Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass podcast. The Ravens are getting ready to face off with the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday night at eight pm and a big time a wildcard matchup. As they got ready for that game today, we had a chance to hear from head coach John Harbaugh.
Okay, good, good to see everybody, really appreciate you being here. Good week of practice, had the outside work, had the inside work, We're ready to go. One announcement on the injury front, Zay Flowers is not going to be able to make it to the game this week, so he'll get started again next week and we'll move forward with the guys we have, and we're excited about the guys we have, which is everybody else. Okay, what questions you have?
Yeah, thanks John, matting that work hard with baby again. Do you think it's gonna be more of a collective group effort as kind of affording the targets there to be able.
To catch and things like that.
Oh, absolutely, it's gonna be an opportunity. You know, We'll move guys around, Guys will play spots based on the game plan and and the ball will kind of go where it goes based on the way. Uh, it unfolds in terms of how they play us and kind of you know, take what the defense gives you, kind of an opportunity. So we've got a lot of weapons and uh and Lamarrow distribute that thing the way he sees fit play to play so much. They don't do even the preset oft stuff.
I mean, does it does his absence do you take away anything that's in your get play?
No, We've still got all our place, all the players that we run, guys will be doing them that are we feel our best suited to do the different jobs. And in this game against the opponent we're playing.
How much does it help happen Justice Hill back keeping you know we're still coming back as well.
I think helps a lot. I mean, you know, Justice as an experienced player, Uh, he's been in these games before. He's really vers stile in terms of what he can do skill set wise. I mean, he can take some of those jobs you're talking about that Zay does. He can see in the backfield he's out of the backfield. You can put two backs back there. It just gives you a lot of options with Justice.
Obviously, this is a big time of the year. A big game of what's kind of Zay's mentality right now, knowing that he will missed his game time.
He's locked in on his rehab. I mean, he's locked in. Every time I walk in there, he's in there working on it. And we'll see how it looks next week.
Jem, We've got you about the offensive line a lot throughout, you know, even going back to the offseason. But you've been able to start the same five since I think it's week four and last week. But carry that, I think that's about the only time anyone had missed because of hell. How valuable has it been to build that continuity, to build that cohesiveness when you're now entering that second seam.
Very valuable.
Yeah, it's important in every position. You know, it's important in football. It's an eleven it's an eleven player sport. I mean, there's a lot of moving parts there, and it's always it's always about being cohesive and being on the same page and timing and I mean those line blocks in there, combination blocks, the communication part of it. You know, that's something that really builds up over time.
And we work the other guys in too, in case and those guys, but those guys haven't a chance to work together all season, you know, and it was a new group, as you know. So I think that's been really really a big part of the success there.
Quick how you're going about the weather in the atmosphere?
It comes Saturday, and now even.
Get yeah excited about the I'm I'm more excited about the atmosphere than the weather personally. But uh, you know, I think the the weather major aft of the atmosphere a little bit too. You know, it's gonna be it's just gonna be great, a great environment. I expect our fans to be how they are, you know there. They'll be into it, they'll be fired up. It's gonna be a night game. It's gonna be cold. Uh, it's gonna be dark, and our our team is gonna, you know,
try to play lights out. You know, we're gonna try to play the kind of football that we're capable of playing. But uh, I think our fans will be there to to help us and support us and and be loud when they're supposed to be loud. I'm quite sure you've.
Been doing this a long time. You've been to play on plenty of times. I mean, do you do you do your emotions change? How to going into the playoffs understanding it's winna go hometown. How do you take the new scene?
Yeah, it's uh, it's uh. You have done this for a long time. You know, a lot of playoff games here, a lot of playoff games. As an assistant coach twenty seven years now, been to the playoffs most all those years, you know, And is it is exciting? I mean, and I'm still I'm so fired up. It's just it's the most exciting thing in the world to be a part of the NFL playoffs. It's the most it's the most exciting thing in the world. To take that field with an NFL team, with a bunch of guys as you love.
You love how committed there, you love how much they work, how determined dedicated they are, that are gonna just lay it all out there. You know, whatever happens happens, and it's tough to win. You're playing the best teams. One game deal. It's not a seven game series. You know, you don't you don't have a chance to come back to next you got to it's a it might be a seven series game, you know, that's what it might be.
You know, you've got to find a way to make the most of every series in that game and and try to find a way to win the game and figure it out as you go within the game. So yeah, it's great, it's it's awesome players as you kind of businesslike could lose when we've been around the I mean, do you like what you're feeling from them?
I do.
I see the same thing. I see exactly that childs. I mean, they're ready to go, They've worked hard, they've it's not you know, it's we don't look at like a new season. We look at like an extension of the season. It's we are who we are based on what we've done and how hard we've worked, and we want to keep building on that. Play our best football right now.
What was the focus for you guys in today's practice.
I think we were maybe expected to go outside and see you guys practicing there.
Yeah, when we were outside the first two days, you know, and we got all of our fast work out there, all of our timing. You know, you do get used to, you know, throwing and catching in the cold, the wind, blowing the ball around, those kind of things, you know, bumping into each other, as much as we can and practice in the cold. But today was an execution day.
Day.
Today was a mental sweat, you know, we like to call it sometimes, and we were chasing perfect technique, perfect communication, perfect execution.
Today, turn over, marketing.
Focus, playoff in general.
Had to go about the builds without number one.
Well, yeah, I think what you said, the last part of it right there was probably the key thing technique sound. You know, just focus on technique sound and keep it simple. H You know, I've heard it stated by a former Pittsburgh Steelers coach that greatness is doing the ordinary things
better than everybody else. And doing the ordinary things is the techniques in football, you know, doing the football stuff, the self evident truths, you know, whether it's you know, ball handling or throwing and catching, exchanging, defensively, tackling, punching balls out, things like that that that relate to ball security or takeaways. And that's it's important in every game, and it's critically important in the playoffs for sure, and I'm sure they'll be locked in for it and we'll
be locked in for it too. And which every team does a better job with that, it's going to have a better chance to win the game.
What's the meaning behind the T shirt?
They're good good good if you look it up. Jocko Willink I think is the author of it. But the idea basically is, you have a tough situation, good, you know, opportunity to become tougher. You know, you have a disappointment or set back, good, opportunity to get better, prove yourself. You know, every situation you face is an opportunity. And you know, if you can say good, that's good because you're still breathing. You may still be bleeding, but you're
still bleeding and that's good. So that's kind of what we've had that along with one and oh, have been two things that we've been focusing on throughout.
John.
Do you guys have any players or staff affected by the buyers over in LA I'm not sure. You know, my brother and his family are about ten miles south of it right now, so I know our family does. We have a lot of friends over there obviously with the chargers. So hopefully that thing gets contained. Hopefully they find some water to contain it. With what I read
they didn't have water, what a for shure. So our prayers will be with them for sure, and if they get that contained, a lot of people have lost a lot unfortunately. But thanks for bringing that up. All good, All right, thanks.
As Hardball mentioned, wide receiver Zay Flowers is out for this game, which means that there's gonna be more on the plate Overshot Bateman. Bateman talk with reporters today in the locker room after practice.
Like you said, they's not gonna play, but you've had a great v Are you just how excited are you to get into this game? I'm definitely excited.
A lot of work is going in to getting us to this joint. You definitely hate Isay's not gonna figure out that with us, but I trust that I've got to make the job doing it.
That's all good. A fortune.
Hey, what stands out to you about what we need to you to be successful in the play games?
Uh?
Just be myself. Don't go out there and do anything that I haven't done, or try to be anything that's strict. Just be myself and make place. Obviously you hate to see the t not be out there.
Uh, to sure meet your job talk, but is there part of you that relss an opportunity to be you.
Know, more targets mot walls and pack that sort of stuff.
The situation that we have on our hands doesn't It doesn't change anything about me and my role and what I gotta do.
My job is squaw to make players. Nobody know who's on the field.
So it might look a little different as far as where I'm at and different things, but overall.
We got a football games and playing I gotta go, you know, playball.
We also heard from running back Justice Hill, who's expected to be back in the lineup after missing the last two games.
I'm I think we are capable of making plays, and so I think anybody that goes out there more than confident first in themselves, and the coaches are confident in them making the plays too. So obviously as the big losses a special player and hopefully it heals up really soon that we can get him back here before end of a run. But cool, yeah, man, we all step up and make place.
This is just how you're you to get back on the field.
Yeah, I'm ready to play.
Man.
It's a playoff game at Pittsburgh, so uh, I'm I'm excited.
What what do you we do you like?
What do you take past playoff experiences and how does that have help.
This team moving forward.
Uh, I think for me, it's just another game. Just go out there just like it's a practice and training camp, and uh just just be be in a moment for real. Just make plays and do what you always do them then make make the moment bigger than what it really is. And so uh, I think that's the thing for all of us, Uh, especially now that we've been uh to playoff games and uh we've seen both sides of it. Uh, I think we just going there levelhead and just go and go play.
Oh what do you think it's gonna be?
Saturday nights to the stadium.
But hopefully Uh no, the weather don't scare to me people all, but I think it's gonna be regardless.
Man.
You know Baltimore fans, especially with this game being who it is against, uh, they gonna be out showing out.
So when you haven't played for for that long, is there anything you do different to your extra to kind of get back into that into that.
Mode of like when you were playing with I mean I mean that long. It was only a week and so I mean we played two games, but it was short weeks and all that stuff. But uh, I mean it's football. I mean it's like riding the bike. I mean you can go all year it out playing and you can come back and know what to do. So I don't think being out is gonna affect me much at all. I'm just ready to get back out there and play.
We also heard from linebacker A Dafe away.
Just to play hard, compete, and you know it just one one of four, you know, just to get to the big one.
So let me see right now, when you watch Pittsburgh's offense, obviously not a lot of points but on score, but I'm sure you'll find things that still makes them dangerous.
What do I see? Yeah, I mean any offense, the NFL offense, so they can make anything happen. But you know, they try to make a lot of big chunk plays where we just kind of stop those. I like our defensive line against you know what they do. So just gonna go out there and compete.
Coming on with your first double digit sack season, where's your confidence level going into this playoff?
Very confident if I try to take that into every game, just trying to make a play out there. Feel like you make your name out in the playoff games and and what what better game to make it against the Steelers, you know, so yeah, very excited.
Your Zio talked about being air for can't you see both quarterbacks, you know, and justin field to play Repster. How does it affect things?
They sprintle it and both quarterbacks, it's a little bit.
Uh.
I feel like both of them, they're kind of the same but a little different.
You know.
Uh, Justice is gonna run a little bit more, so we gotta, you know, we gotta be more disciplined in how we play. Let's play action run uh run type downs.
Uh.
You know, Russ sees more of the vets, so he's gonna take more of the chances. I feel like, so we gotta play those on this too. But I feel like both of them can get after so it's gonna be the same.
You're listening to the Ravens Press Past podcast. Kickoff on Saturday is at eight pm. That game is going to be at Empty Bank Stadium. You can get a limited number of tickets that we just dropped earlier today, some great lower level seats available. Those are available today by visiting Baltimore Ravens dot com slash tickets or by going to seat Geek we'll see us Saturday at the Bank for this matchup. Thanks for listening, and we'll be back with you after that game against the Steelers.