Welcome to the Ravens Prespass Podcast. It is Thursday, October twenty fourth. The Ravens are gearing up for an AFC North game this weekend in Cleveland against the Browns. As they prepare for that game, today, we had a chance to hear from the coordinators, so let's kick it off with special teams coordinator Chris Horden.
Good to see everyone. I hope you guys are all doing well. Just a quick a little recap from the game. Very very pleased with our guys and kind of really just taking taking advantage of the opportunities that we are getting.
Was it Is it always perfect?
No?
I think there's a lot of things to work on because we still aren't playing our best football. But we do believe and we do understand that that's our track
and that's the trajectory that we are on. Our guys are playing hard, they're playing physical, we are blocking people, and we're just waiting to get more opportunities in more place this Looking forward to this week, you know, we gotta we got a Cleveland Browns team division game team that's uh, that's that's has that has a pretty good special teams unit from a personnel standpoint, and we just
again we've got to go out there. We got to really focus on us and executing our game plan so we can go out there and play our try to have again our our best game.
Uh.
Moving forward questions.
There's only been one team that's allowed on side kick and you've done it twice.
What what's happened and what.
Can you do about it?
I think obviously the one of the things is, you know, we just try to we just try to shake up our personnel a little bit. Obviously, it's not a it's not a situation where you know, it has happened twice, but we get it right the second time. Right, we got to get it right the first time. So I think we know what to do. We just got to
execute in that situation. We under we understand, you know, those are high level situations, and I think just maybe moving some pieces around, putting guys in different spots will really give us that ability to take care of that.
Other than that, that's that's really it.
It's not a I don't think.
It's a it's a it's a problem where there's like this big old fire, uh, you know, and it's happened twice.
Against us.
But there's ways that I truly believe that if we just execute the play like we've done the second time on both of these on side kicks.
We'd be fine.
We gotta get it done the first time, John said.
The other day part and got that.
And you know, not everybody wants to be out hands. So what do you look for other than obviously good hands? What does that sort of need.
To you that that you know what, It's probably just one of those situations, right again, I said, it's a it's a high leverage situation, right And I think you want you gotta just understand the guys that you are putting out there.
One, you gotta have.
You gotta have guys that can catch the ball.
But part of the other part is you gotta you gotta have guys that are that are willing to you know, that want to go get the football as well. If if the play isn't blocked and for the most part, guys are out there, they got to block guys. They gotta throw their body in front of guys to give their teammates an opportunity to fill that ball. Other than that, it's not it's not too much to it, you know, when you look across the leaguet, the kicks are the kicks.
Whoever's out there, all ten guys, eleven guys the jobs to fill the ball and it doesn't really matter who gets it.
Just at the end of the play, we have to have the ball.
The tough ross's waves played by the seas, he's assistance.
Just gonna pay.
What's that kind of loss?
You know?
I just think just you know, As for josh Man, you're excited for him, you know, because he's gonna he's gonna get the goal and he's gonna be on the active roster. And what he's done for us really over the last three years. Man, he's been a phenomenal player. Uh, he's a guy. He's a versatile guy. Guy you can move around and just plug and play, and he can
play multiple positions across the board on every face. But but it like looking forward to like what we have, you know, we s we still have players I believe that on our team that could could fill his role and do the things that he's done. So I don't think we're we're in a situation where we're in panic. Yeah, Joshua was a good player for us, but we still believe we have good players on our team that can fill that role.
The Ravens' offense has been humming. It's been playing like the best unit in the n of L this season. It's been four straight weeks the Ravens have had either Lamar Jackson or Derrick Henry went AFC Offensive Player of the Week and we heard from offensive coordinator Todd Munkin today.
Been successful putting up points in the first quarter.
I think last week was a real the first time we didn't.
As we're scripting, I mean, how many plays do you kind of script?
And has it changed over the years since you've been office for here?
No?
Maybe, oh skip the first script the first twelve that's normal downs, you know, get back on track and third downs is going to be a little bit different. Situationally, red zone would be different. You know what came up with the commanders that would have been different.
We got down there.
So with Lamar's kind of command over the pre snap this.
Year, some of you guys have talked about that and and did positive about it.
What have you seen even since the start for the year from him in terms of, you know, getting getting.
Better at that ability and making the last couple of weeks.
It's you guys have gotten in a option looks.
I've said to a lot of people, I thought we did a great job in the off season of kind of streamlining who we wanted to be. Second year in the system, I think he's more comfortable with the verbiage. I think we're doing a better job of presenting things to him systematically. So it's it's a lot of everything. I mean, he's always had the keys to what we do.
It's just a matter of us doing it better as a staff, doing it better as a team, and then him feeling comfortable with whatever he's getting us into a play, a call, a protection, whatever that might be. That's that's just to me, that's just an evolution of playing being together and a comfort level of just doing it more consistently.
Has it always been like this for you and all your stops as a coordinator, to where you know the quarterback has as much rain or power on the field as Lamar does.
Right now, you'd like it to be. I mean, you'd like the.
Center and the quarterback or the epicenter of everything that you do to have freedom to center in terms of IDs and protection checks, and then the quarterback, you know, to get us in the right play and protect himself. And I think whenever you empower people, you empower coaches. That's what a coordinator does. Empower our staff, you know, everybody's involved in what we do. And then you empower the players and you empower the quarterback and I think you just get more out of people.
But they not everybody wants that. Not everybody wants that, because then you got to own it. You know, when you change something and it doesn't work.
Now, like I've said, now you're me, now you're now you're upset when it doesn't work, you know, so you just got to be ready to do that.
You have to you have to own it, you know.
And when you become involved in anything in life and you become more involved, there's a lot more on the good and the bad of it.
So you know, I mean, that's where we want to go.
That's where I think every uh, every player wants to be, especially every quarterback.
When you were transitioning to a more like twelve personnel and twenty one personnel type offense this offseason early season, did you expect.
It to be this exposive?
Well, I mean, I don't Well, first off, I don't it's still weak to week. I mean, we can't carry over points and yards. I say that every week. I mean we got to do it this week. You know, we've even evolved during the season I think from the beginning of the year till now, you know, you know, without a preseason, you know, to really with Derek and Lamar.
Some of that's part of it.
Maybe that's a little bit of an excuse, but as you get going, you're like, Okay, who who is it we want to be?
Who do we need to be?
How do we utilize our personnel? And that's ever evolving. I mean, I don't know in three or four weeks where we'll be at that point. But we do have
good players. We have really good coaches that do a great job each week, you know, with our game plans and areas, so that gives us a chance, you know, and trying to take advantage of without being too predictable the skill sets that they have, because all of them have some sort of an elite skill set that you can utilize here and there different parts of your offense.
Lamark, I've just got a lot of attention for being a lead blocker on Derek's cutback run there. But also the thing you know, on Batman's fifty nine yard catch, he's the first guy there to actually help them up, you know, sixty years down the field, ever throw it, He's the first guy there.
When you see that resoname, what does that mean to the adrest of the team, the.
Players to see their star quarterback and willingness.
To be like that. He just likes to play foot. He's like a big kid, you know, it's fun to be around.
I mean, it's it's rare that he had that. From my perspective that he has a bad day, I'm sure he does, but you gotta love his personality and how much he loves to play football, you know, loves to compete, loves to win.
You know.
That's a great start, you know, and that's, uh, that's what shows up.
You know, at that moment.
He's not afraid of getting hurt, he's not afraid of pulling a hamstring. He's happy for his teammates, he's happy for us, he's happy that we're having success.
And uh, I think that's an unbelievable attribute.
The last three games, there's been some snap issues between Tyler and Lamar out of out of shotgun, and I think they've all been kind of different.
This week.
It seemed like a timing issue with Zay going in emotion. Is there a common thread between some of those issues getting snapped to Lamar or are you just asking Tyler or anyone else in the offense to do more to kind of deal with more issues.
You know, the ones at Cincinnati where he dropped it. You know, I'm not trying to put it on him, so I don't want it to sound like that. But snap was fine. The one in the game the other day is Lamar signaled for the motion and unfortunately, you know, Tyler then lifted his head to look to make a change, and then Lamar was trying to get the ball. And but it really doesn't matter. We can't have it right. You can't have the ball on the ground. I don't
care who it is. It's tailback, wide out, quarterbacks. You know, it puts you in a tough spot, really.
Does you know.
And we added to that the anxiety at the end of the game. We added to you know, with the penalties. The ball on the ground, you know, a lot to clean up, you know, really, I mean there's a lot of good, but there's a lot there to clean up. That put us really in some really long third downs and got us out a red zone and just like, I mean, like, what what the heck?
You know?
I mean, and but it is what it is.
We got good players that helped us survive that and get us out of that. But that's not a recipe for success, as.
We all know.
So it hasn't been an issue in the totality of the couple of years that I've been here, but it has been the last few games, and we got obviously got to get it cleaned up.
The second guess some places that don't work. It's the lateral something you like to have back in the game, or I mean, what was it about that play? It was just not execute other than the obvious end results.
It's bad football. Maybe put them back in the game. I mean, it's there's no other way to put it. I mean, it can't happen, not with me who's running it, or us doing it, or just bad football. You know, that's what That's what gave them life. They may say differently on that side, but if we just took a
knee three times punted, we're better off than that. And Uh, so that that's an obvious you know, it can't happen, can't be a lateral, can't it up with the ball on the ground, And we got to get him on the ground, and yeah we touched his knee, but for God's sake, the guy was carried us for twenty yards.
I mean we're tougher than that.
That wasn't design, It was them.
No, no, no, you worked with James Winston.
Do you get any time this week to talk to Zach about him his friends and tells or is it just not anything there because it's a different offense.
From now, it's different.
It's been six years, you know since we worked with Jamis and I was there three years with Jamis, and I love Jamis.
I mean he loves football. You gotta love guys that love football. Man. He loves football like you people say they love football. Man.
That dude loves football. He loves his teammates. He owns it, like when we're Tampa. Never threw us under the bus, the coaches, he owned it. He works awfully hard. There's a lot to love about Jameis Winston.
I guess the list specifically had allowed success against it. What are some of the things that you guys have done to make that happen. And does Lamar have in any ways more tools or more counters or deal with it than he.
Has an advanced all the above, I mean, I think we're doing a better job schematically, doing a better job protection. Lamar is doing a better job of understanding, you know, where to go with the ball, how to.
Get it out.
It's all of that, and he has more to disposals. It's not usually just one thing. You know, there's a lot of factors that goes into being successful and anyone play that comes up, but especially against pressure, is us consistently doing the same things over and over and over. There was one where you know they overloaded the back. I might have been in the two minute where he got it out like very quickly with someone in his face.
He's he's getting better at the anticipation of things. So there's a lot of things that the guys are doing better and we'll be challenged again this week. That's so what we've been getting every week is pressure, different forms of it, different variations of it.
But now the answer we're going to continue to see is the goal.
To be almost like welcome teams jueling that and Gazi they're taking the risk when they do it might be better question for him, But is it almost now like kind of religion? An opportunity to go against the brig there?
Well, I mean.
Gives you confidence, you know, moving forward, to be able to execute when teams are bringing different forms of pressure. To say that, I relished that. I'd rather everybody best play four down quarters and just line up. That'd be a lot more fun. We could go home at eight o'clock at night and not you know, be up all night worrying about every single day pressure you can see
and the players you go against at are elite. You know, it's you know so, But that is what that makes you earn your money is how you protect, how you handle you know, looks, and then adjusting to how you see it. And our players and our coaches have done a great job of that. Like I said, I'm I'm just the guy that calls it. You know, the guys are the ones that have to get it executed, and the coaches or really the guys that get it done.
Next up is defensive coordinator Zach Orr.
What's going on? How I do.
Difficulty being the first team to go up against someone who's starting a quarterback and.
Calling their list.
I mean we're kind of looking at it as a blessing in disguise because what become well we've been trying to preach the last couple of weeks is you know, we obviously got to know our opponent, know the person knel to have the best plan to defeat them. But it's really about us and our rules and our fundamentals and playing it. So obviously they got a quarterback who you don't have much film on this year with these
type of players in this system. Then you got a new play call who hasn't play, who hasn't called plays uh with this personnel, So it's definitely gonna be a little bit of unknown, but.
That that just makes us focus on our job even more.
The fourth quarter of test games, did you guys Shore think it forth the gas? Whatever they last seven man's the score points?
I don't.
I don't think we took the uh took our foot off the gas From a from a physical standpoint, I think we did have a couple of you know, mental lapses in that fourth quarter, man, and that was that was frustrating.
That was that was frustrating. Disappointing.
You know, we was happy we won the game, but we kind of, you know, we felt we felt real bad. And the thing that we've been talking about the last couple of days is, Man, it's it's how you finish. We were just talking about just in life in general, it's not how you starts, how you finish. And our our players did a hell of a job from really the second quarter all the way through that fourth quarter, and then you know, the fourth quarter was terrible, and
that's what everybody's gonna talk about, you know, rightfully. So so you know, we definitely got to finish better. Something that we have to do if we wanna be the team that we wanna be. We have to finish and close out games on defense. But it, uh, we're looking at it now. This is what week eight and just kind of like I said, it's now how he starts, how you finish. We looking finishing strong the rest of the season, especially in the fourth quarter.
Zach, I have you seen Marlin progress from camp to start of the season to now.
Man, I just see, man, he he been working hard. Man, Like I we knew in camp was like, Man, Marlow's back. He's back to that All Pro, Pro Bowl level and uh.
Crad to him.
He's been in his playbook, he's been out here working and weve been able to move him from different spots. Played nickel, play the corner, and he's made plays. Man, He's made plays. He's been a big part of our defense. I think he already got with four interceptions. He's been locked down and coverage, been great in the run, great as a blitzer. So I'm really proud of Marlin man, just like how he's approach and attack every single day.
And Uh, I think it's I think he sees that and we see that his play uh got back to a high level.
I think he's probably playing highest level football he's probably ever played his career with.
The secondary having those struggles.
What can the two interception able him to do for that entire gream.
Well, it changed, It changed the game, and we talk about it.
Man.
It's like, at the end of the day, if you want to if you want to play good defense, yeah you can. You can stop people, get people out the field. But the best way to play good defense is get the ball. The most important thing in football is the football, and our job is to take the ball away and give our ball, give the ball back to the offense. And so two takeaways like that just shows our guys that you can you take the ball away, you can
change the game. And what we was most proud about is the two takeaways Marlon got it was it was simple coverage, him just doing his fundamentals, him doing his technique, and then when the play presented itself to.
Make it, he made it. So you know who was happy about that?
Three seven weeks, we've seen running backs come out of the backfield and you guys either be late picking them up or not pick him up at all.
Why is that happening?
And how what do you have to do to County Tea. Yeah, we gotta get we got definitely got to get that fixed because that's been happening too often. It's been a couple miscommunication and there's been a couple.
Of things that I can help those guys out with. Trying to get to some anxietic looks.
Teams are not letting us trying to get into that, trying to speed break and get back out faster the flat. So that's an easy fix, and we anticipate team's gonna stinue to do that.
So you know, great with Marlin status being up in the air a little bit this week, how encouraging was it to see Nate Wiggins. I mean, he played a career high number of snaps, made plays on the ball, and then I don't think he gave up a reception.
Just what are you seeing from him?
As far as his progression now, It's great to see Nate back out here in practice.
Man, he needs it. It's like anybody, any player, especially a young player.
Man, the more they can practice, the more to get these games, The more experience they get, the better they're gonna be, especially with Nate's talent.
So I think you've been seeing them get better game.
By game, practice by practice, and like we like we said, man, he's real talent. He's one of the most talented guys, one of the most talented guys, especially coming out of the draft.
And he's right on part with what we expect him to be.
So him being out here practice, him continue to playing these games, you can continue to see his level of play rise.
Is he a good challenge to coach in the sense that I mean he's been credited with quite a few passes defense, but also he's had some of the penalties with getting a little two hands evening. Is that like a fine balance with wanting to coach the proper technique but not wanting to take that aggressiveness.
Away from Oh yeah, definitely, definitely. Like we we we like our guys playing aggressive, you know, and we we always coach him up. We always show him what's gonna be called and what's not gonna be called. And especially at the in the in the defensive backfield, after five yards, you can't test the guy. And then any little tug, any little grab, they're gonna call it, you know, and you gotta spect them, calle. So we try to teach our guys to play aggressive.
But play with you know, play with our feet, and play play within the rules.
Not a ton from Dick Chubb last week's fart on table. When you did see man, what did did he look like the Nick Chubb you remember?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, he's he still he's still Nick Chubb. I mean I saw him.
He had a run just in a in a in a low red zone, probably about the five yard line. They hit him at the five yard line and he ended up getting tackled at the one. So the strength is still there, we know, the first game back, they was kind of easing them back into that.
We expect the Nick Chubb of old, which is top.
Running back in the league, and we expect them to give him the ball a lot more than they did last week.
I think our first is off of the last.
Can you come back at that secondary?
It's definitely a boost.
Man.
Art's a vet.
Art knows the system. He played a lot of good football for us last year. He had he was having a heck of a camp, you know, before he had his little injury. So I mean just adds adds more depth to our secondary, adds another playmaker, adds another chess piece that we could use to help us out last week.
Last week you were talking about when you need to get eleven.
Hats to the ball? When you were you pleased with that part of the effort and not.
Kind of what you talked about And how do you kind of epize.
That out of here?
Yeah, I mean guys were getting hats to the ball, and credit to them a lot of it. A lot of what's happening is is, you know, we got screened a lot last game, and that's what teams are gonna do when team see you, you know, pursuing.
To the ball.
They're gonna run misdirection plays and screens to try to slow you down. So I think that you know, levin hats to the ball was good. The effort's been fine. We challenged our guys today, let's take it to the whole other level. Let's take it to another level. It's another level we can get to.
So I definitely we've been pleased with the effort, but we know it can go up some more.
And out here you just always coaching and preaching it. You know, get to the ball, get to the ball, Get to the ball, and then when you get into the meeting room showing it and showing the good examples and showing examples, that got to get better.
So exactly third down from Burton raid verb was allowing him because it's a bit higher than you wanted to be guests, what's the challenge of stopping team of third down?
Was supposed to the first two?
Just what goes into that that isn't unique.
That you have pruson Lamn.
I think the first thing a lot of the getting them into more third and longer situations. I think this last game, in particular, it was a lot of third and one third and two third and threes, and obviously we had to deal with the with the speed breaks in the back to the flat. So you know, we gotta do a better job of starting stopping teams on third downs. When we stop teams on third down, I mean, shoot, we're gonna, we're gonna. We know we're gonna pretty.
Much win the game.
But I think we help ourselves out by getting them into third and longer situations where you can really like tee off and attack quarterbacks and protections exact.
But we didn't ask you after after last week, but I guess two weeks into D and D back and having a game day roll, what has he kind of contributed to you and what is that hondoing dialogue with you guys?
Like, Man, it's been great, it's been wonderful. I literally just told him that. I said, Man, I appreciate you being here. You've helped us out in tremendous ways and glad that you came aboard. And I think you can ask anybody in our staff about that, and I think
you can ask our players. So he's been a great just personally for me, just a great sounding board for me as far as like game planning, you know, how to different ways attack offenses that fit within what you know we do here and what he's done here, what he's done in the past and other places, and then just you know, offering his advice just for for uh, you know, all the positions, Like Dean been a coordinator for what forty forty seven plus years he has at
I mean, he's probably forgotten more football than all of us here, no, combined.
So he's been great. He's been wonderful. On game day, he's been great.
You know, offering you know, suggestions, just keeping update of what the offense is doing. So we're very pleased with what he's doing here and it's just as we continue to build that connection, I think the results are just gonna continue to get better.
Yeah, he's been in the booth.
We also heard from safety Kyle Hamilton.
It's a physical style of play, physical brand and play. We're all pretty much the.
Cold areas you're saying Decepber January, and.
It's rugged football games. I think everybody who plays it just had to be a part of it and add to that culture.
How close do you feel like you guys are to playing you know, four quarters of consistent quality football on the defensive side.
Yeah, I mean I I think I don't think we're close. I think we've done it, and it's just a matter of being consistent with that. It's something that I know we can achieve, and it's frustrating to have these thirty point leads at our offense, uh and and defense to that point in the game. I think somebody said we got like six straight stops and six straight scores, and that should have been eight strade stops and eight trade scores.
You know, so you may have looked at the score at the end of the day, I think the game was closer than it was, and I think that's something we pride ourselves on as a defense, and you know, I feel like we we have full confidence in ourselves and we want to go out there and be able to put that on display. I think guys are working too hard on our side of the ball to be going out there and giving up twenty points for no reason.
Next, we heard from linebacker Brookwan Smith.
Set the topic for tackle on Chris.
I think we saw the NFL's reviewing that for a hip drop in the met right.
Look at what you did think about that tackle?
But do you think that needs a definition of what he to drop this first and foremost, Well, like, you know, just send prayers and speedy recovery out there Chris and whatnot. Like, got a lot of respect for him as a player, what he's accomplished throughout this league, and a little I've seen of him seems like a really good dude and what i've heard, good family man. So you know, you never want to see anybody go down with any type
of injury. But we play a very physical game and it demands a lot and bullists are flying pretty fast and you know, but I never go into any game meaning to injure any player. I want every player to go back home safe and sound to that family. Maybe a little sore, but other than that, I definitely want you to go back home to the family all safe and sound. That's not really something to discuss in this moment.
So, yeah, how do you kind of take this game where you guys obviously had to stretches defensive really dominant, you know, cause turnovers could have had a few more. But then obviously the fourth quarter when haywired. How do you kind of take those two things?
Yeah, absolutely, you just have to take the positives from it, and just knowing how many of those mbps big opportunities that we did miss out on in the game, and just knowing if those things would have happened, how like how much it would change the outcome of the game.
So when you think about it from that perspective, and then the little things that did come to bite us, just honing in on the small details want to get laid in the game, and just having that ball constrictive mindset, like just squeezing the life out of each and every team and individual when they out there on the field against us. We're quiting a.
Few approach preparation for a game like this where you've got a starting quarterback who hasn't started for this team, has it started very much over the last few years. And you'll also have a new play caller. I mean, I mean, how much more challenging.
Does that make preparation?
Just maybe dealing with a.
Little bit more unknown than usual.
Honestly, I don't think it makes anything tougher. I think it just allows let's just go out and be ourselves, play our defense, you know, and you know, humans are creatures of tendencies and habits and things like that so new play call of things may have been been a little different U in down and business and things like that, but it's more of just coming out playing our brand
of UH football. But got a lot of respect for UH Winston and uh you know the career he's had, UH Hosman Winner, you know, done a lot of great things, and as well as with Chubb coming back, expecting his stuffload to come a little more and obviously got utmost expect for a guy like Chubb because I know how you work and the.
Type of guy that he is.
Bro Horn, you talk about the physicality of the game, look at these division matchups in the AFC North, I mean, how physical do do you feel like these games the physicality gets ratchet a.
Little bit more than you tube, Oh, no doubt about it.
I think, like truth be told, I think like going against Cleveland and Pittsburgh, those like like two of the most physical games of the year, regardless of who you play it. And I think that's just what the AFC North UH football is all about. So I pride myself on fit and I'm sure a lot of those guys do the same. And I know for a fact the guys in his locker room propping themselves on physicality. So it's about who's gonna be more physical uh Sunday and that's who will win the game?
Brochuble together with your opsit pretty well just kind of what have you you know, seem like come back and then how are you guys preparing to to face obviously team.
That he very well?
Yeah, no, absolutely, Like I said, a lot of respect for Chubb and everything he's accomplished throughout his career, uh and what he will accomplish and yeah, just knowing last week with his first game back and then expecting his workload to uh to go up a little bit more this week. And with that being said, you know, stopping and run that's our goal each and every week, making a team one dimensional and if I feel if we do that, take the run away, then we can have some fun.
Bro.
What do you see from maryl and his two packs?
And how do you feel like he's progressed the season or since camping?
Yeah?
Man, they used to say he had uh hands like a snake, but uh uh now man, I got the guy got on the jug, so he's he's he's been catching him, but I'm guy's been busting his tail. Uh, the way he's been throughout Camp OTA's and throughout the season. Man, the guys just honed in, focused on the details and just trying to, you know, take the team to that next level. And I think the way he's been playing has been huge for our defense and we're definitely are gonna need him along the stretch.
You're listening to the Ravens pres Past podcast, make sure you check out the Lounge podcast feed as well and hit that subscribe button for both podcasts. We'll be back with you tomorrow as we hear from head coach John Harball for his final press conference of the week before the team heads to Cleveland for that matchup on Sunday at one o'clock. Thanks for listening.