Welcome into the Ravens Presspass Podcast. It is Monday, January sixth. The Ravens are gearing up for a wildcard matchup at M and T Banks Stadium. It's gonna be on Saturday night, eight pm against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That's Ravens geared up for that game. We had a chance to hear from head coach John Harbaugh and here's what he had to say today during his time with the media.
Hey John, good morning.
Zay Flowers left with that knee injury on Saturday. What's the latest information you have on him and what do you think his availability will be for the wildcard game.
It's not a season season ending injury, so it's just gonna be day to day. Try to do everything he can do to get back as soon as he can, and we'll see where that takes us.
John, what do you see from Pittsburgh? Much has been made about their losing streak, you know, heading into the playoffs, So what have you seen from them the last couple of weeks.
I don't even know.
You've had a whole lot of time to go over the film from recent games because the game was you know, because you guys have been on a limited time frame and you didn't know who you were going to play.
No.
Yeah, we've been studying them. And that's what we make of what we study. What we what we look at the football, what they're doing schematically, the players, how we think that they're going to, you know, attack us, how well we can try to attack what they do or don't do. And we know them, they know us pretty well. There's always that little uh, you know, chess game going on, Game of Thrones, I don't know whatever with them because
it's always something different. There's always wrinkles thrown in every week. So that's the part of it that we study really hard. John.
Two things real quick, just on on Dave Flowers, was it can you just confirm whether that was a sprain knee?
No, I don't really have any confirmation on anything like that. It's not really what we're required to do. It's his knee, yeah, to tell you that.
So and the and the second thing, what's it's just the challenge of playing a team like Pittsburgh third time this time of year, played a few weeks ago. What is the difficulty for that in terms of game planning, particularly if you have to deal with injuries and so forth.
Well, I don't think there's any specific difficulty in it. You know, this process is still the same. You probably have certain things that you're are understood. You know, there's a lot of things that are kind of ingrained in your knowledge of a team in the division like that. You've already played twice that year, so you're jumping off point is further down the road for sure. That's about the only difference. Coach.
Following up on that, I believe it's the fourth time you've done this.
So can you draw back on the experience of playing this team, you know, for a third time in the postseason.
How many times have we done it? We did it against them and eight I want to say eight, fifteen, maybe fourteen fourteen? I think twice, that's all right.
I want to say eight to ten and fourteen.
Okay, maybe I can't remember. I don't really remember the other time, to be honest with you that well, like specifically, I think it's just part of the process. We played the Bengals a couple of years ago, right, once or twice. So a lot of our teams teams this division make the playoffs, We've run into them. It's probably pretty normal, Hey.
John, just kind of to piggyback on the zave flowers. You know, Rashad obviously made a bunch of plays after they went out of the game. You know, I know there's day still up in the air, but you know, how do you feel about Rashad's ability to lead this wide receiver group and about how he played against the Browns in the second half.
Yeah, just same as I've always felt about it. You know, he's always been high, high on my list, my charts. I think he's a tremendous player, tremendous athlete, tremendous competitor, excellent receiver, brings us a tremendous skill set to it. He's been playing at a high level all year, made big plays for us in that game, this this past week, he was a factor in those drives and getting us into scoring position numerous times. So I just yeah, he's good. And not just not just for shot. I mean, I
don't think it's just about one guy. It's everybody. We have a lot of weapons. You know, we could move guys around different ways, scheme those guys up, and they can all make plays.
Hey, Coach. Over the course of the season, the offensive line, They steadily made improvements. Can you speak to just the job that offensive line coach George Warhaup has done, especially given the circumstances in which he came.
In, Yeah, yes, I sure could. Those guys have played at a high level, and George has done a great job. I mean knowing George, like I said, I think earlier last week or the week before, since we were both twenty five years old, you know, and he was working for Mike Godfree to Cans, he played for coach Gottfred. Coach Godfred and his family were actually here for the game this weekend, so we got a chance to reminisce a little bit about that and laugh a little bit.
We were two young, young guys back then. But uh, you know, over the course of the years, I kind of followed his career more pals or anything like that. Those old line coaches, you know, they tend to kind of they stick together. They call it. They're called the mushroom Club, you know. They they say that they they say that they get shoved in the dark and they get fed crap, you know, like mushrooms. So they're the
mushroom Club. And he's he's a full fledged member of the mushroom club, but one of the all time great I think old line coaches. And uh, the fact he was available to me was a god thing and it's worked out really well. But he's just done a great job. He's he's he's been able to pick up on, you know, the offense in a short period of time right when he came in, the calls, the line calls, the techniques he had to, had to had to had to kind of merge and then and also at the same time.
But coach is his way, according to his and I think he's a really smart guy, very experienced, very talented teacher, and he's done a great job with that.
Hey John, I know we've asked you kind of variations of this question all season, but do you feel now that you're going into the playoffs that Derrick Henry gives you a different element than you've had in recent years and really in your whole tenure here?
Yes, Hey John, we all know what Mark Andrews was going through at this time last year, you know, trying to get back from the injury. He was able to make it back, but we know he wasn't his you know, his best self with the way he's played down down the stretch, knowing how big he is on third down in the red zone, and knowing how important those elements are, you know, and magnified in January. Just how excited are you for him to be healthy and what he does for the offense in those areas.
Yeah, Mark's playing a really high level for sure, Luke. You know, he's been playing well all year, made some plays, running fast. He's gotta be one of the fastest tight ends in the league. I mean, it's just gotta be. His ability to get open, make contested catches really showed up in this last game. It's phenomenal catches. I mean
the one down the right sideline. I don't even know how he saw the ball alone, find it, get to it, catch it, and then Lamar's trusted Mark of course, all those things just it's been really great.
We'll go Cordell Woodland and then Jameson Hensley, Hey John, going back to Derrick Henry.
I know, earlier in the year it kind of had the quote of you know, you didn't know how much you guys wanted to use him. It wasn't the plan to go twenty five to thirty carries a game. But just looking at it, in the games that he has had twenty plus carries, in eight of those games, he's gone one hundred plus ten total touchdowns. What's kind of the What does that do for you for you personally going into the playoffs knowing that you can kind of ride this guy on the offensive side.
Yeah, it's exciting. It's great to have a great back, you know what I mean. He's obviously running really hard and really physical and downhill. I think our guys are blocking well, and you know, there's other elements to the offense that you know, allows allows that he's if you look at his career, he's he's definitely not getting a first contact as early as he has oftentimes in his career.
That's been great. All those things have come together well, and it's gonna be a big, big part of our our our approach in the in the playoffs.
Go ahead, Jamison don a big narrative of course this week will be Lamar and you know his two and four record in the playoffs. I know you've always used the term a lot of times about how players kind of get calloused, you know, how they get You'll have to go through some experiences, whether physically. Do you think the past experiences that Lamar has had will that serve him well going forward?
Jeff I answered, right, I like to elaborate, but there's really no aberation. It's pretty clear that that's that's the truth.
Wrote to jeff'surreyback, John, I know they can't interview this week, but have you gotten any slips on one of your coordinators for a head coaching job?
If I had, I wouldn't probably announce it. Uh, maybe on't they put that out like the NFL put that out or whatever? The insiders. Yeah, so you can get it from the insiders when it happens.
I guess, John, there was so much attention on zach or early in the season, you know, DMPs brought in Week five games in. Zach himself even talked about trying to maybe do too much early on with substitutes and substitution packages and so forth. Just what were those conversations between you and him, you know, as the weeks went on, And secondly, why in your view was he able to navigate that and all of that and and you guys able to continue to improve, you know, defensively to get to this point.
We stuck to it. You know, like you always do. It's week to week, Brian. You stick to what you're you know, the principles of what you try to do. You try to solve the problems. I mean, so much of everything in life is problem solving, you know, and no more so in this kind of a deal. I mean, football is a multifaceted game. There's just so many things that go into it. There's a lot of scheme things, there's a lot of personnel things, a lot of personality things.
There's there's a physiology matchups. There's just a lot that goes into it. You know, there's day to day personality, personal lives, there's psychology. I guess you'd say. So you just try to do the best you can week to week, day to day and try to improve and you have a growth mindset toward all those things. And I stick to your guns, not panic, don't overreact, don't bite like what you were saying, a lot of talk that was
coming from the outside. Don't really bite on that. Say confident, believe in one another, and try to do the best you can. And that's what everybody does. I think all the teams do that. That's a great thing about sports. I say, it's a metaphor for life. I hope you do it in your own life, so anybody could understand that process and coach.
I don't know if this will list it an elaborate answer, but Lamar said after the game the other day was sort of a T shirt and hat game, and he's really focused on what's ahead.
Is that sort of the team focus and your focus and sort of the message.
Yes, hey, John, do you have an update on you expectation for Justice Hill, Patrick McCarey and just those guys that their health for practice this week.
Yeah, they're trending well. They're trending well. They were illness at the end there. Patrick, as you know, played, I just felt like he you know, I wanted to help help him. I just he would have played. Believe me, he had to play. He wanted to play, and Justice wanted to play too, but he wasn't as close as Patrick. So those guys will be much stronger this week than they were last week. John.
You know, we talked a lot about how the defense has improved in the last two months. I mean, you guys also have an interception and in four straight games. How has winning the turnover battle in your view kind of overall impacted how this this defense is turned around in the last few weeks and and is there anything that you've seen that has made the defense more successful coming down with those turnovers.
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's all it's all like anything else. It's it's turnovers, it's uh, tackles, it's it's sacks, it's big plays against, its penalties, whatever. They're all individualized.
You know, they're all. They come when they come, and they're usually a result of, you know, a foundation of chasing and trying to do things the right way and again trying to improve in whatever area we're talking about, and uh and just not be stuck and mired in some idea that everything is fixed and it's just the way it is and it's the way it's always going
to be. So I think, you know, you get you get interceptions by pressure and the quarterback, by covering tight, by disguising coverage, by catching the ones they throw to you, which we didn't do, you know a few times early in the year, costs us one game. Probably. Those kind of things are very important. Running to the ball is important because when the ball gets on the ground, you want to have people around there to recover it. Sometimes
the ball bounces to you, sometimes it doesn't. But having more people that you know lengthen your odds hitting, showing up, showing up for the run game, you know, showing up when people catch passes before they get turned around, punching the ball out, punching the ball out when they're on the way down to the ground, have enough people around the ball to punch the ball out, have an extra guy or to you there. All those things are part of it. So it becomes a reflection of just playing
better defense. Even when you play great defense, sometimes they don't come to you. But that's just that's part of it. All kind of goes together.
Cordella Woodland and then Brian Whacker.
Hey, John, I feel like it's been a while since we ask, but do you expect arthuram Alet to be able to come back in the postseason?
I don't know that's up and I don't have a great handle on that right now. Sorry.
Can you articulate just how having him, you know, impacts the calculus, particularly in the playoffs when these games are tight late in the year. All of that and just the impact it has on Lamar when there's you know so much. There's always been so much focus on him.
Yeah, I mean, I know, I really can't articulate the calculus because I don't really see it as a math equation. Maybe it is, but if it is, I really don't have time to work it out. I don't have like a big board here in front of me with you know, like that movie, what was it, Goodwill, Goodwill Honting. Yeah, so the calculus, Brian is like, I don't even know what you're asking me for me, I think it's pretty
self evident the answer to your question, you know. And that's why he's here, and he's done a great job, and we're going to be leaning on a big time, just like we all all of our guys. It's a team game, and that's what we're going to try to bring every every aspect of what we bring to the table, all of our firepower, try to execute as best we can, try to put the best schemes together as we can to make the calculus add up at the end of the day, you know. So that's it, that's how it.
Works, Childs Walker.
John.
When you talk to the team at the beginning of this week, do you talk at all in terms of a four game mission or a five week mission, or however you want to put it, or are you straight week to week right now?
It's both. I've talked to them already about that, but we're going to be focused on this game.
You're listening to the Ravens Press Past podcast. Also make sure you head over to the Lounge podcast feed and listen there as we break down all the big talking points going into this game against the Steelers. Make sure you hit that subscribe button. Thanks for listening. We'll talk with you again tomorrow