Ravens vs. Eagles Week 13 Postgame Press Conferences

Welcome to the Ravens Presspass podcast.

The Ravens fields the Philadelphia Eagles twenty four to nineteen on Sunday to drop them to eight and five on the season.

After the game, we heard from head coach John.

Hart Okay, appreciate everybody being here. Hard fought game. Congrats to the Eagles. They played very well, made the plays they needed to make best in the second half to find a way to win the game. Guys played hard, fought, competed. We didn't play well enough, didn't coach well enough in the end to to score enough points or to get the stop we needed at the end. So we lost. But I'm excited about the opportunity going forward. We've got

What questions, jee, John, justin miss from forty seven and fifty, I believe what did you see out of those missus?

Where was it just him sitting at or are there are some operational things? What did you say?

I just saw the missus. I mean, we'll go back and look at all that stuff and just do the best we can to try to figure it out. I mean, he's definitely capable of making every kick. Uh And and you know we need him to make We need him to make those kicks, and nobody wants to make them more than Justin does. I promise you that you.

And Vision continuing the same approach with Justin, giving him space to.

Try to work through this.

Well, we've been working through it.

I mean, you work through with every single player, every single thing you fight to try to help guys to be successful, you know so, Uh and we can we'll do that. I mean, if you're asking me if we're going to move on from Justin Tucker, I'm not really planning on doing that right now. I don't think that'd

And I know we're all gonna want them to do it.

John, Your offense started pretty fast as we scored in their first two positions. What what about their defense? What adjustments did you see that maybe you guys trouble after that.

Yeah, no adjustments. It just we just didn't really get couldn't get a rhythm going. We had a couple, a couple of mishaps, you know, a couple couple got behind the chains once or twice and and really couldn't get a rythm the in the second half. Then the end of the first half and the second half we really couldn't finish, you know, with points. That was the biggest issue.

Trying to shop abent wound of the knee injury.

Is Deontay Johnson available?

I know he didn't look like he played.

With Yeah, there's a there's I'm not really ready to comment on that right now. I will be Uh just don't have enough information right now to talk about that.

Do you have an update over shot abement?

His knee was sore, I can tell you you know, yeah, too sore for him to go back out there at the end.

Tom, what did you like out of your defense's performance.

In this game?

Uh. I thought the defense played well. We I don't like the one drive, you know, we we we let him running on us a little too much there in the fourth quarter. That was disappointing. But other than that, I thought they step up and played played very well. Past defense, no big plays. Run defense was was a stout. I thought we did a good job. They had one drive where they got some of the r P O read option stuff going a little bit and we we we adjusted there at halftime and got that cleaned up.

I was it disappointing not to be cleaner across the board special teams wise, and in that kind of the game where you know you're going up against the clean not to be cleaner across the board special teams wise, you know, tiling with pun return decisions.

Yeah, you want this up to be clean. I mean you always want that to be clean for sure.

And did you approach Tyler Wallace after h his first kind of mishappened with the returns And was there a discussion on whether or not you should be fielding them or not fielding them?

Yeah, I mean those are tough balls.

I mean, yeah, you'd love do you run up during fair catch him and catch him and keep him from rolling. That's definitely what you want. But he didn't feel like he could and he didn't want to. He didn't want to risk muff them. I'm sure you know. The one he did muff and the other one he probably should have fair caught. That one a guy barn down on him.

John.

I know you never want to make the excuses, but how difficult is it to go from a Monday night game on the road West Coast and come back for a what you know, maybe people though it's the biggest game of the week.

Yeah, it's tough. I mean, you know, when you play Monday night across the country, it's tough. But teams have to do it. You know, everybody does it here and there, so you just got to be able to handle it.

John, how do you approach this bye week with the players? Do they get the full week off for how are you proceeding and does it being such a late by impact the decision.

Making on that.

Yeah, we're gonna talk tomorrow with the guys. Guys will come in and watch the tape, do a different rehab, make sure everybody's healthy, you know, or not healthier wherever we're at, kind of assessed we're at medically. We'll have a team meeting, We'll watch the tape and kind of go back through it, make our corrections tomorrow and then I'll meet with the leaders and we'll kind of decide what to do from there. But they'll get most of the week off. You know, they won't get tomorrow off,

Their quarterbacks and they touchdown per saf What did you observe that Did it look to you like they had moved on the left side of their life.

There was some talk about that some people in the press box out they had I really don't know. I couldn't tell from where I was staying.

John Marcus Williams just a numbers game or him being a healthy scratch.

A healthy scratch this point, right, Okay?

Thanks.

We also heard from quarterback Lamar Jackson he.

Didn't see from every point, didn't seem like the offense really got into a rhythm out there.

Did you feel that way? And why do you think that was?

I believe we did.

Man at the beginning of the game, you know, Uh, when we first got out there, I believe every we was hitting on all cylinders and uh the drive, uh the fumblesnod mishap, that kind of I felt like we we start messing up.

Right then and there.

You know, we gotta just stay on task and just play our ball, you know, you just play.

How we play.

That was a pretty good team, don't get me wrong, you know, but I felt like we left stuff out there. Shouldn't put more points on the board, shouldn't even put tuck in those type of situations.

You know, but it's football. Everything not gonna go right. I'm mark, Mr.

You You mentioned how you guys started fast. First couple drives, you got points when that first player of the third drive, uh likely was wide open. What happened on that player? Was that a miscommunication or cause it seemed like, you know, it was a chance to get another.

Yeah, they was in they was in quarter. They was in quarters, and uh he he was coming out the route.

I s probably try to.

I try to.

I shoulda.

I was trying to get it up and down so the uh say, the corner wasn't be able to fall off, but he stayed with the receiver. I shoulda just dotted him. But Mishap l mart mentioned.

Talk obviously, what do you what do you say to God?

Do you say anything to a guy who's excelled for so.

Long he'll go still, like, you know, just get back to who he is, that's all, you know, whatever's going on, just block it out, cause I believe he's still to go.

So so you just to be clear, you're saying you're confidence and you can get.

Back to that, like, yeah, yeah, I got confidence.

And you know, uh, he just made his kicks last week. You know, he he made made a couple of this game, you know, just when we needed it. It just ain't happening, you know. But that can go for everybody on the team. It's always it's gonna be it's gonna always be something within a football game. No game is played perfect, even the games when we going teams out. It was something that happened in that game that we wanted back, you know, So it is what it is.

We we don't want stuff like that to happen, but it do a.

More just big picture going into the body here with four games left, t what do you make of where the team is st at this point season?

Well, just take a deep breath, you know, just sit back and just get ready for this ride.

That's what I take from it.

A long You guys have s, you know, moments of brilliance on all phases at at t points, but it just seems like it isn't able to fully come together at least not on a consistent basis.

Is that what you guys see.

In the NFL?

How do you think you can go about basing it?

Yeah, definitely, we need to be more consistent just to play out of time, you know. If something happen in uh another pa, we don't it. It's been s situations in games where we'll have our first play is good, you know, but it's a penalty.

It's first and twenty.

We still get back on track and start making positive things happen. We need to just get to that situation and don't try to blame things on one play. You know, every a game is not one off one play early in the game. Probably later in the game probably is, but early.

In the game. We just fix that and just move on. That's what we need to do.

Want How frustrating was it in the third quarter to seem like you guys were doing exactly what you wanted to do, extending drives, keeping them off the field. Yeah, you have the ball into the whole third quarter ends and it's the same score.

Sys. It's Jeff, that's t I trying to find the right red to say about that. But man, we can't. We gotta finish, bro.

We just gotta finish those drives, man, especially in the game like this. It's a great team, great offense and defense. Uh, we gotta put points on the board, and we just didn't do that until later on in the game when it's when it's over.

Mmar, this offense has.

Been rather strong in red zone situations.

Just wasn't performance forces night?

What maybe was s struggling about them?

What did duels do?

What did you guys do that was effective? What kind of went down.

And play zone?

Uh?

Uh, I'll just say they defensive line was just was just doing a great job at you know, just tryna keep everything in front of them. Uh, just hauling tail to you know, backside runs and stuff like that. But like I said, we just gotta do a better job at point points on the board.

That's our job. We gotta do that.

Block 'em, throw passes, catch passes, do it all. That's that's why we the offensive players.

Why your connection with Mark Andrews too, it was really maybe as good as it's been all season.

Yeah, did you take me through that a little bit?

Why do you think it was extra special to that?

Uh, he's just a dog oh Mark m man Jos is a dog man and he always he always.

Wanna win, you know.

Uh, we need guys like that, you know, we have guys like that. We just gotta do it, you know, man Jos is who he is. Like I said earlier in the year when they was talking about the trading 'em that, you know.

Did you have said to what he was gonna do on a touchdown catch like he? I mean he made that little kind of hooked throat.

Yeah, I saw I'm sorry to cut you off. I saw him.

I saw him trying to make something happen you know, going like scramble drill, even though I wasn't scrambling, but all like they dropped everyone in the.

In the end zone and he just made he just did a good job a getting open.

I just had to put some put some speed behind the ball, philocity behind the ball for him to be able to make a play on it.

Or looking back, you feel like there were some opportunities to run today for you they may have passed up.

Yeah, my mama just told me that. She just she just custs me out. So like I'm I'm I'm mad. So like we gonna get after it. Br I ain't gonna lie to we gonna get after it. I can't wait til this boy get get on like we got the giants coming up.

I'm ready to go. Like I'm just ready to go. So what did you cut you out about?

She said it was lanes. I shoulda took uh rants. But you know, I was just tryna let guys develop routes. We had developing routes. I was just tryna go through my progression. But yees, she right, I'm gonna do my beard. I'm sorry, I I'm sorry for this. I'm just mad cause we I feel like we should win these.

Games and we we not get 'em done.

Not just to like the blast jec. Have you been making a concerted effort to run less and seems like they were happening.

Nah, that's r That's not on my mind. No, that's not on my mind.

I'm just tryna let things happen and tryna get my guys opportunities to get in the ball.

That's all they're going through my progressive.

So you're talking, you're talking about being frustrated right here, Uh about not closing these games. How much that frustration is reserved for your own performance?

Sh Uh.

I'm always gonna put myself at the at the front line, no matter if I played good or not. You know I I played alright, But yeah, I'm just ticked off cause I I we left things out there on that field. Meet everyone. You know, it's a team sport. They're not no I in team.

I don't think we sells yet out there.

John was asked about it and didn't give.

The reasons that he needs more information for you though, I mean, do you have a conversation with Deonte to make sure.

That he stays locked in and those that there's a role for.

Him moving forward.

Yeah, absolutely, we want to out there. You know, he's a great receiver. We didn't get him from the Panther for nine. I don't think so.

Themar big picture heading into the by eight and five, your game and a half behind the Steelers, what do you where do you think that the the full team is.

We don't need to worry about the Steelers. We need to worry about us. That's the first thing to wear about.

Whatever.

We need to clean up on this side, cleanup, like forget every other team. We need be beating ourselves out there. Little opportunities were not making them happen. You know, we need to make those critical situations happen, and we're not doing it.

Next, we heard from Justin Tucker.

We never missed a field goal and I next for pointing the same game and obviously missed two tonight.

What was going on out there for you? Uh?

As simply as I can put it, I miss the kicks and you know, I'll leave it at that.

I just left the points out there.

I feel like I cost us this one, but it doesn't really do anybody any good to dwell on it. The only thing that we can do that I can do is just continue to work, move forward, take one.

Kick at a time. You know, I I hate that.

I I've had to have this same conversation over the the course of this season, but uh, you know, that's that's something that comes with the territory in this job description that kicks a out, are good.

It or not? And uh, today.

I did not do a good enough job to help our team win the football game.

Well, thats just You've obviously never gone through a stretch like this to this part of your career. I mean, how are you dealing with this right now? I'm I are you how how are you mentally dealing with what's happening right now?

Yeah, I mean obviously right now, just immediately after the game. It's it's pretty raw emotionally for me. I mean, you know, anytime anytime we win, we come into locker room and we all feel great, and then you know, anytime we we lose, uh, you know, especially you know, for for me, given my performance today, it was just not up to our standard.

You know.

It's it's crushing, you know, but at the end of the day, my feelings don't really matter. What matters is getting back to work and doing everything that I can to help this football team win games down the stretch.

Just where do you go on that that we're out there for a kick now anything feel different physically when you're getting ads lining up to go ahead and take a kick and what it did in the past when it was all and you know, when.

We're just sure, I wouldn't, I wouldn't say so. I think it's just a matter of you know, and I've said this before that each kick kind of lives in its own world. You know, whether it's a pat or you know, a field goal from this hash going in this direction or vice versa. You know, each kick, uh kind of has to live on its own. And yeah, leave it at that.

You know, we've we've asked you about, you know, missing left and then think the second one you missed the night was right? Were you trying to change the target point where you're trying to compensate for some of the drift you've had left.

I wasn't really trying to compensate for any other kicks that had gotten away from me previously, because, like I said, each kick is its own, It lives in its own world, and it's its own it's its own challenge. So the the fact that a number of kicks have gone left on me, uh didn't have anything to do with why the fifty three yard or.

Uh why I pushed it right.

It was just a matter of I didn't strike the ball, uh, you know on the target line or on the exact target line that I wanted to on that.

Give and kick.

Has these recent games influenced your thinking and.

Going to the bye week?

How do you use this week to to prepare?

I think we're gonna treat this week just like any other break that we we've had before.

Uh.

You know, we're gonna turn over every stone, and you know I I will do that individually for sure, you know, to and just to address any and all issues I may have with my technique, anything tangible, anything concrete that I can you know, make it a point to remedy, you know. And that's what I mean when I say the only thing that I can do is just get back to work. The only thing that we can do is just get back to work and you know, do the things that we know will help our team win football games.

All right, I guess.

We also heard from Defense Alignment Nondi Metabek.

Just be there for him. You know, he's we we all know he's one of the greatest kickings of the laite history and you know, just having a tough time right now. He's human, so be there for him and don't switch on him.

And now you guys up to buy.

So what's the mindset now in terms of getting back at it.

Just refresh, you know, get your bodies right. You know, we started earlier than a lot of teams in the league, and we had a really late by week, probably the latest of one of the teams in the league. So everybody's a little banged up. You know, if you're not, you're not playing football. So everybody needs to just get ready, get get right, get their mind right, see their family, do what you gotta do, cause we have a four game stretch that we wanna try to win every game.

So, yeah, you guys did a great job bodling up there run game for until in the mid mid fourth quarter or so.

What was the key to keeping that in check?

To that point?

Is that the question one more time.

You guys did a great job bowling up their run game for three and a half quarters.

Basically, what was the key.

To keeping that in check?

Just doing our job, you know what I mean, just building a wall, u ustle in the d line, you know what I'm saying, looking at your keys, looking at your points of attack in the in the in the dbs, and that's what we wanna do, and that's what we were doing. We kind of let us slip the third quarter and then you know, I think they uh just played atter ball on the fourth That's just how it went about. So everybody just needs to just go in the field fix those things.

Right.

We're gonna go back tomorrow and watch some film things that we can correct them. Then everybody just get help, get back out.

You've gotta be real disappointing, you guys get all built up for this big game of the week, you know with the Eagles right now, just kind of wear the emotions.

Uh, you know, we're not exciting. You know, we lost, and I mean, if you lose, you're not gonna be excited. So the emotions is just we usually find ways to get better and look at the things that we did wrong and correct them.

That's what we got.

The touchdown drive that they have where sake one ends up with a run, there's.

Like three or four runs in a row there what what happened in that stretch.

He just found ways to get in those creases and take advantage of his momentum going forward and you know, gain yardage. That's what happened. Appreciate you.

Next we heard from linebacker roqu Wand Smith.

You know, take this about a week to recharge and we got a New York team that we have na uh in two weeks, so just preparing for that. But hatch off of those guys for getting a job done.

Okame, what do you think you did well in those first few drives against this offense that that maybe.

Got away from you guys.

Uh.

I think we just played our style of UH football, and I think that was uh simple. And you know, it's a long game. It's not about what you do, uh a couple drives out of the game. It's about what you do throughout the duration of the game. And uh, we didn't do it long enough. At the end of the day, they scored more points than us. And when you look at it like that, this team that scores the most points, that's the team that win.

Just you, the last couple of weeks, it seemed there's been some close games in you know, Pittsburgh and in this game.

Don't go your way?

How how frustrating is that the kind of feel like the games right there and and not quite measure up.

Oh, it's always frustrating when you're h we're in the NFL. You wanna win each and every game that you go out there and play. You prepare each and every week to win each and every game. So that's that's the mindset going in and at the end of the day, just looking at it and how the game ended, we didn't do enough, uh, in order to win. And as a defense, you know, team don't score, they don't win.

They're coming off an injury.

How'd you feel out there? Cause it did I feel fun?

Like?

I felt fine.

If I'm out there, i'm'a give it everything I got And that's what it's all about.

Uh, No sappy story for me.

I'll be ready whenever.

Well for three and a half quarters to really bottle up sae quon until that last driver he's gotten at the end zone.

What did you guys do so well?

And was it and at the end it was just you finally it's frustration when they got worked through.

Uh.

Yeah, no, I think we just stuck to our rules at the end of the day and then it was basically goes back to assignment, like, uh, all eleven guys didn't do their assignment on that and that's what it boils down to. Uh, at the end of the day, nine ten people can do the right thing. And I coulda did better on that play as well, you know. So, Uh, it's just about each and every guy doing their job and that was the main focus through the week and on that play, you know.

Everybody didn't do their job. And but it starts with it starts with me.

How do you think this result affects your approach going into the bye week?

Just give me more few, honestly, more few going into the bay week. Just knowing that, hey, you know, this game got away from us, but you can't let this game beat us twice. Uh have to recharge, and just knowing that, you know, four game stretch at the end, and if we do what we have to do to four game stretch at the end, can win the division. And just have to have that mindset. But just have to do it one game at a time.

Oh, kay's that by right now?

It's been a long season at this point, you really do have to wait this long to get to it.

Yeah, absolutely, I think that by is crucial, uh at this point in the season. Just knowing where we are as a team, uh, and the mindset that we have for knowing that we wanna make a push and we will make a push, and like having that reset button.

For their livelihood.

So at the end of the day, they have families defeat, so do we, So it's not gonna be a walk over. So we gotta go in p take this week off mentally, physically, give our bodies a reset, and then get ready uh for New York, And just knowing it's gonna be a nice little stretch.

Next up is cornerback.

What moments?

How do you kind of process this game and what do you guys do to to shake this off in the game?

Uh, hard to say. Obviously wanted to get the win.

I I I thought, you know, I thought we had some self inflicting wounds on offense and defense. But you're we gotta come in tomorrow watch the film. But you know, obviously wanted to get this one before the buye came up short, So y you kind of we'll see tomorrow, look at the film and then kind of go from there. But ya, it's a obviously not a great time to lose. But being that you got to buy, I guess, uh, it's it's got time to you got time to flush.

Probably when you have a guy like ya, I mean you you've been with Justin Tucker a long time. I mean you guys probably almost have taken his greatness for granted.

I mean a as a teammate.

Do you do you say anything to him when he's going through these struggles or do you sort of just trust him to get through it?

How do you how do you look at it? Yeah?

I think uh I s I said on the sideline, I think Tucker is I said this to some of the guys, or I said, I think this is normal for kickers. But we we've just had been so blessed by by Tucker's you know eliteness that you know, we kind of take it for granted. You know, used to sit down there on the on the when he goes out there and you know what's going in. But you know, I think great players they get out of those slumps, are great at at the right moment, and I think

And a half back in the Steelers before do you guys have full games left?

What do you what?

Do you think you had a chance of the still winning this decision?

I know we'll obviously we'll we'll need some I actually I think being there we play them, I think that gives us a pretty good chance there if they lose one, and then we if we when we went out, So I think we uh, I think we're in a good position, a great position. Watch his tape, clean some things up, enjoy this buy and then uh, come back where in a row?

Big picture, do you feel like the defense has turned a bit of a corner over the last month. I mean you you had some difficult things to say about the defense m month six weeks ago.

Yeah, it's been you know it, it's been fun to actually get through and ounce.

We we we had a a plethora of those I felt today.

Okay, I think the biggest thing after whatever game that was, man, it was it was time to play, you know, Ravens defense. And I think you know at A's at some defense and Ravens defense, there's a big gap between that and the it wa It was the message kind of became a little bit clear, or if you wanna play ball, then we'll get you out there, but if you don't,

And we were just the brand we were playing.

It's you know, it's disrespectful to be in in this Raven's uniform and play like that.

And I think.

I I I feel like we we've turned that corner. It's not perfect, but I still think there's a little more corn corners to turn. But the mindset has really changed. The mindset has has really really changed, And that's kind of where it starts.

Parlam.

Is there some I guess, I don't know, unhappiness or just what pessimism about how when you guys have had really good games on defense, it hasn't always aligned with the days when you have really good days on offense, and just you haven't.

Really be able to kind of match, you know, develop that kind.

Of whole complete game.

Yeah, it hasn't really I I know, the defenders, we haven't really looked at it as far as that aspect.

We're just kind of do what we can.

But you know, if you you take it back early to the season, you know, if if that I'm I'm happy, you know where we're We're just trying to move as as one unit.

Worry about the defense.

But earlier in the year, I mean, if we didn't have offense going crazy there, I don't know what our recor would be. So we haven't really th This isn't really uh much of a point your finger team. That's been the the best thing about this team it's let's do our job, do your job, and let's come together. But yeah, you definitely wanna get clicking on all cylinders offense, defense, special teams, and so uh, that's what we're chasing going forward.

MM more, when do you feel like when you're playing these top teams like the.

Chiefs and Pittsburgh and Philly that you're just lacking a kind of a complete effort in all three phases? Do you think that's sort of pulling your back against these teams?

I really, I really can't say. Oh, I really yeah, I really, I really can't really say. I I gotta I'd have to look a little more at the tape, but I do know there were some some self inflicted wounds there, But I really can't say.

You're listening to the Ravens Press Past podcast, make sure you're subscribed. Also head over to the Lounge podcast feed for a full breakdown of Sunday's game. Thank you so much for listening.

We'll be back with you again tomorrow.