Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass Podcast. The Ravens are in the final week of OT practices and today after practice, we had the chance to hear from head coach John Harball, outside linebackers coach Chuck Smith, and safety Kyle Hamilton. Let's start things off with head coach John Harball.
I know it's still ots, but Nel snack or was there like he had a pretty get it What if you've kind of seen it from hen join Sauls.
Yeah, you know you saw today pretty much what we've seen all the way through Jamison. He's he's uh, he's been on point. He's been here, you know, pretty much every day. He's missed a few days here and there for personal reasons. But uh, he's a talented guy, former first round pick. He looks it rangy, big catch radius, all things you saw today, I feel like he's been doing all along.
Hey, coach, ends up being just a few weeks.
But what is the thing that stands out with the most when you want all the rookies from from.
Bill like you know, before they drove in, Now the yield you do you try to you try to see, uh, what's gonna carry over? You know what you saw on tape. Is he gonna carry over to what you see out here? And I would say pretty much. All the guys look look a little better even, you know, look in this environment, they look smooth, they're moving well, they're learning. All the guys are learning well. So we're happy with those guys.
All all the rookie's doing a good job. Now, you know, it's it's it's it's rehearsal right now, it's not really competitive, so we'll see once the pads come on, and once it gets competitive, we'll know more.
So you had and faidwell when you like how to hit them and.
Can practice the other former first round pick obviously, and you know what you find out about guys, and knew a little bit, but we've never been around him. Really a termined, determined guy wants to wants to be really good, you know, physical practice, worked hard to work out, came out here pretty much knew what he was doing. You know, after getting here less than twenty four hours ago. He didn't make a mistake out there. I think that says a lot about who he is. So he'll be in
the mix. We'll let him compete and see how he does. John looking at.
Them see the room, you guys, that was clearly an area of focus for you guys.
It's all season.
How are you feeling about the competition in that room amongst those guys.
Yeah, you know, it's good question. I'm really not feel in the competition yet because we're not really competitive yet. I'm feeling good about the work ethic of the guys that are out here doing it. I know the guys that aren't here, one or two, whatever it is, guys, I know they're working hard to get in shape. We'll see them next week. But the guys are doing a good job learning the offense, practicing quick, practicing fast, and
just I'm excited about it. But you know, like you said, must training, Cam comes around with no more.
John, what's your overallssessment?
Just these three makes of guys learning as much of the offense as they can right now at the time.
I think it's pretty darn good. You know, I'm really happy with the coaching staff. I think the guys have been determined. They've you know, we're trying to expand upon the idea of being a student of the game. You know, every guy understanding how they can improve in that area, and some guys are great at it. Some guys can
learn from other guys those kind of things. And I also think the coaching staff has done a really good job of creating a system that's that's learnable, you know, that ties together well, but still very flexible and what we can do. I think Todd's leading to charge with all the guys that are all very good teachers, a lot of energy, a lot of dial expected back and forth, which I like to see.
This is your reaction with JK.
Dobbins put out a series of tweets almost the I think was last week saying he kind of expectedly out of his uncertainty about his future.
What was kind of reaction?
Yeah, I mean I didn't really have any reaction because I didn't look at it, but but Chad told me about it, and basically I guess it was, you know, I want to be back, but I don't know how you is that.
What it was?
I would probably I probably agree. I mean, we want him back, but who knows the future. So nobody knows the future. If somebody can tell me whether JK is gonna be back next year, i'd like to know if you're certain about it, But who's who? Knows anything about anything. Uh, I think I know JK. When he gets back here will be determined, excited, He will work hard, his energy will be high. I know he'll be in great shape because I know who he is as a person, and
I expect great things out of this year. John, we're talking to Kyle Almlinton after you. As of right now, do you envision him being mostly in one of those traditional dedicated safety rules or do you think we'll see him still a lot of nickel at your resolves from help? Well, yeah, it's not going to be then nickel. You know, per se, he'll be a safety traditional safety role, probably not in
our defense because we move our guys around. Our safeties are rushing the passer, they're playing linebacker, they're running from online scrimmage back to the deep middle. We do a lot with those guys. So the fact that he's able to do all that really helps us be who we want to be on defense.
Jhner mentioned earlier in the off season about follow A potentially being a candidate left guard roos.
He don't move around us.
What are you seeing in his development now going to do or two?
Yeah?
I mean I think we're just going to try to give him every opportunity to see what you know, kind of worry worry flashes right now is a great time. I wanted to see what he looked like before we got out of the mini camp and the OTAs at left guard. He look good, you know, he gets stay a little more square, things like that. But his feet look good, his hands look good. He's able to punch quickly with his hands and react pretty quickly in there, so I wouldn't rule him out, you know, as a
potential left guard. Would also say that John Simpson has done a great job in there. Ben Cleveland has been working both sides, but we got him working right tackle. Now you saw that, then Sala is doing a nice job in there. You may have noticed that he looks good in there, so it's gonna be quite a quite a fight for that spot. Yes, he had a kind of a tweak soft tissue thing. He should be back next week.
For the LAS.
Johnny off to the side of trainers.
Did you have anything in the off season and is he gonna be ready.
For Mini caamp training camp?
Yeah, I don't know. I think minicamp partially ready. I'm hearing training camp is supposed to be fully ready. Uh yeah, this just wasn't quite ready to get back on and practice yet. No setback. Uh maybe they're being a little cautious, but that's what they're doing.
There anyone that we shouldn't expect to practice at a minicamp next week.
I don't really have to listen for me. I can't remember who everybody is right now, John Lamar, you mean, like as far as reporting to minicamp or injury wise. The injury wise, I'm not sure it's nothing other than the guys you already know about, but uh, expect everybody to report, you know, mandatory.
Yeah, Lamar and p Martin both talking about how he's gonna have a little bit more flexibility at the line, a little bit more free doing.
How do you think that is going?
And kind of just as kind of the evolution.
Yeah, it is the evolution, you know, and it's something that he's we've we've been in that world before, but not to disagree to me, the offense starts in that world more than it did before. And I'm excited about that. I know Lamar is excited about that. He and I have had conversations about it. Obviously, Todd is right in there with Tea coaching the offense to the quarterbacks. That's
been really good. We've had a lot of one on one sessions in terms of, you know, just how we're going to operate and how how the quarterbacks need to operate. I think you saw today the communication probably better than what you saw last week, right, So we just got to keep building on that. All right.
Thanks guys, you're listening to Raven's Press Past podcast. That was head coach John Harwald talking it's the media after today's practice. We also got a chance to hear from safety Kyle Hamilton and here he is now, Kyls, your second year, how does it having a full off season in the building and being really familiar with the coaching staff, all your teammates.
How does that impact you building in your second year time?
I think gives me more confidence.
I know what to expect now on a day to day basis, and lesser and for excuses stuff like that. A little more focused in a sense of trying to lead just by doing the right thing every day, being in the right spots in practice, still messing up, but trying to minimize those mistakes, make new mistakes every day, and just getting more experience.
How as the year went on.
Last year, it looked like they were adding more and more onto your plate. Right now where you and it's still kind of they're still giving you more to do in terms of your responsibilities on the field, or does it kind of looking like the way it did on the back end of last year.
Yeah, I mean it's it's June's what sixth, So we're still getting the kicks out at this point. But as of right now, I've been getting a lot of reps in safety. Didn't get a ton of reps in safety last year, just in terms of the room that we had and the positions I was playing with position I was put in. But yeah, I mean, that's still a lot to learn from me back there at that position at this level, given the lack of experience I had
last year. But like I said, I'm learning new stuff every day, making new miss sakes, and get more comfortable day by day.
Because if I'm gonna say that's ultimately where you want to be, I mean, that's that's how you see yourself long term as as as.
Safety, I don't know.
I think I think as of right now, I feel like I can do a multitude multitude of things, and I feel like nobody's really trying to pin me in one place at this point. And like I said, still June. Depending on the week, depending on the game personnel, we might switch, but who knows. At this point. I'm just trying to, uh just get everything down pad as much as possible.
Really to play Carols and positions.
If there are some things comfortable back, I wouldn't say there's one that's specifically most comfortable.
It's different.
I mean Nicol, you're closer to the action, Uh, you can't see as much behind you.
That's a safety job.
You got to communicate a lot more at safety, and I think they compliment one another at the same time. At Nicol, I feel like full work in terms of man man coverage, getting out through his own job. Stuff like that compliment playing safety when you got rolled down and cover one and safety also and just knowing where everybody's supposed to be at, knowing your check stuff like
that will compliment playing Nickel and other positions. So that's why I said, I'm just trying to get as much down as possible as much as I can, try not to overload.
At the same time, I know you talked about how last year was kind of a new experience for you in that slop position. But you know, just looking at what you did in Notre Dame, looked like there were times when you would kind of find yourself in the
slot or in the box. So I guess was it just the amount, like the volume STAPs that you were getting in that nickel slop position that was different structurally from maybe what you did in Notre Dame or what was kind of the the you know, the the dividing line between college and NFL experience.
I mean, really it's the guys are going against. I mean there's guys in college that we played that were good, but you know, I go against some Mary Cooper in the Slaughterer of College. I mean, there's guys every single week that are really good, and guys out here that test me every single day and remind me how hard it is be at this level and be successful at this level. Just makes me want to grind even more. I feel like that was the biggest difference from college
to NFL. I mean, scheme wise is tougher, but I mean you run enough players, you'll get the scheme down. But I mean you're not gonna replicate the talent out here on a week week basis.
In college last year, it looked like there.
Was a point where you where you kind of figured it out and you just really started to ascend. Do you remember when that was for you, where it kind of clipped to you like, okay, you you understand the sign that you understand what your role is.
Uh Uh.
I don't think there's one specific like point in time.
I just felt like I was young getting reps, and the more reps I got, the more comfortable comfortable I felt. And I'm sure that's a common thing throughout the league. And at a certain point, I just told myself just let loose. I don't play well when I'm playing tight or thinking too much. When I just let loose and go, that's why I play my best. So that's what I try to do. And while doing that, play within the defense as well and make the right place most important to take where.
You have last year that you're like alight, now I know that and for your two that will allow.
Me to do action whatever.
Uh.
Just consistency, I'd say at this level, consistency is everything. It's what have you done for me lately? In terms of your success stuff like that. So, I mean last year, I guess I ended well, but at the same time, I got a replicated be consistent this year, minimize mistakes, maximize good plays.
So that's probably what I'm taking in this year.
You know what you were working at a Notre Dame in the off season.
Was there a specific goal?
I mean, was there a physical thing you wanted to improve this offseason.
Or yeah, I mean I resurgery, so I was rehaving that at the same time, just trying to get as healthy as possible. It feels great right now, no limitations on that, but in terms of just getting my wind up, knowing that probably gonna be playing more snaps and just trying to also be in the playbook. I told them sem my iPad Notre Dame. So I've just study and come back not feel like I've dropped off at all. Physically, just trying to get a little stronger, a little bigger.
I don't know if you guys can tell or not, but maybe I don't know. It's up to you all to decide that. But yeah, just trying to stay in shape, stay hard while still was cool.
What does your pre game plays look like?
Uh, pre game playlist.
Actually, I throw a little Frank Ocean in there, a little Frank Ocean.
It's weird. I go Frank Ocean.
Maybe some young boy, uh, Drake for sure, touching leather by Drake for sure, some house dance hall. Listen to everything. And then when they just say it's time to go outside, just take it off.
Cause Marcus Williams getting hurt. And then how you use your guys And they have like a ton of reps next to each other this year. If you do get a lot of reps, and what could that do playing next to a player like that to you as far as.
You know what you can do when you get Yeah, I mean, Marcus is one of the best in their league.
And it sucks that he was hurt a good amount of last year because y'all saw what he did before and after the injury and how great he is on the field. But just having somebody like that in the room every single day. He's been through it this year seven, I think for him. So he's getting he's getting old.
But uh, but I mean he tells me every day it's just not even football wise, just mentally out of attack every day, how to watch film, how to adapt to certain coverage that were playing stuff like that, not to overthink.
It gives me a lot of confidence in my game.
So he's helped me a lot the past two years and hopefully it's gonna be bright future.
Thank you.
You're listening to the Ravens Press Past podcast. Now let's hear from outside linebackers coach Chuck Smith. Just you know how you're enjoying the job so far and this transition to the coach.
On the NFL team, Well, I'm enjoying the transition. It couldn't happen to a It couldn't happen. It's a great place to be, you know, And the transition has been easy because I know a lot of people here. You know, I did the my Bill Wash minority coaching program, got my start here and helped kick off my training career, you know, with when coach Harballs first year, you know, I was a lot younger.
He was a lot younger.
But so everybody here, even guys on the staff, There are guys here that I train, you know, Eric, mister Basha, I've known a lot of these people for a long, long long time. So if there was a perfect place for me to come and start, you know, really kick off. My first year again, it was the Baltimore Ravens when you were playing.
Did you know even then that you you felt like you would have something to offer as a as a coach, as an.
As a trainer?
What when when did that enter your mind as a kind of the next sixty.
Well, always knew in the early nineties that I wanted to train pass rushers because there was no one really doing it, and as far as that, because there was a boy there and I just had a love of pass rush from you know, back in nineteen seventy eight.
I think when Jack Youngblood there was seventy nine when he broke his leg, watching him and then watching LT being the first person like you know, going through being being from the South, we like college players, growing up, loving Derek Thomas, Wilbrim Marshall, guys that were in the SEC. So pass rush was always around, you know, uh, and so getting the blessings of playing with Reggie White, learning from Reggie White, learning from Derek Thomas, playing with great coaches,
watching great you know, different defenses. Always had a passion for pass rush and it wasn't really normal kind of back then people kind of looked like, man, that's kind of weird because it was a run first offense. So then when I got to the NFL, I was watching inside the NFL. I was at Carolina. I was coming
to the end of my career. Me and my wife were sitting on the couch in South Park and by no Charlotte was sitting in Charlotte on injured reserve and we're watching inside the NFL and Greg Gumble was like, well, there's a new trend going on of you know, there's these there's an NFL players that are working with the trainer and it's changing the game. And there was this guy Steve Clarkston, you know, and from California. He's the first guy to really do it with NFL players for money.
And so I was sitting there and I had already been doing that in the nineties.
My wife was like, dang, babe, you've been doing that too.
I had already been doing it so cause you know, a lot of people they didn't believe in that you could train, you know, because everything was about lifting people. There was not skilled trainers. So right then two thousand one, I get went on in your reserve. I went back to Atlanta and I started training pass rushers, and that's kind of how it happened. And uh, but when you're
like the second person, it's it's hard to visualize. Back in those days, I wasn't welcomed because it was a different culture.
You know, with coaches. There weren't guys like me. You know, there weren't even iPhone.
So that's a you know, so you could get no clients. You had to put out flyers. I was passing out flyers. So that's a whole nother story. So that's kind of how that's how my life was. As far as with the pass.
Rush trying to went on, I don't think, oh wait, what's kind of been your point of emphasis for him to take his game to the next eleven other passers?
You know me, Well, the first thing you wanna do is teach 'em to understand that if you use moves, you'll have success. The best players in the NFL who use moves have success, the all time greats who have get sacks and are produc He was move. If I think of Suggs, I think of a long arm with power.
Right.
If I think of von Millery, all you guys can say he does a what spin right?
Reggie White does it what.
Exactly right? Lawrence Taylor did power, Dwight Freennie did what. I'm schooling y'all right. But so now after this year, when you see Adafe, you're gonna know his signature passed for us move.
So when you think Max Crosby, he's a spinner.
But the beauty of this whole thing is this, Everyone of those guys were taught, So we're teaching them to do high performance moves, but most importantly, how to fix them when flaws come about.
And that's where I come in at. But it's not just a DAF.
It's you know, it's Ojabo, you know, it's Jeremiah Moon, it's Tavius Robinson. All these guys are working for a common calls and ultimately to be the best team defense we can be. But the big prizes, trying to win the Super Bowl pass rush for us to get there, that's.
Gonna have to be a big part of it. We're all gonna have to develop moves. What do you see it too far.
From David Ajado and just his explosiveness.
He's everything I thought he was when he was at Michigan. He's quick, he's uh confident, he's twitchy, he has a high uh pass rush iq and he has mastered a lot of different moves and they they're learning how to do it. But it's like a all time We're con constantly talking every second, every minute on text, on threads, all of us, you know, communicating about it.
And he has a pass rusher's mindset.
I'm just he's got that dog mindset and he's gonna have He's gonna have a lot of success.
I actually think. I mean, he's a lot better.
Than I'm sure people have an idea what they think. Now, you know, like, oh man, he's coming back from Achilles. Dude is ready and he's gonna have an impact. Those dudes are getting ready. They're working really hard. And that's the best thing I can say about them at this stage right now, how much you see he and.
Oa really feeding up each other from you know, their high school days. Like, is that a real thing that can translate to successful?
It is a real thing. Those guys are locked together. And here's the best thing about those guys now, they're helping each other. When they're lined up out there, they're communicating. Ojabo might need this or he might ask Doc this. They come off because they talk the same language. So from from the standpoint of football language, you know, So they're talking the same language, and they're helping each other.
They're constantly talking.
And now one of the things that we've been working on is being in real time helping the other guy stand up front. You're not a young guy anymore, you know what I'm saying, So stepping up and part of that just comes with being in the moment.
And so they're always talking.
I mean, I'm telling you if you ever when you guys here watching, I mean you can see them talking, pointing fingers because they've spent a lot of time together, you know what I'm saying.
So they have literally been working with the ones and going the whole time.
What it's help is it help O Jabo get up to speed because Dov knows Rush, he knows Sam. So but it's been in a pretty awesome to watch, and so now that trickles down to the other guys. So no, they're absolutely they're helping each other. It's it's not just the friend thing. This is the work thing. So I'm talking about not the buddy buddy were hanging out I'm talking about all getting ready to try to win the championship, to get do Jabo up to speed.
One of the things that the Ravens talks about when they brought in DoD Back was as that great your speed, but being able to take convert speed into power. I know that's something that your work with a lot of your guys. What does it take to kind of make that leap from having all that speed but also being able to harness it and what's the full rusher guy?
Well, the first thing I told him is size weight really doesn't dictate the best bull rush.
Who's the best bull rushers? Right?
It has to do with speed off the ball and how you generate power in the angles you take towards the offensive lineman.
So last year he had some good bull rushes.
But there are our times when you're going against big guys, it's about movement.
You want to get a moving right.
So a lot of times when you go straight into a bull rush, he's gonna be there, wait and it's stay nfl. You're not just gonna surprise anyone if you're just going straight at him. So from a bull rush standpoint, we've been working on stutter bull where when you stutter, it's gonna make him do what. He's gonna get light on his feet. We're gonna work on different angles. You know, there's certain angles that you just don't. You don't bull rush from five yards out. But the mindset is, if
I get five yards out, I'm a bull rush. But if you're five yards out, who doesn't give more time to see you're gonna bull rush. You want to be tighter. It's about angles. So we know we're gonna add power. But when you got that kind of speed, oh, he's gonna have power and he's gonna have success with the bull rush.
That's just part of it.
Because the beauty of the thing is look at the guys at bull rush. Leonard Floyd, who just got signed, let's get I mean, if you go back and look at the Super Bowl, that's all they did in the end of the game. The la Rams against Cincinnati were bull rushing.
Leonard is too. I love Leonard to death. He's a guy. Leonard's like two thirty five. So it has nothing to do with side. You know.
So in some of the worst bull rushers or guys that are big because they don't understand angles and movement. So no, every guy that we have is gonna be able to bull rush, and it's gonna people will recognize that that we can bull rush, cause that's part of being a skilled pass ruff and that that is a move.
Coach.
You mentioned the sign there's special guys in the street.
There's been a lineage here with Las Campbell, Justice Houston and having a guy who's kind of done it all, seen it all.
That's not really in the mix right now? Is that something that you and the person else department talking about?
Nah?
Man, they't got nothing to do with me. Come on, I'm just learning how to use the Exos computer. So nah and I and I didn't mention Leonard had anything to do with anything. I wanna make sure we clear that up. I'm just mentioning Leonard because you guys watched the Super Bowl against a team that we competed against in the RAMS, and I was just talking about strictly
that a l a smaller guy can bull rush. But as far as that, naw, that's Eric and those guys and the guys are working hard, and my role is just to coach and continue to grow and learn from Coach Weaver and all these great coaches that are in here, and so I can't be worrying about Eric John to worry about, like I said, learn and keep working on that PowerPoint and all those other things that I'm doing now.
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