Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass podcast. It is Monday, November twentieth, and the Ravens are gearing up for a matchup on Prime Time on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Now, as the Ravens get ready for that matchup, we had a chance to talk with head coach John Harbaugh today and he provided up updates on the injury front on several key players and also looked ahead the Sunday's game in La.
Okay.
Good to see everybody. Appreciate you guys being here. I hope you had a good weekend. We are working on the Chargers game coming up, had a chance to study, you know, the Bengals game on Friday as the coaching staff. The players will come back in tomorrow afternoon and we'll probably debrief on the Bengals game just a little bit, make our corrections, things that we need to build on going forward, you know, for the next game, and then it'll be all about our next opportunity.
So what question do you have the game?
We talked about Mark likely being out with all the tests that's going on, is at a definitive.
Yes, Yeah, it's not. Nothing's completely definitive yet. But my understanding is in talking with our trainer and the doctors, is that it wasn't as bad as initially feared right after the game. That there is there is the type of damage that's done sometimes and that kind of an action what happens to the ankle, But it wasn't as bad as it could have been. It's a little cleaner
than they thought based on the MRI. He's going to be involved with doctor Anderson down there in Carolina Charlotte here the next few days and that we'll know more. But there might be an outside chance you could get back at some point in time. So we'll just have to see how that goes on. And I want to say that's definitive by a stretch, but there is some optimism.
John.
I had a couple of fans ask why UH brought our Washington was active.
There's a curious yeah.
I mean it just has to do with our opponent. You know, the types of formations and personnel groups they were in, type of game they play on offense. It was a it was a just a strategic decision in terms of how best use our personnel and.
What did that technology that what did you see it from his play. Uh, you know this year compared to the last year, and obviously you guys gave him the contract extension in August.
Excited about right, Yeah, Brodus brought I love broader, I mean broader because uh he's the guy that just brings it every single practice, every single game.
Very physical player.
Uh it does a great job pushing the pocket pass run game.
Uh. Leader tone center for sure.
Uh, just one of our He's a Ravens so uh we love it when he's out there. He understood situation, you know, and uh just kind of that's a week to week process remark.
Obviously beyond his what he brings the tables and receivers, he's a very good blocker. What have you seen from Isaiah Likely and Charlie Colors they've kind of improved as young growing blockers.
Also, Yeah, I have seen that Ryan. I mean those guys are they develop and they've been getting better really every day, you know, every part of every part of their game. You know, as tight ends in inline blocking, perimeter blocking, past game stuff. You know, as Charlie made the catch Asay had numerous perimeter blocks are outstanding. Charlie's been doing a really good job with the inline blocking the last month or so that he's been out there
doing it. So have full confidence in those guys. I know they're going to go in there.
And get their shot and do a great job with it.
I'm at an opportunity to spend some time with your brother before, during.
Or after the Michigan game. Yeah, yeah, we did.
They came over, Jim and Sarah came over and watched it with Ingrid and I. So we watched that game. Tough game, great win for Michigan. Kudos to Maryland. They played played a great ball game. So we got a chance to watch it. So it was fun.
Was that experience like.
To watch the game with the guy who's supposed to be on the sidewink?
Yeah, yeah, it was fun. I mean I enjoyed it. You know, it's it's my brother. I think he would he would have rather been on the sideline. I got a pretty good feeling. But we appreciate him.
Being over the house.
Uh.
Sarah was She was great as always, charming and uh we had we had sandwiches and the snacks. Would you like the menu, Jerry? Yeah, yeah, no, it wasn't catered.
It wasn't catered.
Make our own sandwiches most of the time. But uh, uh no, it was it was good. And uh he did have his play sheet and his call shoot in front of him, and you know, that was kind of fun to talk a little football during the game.
Did you learn anything about like the way he.
Yeah, I think so. I think so got some insight in the way he thinks. Uh, you know, I know he's very involved with the play calling offensively obviously, and and uh, you know that's something that's uh, I just I credit his team and his coaching staff for overcoming that. I mean, it's it's a big tough it's a challenging thing not to have your head coach out there. He's an offensive coach obviously, quarterback quarterback coach, very involved in
everything they're doing. But that's hard for him. You know, I'm not considering say it's not you know, and you know, obviously I think it's incredibly unfair, you know what's going on. That's how I feel about it. And but I think he's handled it at the highest level. He had, you know, someone like you know, in that situation, you have no power, you have no say in any of it. You just do what they tell you to do. That's what you have to do. And uh and and the facts aren't
all understood or or out. But certainly the quote unquote investigation is not complete. It's not even close. So but that's where it stands. Just from a personal level, that's all aside the chance to be together as a family. It was it was great. I enjoyed it and I'm sure glad that came up.
With a win.
John, Have you seen enough from Travis vocalect believe that he could be a guy who could help you here going forward, if you, you know, add a third tight end.
To your roster.
Yeah, I mean I think that's definitely process. You know, a work in progress. He's he looks good in practice. The Travis does a great job. He's tough on our guys, he makes catches. He's developing as a blocker. You know, it's a little bit tough to develop in season the way the rules are now for young guys. I do have to say, because you're not in pads very much, you know, you're not really doing things that help guys develop as football players. And that's that's that's one of
the sad things about the way it works. It's necessary, but it's just it's just tough. So I don't think you really know about what a person could actually bring to the table until you get him out there, So we wouldn't know for sure, but I would say all all arrows are pointed up for sure. You know, he does a great job and I'm excited about his future.
John, with your reaction to Joe Flacco none back in the league, but vaguer the Cleveland Yeah, yeah, it's great for Joe.
And I saw where Joe had said a few times where he was he wanted to play still and still had still had plenty of juice left.
So I don't doubt Joe. I never doubt Joe.
You know, he's he's an ultimate competitor, and you know, we'll see what happens.
John, more than ten weeks into the season now, just where big picture you seniors, your team make the most strides and maybe achieve some goals that you've been hoping for and progressing toward as.
You continue want well, I mean, you know, we're just so much in the middle of that right now. It's really it's really just right now, we're just trying to get ready for the Chargers game, you know, and get our game plan together. You watch that team on tape, how talented they are all three phases. Great quarterback, you know, great skill players, high draft picks, really everywhere. So that's
really what we're just kind of getting ready for. But I will say this about our team in terms of development, I just love the way they play. I mean, we we play hard, and we play with discipline, you know, we try we do our best to play smart and h and they're very conscientious about that, try to do the right things that lend themselves to winning, you know, And that's what you appreciate as a coach. They care about that, they care about winning and playing winning football.
And again, they just play so darn hard. You just have to be proud of them. I put the tape on, I'm proud of that part of it. I'm proud of a lot of it. But that speaks to who they are as people and players. So just got to keep building on all those things.
Yeah, way some people talk about pass rush, they kind of re use it to one on one matches, But the way you guys play, it's a lot of teamwork, it's a lot of selflessness. How do you think that those two facts are kind of play into the way that you guys have played this year.
Right, Well, that's a good point. I mean, you know, it is both.
It is one on one matchups a lot of times, but it's also teamwork and playing together. I mean, even when you are one on one, you've got there's five rush lanes and four guys usually, and you have to account for all those rush lanes, and the quarterback gets out, which he has against you know, quarterbacks have gotten out and made some yards. They did in this last game too, and they do every week in the NFL. Yet you
try to minimize that. So you can't get sacks if the quarterback's running away, So you got to work together. I never see the sack that was just completely one on one. Completely, I mean, there's always a team effort involved there. But then to your point, you add in the blitz patterns and the and the and the and the games and stunts and all that being executed at a high level. A lot of times it's the guy doesn't get the sacked that deserves most of the credit sometimes.
And the fact that I think we have fourteen guys who've gotten sacks this year, uh, still too shy of last year. We had sixteen different guys get sacks last year. I was told, So that's that's a credit really to that point you're making. But really, any way you can get them is the way you want them.
Taking on that in the summer when we talked a lot about Chucksmith coming to work with the young pass rushers, and then you know always production recently, I mean, are we sort of seeing to that labor, I mean, is he is he more sophisticated pass rusher.
Maybe than he was when he in the league? Oh?
Yeah, absolutely, Charles a great point. I mean, Chuck Smith does a great job. I think he's an outstanding coach. Uh, he's got he's a technician. Uh, he's very Uh he studied this thing his whole life, you know, and his whole adult life, I know. And uh, and then you know Anthony Weavers another great coach. Those guys team up and work together on that. They do just a phenomenal Nobody does a better job in the league than those
two guys coaching the pass rush part of it. And then to your point about a da Fe worked incredibly hard at it and he's still i mean on the ascent, he is getting better all the time. And I think he's gonna you know, he hasn't even I don't think he even scratched the service yet about how what kind of player he can be, pass rusher, run, defense.
All of it. You play improvements, where has.
He made an improvements can be more specific hands.
Speed where all.
I mean, you know, he's a much better game runner, you know, all the he's a better penetrator, he's a better looper in terms of timing up that it's cleaner now than it used to be. Mike a lot of times, you know, especially with the t East, you know, we're not getting that, we're not getting jammed up and slowed down as much as we were off of the off of the penetrator. I also think the one on one moves have really really smoothed out. You know, uh, spin
move has moved out. Not perfect, you know a lot of times, but he's got four or five kind of kind of moves. I would say, two or three go to moves and probably four or five moves over all that he uses pretty regularly. That's that's a big, a big addition to what he was before more just kind of a straight speed rusher probably when we first got here. So Yeah, he's working hard on all that stuff.
Justin NBK, and he's blowing away all his career stats from before this.
Sorry because you go ahead and beat the whole question.
Blowing away all his career that's from previous seasons. What have you learned about him watching your comings to his own that maybe you didn't know before. Has anything surprised you as you've seen this season?
Yeah, justin great question, nothing really has surprised me because I knew he was gonna have a great season. You know, you could see it in the spring summer. He kind of saw the last couple of years. I mean, the talent has really been there, and again it's a developmental thing.
I mean, guys grows players third round pick a lot of talent and has always played well for us, but man, I mean another level just in terms of the combination of his explosive talent, the time in the weight room and all things he's worked on to just become bigger, faster, stronger, quicker, all those things, but also the technique more consistent, much more consistent technique wise play to play than he had been before, and it's showing up in his stats.
Being that defensive team going Brandon Stevens. What you know, he's played really nicely for you guys. This season is a good lard where the strides are in the specific areas you've seen, and pretty good with them.
Yeah, I think he's he's just seeing things quite kind of quicker and probably processing in such more of a kind of a subconscious way. He didn't play defensive back a lot coming here and hadn't seen a lot of those things happen, so I think he had to kind of think his way through his reactions. Now not the case. You know, he's reacting his way through his reactions. He's seen it enough, he just responds and and it's just playing faster as a result.
John, we saw Lamar kind of push through that that ankle injury.
He said he was financing game.
But now four days removed, does it seem like giverything's okay with one of that ankle?
It does.
Thursday, I think it was Darby for two drives and yes, he would come in. Then the fourth quarter we saw Armor Davis a little bit. Was that a matter of just you know, he's earning the playing time and you wanted to see a young player play in that situation and how would you assess, how would you perform?
Yeah, I mean I thought he played well a little bit he was in there. We definitely want to get him on the field and give him a chance to kind of grow as a player. So that was an opportunity to do it. And I also think there's competition for those those reps you know out there. You know, Marlin hopefully be back this week. We'll see, but uh you know, we've got kind of a deep corner group and they all want to play. So give you guys a chance get out there and play and kind of build it going forward.
John.
And then we asked you about the hip drops on Thursday, you know, before today in USA. Today, one member of the competition committee with the league suggested that the uh or will be a waste of fan outright in the season.
You feel strongly you need to wag it up, just the hip drop as.
A Yeah, I've kind of got in my mind to plan for that. You know that if I was king for a day what I would do. But I'm not, so you know, no one cares. But from right now, I just think that it's in good hands. You know, the competition committee talks about those things and if they decide to do something, it would be for a good reason.
I know.
I know Roger Goodell gets involved in all those things as much as you can, and Rich and all those guys do a great job. So whatever whatever they decide to do at whatever point in time now would be you know, you just you just bye bye and you say, hey, it's what's best, you know. And then in the off season, I'm sure they'll be debating, they'll be voted on and all that, but right now we're just trying to try to get ready for the next game.
How do you guys talk.
To your defensive players about that? I mean, is.
It is that?
Is that something you teach because it isn't the toolkit right now?
Or is it just do they do my instinct?
Or how do you deal without?
As coach?
No, we don't teach it, you know we we we don't teach it. I don't think I don't. I can't remember one of our guys doing it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't remember seeing it from one of our guys.
It's not something we.
Teach left on injuries any anything. With Odell's shoulder, I know it was it was a little rough after the game.
But any update there.
I mean, yeah, he's he's uh, he's not gonna be uh, it's not kind of a long term shoulder thing. So you guys have I promise you every single guy we could sit in here.
You guys should probably want to sit in here and.
Go through every guy and there's exact status what they got if which I'm not, but.
But you could, you know, so everybody's got something. I got some things too. I could tell you my my issues is you were really interesting John Andrews.
Will you which there a possibility you might use more wide receiver packages and just oh sure, I think so, you know, everything's on the table for sure, Mike. You know, more wide receivers are going to play those guys, those tight ends more than they have played, for sure. Kind of keep it, mix it up. One thing we want to always do is keep it moving. We don't want to become and sometimes you have to be and we
have in the past. You know, you get forced into certain kind of groups based on what your what you what your roster looks like. But really I do believe more than we have been you know in the recent memory, we're probably more prepared to deal with something like this than we have been. We have a lot of guys that can step up and make plays wide receivers, tight ends, running backs. Uh, feel really good about the guys that
are gonna all together fill in for Mark Andrews. I mean Mark, listen, man, Mark is like such a competitor, such a town as a superstar player, it's impossible to replace him per se. We have to replace him together as a group, and I really believe we can do it, you know, and then when he gets back, we'll just be that much stronger for it, you know, whatever that is.
Say there's an outside chance for I mean, are you thinking like big like playoffs?
Maybe yeah.
I don't even want to say right now he's got you know, once he gets back, maybe later, you know, from this week. Maybe maybe that's something we could we could mention and talk about because we would just know more. And and also I probably have to lean into Mark on that too, you know, what are his thoughts on it? So I don't want to speak for Mark either, but I knew to tell you this, there's no bigger competitor. Nobody wants to be out there more than Mark Andrews.
I mean, this guy, he is all about He's all about everything, but he's all about game day, you know. So I try, you know, I'll get a hug every now and then tell him I love him, because I do love him, But I try to get too close to him, you know, I mean, he's he's all about it.
What you take not here?
What did you have a sense of his mood right now? How frustrated is or anything like that? And of course of the three day.
Seas is all Yeah, I couldn't even say. I mean, yeah, I'm sure he's frustrated, but he's okay, he'll be okay, He's tough.
Uh.
Do you feel I have the issue the issues whatever you want call with the run defense or are pretty fixable with maybe you guys giving up some jargity past past couple of games.
Oh yeah, absolutely, I'm not too worried about our run defense. You know We've got we take a lot of pride in that.
The Chargers are four and six on the season, and you know, it seems like their margin fair to get in the playoffs is right at this point? Uh, do you coach any differently win it's a team that's desperate for a win, or is it just kind of continue to just coach for your opponents.
No, we're desperate for a win. You know, We're one hundred percent desperate for a win. That's that's what we're focusing on.
That was head coach John Harball. You're listening to the Ravens Press Past podcast. If you want more of a breakdown from that was head coach John Harball. And you're listening to the Ravens Press Past podcast. If you want more of a breakdown from the game last week, the victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football, head over to the Lounge podcast Feed. We've got a full breakdown.
We're also gonna have a film breakdown as well. That's going to drop tomorrow morning, so check that out over on the Lounge Feed. Make sure you hit that subscribe button and leave a rating and a review. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk with you again tomorrow as the Ravens continue their prep for the smatchup against La