it. I kept getting hurt on offense and I didn’t really like that. I’d rather just hit somebody and dictate when I can hit somebody. Defense definitely worked out for me.”
G/T Austin Jackson
(Obviously it was a tough day for the offensive line group as a whole yesterday. Have you met with Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre yet today? Has he been tough on you guys? Has he been encouraging? What was the tone of the meeting with the offensive linemen today?) – “We haven’t gotten to our meetings yet but I did see him earlier briefly. I’m pretty sure our same philosophy is what it is always – even when we play well there’s still things we can fix. Even when we don’t perform how we want to perform, there’s definitely still a sense of urgency to get better at those things coming from the top down.”
(Did you notice anything that was consistent in why there were so many pressures allowed on Sunday?) – “I guess probably communication. I guess we were on different pages at times. The defense did a good job of freeing up runners.”
(A quick turnaround, how much film have you been able to watch on the Ravens so far and if you can answer, what have you seen from DL Calais Campbell who I’m sure you’ll probably be lined up against a lot being at left guard now?) – “I got to watch a little bit of their film this morning. Like I said earlier, we haven’t met as a whole group yet. One thing I know about them just from watching film is that they definitely like to pressure. They have different third-down fronts that they want to get to, so we will definitely be focused on that. They’re physical. Of course we know that. We’re physical, too. We’ll be on our best A-game for sure for Thursday.”
(I know obviously players are different, coaching staffs are different, but is there maybe familiarity knowing that you go up against a defense in Miami that likes to blitz as well in practice and likes to pressure? Is there any familiarity there that you can use as you prepare on a short week?) – “Yeah, we played against our defense, like you said, all training camp. At this point in my career, I’ve seen a lot of different defenses that are run similar to Baltimore’s. I haven’t played Baltimore yet but like you said earlier, they’re a lot like our defense and we’ve seen that like other defenses.”
S Brandon Jones
(It seems like in the past couple of games, month or so, you and S Jevon Holland have really settled into those starting roles in the defensive secondary. And it seems like you guys have a really good relationship. He said to us that he was talking to you about what he was going to do after he got his first interception. How has that relationship been like with Jevon and how have you guys grown on and off the field?) – “I think our relationship – we have such a good relationship off the field. I think that definitely correlates with how we play on the field. We have a lot of trust for each other. I think it’s really cool to see once we get on the field, there are a lot of instances where we don’t even communicate and we’re still on the same page. I think that’s very rare and just shows you what type of relationship that we have. That has been just because of the relationship that we’ve been able to establish off the field. We have a lot of trust with each other. Yeah, communication has always been on point with us so it’s for sure been really fun just to be out there with him.”
(I apologize if we’ve asked you this before in recent weeks but a series of questions regarding blitzing. First of all, how much of it did you do at Texas? What makes you successful at it? And how much do you enjoy it as opposed to just covering?) – “It was crazy. I was actually thinking about this a couple of days ago because I really didn’t blitz too much at Texas. Most of my blitzes came my senior year when I was playing kind of more of a Star role. It’s cool. I love it, obviously. It kind of really goes with my play style of playing with a high motor, always going 100 percent. I think it definitely benefits me. I really enjoy it, just being able to get a chance to get after the quarterback. Obviously I need to get with some of the d-linemen and work on my swim move, spin and whatever I can to help free me up a little bit more, but it’s been awesome. I’m very thankful and grateful for the opportunity the coaches have given me to be able to blitz and make plays and cause havoc. It’s for sure been a lot of fun.”
(A quick follow up. If you’re called upon to blitz on Thursday, it’s a whole different ballgame and different challenge with a guy as fast and quick as QB Lamar Jackson back there in the pocket. So what’s the biggest challenge there in terms of blitzing but not letting him get outside and go crazy on you guys?) – “The biggest thing is just going to be to keep contain. A guy like that, he’s a playmaker obviously with his feet. It’s going to be hard. He’s fast. He puts people on skates 24/7. Hopefully I’m not in that position where he puts me on skates and I’m on ESPN Top 10 for getting shook. I think the biggest thing is to just keep contain and play our brand of football.”
(It appeared from our vantage point that you guys had QB Tyrod Taylor completely rattled with all of the blitzing yesterday. Could you sense it in looking at him and maybe his mannerisms that you guys were having a major effect on him with all of the blitzing?) – “Not really. Obviously we had a lot of people that were able to hit home on blitzes. I think we had seven or eight people that at least got a hit or caused some type of pressure on him. It’s just the style of our defense. It didn’t surprise me that we were able to execute that because like I said, that’s a big part of our defense. It’s always fun being able to bring pressure from a lot of different places. It’s cool to see for sure.”
(I was hearing you talking about defending QB Lamar Jackson. It seems like there’s maybe a few guys in the league that can make you think about their ability to put you on the bad highlight reel. Maybe RB Derrick Henry is another guy for a different reason. I’m curious how you go about defending a guy like that knowing you have to be aggressive but he can make you look silly even if you’re at your best?) – “That boy is filthy with it. It’s going to be tough obviously. We’re for sure going to have our hands full, like I said, just with his playmaking ability. The biggest – I guess the best way to be able to handle somebody like that is to just trust your training and your technique. You really can’t do too much thinking. I think that’s where he gets a lot of people is he gets them in these one-on-one situations in open field and people are thinking and trying to anticipate what’s going to happen, and that’s kind of where he thrives. I think once we get the opportunity to keep him in the pocket, if we ever get into a situation where we have him one-on-one, you just have to trust your technique, trust your abilities and shoot your shot.”
(I was asking Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer about this a little earlier and he said that QB Michael Vick was the guy that came to mind when he was trying to think of guys that may have a similar running ability. Is there anybody you’ve seen or played against that has anything close to what QB Lamar Jackson has got in open field?) – “Oh yeah, Kyler Murray for sure. Playing him in college and playing him last year when we went out to Arizona. They’re very similar, I think, in just playmaking ability, speed obviously and being able to get in and out of cuts quick. It’s super rare to see somebody that’s quick and also has top end speed. I think that’s something that both of them have and do a really good job, and it’s a part of their game. Like I said, it’s for sure going to be tough but I think it’s going to be fun. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey
(As you reviewed the tape yesterday of the running plays specifically, you had 23 handoffs, 33 yards on those gains. Were there any where you thought that RB Myles Gaskin or Salvon Ahmed could have created more? I know no coach likes to blame everything on one group, but in all candor, were all 23 runs poorly blocked or could either back have gotten a more out of any of them?) – “There is a lot that goes into those. The play call I think we can improve on a few of those decisions. Running inside versus running outside and vice versa or pulling guys. That’s part of it too. I think collectively we’ve got to do a lot better, from not just the line, but the tight ends. Hitting holes if they are there. Like I said, some of those were uphill runs, especially at the end of the game there. I think we definitely got to do a lot better than the performance yesterday.”
(Last week, G/T Jesse Davis said that to establish the running game the way that we want it, we can’t continue gaining one or two yards on first down. How difficult does that make it for you as a play caller, where you want to establish the running game but if you consistently gain nothing or one yard or lose a yard on first down, as you did yesterday, how can you in good conscience keep go back to the running game if it never works?) – “That’s a good question for really any play call. If you don’t get any yards on first down, which happens in the pass, happens in the run, play actions, then it puts you in a little bit more predictable situation. It makes it harder and that’s where you saw some of the rush getting to us too. They did a good job stopping the run too, so give them credit, and making us a little bit one-dimensional.”
(I wanted to ask you a little bit about WR Jaylen Waddle. It looks like he’s had a little bit of an uptick the past couple of weeks playing on the perimeter versus inside. What does that say about his progression as a pro at this point in his career and also what does that help you guys accomplish as an offense when he can be more versatile?) – “When he got here, we had a conversation about the receiver position and not just being a slot. That’s how we look at the tight ends, that’s how we look at a lot of the players whether it’s a back catching the ball out of the backfield. We want to be very capable of playing them inside, playing them outside, using him in motion, shifting him across the formation. As a rookie, to absorb all of that and still be productive in both spots, it’s a credit to him, his preparation and knowing the DBs he’s going against. There is a lot that goes into that. He’s done an excellent job for his first year of taking that information and then going out there and being productive.”
(Could you assess the pass protection? Was there a common thread as to why there was so many pressures allowed?) – “There were some plays that maybe we designed that required the quarterback holding the ball a little longer that I’d like to erase those from the call sheet. Then there are some times we have to do a better job at all positions – the tight end position, the line position. There are some plays that we can get the ball out earlier. There are some route we can run that we shouldn’t be spending time at the top of the route. The protection and the run game – a lot of that looks like it’s one position but I’ll tell you there is a lot of factors that go into the group and that production of run the ball, protecting and getting yards on those plays.”
(You said something that I really wonder about. How much, because of your protection issues, do you have to throw out of this playbook because you guys don’t seem to be able to protect at a respectable rate for either of the quarterbacks?) – “There are some plays and some games where we’re right on and doing a good job and able to hold on to it a little bit longer. Then others, like yesterday, where the ball had to come out of our hands. Those guys did a good job. (Jacob) Martin did a good job coming off of the edge. There were some good rushed by (Maliek) Collins too inside. Those players are good players. We probably could’ve done a little bit more to help the line out. When the game starts becoming how it was yesterday, we’re just trying to get first downs and possess the ball, which overall we ended up having more possession time than them considering the turnover, which really was a phenomenal feat when you look at those numbers. We never want to turn the ball over that many times, but to still lead in possession, I’ll give credit to our defense for getting the ball back.”
(Staying on this theme about handling pressure, the Ravens, especially lately when they’ve gone against the Dolphins, have done a pretty good job of winning the physical battle upfront. How do you handle a team like that, that’s so physical and are there times where you might use finesse to overcome whatever advantage they may have in a physical battle?) – “We’re just getting started on them. We had a little bit last week to get to know them. Now it’s about putting it all together. They are a good defense. They are a good team. They find a way to win. They turn the ball over. They create negative plays. And we’re going to have to improve on that in a short week. There is a lot to that. Obviously our guys have to come in here and be super attentive and try to get ahead win the mental battle today, tomorrow, the next day, and come out and play a game Thursday on a short week against a good team. It’s a big challenge and we know that .Today is a big day for us.”
(What are the differences that you have to keep in mind for calling plays for QB Jacoby Brissett, versus QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “Every quarterback is different and they have their strengths and we don’t want to give everything away as far as how that goes. But under center, in the gun, motions, shifts, alerts, empty, all of that stuff factors into the quarterback’s comfort level. Then being able to put all of that together and make sure that whatever play call is going in, there is a good understanding of all of the different defenses or things that can align defensively for him. He’s got to make a lot of decision from the line of scrimmage – that’s every quarterback. We’ve played them both this year, so the comfort level with the line, the communication with the center. We practiced all week with one center and then early on we end up getting another center in there. That stuff is definitely a lot of factors, and a lot of variables that we need to overcome. Give credit to the guys for battling really honestly for 60 minutes and having some negative plays and overcoming some of those and putting a good end of half drive that ended up being enough.”
(Without getting into the details of what they are and giving out clues, do you have conversations with QB Jacoby Brissett about things he likes better or things you feel like may work for him, that you feel may not work for QB Tua Tagovailoa as much?) – “Yeah and they are at different stages of their career too. Some of those plays that maybe Jacoby has had experience with, maybe Tua hasn’t. And maybe Tua has reps some plays in college that Jacoby hasn’t. Definitely those conversations have to take place before we feel comfortable about calling the play.”
(The offensive line, obviously you guys have struggled all season. Why have there not been more changes made to that unit that aren’t injury related since the performance has not been there?) – “We’re looking at it week to week. We look at it day to day as far as those positions are concerned. Every job is earned in practice each week and by Sunday, we’re putting the group out there we feel best about being able to help us run the ball, protect, throw the ball, catch, at whatever position it is. That’s a day-to-day deal. That’s a part of our culture here as far as competition goes. I think there is a lot on everybody to maintain your position or to win a position. It’s not just the o-line. It’s all of the positions where that takes place.”
(I know that the players on both sides are different – different coaching staffs. Just knowing that the Dolphins defense, and the Ravens defense are kind of built in the same mold in terms of the mentality to blitz and pressure. How much do you think that familiarity will help you in terms of trying to gameplan on a short week?) – “We’ve gone against our defense with a lot of pressure during training camp through now. Sometimes it’s different – the overall scheme. There are a lot of different blitzes that Baltimore runs and we’re going to have to be ready for them. They do a good job of getting in position to cover down after they pressure. They are a good sound defense, they are coached well, they’ve got a lot of talent and they execute and make big plays, whether it’s a negative play in the run game or a sack. You find some quarterbacks really not knowing what side the blitz is coming from and then there is a negative play or a forced ball that maybe shouldn’t be thrown. We’ve got our work cut out for us it’s on all downs. It’s everywhere throughout the field. We’re going to have to move the chains, find ways to get first downs, hold the ball and score touchdowns when we can.”
(Dealing with the differences between QB Jacoby Brissett and QB Tua Tagovailoa got me thinking about the fact this is a short week, and how much that might complicate things for you guys. Are you thinking you are going to have to make the call today or tomorrow, could it go down to gametime like it did yesterday? Everything is so compact this week.) – “The good thing is we knew this was going to be a short week early on in the season. That’s part of the NFL. Those are decisions that need to be made. Sometimes they are a little bit later than others. As a professional, both guys need to be ready. That’s the way we’re going to approach it and we need to do a good job game-planning so that there are not a lot of changes one way or the other. Those guys are both capable of leading us to victories. They both know that. We have a lot of confidence in them and what we put out there here in the next couple of days, next couple of hours, are going to be important for those guys to make good decisions on whether they can execute those plays the way that we’re going to dial them up.”
(I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions about the deep ball and the lack thereof. When you’re trying to create those big chunk plays, what are the elements you have to consider when deciding the call of I’m trying to run a go or I’m trying to run this deep route?) – “Everything is involved with that, as far as what receivers are out there running those. Obviously we’ve had some variety there at that position. We’ve had some injuries. How we’re go to protect it and how many people need to be involved with the protection. Max it up, release quite a few guys. There is a lot that goes into that. I think yesterday we really couldn’t hold on to the ball too long and that’s how the game ended up taking place. We had a couple of sacks really for 10 yards there that we don’t want to have, especially the one when we were in field goal range. Those type of things we’ve got to eliminate. Sometimes it’s better, although it may not be a huge play, to get the ball out of your hands and move the ball that way. There are a lot of factors there and every week we’re going against a good front. The guys here at this level are excellent. They play with great effort, especially Houston and Baltimore. We’ll have to do a good job protecting it to get the ball down field.”
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(I wanted to ask you about a couple of plays sequence at the end of the first half with DE Emmanuel Ogbah and LB Jaelen Phillips. You get a sack from Ogbah and then a pick from LB Jerome Baker. They lined up on the same side of the formation there and ran a couple of games. I was just curious to get your perspective on how that really helps get more pressure on the quarterback with those guys rushing off the same side like that?) – “I think both of them executed well on the play. I think we got a number of guys that we can lineup next to each other. Obviously, we always try to put guys in positions where we feel they can succeed. They executed very well on the play and that’s a credit to Emmanuel and a credit to Jaelen on that play. Obviously, ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker) was able to finish the play for us on one of those. It’s really a credit to the players. They executed very well.”
(I just wanted to hear from you on the challenge of preparing for someone like QB Lamar Jackson on a short week?) – “In fact, they just pulled me out of a meeting. It slipped my mind that I had media today. We’re working hard on that right now and it’s a tremendous challenge. They do a lot offensively. Greg Roman does a great job with those guys. Obviously, Lamar Jackson is an exceptional talent. They’ve got multiple guys that they can go to whether it’s (Marquise) Brown or (Mark) Andrews. They’re heavily targeted guys that have made big plays. We definitely got our work cut out for us and we’re trying to make every minute of every hour count here for our preparation.”
(I’ll stay on that same topic. QB Lamar Jackson just broke the record for 100-yard rushing games for a quarterback. I know we talk sometimes about rushing quarterbacks whether it be Buffalo QB Josh Allen or different guys. I’m curious what makes Lamar’s style of running different than other guys you might defend?) – “I would say one thing that you can see on film there’s sometimes where he should not really keep the ball but he keeps it anyways because guys are in position and he beats them. He’s very elusive, even when you have guys in good position. You have to have real good eye discipline. You have to have the ability to get him on the ground. I would say obviously he’s an exceptional player and at any point in time in the game, whether you have it covered or not, whether you have guys in position or guys out of position, he can make explosive runs. He’s done that over the past couple years, really.”
(Is there anybody you’ve faced in your coaching career that kind of has a skillset like him?) – “I’m trying to think. I’m trying to think, when was (Michael) Vick’s last year?”
(Maybe like 2012?) – “Yeah. I know I’ve seen him on film, I’m not sure we’ve ever played him but I know he was an exceptional runner. Each week you see – I think Kyler Murray is a good runner. I think there’s a lot of guys that are good runners. Josh Allen is a good runner. He’s a different type of runner. Tyrod Taylor, he’s a good runner. Where they all rank, I’m not real sure. Aaron Rodgers, when he first came in league, he was a really good runner. I know his scrambling ability was something that we were always worried about. I think Lamar is an exceptional player and I think, obviously, all the yards he’s accumulated over the past couple of years, you’ll see some really special plays in there. He’s a very good player. We’ve got our hands full this week but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
(I’ll stick on the QB Lamar Jackson questions but not really asking so much about his run ability but what have you seen in the passing game and how much do the run fakes and play actions, what are the teaching points and how much does that stress you on the defense?) – “Well, I think first of all they do a great job with their scheme marrying their play actions with their run game, which is vey extensive, their run game. Obviously, Lamar does a good job of being able to extend plays whether he makes a guy miss or just kind of gets out of the pocket a little bit. He’s able to keep his eyes down the field, he’s got a strong arm, makes good throws and then like I said, there’s been guys that they’ve had there for him that have made some good catches and good plays. It’s not that you’re just defending him in the run. You’ve got to defend their run game, him in the run, you’ve got to defend their pass game and then him in the pass. They make it extremely hard on opponents and like I said, it’s a big challenge for us.”
(What is it about Baltimore’s offensive scheme that’s allowed them to essentially plug and play guys in the backfield? It’s been almost a comedy of errors that the injuries that they’ve dealt with week after week and yet that rushing output still remains the same.) – “I would say – again I’m not in their building so I don’t know what their philosophy is, but what you can see on film is they have tough, physical guys that block well. They have a very good scheme and I think when they get guys in there, and I think there’s a certain type of guy that they’re looking for in that running back position. I think they just kind of fit right into the system, learn it, go and are able to be productive.”
(I wanted to point out you played QB Michael Vick in 2011 and he actually played in that game. So 2011 – I know you’re a historian but it took me a while to look this up – a 38-20 win for the Patriots. To answer your question, with LB Jerome Baker playing injured and coming back, how would you assess his performance? Obviously an interception, but where were you guys in terms of defense, run stopping and things of that nature?) – “I think the first thing that we look at is our guys played hard for 60 minutes and I think we were able to apply some pressure. We’re building on some things. I think we’re getting better at some things. There’s still some things that we need to correct that we’re working hard to do that. It’s always good when we have our players available to us. We would like to play them as much as we can but obviously there is nothing more important than the health of our players. Sometimes you don’t have them available to you but when we do, we try to put those guys in a position that we feel like can help us succeed.”
(If I can follow that up with the safeties and the work that S Brandon Jones and S Jevon Holland are putting in, how much does their specific skillsets open up the playbook or help you become a little bit more creative as a play caller?) – “Yeah, I think both of those guys are both athletic, they’re both physical. I think they got a good instinct for the game. I think they work extremely hard at it and I think the more experience they gain, the better that they are getting. I don’t think anything substitutes experience and I think those guys are doing a good job for us and we’ll ask them to do more, we’ll ask them to continue to get better.”
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I want to ask you about WR Mack Hollins, who I think is a phenomenal gunner. I don’t know if you guys call it that. Everybody is a little bit different. But when he plays on offense, 60 snaps like last week, do you have to dial it back in terms of how much work he has to do on special teams and then when you do that, how does it impact the rest of the unit?) – “Mack, in a great way, he’s a different individual. A lot of guys, yeah when those reps start getting high in the offensive and defensive phases, you do need to dial them back. Mack is a guy that you don’t necessarily need to do that. He’s in phenomenal shape. He takes great care of his body. Really if you try and get him out in some situations, he’s going to fight you on it. We try and be smart. We try and sub him based on exactly what’s going on but he’s one of the few guys that I’ve had that it’s not a must that you get him out and you reduce his role.”
(What is it about certain guys that have that makeup to be a gunner? It’s not everybody.) – “Without a question. It’s such a difficult position to play. Guys really don’t get the credit for what they do based on situations. A lot of time you’ve got to beat two guys even to get started and then you go to be able to outrun two guys and then you’ve got to be able to get in position to make a play. Sometimes there’s even another guy down there. (Mack Hollins) does a great job during the week studying. He’s got a good plan. He understands a lot of the nuances that come with experiencing having done it for a long time. We’re very happy to have him.”
(I know he’s not one of your guys but on the other side of the field, you’ve got a guy like K Justin Tucker who’s done really good things for a long time. I’m curious, do you admire other players that you haven’t coached and what they’ve done? If so, what has Tucker been able to do for so long to be able to do it as well as he has?) – “Yes, I have a great deal of respect for a lot of people in this league. With Justin Tucker, he’s a great example of in this league, class always comes around. Some guys go through lulls in their form and they have a down year or they have a down couple of weeks. He’s a guy that for as long as he’s been in the league, he’s never had that lull. His form has never an issue where he’s had that month where maybe he misses a couple of kicks. He’s been able to be really dang near perfect for his career, which is why he’s the all-time leading field goal kicker in NFL history. Yeah, great deal of respect for him.”
(I was wondering, your playbook is full of wrinkles and different looks that you have opportunities to go to different looks whether it’s the punt game or the field goal game. You’ve talked before about how certain looks they give you dictate your ability to do so. Is there some kind of play in terms of the flow of the game or just how the defense and offense are complementing the special teams as far as when you go to stuff like snapping to the upback or throwing the ball or whatever the case may be, is there some of that involved there too?) – “Oh absolutely. There’s so many different avenues of it when you start putting that stuff together and then calling it is a whole (different) animal. The game dictates a lot of things, down and distance, situation, score. There’s so many things that factor into it. Like anything, I think a lot of teams around the league, you’re always carrying things and looking for opportunities but opportunities can change and they can present themselves positively or negatively based on a lot of factors in the game.”
(I’m curious when you have a team on the other sideline with John Harbaugh, a guy who is a special teams guy in nature that’s risen to a head coach, how do you guys – I don’t know if there is a group of special teams coordinators – but how do you guys look at that role given there’s not a lot of head coaches that have come through the special teams route?) – “Like anything, there’s pride with the job that John’s done. I’ve known John since I was in college. He was a graduate assistant on the staff there. First and foremost, John is a fabulous coach, he’s a fabulous communicator. So him getting that opportunity and being able to run with it and have success obviously, I think if you asked every special teams coordinator in the league, there’s great pride in what John’s been able to do based on his upbringing and his background on really being a special teams coach minus one year in the National Football League, and the fabulous run of success he’s had there in Baltimore.”
(You obviously have two good rookie returner options with WR Jaylen Waddle and S Jevon Holland. At this point, what’s the thinking been for you with using Jevon on punts instead of Jaylen? Is it sort of spread the responsibilities, kickoff and punt between those two? Or is there something else at play?) – “They’re two talented guys that we are trying to get opportunities. How things a lot of the time develop and some of the plan could change things, but we feel like they’re both very good, young players. They’re going through some growing pains as any young player will but we think they’re both really, really talented and both going to be really good players in a lot of areas.”
Head Coach Brian Flores
(On straight handoffs yesterday, removing the one wildcat play and the one run by QB Jacoby Brissett, your backs got 34 yards rushing on 23 carries, which is obviously very poor. When you looked at the tape, was the offensive line simply not creating holes? Was that entirely the problem or were there some runs where RB Myles Gaskin and RB Salvon Ahmed could have achieved more but didn’t?) – “I think you can give a little credit to Houston, I thought they did some good things. Collectively, the o-line, backs, receivers, tight ends need to do a better job of creating more space for the backs to run. The backs got to do a better job of running. Collectively as a group, we just didn’t do enough in the run game to have sustained success in that area and we need to do a better job of that. We’ll talk about that with these guys today. We’re playing against a very good run defense on Thursday. We’re going to turn the page to that and we’re going to have to play a lot better.”
(Did QB Tua Tagovailoa throw today? Do you have any update on his availability for Thursday and is WR Will Fuller out Thursday?) – “Will Fuller will be out on Thursday. Tua has not thrown yet but we will see him a little later.”
(I wanted to ask specifically about the offensive line as you’re kind of halfway through the season and you’ve settled on a five-man line for the past couple of games. Are you pleased with the progress that they’ve made and has there been any thought to maybe giving one of those young guys like G Robert Jones or T Greg Little an opportunity?) – “Yeah, I mean every week we look at the group and evaluate it, but we got to do a better job on the offensive line. We got to coach them better. They’ve got to play better. So we’ll look at areas to improve that unit. Those guys you mentioned, they’re part of those conversations for sure.”
(Do you have an update on OL Greg Mancz?) – “We’re still running some tests. It looks like it’s something that will keep him out this week.”
(When you’re evaluating a player, how important is their ability to stay healthy in making an evaluation and do you believe in the concept when people describe a player as being injury prone or is that something that coaches don’t think about?) – “Availability is a big part of playing in this league and I think that goes without saying. I think our guys, they work hard in the offseason, in-season, nutrition, sleep, strength training. They do everything they can to withstand the rigors of an NFL season and an NFL game. We need as many able bodies as possible to play in this league. Obviously, it plays a role but again, injuries happen in this league. That’s just part of it. I think we all understand that at all positions. Every team is dealing with them and that’s why we spend so much time on the guys who are backups to prepare as if they are going to be in there because oftentimes that ends up being the case.”
(Do you think specifically with QB Tua Tagovailoa, is there a concern – whether he plays this week or doesn’t – is there a concern that you may not get enough of him on the field this season to give a proper evaluation of what he can be for this team moving forward?) – “I think Tua is a tough kid. I think he does everything he can to be out there. He’s had a couple unfortunate injuries this year but when he’s been in there, he’s played well. He’s a tough kid. He wants to be out there and he’s going to do everything he can to he can to get out there.”
(I wanted to ask you about your young safety tandem who have gotten an uptick in pass rush and overall production the last couple of weeks getting after the quarterback. I was just curious to get your take on the value of having safeties who can both come down and show pressure but also flip out and get to the deep part of the field?) – “I think both of those young guys are doing some good things. When you have guys who can play down in the box, play in the deep part of the field, do a good job with disguising – are they blitzing, are they playing in coverage, are they playing in man, is it zone? That gives us some flexibility defensively. I think those guys are improving in those areas every week and it’s helping us.”
(It looked like late last week, just at least based on your comments, that WR Preston Williams was trending as though he might have played yesterday and turns out he was inactive and WR Kirk Merritt got snaps after being elevated from the practice squad. I’m wondering whether you can shed some light on the decision to make Preston inactive and whether you think he might play Thursday night?) – “Preston will play Thursday night.”
(Can you shed some light as to why WR Preston Williams was inactive yesterday?) – “There’s a lot that goes into it as far as things that happen at practice, happen within the building. I expect him to be up on Thursday.”
(Based on your comments that, can we assume that there was a disciplinary issue yesterday?) – “No, it wasn’t a disciplinary issue. We just felt like we wanted to give Kirk (Merritt) – we wanted to elevate him for a number of reasons, the kicking game, offensively. He practiced well last week. That was why he was up.”
(It seems like for years, when you think of the Ravens, you think of how physical they are, especially defensively. What have you seen on film from them, as far as living up to that reputation this year?) – “More of the same. This is a well-coached team, they’re physical, they run the football, they do a good job stopping the run. They play well in the kicking game. Definitely a physical team and we’re going to have to play a physical ballgame, play a disciplined ballgame, if we’re going to have any success.”
(How do you rate your own team in terms of playing physical football?) – “I think we’ve done it in spurts. I think we’ve got to be more consistent across the board. I think we’re certainly capable of playing physical, which we’ve done at time. We just got to do it a lot more.”
(I wanted to ask you about the offensive line play. How would you evaluate it from the Houston game? Obviously it’s been an issue all season, but it seems like there was a ton of pressure against Houston. Also, I needed to get an update on T Greg Little because he hasn’t been active all season. What does he need to do to get into that mix of guys competing for playing time?) – “To answer your first question, we’ve got to do better along the offensive line. We’ve got to do better in the run game. We’ve got to protect better. Our guys understand that. It’s something we put an emphasis on, really on a weekly basis, on a daily basis. We didn’t do a good enough job yesterday. Specific to Greg, Greg has done a good job at practice. He’s been inactive really the entire year. The conversation we had this morning about potentially getting him up and getting him some playing time. We’ll see how that goes this week.”
(I wanted to ask about CB Noah Igbinoghene. For the second straight game, he was active but didn’t play any snaps. I just wanted to ask what was the thinking behind that and has he not shown enough to at least contribute on special teams?) – “Noah has actually done a lot of good things at practice. Obviously we’ve got the two – Byron (Jones) and ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) out there who get the majority of the snaps outside at the corner spot. That’s where we’ve gone defensively. In the kicking game, we just had some other guys we played instead of him. He’s done some good things.”
(Along the same line as T Greg Little, what do you need to see from TE Hunter Long for him to get in a game?) – “Hunter is another guy who is a good young player. It’s been a little bit of a crowded tight end room with (Adam) Shaheen and Mike (Gesicki) and Durham (Smythe) and E Cethan (Carter). He’s been active a couple of games. (He is) somebody who we think is going to be a solid player in this league. Just waiting for his opportunity.”
(When you play a team where you know that they pride themselves on their physicality on a short week, how much do you have to talk to the team – obviously the opponent is high-caliber. But how much do you have to talk to the team about how physical the game is going to be?) – “I think our team understands that. We talk about playing physical every week. You have to do that in this league if you’re going to have any success. They understand that. I think we all understand that Baltimore is a physical team in all three phases. If we’re going to have success in the game, it’s going to start up front. It’s going to start on the offensive line, on the defensive line and really across the board we’re going to have to play a physical ballgame.”
(Ideally you don’t want to burn elevations on a guy who isn’t going to get into the game. LB Vince Biegel did play three special team snaps. You didn’t use him on defense. Was the thinking that you might need him if LB Jerome Baker couldn’t go in terms of changing linebacker positions or was there another reason why he was elevated but didn’t play on defense?) – ‘I think you’re hitting it on the head with Jerome. He went out there and felt good. We had to have a little bit of a backup plan in case he wasn’t able to go. You’re right, you don’t want to burn them. But we were in a little bit of a scenario where the potential for Biegel to play or his snaps to increase with Jerome possibly being a little bit limited, we felt like that was what was best for the team.”
