Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass Podcast. It is Wednesday, January tenth. It's playoff mode here in Baltimore, but the Ravens are playing the waiting game right now. They won't find out their Divisional Round opponent until the weekends, So right now the team is going through a normal week of practice, practicing on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, focusing on themselves and the fundamentals before learning their opponent and getting ready to play that game in the Divisional round.
Today we had a chance to hear from head coach John Harbaugh.
Okay, good to see everybody here. Appreciate you coming out.
It's a great day for football, weddingry plus three frigid conditions out there, and we had a really good practice. Appreciate the guy's energy, the effort, very focused practice and that's what we were looking for today and that's what we'll be looking for the rest of this week through Saturday. So we're off and running and we're going to work well. Questions, Jeh, how did you enjoy your Monday night?
I enjoyed it.
I enjoyed it. Yeah, I especially enjoyed it when they hit those and when they got the scrambled play JJ got to scrambled play out and hit Colston on the crossing route.
Then they scored.
I was really happy about that, but I was really just proud of Jim. I think you know, that team, their faith, the connection they have with one another.
They truly are a family.
I think Jim talked about his football family and his family at home. Those two things are something we talk about here. Being one hundred percent committed to both of those two things will take you far. And that team is kind of epitomizes that. So congratulations to Michigan. Congratulations with my brother John.
You don't get to like kind of take in a game of that magnitude like that as a fan too often. I don't know when the last time was, but like, how different was that experience?
Now?
Fun was it for you?
It was different and fun?
I mean I tell you it was really taken with the crowd. I mean, you know, it was on the sideline for a little while, gad you have a little hugged there, then got up into the stands, was with our family and the stadium was just rock and it was stuffed with people, you know, half and half and really so when Michigan's defense was on the field, their fans were just screaming at the top of their lungs.
It was deafening.
Then when Washington's defense was on the field, their fans were screaming at the top of their lungs and it was deafening. So it was definiting the whole time. There was no break, you know, and they were they were you know, half a stadium was as loud as really any stadium I've been in. It was enclosed, the bands, the students, you know, the whole college thing was was really electric. It was really powerful.
Watch that game. Do you watch it as a fan or does any other them that do you watch as.
A I mean I watch it as as a fan mostly, you know, I can I know what coverages are in, I know it fronts are and I can. I'm looking at that a little bit, you know, and with with some some interest, but more than that, you know, I'm probably you know, just a little nervous, you know, and hoping.
For good outcomes, you know, as a fan. It just like a fan with.
Topped him on the sideline. It looked like he was really locked in and maybe didn't know what was going on.
With whatever.
I think, Yeah, I think, well, it's funny because I've been asked that, you know, and I forget what we talked about, to be honest with you, but but he did kind of he kind of looked up and he went, oh, John, Hey, they might have said you made it.
You know. Uh so, but it was just great. It was well.
What happened was I'd been down there for about five or ten minutes of the game and they were going, he was working, and then the ball came that way and there was a time out, and he was just like ten feet away from me, you know. So I'm like, that's my opportunity, you know, so I rushed it at that point when you see.
Your brother hoisting up the trophy and you see the confetti down and your parents on the field, and you start to kind of envision maybe yourself maybe being there in that same type of spot a couple of weeks.
Of course, like like like any brother or sibling, you know, you you know, your brother gets something you wanted to write, you know, uh and I you do though, I think just from a and Eric had mentioned that too afterwards when we were walking off the field. You're down there, you see the team, hugging give you become a part of the celebration and the confetti and the jubilation and the years, and he just kind of sinks in and it's like, man, you know, I really want to experience
this for our team. I want our team to experience this, you know. And that's that's the big picture. That's the ultimate goal for the season. And then with that back to one day at a time, when play at a time.
Get a tattoo to on our team or at season.
You know, I kind of like I told my wife and daughter, they get first DIBs on the tattoos, probably choices, but a Super Bowl championship would be pretty tempting this team.
Just as soon as the season ended, You've had at least three assistants had had this permission requested from other teams.
Uh, what can you say about that?
And how do you balanced that.
Versus what you're also working on now? Right?
Well, yeah, that's I say.
It's great.
I say I'm really proud of our guys. I think I've said many times I think we have the best coaching staff in the world U And I love our coaches. I love the jobs they do. I think we have a bunch of coaches. They are gonna be coordinators and they're gonna be head coaches. On the staff are gonna be very successful. Uh for a long time. It's just a great staff. So I think any opportunities that they get, you know, I support and I'm excited for them to
have those opportunities. It really doesn't there's really no balance with it at all, though, because everything they do with the interview is set up outside of the work here. So they do their full obligation here throughout the course of the week, and then there's one two. Some guys have three interviews, but that's all done either late at night, later in the evening, or possibly on the weekend if they have some time.
Coach people talk about rest firus rush on rushed. You played seventeen regular season games and practices July. How much RUSS can possibly keep it playing every teens.
Yeah, Yeah, it's it's it's more, it's not really about that.
I don't think. I don't.
I think we're just gonna we're gonna have a great week of practice and try to get better.
In every single area.
Gets sharper.
Uh.
One of the things we talked about was you know, you know, be your own biggest critic, you know, And in terms of being your own biggest critic, and this week and trying to improve in every area you can, you're also your own biggest advocate. So advocate for yourself by being critical of yourself and try to do the best you can to become as good as you can or better this week in terms of making improvement, and then we'll be ready and prepared for what's ahead of us.
Your first impressions with Dalvin Cook and when you got him, you view him as an insurance policy or hey, come on and let start competings.
Let's see, we view him as a very valuable or potential potentially very valuable weapon on our offense. So obviously, I mean Dalvin Cook is is a high pedigree player, highly decorated player, and he's still got talent and ability, and he's smart, he's in great shape, he's in football shape, he's been playing football. Look very good in practice out here today. So I think he's gonna be a you know, valuable part of our team in the playoffs.
Here, do you start to look this week at all as potentially who's your postchase.
Or is that too much coming at you.
And also on that if you do, is it helpful to ones that in you blood where.
You senor Yeah, yes to both questions. I mean, we definitely know that there's the four teams that we could play, and we're all looking at them. You know, we're going back and look at him the people that we played most recently. You know, we have that we've seen more on people we haven't played, like Houston, we haven't played for a while. We've got to obviously get to work on.
But that's kind of what the coaches are doing. We're we're looking at every single possible team we could play and you know, building ideas for those games.
John.
On that note, Joe Placco being the Browns.
This weekend, how do you approach that?
I mean, are you sort of cheering for the man?
Are you?
You know you can separate basic performents from living off for the brown How does that work?
Yeah?
I mean, well, I mean I love Joe, you know, and we've we've texted back and forth a number of times since then. It's been it's been fun. You know, I'm really I'm happy for him and for his family. I'm excited for him, and you know, It really doesn't matter what team, you know, you got someone playing for.
I always say I never never been.
My dad was always a coach, So we we never really were too much fans of teams. We were, especially in football, we were fans of friends and family. You know, That's what we root it for. So Joe's a friend and family to me, So heck, yeah I root for Joe Flacco, But you know, I don't root for the you know, any opponent that we're playing. So it doesn't really matter this week. We'll play whoever, whoever wins. You know,
we're taking on all all comers, so to speak. And then if it comes to that we're playing Joe or and we know a lot of people on other teams too. Whoever you're playing, they become the opponent, you know, and you're trying to defeat the opponent by any means necessary.
Michael Pierce, thatid alluded to you're planning to do a stadium walk through?
Is that?
Is that still the plan for Saturday? And I can't remember for the was something you did the last time you had to buy but kind of what went into maybe.
Maybe doing that.
Yeah, we're gonna have a practice on Saturday at the stadium one o'clock.
It's just it's a practice.
It be the normal practice we would do here. We just actually kind of sat down and talked about and it came up in the conversation, Hey how about we take it to the stadium just to keep a rhythm. We didn't I don't think we practiced on Saturday last time. That was a long time ago, but we didn't really practice on Saturday. But we thought that would kind of put us in more of a rhythm, you know, in terms of the pace of possibly type, you know, as if you were playing a game this weekend.
So some weeks un practice would improve it and take us out. Just what's the practice mentality of this movie? Because you don't have the Ustaria upomu to the COVID.
Team, right, the mentality is to is to have the to do our best, to have our best practice today so that were can be best prepared for when the time comes when our best is going to be required, which is a week from this weekend. So it's really focused on one play and one day at a time. This week, stack up some good days and be the best football team we can be coming out of these four practices going into the preparation that we can.
It's good to know that the four teams that you could potentially play, you played all those teams at some point this season.
Two of them you played twice to this point, right.
Well, it is helpful.
I mean, I think it just most teams are familiar with each other to some degree. You know, like if you haven't played somebody, it's a little tougher. But the fact that we played all four teams, Uh, everybody knows each other.
You know.
It's gonna be about going out there and putting a great game. Playing together, of course, but uh, just playing your best football.
Knowing you're gonna be at home for this first game.
You haven't had that in a while in the postseason.
That agenda, Well, it's gonna be great. I mean, being at home any game is great. We love being at home here and uh, I'm looking forward to.
It, say coach John Harball. We also talk with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is named by the local media here in Baltimore as the team's MVP for the twenty twenty three season.
Going on, everybody, I'm Luke Jones and just wanted to take a brief moment here on behalf of the local media and the Baltimore chapter of the PFWA to announce the Ravens team MVP for the twenty twenty three season. As you might expect, the vote was unanimous. But I know, as much as this individual will say he didn't do it alone, I think it's pretty clear the Ravens wouldn't be in the spot they're in right now as the number one seed heading into the postseason without his spectacular
play over the course of the season. So I have a hunch he might get a few more honors over the course of the next few weeks. But the twenty twenty three Ravens MVP, as voted by the local media is Lamar Jackson.
I gotcha appreciation of that. Thank you' all, honor.
I appreciate you all so much, man, I mean a lot to us, you know, in the community.
So I just want to thank.
Y'all, and I said unanimously, although ask which one of us didn't.
Go for I appreciate that. That's a lot. I mean, it means a lot, man, that's love. I appreciate that.
We'll watch your focus this week.
Just getting better.
You know.
We had a couple of days off, but you know, just getting back in the swing of things, just staying loose, you know, staying prepared for the game, you know next week, that's all, you know, just staying focused on that small things, clean up details and stuff like that.
How you celebrated your birthday, I I just hung out with my family, That's all I did, and I enjoyed it. Yeah, yours.
You've talked about not looking you had, staying zeroed in on the moment. Do you think you're better at that today than you were when you're twenty two twenty three years old?
Yeah? Just just from experience.
Though, that that's why I say I'm better at it now, you know probably. Uh, when I was twenty two, it was like you know what, I'm just go stay locked in. But you twenty two years old, you still got so much to see, you know, even at twenty seven. But just just uh, how how things went before and I'm me seeing different things.
That's what's got me so lazy.
Lockdown about your impressions of Dalvin Cook now teammate awesome?
Uh nine five, four, three or five combination going on, you know, Miami broad conn of Uh, I'm I'm really excited. You know, I was happy about the situation. I was tr I reached out to him, uh before the season, you know, with the little Jets and you know he was signing with Jets or whatever before then. But you know, g God rake some mysterious ways and you know he's head now. So that's that's dope.
Has four playoff comes since you have in the day before.
You started even scouting ahead or is it sort of.
Like, hey, when things shake out and learning that coming just didn't start at the beginning.
Of that problem. Yeah.
Absolutely want things, you know, kick off and we we f see who gonna play. Then I'll just be locking in from now. And I don't wanna just be watching teams, watching film on teams and we're not gonna be playing 'em. I don't want my mom racing and stuff like that, you know, trying to stay locked in on what's going on now.
For more, Michael, after the game, those of us that were here in two thousand nineteen, we remember what happened at we what what can you learn or what can you take away from thinking back to.
That time.
We lost You know, we lost that game.
Man.
We were so young too, you know, we got Ricky receiver a second year first like first full time starting quarterback. We had a couple of vets, but running back with Jong got gus. You know, we had Mark mart was like her, you know, uh uh all pro tight end. Mark Andrews was you know, nipped up like we here. We had guys that was down, but guys was fighting and we was young at the same time.
We wasn't.
We was just starting to get into that situational playoff atmosphere and stuff like that. But I believe we gonna be better now this year, this time around.
Chored since twenty nineteen as a quarterback, what would you say that.
Maturity has looked like for you? How are you different as a quarterback from then?
Besides just.
How am I different now?
Experience, i'm'a say, just just knowing more, you know, just from seeing so much in my my six years, just seeing a lot. I'll see That's where I've grown grown the most.
With Calvin Cook, how m how much impact you think I mean, we'll have two weeks of practice before that pre pre geting playoff game.
How much impact do you think.
You can make it? Uh?
Man, ain't no telling, ain't no, TI ain't no telling, you know with our offense, Uh, the guys who have on offense the officer line we have and him just been a dynamic player.
He is.
This guy's a limit, you know it. It's no limit for that.
I I don't know, you know, I believe he gonna when he gets his opportunity as numbers called, he gonna do what he do, you know, cook up while you're girlfriends.
The line is is getting you know a lot of time to go. Yeah, a number of times just your especially when powerful. How important has that been in in how has that how would you describe it?
Just the relationship and.
That you've had with that you can for that's Uh, it's very important for our guys to do their job.
You know, they sppost to block.
You know, it's not my job to block, drop back, recoveragea and block at the same time, you know. But them just giving me a lot of time to uh read out concepts and read the defenses and get the ball to my guys.
It's it's tremendous, you know.
I feel like that's any quarterbacks dream to just sit back in the pocket and just let things happen develop and just throw strikes. But they I believe they got better throughout the season. You know, guy's going down, you know, just getting healthy at the right time. It's just blocking the tail off. We just need to keep it going.
Maris Sacro Team and VA first Team All Pro by the nfl PA voted by players.
What does that mean to you?
That's uh, a lot.
It means a lot.
You know, respect from my peers.
You know, guys who who I'm who's trying to beat you know, guys trying to beat us, who who were facing you know, weekend week out.
Uh, it means a lot. It's honor.
We saw some of your interview with Tom Brady.
You've been open about, you know, kind of how impressed you've been with him and how you look up to him.
Is there another player.
That you could think of that kind of gets you kind of in that same mode that you get in when you talking to Tom Brady.
MM, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. You know, that's a seventh time Super Bowl when the quarterback right there. You know, nobody beat that, So you know it's like you're gonna be excited talking to Tom Man, you know, try to pick his brain or something like that. So I'm just always excited to speak to him.
You know, he said to you on the podcast that you know, you're one of the reasons that people like watching the NFL, you know, in the way that you play. What does it mean to you when you have you know, the goat saying to you that, you know, showing his respect for you and that he really admires your game.
Yeah, it was an honor. You know, I taught him mac. He was telling me about a clip from high school that went viral. I was like, I wasn't expecting him to say that, you know, so that that let me know you and he's been watching a long time, you know.
Uh, that's just that's just cool.
You know, for Brady to you know, feel that way about me as a player, that that means a lot.
There's a record number of black quarterbacks in the playoffs this year. I'm wondering he sat encouraging to see and to sort of take pride watching a guy maybe like c. J.
Stroud who is a rookie and made it in his first year.
Yeah, that's great to see.
You know, life's you know, life just what just different now, you know, stuff is evolving, Guys are just being great. You know, it's just showing off their true talent. And cz Strode tremendous quarterback. I told him when we played against him earlier this season, the first game of the season, I'm like, bro, you.
You amazing out there.
You know, college not even nothing compared to how he is right now. You know, just from me watching from Afar, he's a great quarterback. And for other quarter black quarterbacks to be playing the playoffs, that's tremendous. You know, hopefully more guys be included. Uh as years gone, I've.
Seen you know, this is your most accurate year in terms of completion percentage.
How much of that do you think is attributable to the footwork development you bet you've kind of put in over the years.
Uh.
I believe everything you know plays his part, you know, just maturity, footwork, studying everything, you know, just trying to be a better player, trying to be a great player at this at this uh high.
Level game you know we're playing. We're just trying to get better at everything.
So I believe that's what's helping me out, you know, with the accuracy and stuff like that.
Uh, Joe Black or are you Finna Tomates?
From playing the playoffs or are you really watching like games and things to get like them club and watch the door.
Oh don't no, if i'm'a watch the game, but I don't watch the film, so.
Yeah, uh, but you know, it's it's it's great to see Joe back playing, you know, back playing, you know, cause I always felt he was elite, you know, just from my rookie y'ar watching him practice, seeing him throw the ball across the field from you know, just flat footed and stuff like that.
I'm like, damn, this guy, he's all mechanic, you know.
But you know, if we if we playing, you know, just hopefully he'll be you know, just showing off the Joe elite then, you know.
But yeah, it'd be great to play against him though.
Ama, how's it this week for you?
Are you?
Are you antsy at all to get to the game or you know, but uh, I gotta you know, I gotta stay locked in on what's you know, what's ahead. And we have nothing to hit right now, you know, we just practicing, trying to get better, you know, for whoever our opponent is next week.
But I'm I'm definitely assy though.
Practicing without an opponent not know him. You know where you are now?
Not if you're.
Mentioned how we kind of sort of said for them this year, how much more like freedom you had at the last Gramma, especially.
In the system.
I wonder like, how did you approach that?
And just like in in the bigger picture, how did you develop the way you see if the way you read a game in word?
Uh, well, it's start of course.
Mark.
You know he already he told me when when he first got here. You know, he texted me actually because I was down to the Florida he was up here. I guess he was telling me, No, know, I'm'm gonna get the kids to the offense. You know it's up, but you have made certain decisions at the line. If you don't like it, you know, put us in a better, better situation. But if you mess up, it's gonna be on you, you know so. And I'm cool with that,
you know, cause I'm I'm seeing the field. I'm I'm seeing the field and I'm out there on the one, you know, gotta make things happen with my teammates and I and I can't give you.
A secret on how I see the game.
You know that, I just give you that.
How did you kind of develop the skills to do you know, some of the jump passes and sidearn throws that the senior make this this year.
Just delivering the baby, you know. I'm just trying to deliver the baby to my guys, you know, that's all.
That's all I'm trying to do. Just get the ball to the to to the playmakers. That's my job.
You know, I'm not tryna.
I can't run a hand it to him, you know, so I gotta try my best to you know, my ability to get the ball to those guys and let them do the rest, you know, just like you know, probably weak to.
The Dolphins game.
I gotta get the ball to those guys and we see, we all seeing what they can do with the ball in their hands. So I just gotta do my job to keep trying to distribute the ball.
At this point, six years into your career.
You you talked to OBJ before he signed, You talked to Dalvin Cook. Yeah, how important is that role for you at this point in your career to be able to recruit guys?
And what is your pitch?
Are you a good Yeah?
Obviously a pretty good recruit.
I don't know because they all right, ob he got Harry, you know, he signed right away, but Dow went to the Jets first. We ended up getting late in the season, so I don't really know how my recruiting game is. Gotta talk to it, gotta talk.
To the.
Local media also votes on the Media Good Guy Award. Now, this award goes to a player who goes above and beyond and his media obligations, provides great quotes and is always available to the local press. And the voters voted for Kyle Hamilton to win that award this year. He talked about the significance of that and also his mindset going into the playoffs.
This vote was way closer, but the Media Good Guy goes to a Ravens player who has gone above and beyond normal media obligations to make himself available all for insight that we can then as media members pass along to fans.
It was a very close vote.
There are a number of players who received votes, which is a reflection of the locker room, but this individual really stood out. It's not always easy to talk to media after a loss of things don't go well during the game, whatever it is, but he made himself available and we very much.
Appreciate it.
The twenty twenty three Ravens Media good guy is Kyle Hamilton.
Thank you, appreciate it, Thank you, Hey, you guys, I appreciate that. It was a surprise to me. I really respect everything that you guys do on daily break basis. It's a grind and people around the world are relying on your information. So you guys have the job to do just like I do. And appreciate you guys.
Thank you. Yeah, think about the what all pro?
It was a it was cool to see for sure. It's something I've dreamed of since I can remember what all being all pro is and you know it's it's it's a dream until it happens. And it's pretty cool to be voted on by my peers, which is my opinion, the most important opinion, and just to be voted by guys who I've looked up to still look up to to this day, and be honored in a group of people who are the best around the league. It's a it's an honor.
How do you feel you feel like you're all the way back now and you wise are still working toward that.
Yeah, I mean I was out there today pretty much full participant, so it was got through, it did well.
Feeling good you approaching these weekend of games or I don't know how regularly you get to.
Watch these football games in general because you're out there.
But how are you going to watch these games if you do at all understand that you can play one of these potential for teams?
Yeah, I mean, I'm not gonna go out of my way to watch the games because I'm sure we'll be watching plenty of them next week. But whoever we end up playing, I mean, it's out of the field. It's I feel like we played a lot of the people still in the playoffs right now, and you know, it's a at the end of the day, nameless faces opponents. We're going to approach every game like we do in the past and how every opponent we approach, so it
doesn't really matter who we play. In my opinion, I think we're just going to prepare for them same way.
God, how do you feel like the veteran players like Lamar, you know, other vets on the team who have been in this situation before, how are they kind of setting the tone about how to approach the playoffs with the bye week?
You know, just how to go about that.
Yeah, I think we've done this.
We've done such a good job of credit to the vets, like you said, of creating somewhat of a playoff atmosphere every week throughout the year, and I feel like it's been somewhat of a seamless transition the past week and not even the past weeks past a couple of days getting to the actual playoffs. And it's a blessing to have this bye week and allow us to be where our feet are and just get our minds right for
the road ahead. But like you said, lamar rokwand everybody who's the leader on this team has done a good job of just intensity ramps up a little more. And it's winter go home at this point, and I know we all don't want to go home right now. We know we have a championship to win.
Is a guy that wasn't on that twenty nineteen team do you feel like a lot of that talk of what happened that year is kind of like overblown because you guys are different to You've been a guy that is here now that wasn't there. Now, how do you feel about the talk of comparing the.
Two years yeah, I mean, it's I can't blame people for talking about it. I wasn't here, so I don't know too much of what happened. But I mean, we were first in the AFC and loss, and that's why all people have to go off right now, besides the ray Lewis every day, so we got to prove ourselves in the moment that we're capable of going on the championship.
What's it likely to see Dalvin Cook? I'm sure it's a guy that you've watched throughout your career. What's like seeing him in practice?
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
I mean, it's it never gets old seeing guys who I've looked up to, like j Davin Clowney, you know, he's a real cool guy, and being able to chop it up with him, Kyle van Noyd, like Odell I mean, and then Dalvin Cook. I mean, I've been watching them dominate since for the State and h It's cool to be on a team where we have a bunch of guys like that who have made their name for themselves around the league, and I can take bits and pieces from them.
In the locker room. Today, we also heard from several players, including defensive lineman Justin Mattabek.
Are you m gonna be included into every single game to see the possibility for yourself?
Are you just gonna love it?
Come to always want to come to me? You know, the games are gonna be everywhere. You know, everybody's gonna be excited for the ball card games and stuff like that. But I'm just gonna I'm gonna let it come to be and just enjoy football. Take uh, carry my body and just you know, just do my thing on the weekend.
So is it helpful that of the four teams that you could see obviously not gonna see two or three just the way it works that you've played them before, you're familiar, especially within your own division. Is that at all helpful or do you think it's just truly kind of new one game season and can can happen.
It's helpful because we played that team before, so we can see things that we've done well in and we can keep adding on to those things and then things we didn't do well uh as well on so we could just go clean up those things in practice. So you know, we've seen him in practice already and in the game, so you know, going on the iPad and just find things out to get better at and we're going to execute out the game.
So we are locked in focused so much around this team. John Harball's even talking about just the tunnel vision and how good you guys are at that that can't be taught. So where does that kind of come from? Just the philosophy of this team and what you've been able to do so far and what you want to do still.
Uh.
I think it's just a good mix with uh young players and like vets and stuff that've been there and done that. Colvin or a guy who's been in the UH the dance three times and one two of them. T Rober is a guy that's very just young and hungry to r and ready to learn. We have guys in the mid like.
Peek, you and I.
You know, we everybody just loves each other.
Everybody is here for.
That one goal and UH, everybody just locked in on the same page, taking one day at a time and joining each other while we're still here. Cause it's a blessing to be in the playoffs. So now we have to take one day at a time and execute and just take it just one game at a time.
As well, thanks, Justine.
Yeah, it was line Justine.
It seems like you really feel like, you know, the opportunities there for the CEA A special group.
What is it that that kind of gives you that feeling?
Uh, just the guys that we have, Uh, you know, obviously starting with Lamar, you know what I'm saying, how the offense has just been playing well, lights out us on defense r uh, starting with Uh, Roquan Kyle's playing is his tail off. Everybody's just playing at a high level. But we just got to take one day at time. Everybody take care of their body. Everybody just enjoy this time while we have it together in the bye week and get and get ready for next week.
Listen, what did you what was practiced like today?
Obviously you're not game planning for a p opponent, but what was practice like today?
Uh?
It was just uh a look of things that we've already seen on the defensive side. I can always speak for at least, you know, like a whole lot like trap schemes, uh, stuff that we've seen versus Steelers even Miami as well. Uh, running to the ball and stuff like that. A getting our conditioning up. So those are things that we really saw today practice.
How beneficially do you think this time is for this team?
I think it's huge.
I think it's huge special guys who are banged up a little bit. Uh, they can get their feet under him, make sure they're taking care of their body. It's good for us as well, just uh cleaning things up. Uh, not having the stress of like worrying about opponent of the weekend instead of just take care of your body and just cleaning things up that we know that we could be better at.
Justin, does it feels strange old to keep a body in January? Or is it just welcome? Just just nice to have a few days office. I'll say more on the welcome side, just nice to have.
You know, Uh, guys were banged up, so it's another great opportunity for them to get better. Just taking a one day at a time and just seeing how your body feels. Because next week we're we're gonna have some other that play and that's when you know everybody's gonna get more locked in. But this week is more relaxed and just where we're just basically just letting it come to.
That was defensive lineman Justin Mattabiue Next up is linebacker Patrick Queen.
How do you what's your approach?
Just come out of practice, get better. Shopping you fundamental, shopping your tools, keep your mind sharp, keep you one up, just you know, staying bann.
I know physically, it's just it's been a long, long year.
How do you feel right now?
And how you know, having a couple of days off and then you know where are you?
Uh?
Just at the point everybody else is around the league right now we all think all hurt, but uh, I didn't, didn't nobody care. So you know I'm doing my best, thinking my body back to a hundred percent. Uh to be ready for the first game.
Do you find the wait the unknown difficult?
Not at all.
I think at the end of the day, whoever come out in the field, they gonna get every piece of me. I'm gonna be out there ten toes down, Uh, ready to go, Ready to go to war. So uh, whenever whoever the opponent may be, Uh, I'll be ready.
Can you watch this weekend or were you just like I al wait til film next week?
Yeah, I'm a choice to watch this weekend, So uh, I'll be sitting there single place. Those two teams are running and tryna figure out how how we can stop it?
H what was it?
What was the focus in practice this week? Obviously you're not game plans, so what was the pro folks out of practice?
Out fundamentals? Uh, getting back uh to what made us us. You know, few things been happening at the end of the season that we don't like, so uh, we were just cleaning up everything that we needed to clean up, uh fundamentally. Uh So that way, the end of the season is ready to come down to the fundamental. Can you still tackle? Can you still get all blocks? Can you still do the small things?
Right now?
Trick, is there really kind of a sense of pride like this week, like you guys earned this week off, Like you guys earned the rest of it.
Do you kind of take advantage of it that way?
Just say, you know, when you k hit the field this week, Hey we earned this.
Yeah, define, you definitely earned it. But uh, I was just talking to somebody earlier about it, like what's the point of you earning?
Their view? Let it go to waste?
So uh, that's that's the biggest thing is while we stay in sharp right now, is just uh staying out on the top of our game. That way, we don't go in next week being slove is being uh rusted or whatever uh people might say about that twenty nineteen run. Uh So, Uh we doing our best to be fuldamention short fundament and sound and everything is to come in and swinging so.
They can hearing him at twenty nineteen what part of that team or uh defense first defense to leave the league and us points most takeaways.
Both sucks and it's a lot honestly.
Uh.
It just shows a lot of hard working dedication that went into all the sacrifices that everybody made and every and it.
Shows that every play counts.
Uh.
So, you know, hats off to every single guy in our room. Hands up to the guys on the offense at the ball for uh being able to put us in a position that we was getting better in.
So you know, just team metform thirteen.
Sorry, the old adage is defense wins championships.
You know.
Along the lines to James's question, do you feel like as you go into the this playoffs that you guys feel that that burden at that responsibility is that.
Because the group definitely, uh cause if you look at the games lately, it's been all uh, last few minutes again scores on people and stuff. So definitely in that situation, your defense got it back against the wall. They gotta get a stop. So you can't put down the offense. You can't put down nobody but yourself that you're on the field.
Uh. You had the opportunities to make those stops, so usually got madeo stops.
Patrick, you made you made reference and passes to two thousand nineteen.
You got here right after that.
And obviously there are on a ton of.
Guys left, but there are plenty of How much does that come up over.
The last few years, not so much dwelling on it, but maybe using that as a learning experience and and and is that coming up now among the guys that.
We're here four years ago?
Uh?
I h I haven't heard it since it happened that time and then now. So we honestly don't even care, honestly about it. Honestly, it's the last thing we thinking about. We don't care about the rest. We won't be sharp this and that you got a rest. We are in the press for reason. But at the same time we understand that we still wanna get fund them in this time. We still know their staying there, we could co recton get better at so the whole focus is just us getting better honestly, gess.
And what is the mentality when you close the door on the regular season, that's the playoff.
Season when you were more intense.
Does it feel different? Most definitely.
Uh.
I'd be lying if I said it didn't. Uh.
It's it's a lot at stake, so you only get one shot. Uh So, that's the biggest thing is that each play matter, each yard matter, each praying of each lay the grass matter. So usually gotta come out for full swinging, full till and just be on top of everything.
Can you take anything from your experience in winning a national championship?
You know?
Uh? In terms of what it takes to to.
Win a championship, Uh, I think the biggest, biggest thing is just having your teammates back. Uh. So could go southways quick and uh you know, they could be point fingers, or it could be uh coaches not seeing out our own thing or players not seeing out their own thing, or whatever it may be. But by the end of the day, as long as everybody stay together, everybody just stay in the moment and stay true to ourselves. Just rely on what got us there in the first place. I think we all be fine.
That was linebacker Patrick Queen. And last but not least, we also heard from fellow Linebackerquan Smith.
Quand voted for All Pro by the players that f p A.
What does that mean to It's a tremendous honor to be acknowledged amongst your peers as one of the best in the game. But at the end of the day, it don't matter as much. It's a matter about what we do as a team. And I'm just I got a lot of really good teammates around me that make me look a lot better than I am. So just grateful for these guys at the end of the day. But love the game, man, And it's not really why
I'm playing the game. I'm really chasing that big thing, and that's that's what it's all about at this point. All the personal accolades that stuff come and go.
What's your mentality and approach for this week?
Take the take advantage of this week, Get everything you can out of this week. Hone in on the fundamentals, make sure your cardio is good, and just make sure keep mind yourself, be ready to rock and roll next week whatevery day that is.
Are you anxious and large that he was kind of antsy?
Nah, I'm not anxious. I'm always about preparation. So I'm just preparing, preparing, preparing, and when my opportunity come, just like anything else in life, i'm'a be there to.
Take it full and take off with it.
Well, you're a focusing uh a practice, you know, you're not game planning for somebody.
So what was practiced like today?
Uh?
Fundamentals and then just doing what we do playing football. Cause at the end of the day's football. That's all you can practice. And uh, let's run a pass and you know, just working on plays and just working on ourselves. And I think that that was huge and that uh goes a long way.
Bro.
You're always intense. Is there another level of intensity when it's playoff football?
Wait and see?
What does it mean to you with this defense to be given kind of the eyeste on you can get triple crown?
What is you guys right now?
First defense to do that? As many great defenses this franchise and seen you guys being the first to do that.
Yeah, No, that's big time. Uh, to be acknowledged in that way.
But at the end of the day, that was in the regular season and our plans have shifted to the postseason.
So that's great.
You know, we did this and we did that, but none of that matters in this season of ball because what matters is getting that dubbed one week at a time, and we know what we're chasing, So that's our biggest thing, and it's gonna start one week at a time.
What's it like to face.
All your arms rounds?
Are you going back just waiting until to see who that is?
Uh?
You have to just wait and see who that opponent is. And you obviously know who's gonna be. What one of four teams, I'm not quite sure. Uh, So it's gonna be something like that. But at the end of the day, the playoffs teams are a bit different. They like, you know, everybody's gonna give you everything they got because it's win or go home. It's your life of their life, and
most cats are gonna choose their own. So when you look at it from that perspective, it's gonna it's gonna be intense regardless of who the battle is against.
But just know we'll be ready, locked and loaded.
How much of a empisides do you put on kind of set the tone for this team and for having the right mindset going into the playoffs.
It means a lot.
It's about uh starting fast and I know, uh a couple of games, uh these a couple of games in the past, these past, but that's the regular season didn't.
Start quite the way we wanted to.
So it's just about emphasizing that throughout practice, throughout this week as well into uh into next week, and just knowing, hey, you know, we have to start fast. We start fast, attention to detail. You know, on our crap play in and play out, no one can touch us. But when we get complacent in things, not doing things to our standard, that's when you know slips are coming the crack. But we just know that and we just have to attack
each and every detail. And I feel as if we do that, everything else will take care of yourself.
Hamilton, that's her name, don't bro you lock her next to him? You've seen him grow up? What if you what has been your uh, how would you describe.
This grow up? Right?
Yes, in the time you've been knowing him and seen him philosopher.
Yeah, honestly, man, Uh I t I. I joke with him sometimes. Funny story. I don't know if I've ever said it, but uh, I used to tell him I was questionable about him, uh when I first got here.
Uh.
And what now, I don't know if he ever said that.
It wasn't wasn't really sure, you know, not there Dame guy would no disrespect anything like that. He from Georgia though in a sense, and like, you know, but this year man, like day in and day out, like I seen him doing a lot of really good things and a lot of part of OTA's when he gotten as well as in camp, and I'm like, hey man, this guy's so versatile, can do so many things, and like he's just proving it to the league, like I've seen
it all throughout camp. So I think the guy seiling is still so high and he's he's just scratching the surface of what he truly can be. And I'm grateful that he's on our defense and like can create so many different pictures when he's.
Out a nickel giving me edges like the best.
I think he's the best perimeter ed setter in the league far as DB's and things that our nature and the guy come through in the alley and he'll serve you up a cold dish as well if you come through slipping. So he's got he's definitely got some of my mentality in him. So I gotta you know, he's getting out of his shell more and more. So I'm just excited for him, and I think there's just so much great things in store for him.
Real you certainly know about Dalvin Cooke.
What do you think about the Ravens all like that?
Oh?
I think you know, obviously, he's a tremendous player. I've done a lot of eight things in this league, Pro Bowls, multiple, multiple a thousand yard seasons. So when you have a back like that going against theim twice a year up in Minnesota when I was in Chicago, you have a great deal of respect for the way the god plays the game. So I'm glad that he's here. I think he's definitely gonna be able to help us in whatever
capacity that is. I'll leave that up to the coaches, but I'm grateful that he's here, and I think it's gonna be a great asset for our team.
What a moment? Is there a moment this season where you thought like we really.
Got this like, we can take this on the way I thought.
I think that every time I line it up, every time I scrap it up, I tell the guys I have the utmost respect, upmost faith in everything that we do, and if we play to our best of our ability to look ourselves in the mirror day in and day out, everything we want will be right there in front of us. But it just starts with one game at a time.
And we know the type of potential that we have on this team, but it's about showing that play in and play out and game in and game out, and if you do that, everything else will take care of yourself.
With the type of guys we have here, mind, you said at the start of the season that you're incredibly confident in this group.
We want all the smoke. You gotta set that tone coming into the year. How has this team embraced that attitude?
Embrace it every single day the way we go out to work far as practice and as well when we go out to games. We want Catt to know, Hey, you just played the twenty twenty three Baltimore Ravens, and those guys will you know, knock you off, you know or whatever the case may be, you can fill that in wherever you feel fit. But that's that's kind of
the mentality we want. And just a bunch of hungry dogs, Like if you've ever been on a safari, ever been in the wild and just seeing cast that's trying to survive and like trying to make their next meal, and like, I feel like we have that mentality and we know if one get a kill, we all gonna share it at the end of the day.
And when you have that mentality, man, it's like it's pretty sweet.
And when there's guys that's so selfless, don't care who gets the recognition, that's the best type of team you want. I know many guys or died to be in a position that we're in far as like a type of team because there's so many just like genuine good dudes. But when you get on that field, cats that want to rip your face off and maybe cut your hair too.
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