Ricard, Kolar, & Harbaugh: Ravens Training Camp 8/6/24 Press Conferences

Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass podcast. It is Tuesday, August sixth. The Ravens thought another training camp practice today. Afterwards, we had a chance to hear from head coach John Harball, who shares some updates on Ravens players dealing with injuries.

Had a great practice, tough practice, hot, second back to back padded practice physical, the last padded practice before we played Eagles on Friday. Thought the guys showed up. They showed up ready to go to work. It was fun. Can't wait to watch the tape. Had a little drill there at the end, fumble recovery drill. George Gatzi, coach Goatzy runs that drill teaches those guys how to recover fumble.

So it's a little.

Wet, you know, high pressure hose is a lot of fun. So we recovered the last one. I can tell you that the last one we got recovered. What questions you have, John, We saw your side.

Russell Gage his first practice out of the team. We went into that signing and then how did he look out there today?

Yeah?

It was Uh, he was an opportunity for us. Really, I mean, he's guy that's proven, proven player, catches tough player, physical player, great hands, just approven NFL veteran type player, just starting today, look good, but just starting kind of ramping him up a little bit of an enigy. He got his helmet out there about one. He was out there at one twenty so, but we got him out

Puts the challenge and the guy.

He does so much conference, well, we have to ramp him up a little bit, no doubt about it. Brian. I mean, he's just hadn't done hadn't done anything, you know, from the first day, really been working on that the hamstering issue. So we're gonna bring him along. But the good news is it's still pretty early in camp relatively speaking. We've got still got three full preseason games and plenty

John, in the last couple of years, you've seen you don't really play a lot of starters in the preseason and anticipate that being the same.

Case of industry. Well, it's case by case. As you know, there's certain guys aren't gonna play, and you'll probably figure out who they are and then we'll, uh, we'll play all the guys that need to play. Everybody else is said nothing but the positive things to say about Trenlan Simpson in the class treman. I guess what's the most difficult thing about stepping into a much bigger hole in that position back? Well, I mean it's always a step, but this in this league. I think your point is

Right probably catching David down answer, how these younger singer store pushing pushing the better last.

Responsive, Yeah, the young receivers, right, Well, I think they're they're pushing. You know, none of them is like pushed through. Yet they're all they're all making dents, you know. And John made a nice stent there with that touchdown catch up the sideline, great throw from Devn so you know it was well covered. I mean it was really well covered too. So but just keep working those guys. I think they're all working really hard and uh, you know, at some point in time, hopefully it shakes out in

You got to really lie and makes them play the emotion on that defensive sideline.

After that, what are you trying to accomplish when the pip.

The guy in that situation that I mean, yes, good question, Bo. And you can imagine just the opportunity to to apply all the work that you've done and build as a foundation underneath your your game as a player into a situation, a circumstance where you're in that moment and you have an opportunity to make the play and uh, you know, Sanusi came up and made a play right there. And that's it's so exciting and so emotional for guys, I think because they work so hard to be in that moment.

Here to hit the edge and I think went untouched in the edge. To see a guy that big able to move that.

Fast, well, yeah, it really is. What else can you say? I mean, he looked great and I just very impressed with Derrick Henry in every way and I can't wait to see him out there in games.

Following in the interest of starters, it's important to you to get so he looks for significant.

Amount of looks with Derek with live carries in the run game or to see.

A guy that and we know what he can do.

If we're trying to keep as many carries as you can't get, well we're not gonna get live carries. You know, it's not gonna be tackling to the ground with Derek in practice. But we do understand that for a lot of guys like Derek, the the practices are the game reps. You know, these are like they've got to be treated like game reps. Put yourself in that frame of mind when you when you practice, so when the game comes against Kansas City and thereafter you're you're you've you've been

We also heard from Pro Bowl full back Patrick Riccard.

Kind of feels I.

Mean, you've been in a lot of dreaming teams.

It's just the hottest, you know.

This is my eighth training came down here. I think it's definitely one of the hottest ones. I think my rookie year or second year, I think it was every day it was like in the nineties, no rain, no clouds. But yeah, it's definitely been hot, especially in full pass. It seems like it's been mid nineties and then tomorrow we're in Sheldon. It's in the seventies, so like, it's all good that will get us better.

Something about.

What he likes and he doesn't like him clowns kind of build him.

Yeah, it's nice to finally get to prack just together and kind of see what plays he likes. And he told me he likes every running play, so it makes it easy. And for me it's just you know, kind of see what he sees in terms of the flow of the how the rum play kind of develops, and how I should hit the hole to get my guy so he can run off of it as little things

Good forgot me be Good's so good kind of get.

Yeah, I mean, okay, so it's a little weird, but if you look at Derek, he is a lot of legs, Like he is very very long legs. So I think that's why he's very fast, very explosive, very hard to bring down because when you're moving those big legs, it's really hard to bring down. But yeah, it's just incredible how his size he has that size, but that speed.

That's why he's so special. Yet for the Lamar and Derek back.

No, I think I think the fans will kind of you know, get that or as the season goes on, you know, I think guys will give names.

In this league, we think of like affix of dread, which position of flexibility a little guy like Jared McKinnon right running back.

I feel like you guys have that.

With big bodies, where likely you can play a bunch of different places.

You've already shown you can play four or five because it's Charlie Koehler continued to develop.

Maybe his skills to how important could that flexibility at a heavy strengia.

Yeah, I mean I think regardless of heavier, smaller guys, it's all about versatility and being positionless to where you can kind of play multiple spots, multiple roles. But yeah, being bigger guy, I mean it helps. Like we also have you know, say Flowers as a smaller guy but can play all over the place. So I think it's I don't think it matters about the size. It's more of

You want to do a season within general idea, how much you think you're gonna play and what your role is gonna be here?

Do you find that?

It's just it seems like it's been ever evolving and in a lot of your seasons. So is that kind of how.

You look at it?

So for me, I think it's more of kind of how games go. You know, if we're if we're down by a lot, we're gonna pass the ball a lot and we're not. I'm not gonna be in there running routes. Really, it's gonna be more protections and all that stuff. So

But yeah, that's the biggest.

Thing, you know, I think the biggest thing about Mark and Isaiah is they have like like backyard football kind of sense when they play. They have a lot of they can they feel space and and they're able to get They're able to get open is the biggest thing, and.

You can kind of see it from both of them. And Lamar is the same way. He can sense.

Of where they're going to be, even if it's the route isn't exactly how it's supposed to be, but they get open.

I think that's like what you can see a lot with Isaiah and Mark.

But I think that all those biggest thing is they love to compete, especially those two. They're just always trying to get better and different things, but with each other because they're very similar players.

How much more efficient do you think you guys can be throwing.

The ball at?

I mean, I think very It all depends what we're going to see, but yeah, you have two big body guys like that who can get open, who can make you know, difficult catches and are hard to bring down, don't I think it's gonna be very efficient, but it's not gonna take away from everything else that we're gonna do.

You see here not only have to touchdown, but to keep the guy gets that last target kind of go Andre.

I know you guys can get, but what kind of confidence should to take and just how much take on the next sea?

Yeah, I mean he was a quarterback at Villanova and then came here as a receiver. And when you when you saw him running as a receiver early on in like OTAs in camp, he's just like dad.

This guy is a big body.

Like he's physical, he's he tacks the ball, but he's also very athletic.

So from the transfer transition to tight end.

I think it's been a pretty seamless transition for him.

He's still he's still learning, but I.

Mean he's he's been, you know, very active in meetings. He's been always trying to get better, especially in the running game because that's fairly new to him. You know, as a quarterback and receiver, you're not really blocking too much. But I think, you know, as every day he keeps stacking practices and meetings, he's gonna get more and more confidence, especially with these games coming up. I'm just excited to see what he does.

And lastly, today we heard from tight end Charlie Kohler.

Obviously we've got a really good room. We got four guys who have played decent amount of football. I think I can. I think I can be really effective in the run game and then play Action World. Uh, just stretching the edge, like being violent on the perimeter, and then when you get a chance, and obviously you know marken Zage most of the targets. So just like finding where I can fit in the play Action World, Boots,

Charlie.

We heard you know, the rookie fumbles role at the end, we heard you telling a lot of the rookies to go back. And then your third year on a fairly young offense, you feel yourself stepping into more of a leadership role. You know, third year tight end, you know, one of the leaders on the offense. Just in terms of the move, I'm being here for a couple of years.

That's a great question. But I was just kind of being a jerk right there, so that wasn't necessarily a great leadership role. But uh, I mean, I certainly don't feel like I'm older. But then you see what percentage of the team every year as a rookie, you realize how old you are in retrospect to the team, even

Just continue to improve. You're blocking as an entree into expanding your piated.

Yeah, well I didn't block anyone in college, so it's definitely learning in the first few years. I just think that I believe in myself in the passing world, and I still do. And so if I can just continue to add that run game and the blocking stuff. You know, I've put on good weight. I feel like I'm the healthiest I've ever been in the league. And so I think if I can just continue growing in that world, there's a lot of snaps available, so Lineman.

And Nan honor and I give you advice.

And adding Mo was great my first two years ear league was close with Moe and Ronnie. Ronnie is still here. McCarey's great. I mean, I work with some like an off season's old tight end, Logan Paulsen. He's helped me out a lot. He's old blocking tight end from the Commanders.

In the game just getting to see side.

Yeah, yeah, that's a good question. I definitely wasn't like as in in college, I was primarily a receiver, just like that's just what I was asked of me. And so even though like I was involved in the run game, it wasn't like a primary you know, I was backside cut off, perimeter blocking. It's a lot different when you're like front side of gap scheme er outside zone. And so definitely like learning a lot more in the run game,

Offseason team doing different teams.

I switched from Bud Heavies to Bud Light. That helped a lot. I'm just kidding, but uh no, I mean I think that I'm a pro and I'm not in college anymore, and so like just the just the whole aspect of the of the game, you know, the lifting, the better nutrition, the taking care of your body, the recovery stuff, and also just healthy. You know, I had two core surgeries in two years at becoming Murky year,

But yeah, do you feel like you have an effect learned a whole new position with just entirely different muscle memories than the college position.

Yeah, I kind of do. It's uh, well, certainly I still do the past game stuff. You know, it's very much switched. We're in college. I was vast majority receiving small majority blocking. Now is the other way around. And yeah, I mean it's totally just uh i'd say, like, uh, not that I've That's a good way to put it. I haven't like changed the position, but I've learned on a new position. I like that because I haven't forgotten the past game stuff. I'm just not asked about it

So we think we would be you kick off. I assume that's gonna be a substantial portion of responsibility. Tell us what you what's you? What's your process for trying to understand it? And I get holy we just heard a presentation k very.

Detailed of that from whom from who Oh no, No, I'm I'm excited, man, I get to run less. That's a win.

Uh.

Also, it's like, I I think there's gonna be in my opinion, you're gonna have like if you watch the Hall of Fame game we watched on film, I think there's gonna be a ton of returns that are like twenty to twenty thirty yard line and then occasional huge ones because the biggest difference is, like if you think about the old kickoff, we went from the thirty five everyone runs down. You got different speeds, different sizes, guys

Charlie, we talked about in college, we're more in the past game. Now it's more block and have you found ways to get as much excitement out of maybe finishing a block as it is completing a fifteen yard catch.

Yeah. I so, even in college, I always thought that the most satisfying thing in offense is a good four minute drill because they know you're running it. You know you're running it, their mom knows they're running it, the stadium knows you're running it. Everyone knows you're running it, and you can still run it. And I think that, like the that's kind of the essence of the run game is like it's a lot more of just you know what I'm doing, I know what you're doing, and

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