Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass podcast. It is Tuesday, August twenty ninth. The Ravens had to trim the roster to fifty three players today and before that point we had a chance to hear from head coach John Harbaugh, left guard John Simpson, and cornerback Ronald Darby. Let's kick things off with coach Hardball.
All right, good to see everybody. I appreciate you being here. Very good practice. I'll put the pads on. Guys were very much into it, very happy with what we did today. What questions you have, John with the roster cutting?
Is there a difference at practice for some guys? Do you feel or is do you think it's a businesses.
Or I think it's business as usual. Guys did a nice job. They always do. I thought of everybody's business, like, everybody understands what we need to get done as a team today, and they did a good job of it.
Talking about the list, how different was Jes, You're working on a new offense.
It different making the list now?
Well, I mean there's always subtleties, but in the big picture, I'd say, no, you know the big picture of the process, the way you handle it it's still you try to do it's in the best interest to your team, and and you really try to, you know, allow decisions to make themselves based on the way guys play and practice and perform.
John, I know a kind of a soft timeline when when Marlin had to put surgery. But are you still feeling comfortable that he'll be able to make it back in the first unseason.
I am, yeah, he's okay. There's different guys have different things, so there's nothing, h nothing to report.
The most improved player in training.
Camp a most improved player? Oh man, Well, you know, you say somebody, then you leave some people out. I tell you, I just really really, I mean ever, everybody's improved too different degrees. Just as a team. I think we've come a long way, you know, And that's what I'm pleased with. The coaches or please with the players are pleased with it because they feel it in terms of execution. Now it's time to go see where you're in a game now. You don't know until you play
a game, and then then you start over again. You know where are we now? Once you play a game?
I don't know, John Simpson, I guess the other night he talked about how he maybe lost some of those confidence the last year and how he's built it. I mean, did you did you see that with the way he attacked the opportunity this the summer every how would you say he kind of sees that job.
Well, he definitely sees the job. And I read the same thing and I was really it was intriguing to read it. You know, he never u He's always showed himself, you know, his confident guy and stuff. But I was just proud of him, and I thought he just just came to work every day, kept it simple. H made it about being the best player he could be day in and day out. I think he took coaching really
well and and obviously he's a very talented player. So if he's playing with confidence, now, I'm all for it. You know, I feel really good about hearing that is a good thing.
I just a fellow on two offensive line considerations you mentioned earlier in can't it's solid just full time and you think interior guy and pole. I know you talked about maybe or putting inside of guard, but you see him on the outside the right.
Yeah, Sala will be focusing interior at guard and Flele will be focusing outside of tackle, but we'll also I'm sure work those guys from time to time, you know, in a different spot, just because you have to all the time.
But then he looked like he handled his own his job pretty well on the side there.
I agree.
I agree, he didn't get tons of reps there, but he did fine when he was in there. Right.
That was head coach John Harball. Now after the game on Saturday in Tampa Bay, he announced that John Simpson is going to be the team's starting left guard going into this season, and Simpson talked with reporters today about what that means to him.
Just what did it.
Mean to you when you hear the news that that.
You were going to be the start?
Uh?
Ad meant a lot to me. Uh they you know, for them to trust me in that position, and you know, just getting that news, it just it it meant a whole lot.
What did you find out?
Did you take it through?
Help?
Went?
It was after practice one day, Uh, Coach Jod came to me and said, yeah, if we play, uh like tomorrow, you'd be the starter. But it wasn't. It was like last week or something like that. Uh So I just learned that I learned like a few days before everyone else.
But what did your focus drinking? What what did you kind of set out to prove, you know, to the team during that direction too.
I wasn't really trying to prove, Like I'm not gonna say I wasn't trying to prove anything, but like I just wanted to come in with my best foot forward and you know, just put my head down and go to work. I wasn't trying to like, you know, be it arrogant or you know, cocky and think that I ran everything or whatever. I just did whatever, like try to do whatever they asked me to do, and if I didn't do it right, I try to do it right the next time. And uh, you know that's pretty
much how I went. I s I just you know, try to get better every day. Like I said before, I just want to get better one step at a time every day and just look at it like that, you know, every every day's opportunity to get better.
So that's how I look at it.
John, you said on Saturday, and you talked about how the confidence was lacking after leaving Las Vegas thing, But where do you think you've improved the most since you arrived, that you're at this place now where you're starting, and clearly more confident than you.
Had the Yeah, I mean, I don't know. It's it's kind of weird, like because when I came in, like I said, I was, I liked confidence, and I just didn't really know like what would happen or what was going on. And I think that mindset that I explained earlier, just like getting better one day at a time just kind of like changed my mindset and my confidence a
little bit. It's just like mistakes are gonna happen, I know that, just try to overcome them or and just go to the next play or whatever whatever's next to try to go through that. And that's kind of how I kind of helped build my own confidence. And then I got guys like Tyler. Sam must have heard he you know, He's been a great help for me. You know, Morgan Moses, all those guys has just been there for me.
Whenever I would make a mistake or something like that, they just be there and let me know that I'm capable of, you know, doing the right thing. So working with coach Joe, coach Jod, he's a he's a great coach. He you know, he's been around the game for a long long time and he you know, he he knows what his guys are capable of. And uh, like, you can't ask for nothing better than that an O line coach.
He also gives me like great confidence. You know, he'll he'll get on me when I make a mistake and then he'll you know, giv him praises when I when I do good so and I mean, that's all you can ask for in an O line coach.
So around that they needed to change the scene.
Nothing against the operations Vegas.
But you feel like it kind of you were re energized getting here. You said, a coaches around a new teammates.
They kind of served as a fresh stuard for you.
Yeah. Yeah, I mean that that definitely played a part in it.
Uh.
I think, you know, just getting here, uh and and realizing like it's still just football. I think that helped me out a lot. And nothing against those guys, Uh they're it's a great organization and everything like that, but uh, change the scenery did I think helped me out a little bit.
Your mindset that's purved meization feel when you put in confidence to getting you try to play catch up and then fighting for job is getting a job? How to have especially the n part there.
How did that your mindset many change.
Or for yours?
Well, I mean I don't really, I don't think it changed a whole lot besides from like when I first got here, like you said, and until like uh this the summer, like training camp started training camp. But I I think, like I said earlier, is just you know, putting one one thing at a time, one day at a time, is just trying to get better. Honestly, I got I. I wish I had a different answer, but that's kind of how I. How I went about training camp is just like and and coach says it all
the time. He says, you know, the one thing at a time, one day at a time, one play at a time, whatever it is, just do that and you'll you'll see improvement. And I and I've been trusted in his process and it's been played off, paid off for me.
Did you did you like did you like being part of what turned out to be pretty direct competition? I mean we knew Left Guard was kind of up for grabs coming in. Yeah, then it pretty quickly it was you and you and Salid obviously nothing against him, But I mean, is that is that energizing in a sense?
Oh yeah, I mean for sure. I mean any any competition, Like I'm a competitor, like anybody as a competitor wants to compete. And uh, I think, Uh, that kind of gave me a little juice.
I'm yeah, I mean it did.
It gave me a little juice and uh and it I feel like it kind of helped me throughout camp and it gave me something to look forward to every day. And not saying that I won't have that same mindset, but it definitely did play a part in how I competed in camp.
What would you have said, you know, like back in the center was applying to practice right here in the city and he started cards.
Going through the season.
Uh, shoot, I don't know, I really, I don't. I have no idea, honestly, I just I don't know. That's a good question. I gotta think about that.
It's been like being in direct competition with Sla but also working with him in your experiences with.
That, it's I mean, it's been fun. The training camp has been fun. I you know, go like competing against a guy like Salah. He's young. He just came in and he's trying to figure out everything, and I mean I kind of am trying to figure out things about this program and stuff like that. So I feel like we're we were kind of in the same position. But I had a few years on him, and I think maybe, like I don't know if that's what you know, I don't know if that's what it was or whatever, but like,
I think that was the biggest thing. But I was always there trying to help him, and you know, vice versa. We always got shared shared news with each other or share things with each other and try to help each other.
That was starting left guard John Simpson. We also heard from cornerback Ronald Darby. He was a free agent acquisition late in training camp. He's played a lot of football in his career, really valuable player who the Ravens were excited to get, and he talked about his decision to come here and join this team.
Oh, can you just talk about you know, what led you to to signing with the Ravens.
Uh. I felt like it was a good fit.
It's a winning team, got a lot of homey guys around, and I feel like it could help me a lot. Got great safeties. Of course, that's an important thing. Great up front linebackers experienced defense. So yeah, uh huh, I know you uh played with in high school?
Did Yeah? I talked to Tavon all the time. That's one of my close friends.
Like you said, we went to high school together, so you know, he was excited and everything.
How uh, I.
Guess how how are you doing in terms of the recovery from from from then injury, I mean and and went along that timeline. Did you kind of say I'm feeling pretty confident. I'm I'm feeling like myself.
Uh.
Really once I got cleared, like you know, I stressed the process of you know, getting the strength back, and I made one thing I made sure I did come and off of this uh knee injury is run. I ran a lot doing rehab just to you know, get my top side speed back up and everything. So I was working, you know before I even as signed anywhere.
And when were you play when?
When did you?
Uh about like two months ago?
Really?
Yeah?
What what have uh been your versions of this defense in the time that you've been here in in the world and you can play on that?
Uh, I'm really impressed by the defense. How to communicate, you know, id driven, they yard how each day to come out ready to work. And you know I came later in camp and like they gave me like first week energy once I first got out here, like them guys.
Be flying around on both sides of the ball. So you know, I like that.
So how do you feel that you've come on and and picking up the defense given the late start.
Uh, I'm picking it up pretty well.
Like you know, the places I've been, we didn't have new head coaches every year, so like I didn't have like three new head coaches every year. This fourth new head coach, so like, I mean, I know how to pick it up fast. It's corner, you know, it's cover one's own, same stuff. You just gotta learn the names.
Have you ever been in the camp where you're.
Going against some of them, the big white outs that.
Uh the way was happening.
Uh. I've been some real good places. The closest I.
Could probably say is my f my Wikie year in Buffalo when they had you know, Sammy Sammy Walkins before you know he broke his foot. They had Robert Woods, a good win, they had Chris Hogan, Percy Harve and it was they had they were squaded at receiver, so they gave us work each day, me and Gilmore when we was over there. But just a very talented wide receiver group.
Ow you come here and you, like, like Kevin said, you're going up against guys like O'Dell and then when you're trying to work back your your work your way back onto the field after that injury. How much confidence did I give you to be able to run with some of them receivers your garter and practice right now?
Uh?
One thing I'm tryna stress, you know, getting back into for a football shape is you know, just working my technique and like being up against these guys give you a confidence to line up in front of anybody like these some of the top receivers in the league. So it's like a blessing that really had 'em out here, cause it'll help get you back on track fast.
The attention to the Ravens a lot, and growing up in the area.
Uh No, I grew up in Washington. Fine, yeah, I'm from the DC PG area.
So yeah, so how well, you know, as you kind of have got settled in here, how how ready do you feel like you are to play all tomot earlier in the season.
Uh, I'm ready.
That's what I'm out here doing, like getting myself back into football shape. But like I get called on, i'm'a go out there, you know, giving my Uh like I don't feel like any doubt or anything or you know, I won't be out there getting the reps and stuff that I'm getting.
So yeah, Oh they can take.
A lot of a lot of guys, you know, more than a year to come back from the ACL. But so when you got hurt and you you spoke to the doctors after that injury last year, did did they give you a a timetable for when you you know, when they thought you might be good to go? And did did you beat it with ease? I mean, if you were clear of the two months ago, it seems like you made pretty good time.
Yeah.
Uh uh.
When it comes to the ACL, was really about the work you put into it, you know, Like like I said, I was busting my ass like rehabbing running. I was having like two days like all through the week. So like I made sure I put the load on my body knowing that you know, I wasn't in OTA's knowing I wasn't in the first half of camp, Like, I made sure I did more so I could be ready and have confidence on it. That's what it's mainly about, having a confidence on your knee.
When you when you didn't meet with the Ravens, what did they tell you they were looking for?
Uh?
They just said they liked me. Really, you know, I did the workout. It was my first time going through this process. Normally I always been on the team, So they were just like, you know, they liked me and they.
Help everything work out, you know what I mean.
Were there other.
Teams contacting you at the time or what?
Uh? It was some other teams you you know, I was to my age. But you know it's a great fit. A lot of friends and family come out a week one most likely. Yeah, you know they right down the road. You know, I'm gonna I gotta keep a number on it. So, yeah, I was gonna let that get road.
On another Super Bowl.
You're gonna get another Totoo logo?
Oh yeah, for sure. I don't know why I'm gonna put it for. I'm definitely gonna get another Super Bowl side too.
One that was cornerback Ronald Darby. You also heard from John Simpson and head coach John Harbaugh. Now I mentioned off the top that the Ravens had to turn the roster to fifty three players by four pm on Tuesday, and if you want a full breakdown of all the moves that they made, of course, you can check out Baltimore Ravens dot com. Also headed into the Ravens Press Pass podcast feed, we break down everything that happened with roster cuts, what they mean, and where the Ravens go
from here. You can check out that podcast, the Lounge podcast. Subscribe to that one and this feed as well Ravens Press Pass. Make sure you leave a rating and a review. That's it for me today on the Ravens Press Pass podcasts, but stay tuned for more to come this week.