John Harbaugh Press Conference (12/22)

Featuring Head Coach John Harbaugh


Opening statement:

“I want to welcome everybody here and welcome my dad here; family is in town. I’d like to thank my dad, Jack Harbaugh, for all the great coaching advice and inspiration over the years that we’ve been able to apply to this football team. You guys may not know it, but my dad spoke to the team earlier in the year and has been around on and off and has a great relationship with the players and coaches. I think in his way he’s had a tremendous impact on whatever success this team has had this year. So, dad, thank you. I appreciate it. What’ve we got?”

How upset were you and the players with the rumor that Dallas handpicked the Ravens to play in the last game at Texas Stadium because they expected it to be a sure-win?

“It was an interesting rumor that we heard, and certainly we had some fun with it. It was part of the conversation leading up to the game. So, I’d say that was our reaction to it.”

How much impact will the outcome of the Patriots-Buffalo game on Sunday have on your choice of what players to activate and/or rest against Jacksonville?

“That’s a really valid question. We’ve been through that before in previous years. The situation is going to be that their game is played at 1:00; our game is played at 4:15. Our activations have to be made an hour and a half before game time. So, where does that put us – halftime? So, we’re not going to know the outcome of that game when we decide who’s going to be up and who’s going to be active. Our approach is going to have to be to go into the game assuming that that game has to be won to make the playoffs. We’ve got to prepare that way anyway. So on Sunday its going to have to be the same thing because we’re not going to know to be able to make personnel decisions before the game starts as to who’s up and who’s not up should the scenario happen that we’ve clinched. We’re assuming we’re not going to clinch, and we’ll play the game as if we haven’t. Now, during the game if that changes, we can make the decision during the game. But as far as those kinds of personnel plans go, we aren’t going to have the luxury to do that.”

Who would be the players that you might choose to protect or rest on Sunday?

“Those would be situations that would come up as possibilities as the game starts or as the game goes on. We have to make those decisions as we go. Right now, obviously, the approach is we need to win the game and we need all hands on deck.”

Could you talk about WR Derrick’s Mason performance in the game on Saturday and how he is feeling today?

“We just saw him in the training room and he’s working like he has been. One thing leads to another with the shoulder separation. You have some trap issues and things like that that come up, and there are different treatment patterns for those different injuries that come up. But he’s handled it – like we talked about after the game – in a very courageous way. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a tougher football player in 25 years of coaching. It’s a tribute to who he is as a competitor, and I’m sure he’ll be out there Sunday doing whatever is necessary to help the Ravens win that football game.”

How is T Willie Anderson’s ankle and is his injury similar or worse than his previous ankle injuries?

“I think it’s similar to the other ones he’s had. It’s kind of in the same vein. He came back and did the same thing, really, that ‘Mase’ did. You can put them in the same category. When [Willie] went running back out there, I know one thing, it raised my spirits, and our team felt the same way.”

When did you make the decision to modify this weeks’ practice schedule and give the players off on Christmas Day?

“We had a conversation with the 30-plus [age] group about three weeks ago about that schedule. We went back and forth, and there was some discussion, really, among the players about the continuity of the week. The players were more than willing to practice on Christmas Day. Then you have to make some decisions about whether you go early, do you go late. We just decided as a group that with the extra day of preparation the coaches would have two days to prepare the game plan, like they always do. We can put our Wednesday into Tuesday, our Thursday into Wednesday, and give our families a chance to have us home for Christmas – not just the players but the coaches, the organization, really everybody in the building. We felt that was, in the end, an easy decision to make. So I think everybody’s pretty excited about it.”

Can you talk about what it meant for RB Willis McGahee to score the touchdown on Saturday in a season where his role has been reduced, and how has he handled his altered role?

“Willis has handled the whole season pretty well. He’s been disappointed because things haven’t worked out, I’m sure, the way he planned going in as far as number of carries and yards and all those measurable things. But to me, the real measurable thing is the character that he’s expressed through this whole deal. He’s continued to work through it. He’s been at every practice. He meets [with his coaches]. He’s one of the better students of the game we have. And he just kept plugging, and then he gets a chance in the game. Early in the game he’s pounding the football up in there like he’s supposed to, just like we’re trying to do with our whole offense, and all of a sudden the thing cracks. The way it cracked [is offensive line coach] John Matsko saw something, blocking scheme-wise, that he was able to apply to their front and he told Cam [Cameron] during the course of the game, ‘Hey this play can go. It’s got to be a quick-hitter. Willis is the best back for it.’ And he set that thing up just perfectly, and it went just the way John said it would.”

What are your thoughts on the protection going from allowing five sacks in the first half to none in the second half?

“The protection is a group effort. It’s the quarterback, it’s the receivers, it’s obviously the offensive line and the tight ends. It’s the play-calling, it’s the situation, field position – all those things go into it. Everybody just did a great job of reorganizing a little bit. Going against a great front, obviously, [Dallas is] the leading sack group in the NFL. And that gave us a chance to win the game.”

Considering everything QB Joe Flacco had to deal with and the kind of defense the Cowboys have been playing, what are your thoughts on where this game might rank as far as being one of his better games?

“Well, you know, we don’t do rankings or comparisons.”

What are your thoughts on Flacco’s performance in general?

“He played well. Joe played well. I think the thing that was really impressive was he really fired some balls in there. The throw he made to Todd Heap coming across the middle when there was a throwing window about that big, and he just roped the ball in there and Todd was able to make the catch in traffic. That was a huge play in the game. I’m sure there are other throws Joe would tell you that he’d like to have back and do again. The patience on the touchdown pass to ‘Mase’ – because that’s a long-developing route and Mase ran it really well – Joe waited and waited. The protection was there forever on that play, and that gave us the touchdown after the fake field goal. So those are the kind of things you’re happy about with the way Joe played.”

What went into the decision to dedicate the game to director of player development O.J. Brigance, who is battling ALS, and what has he meant to this team?

“I guess what went into it more than anything maybe was just the way things are supposed to happen. O.J. was planning on making the trip down to Dallas. He’s from Texas, grew up in Houston and went to Rice, and he was on the trip with us. He was in all the meetings like he always is, around the players at all the meals like he always is, interacting with the guys like he always does, having that huge impact on our team. It just took our thoughts back to training camp. He had given us a talk during training camp about resiliency and overcoming adversity that just really cut to the core for our guys, and a lot of those things have played out throughout the course of the season, amazingly. The things we’ve had to face as a football team and the things different players have had to face and, I think, have applied those lessons to their situation, even coaches. When O.J. is in the meeting and you’re talking to the team, [it’s] pretty apparent that that’s what that game was all about – all the things he talked about. So O.J. talked to the team. We had a team prayer with [team chaplain] Rod Hairston after that. And the game, it’s about O.J, it’s about everybody in the room, everybody on the team. But it was really about the principles that he outlined for our football team in the summer.”

How is CB Samari Rolle? Are you optimistic that RB Ray Rice will be able to play on Sunday?

“Yeah, we’re optimistic that Ray might be able to get back for this game. He’s in treatment right now. We’re optimistic about Samari, as well. But those guys are going to be guys that are going to have to take treatment throughout the week to get back.”

What went into the decision to make K Steve Hauschka inactive and have K Matt Stover handle kickoffs?

“Well, the bottom line on that one was the corners. We felt like we needed to have another corner up, so we put Evan Oglesby up. With their receiving corps and their passing game, we just felt like that was something we had to do. So we weighed it out, and that’s what we did.”

Having gone through nearly an entire season cycle with some unorthodox things happen along the way, how do you think you’ve handled it and how do you think your father and brother would have handled it?

“You can ask [my father] after the press conference right there when we’re done. (Laughter) You know, we don’t have time to look back at that. I think it’s a valid question and something maybe after the season you look back and you evaluate the whole season – what went well, what didn’t go well, where we can improve. We can get better, when it’s all said and done, between this season and next season. We’re going to have to make the greatest improvement in our program between Year One and Year Two. We know all that. But that’s for another day. We can look at those things when the time comes. Right now, you know what we’re looking at. We’ve got a game on Sunday.”

Can you talk about the importance of S Daren Stone’s fumble recovery? If you had not recovered, would you have challenged the ruling that it was a fumble?

“Right, you’re talking about the kickoff return fumble. And there was another one in the game. I don’t know if it was before that or after that; you would know better than I would. I think Le’Ron [McClain] put one down, and I think Derrick Mason got the recovery, was it? So those are plays in the game that are huge. The first thing we would say is it’s not OK. That’s an area… We’re pleased with the result of the game, the outcome of the game, and we’re pleased with so many things – really, the preparation and the way guys played. But there are so many areas where we need to get better as coaches and players. That’s one of them. We’ve got to keep the ball off the ground. Our guys understand that. You’ve got to credit the players that came up with the recovery for really diving in there in the middle of that pile and digging those balls out. Daren Stone was one of those guys, and obviously ‘Mase’ was the other guy, with a bad shoulder. How does he come up with that ball? But the ball has to stay off the ground. Now, we would’ve challenged it, certainly. I don’t know if the replay would’ve overturned it or not, but it’s something we would’ve challenged if we had lost that ball.”

How is WR/RS Yamon Figurs doing from a confidence standpoint?

“I don’t know about confidence. I haven’t asked him about it, but we’ve got to do a better job in that phase. I think special teams overall can get better, just like offense and defense can get better. But again, within that, so many areas are doing a nice job, and within kickoff return we’re doing a nice job in a lot of ways. But we’re not getting the results that we need, and we need to establish better field position. So Yamon is part of that. The guys who are blocking are part of that. The coaches are part of that. From a confidence standpoint, I’m sure if he breaks one, that’ll boost that confidence.”

Have you ever been a part of a team that had a day off this late in the week, and how do you think the change of routine will affect the team?

“Yeah, there are concerns among coaches and among players about any kind of change. We’re definitely creatures of habit. We like our Wednesday to be Wednesday. That’s how we know. Even when we play on Saturday, everybody said it’s Tuesday, but it’s not, it’s Wednesday. It’s in football time. So, that’s going to be an issue. But we just felt like the value of the opportunity to get people with their families overrode that, plus the fact that I’m not so sure… We’re going to have two days between the game and between Tuesday, which is Wednesday’s practice. That’s a normal part of the routine, so maybe that’s more normal in a sense. We’ll get the two days of preparation in, we won’t wait the extra day to prepare, we’ll be on schedule that way, and then give the guys a day on Thursday really to heal a little bit and to recover a little bit from those two days of practice. That might even be a benefit for us.”

What were the determining factors for the fake field goal? Were you close enough to the goal line that you weren’t that concerned to turn it over there? Did you see something?

“Well, our mindset going in, first of all, was that we were going down there to win the game. So we were looking for whatever avenue we could to create points, to find ways to stop people. We were going to be aggressive with our blitz package, which we always are. We were going to be aggressive on offense, throwing the ball and running the ball, and then aggressive with fakes and things like that. I think the mindset was if we had an opportunity to pick up a first down with a fake, we definitely wanted to do it. They gave us the look. I think Sam Koch did a great job of executing Jerry’s [Rosburg] scheme. He communicated it really well. We actually had it called another time where it was called off, so Sam got that executed. It was pretty sharp work by Sam Koch. And when they gave us the look we wanted, he ran it and got the first down. The only thing we were disappointed with was his running back run-to-daylight vision could use a little work, so we’re thinking about a couple of drills for Sam on that.”

How often is a fake field goal like that practiced? When do you first start practicing it?

“Jerry [Rosburg] has got some normal, I guess a fake package, that we practiced right from the first mini-camp on through, so we continue to practice those fakes. That was one of them. From week to week, if he comes up with something that’s specific to the opponent, we practice that during the week. That particular one we’ve been practicing for a while. It’s one of his basic fakes.”

Are you encouraged by the fact that you might be able to take Sunday easy, provided you get the clinch, or do you like the idea of clinching it on the field?

“I don’t know if we have a preference, per se. I think we want to win the game. We’re going to be playing a football game on Sunday, and I’m not so sure that’s just not our personality. You look at our guys and our football team. I don’t know that we’re the type of team that’s going to want to go out there and not win a football game no matter what’s at stake. It just so happens that we expect everything to be at stake, so we need to go win a football game. And if it turns out that not as much is at stake, I’m pretty sure our guys are going to try to go win the football game. That’s just the personality of our team.”

Have you thought about the fact that you’re maybe the last coach to ever get a win at Texas Stadium?

“No. I never thought about that, really. That’s interesting. I think all of our coaches should take pride in that. You think of our different assistant coaches, the staff that we have, I was talking to Kevin [Byrne] about this walking down – guy like [secondary coach] Mark Carrier. Mark Carrier played a bunch of times at Dallas’ Stadium, as a player. I don’t think he coached there too often, but he’d played there a number of times. And then you think about the work he’s done this year with our safeties. He’s got Ed Reed playing probably, we would argue, at the highest level in the NFL. I think we lead the league in interceptions, and our safeties have been a huge part of that. Jimmy Leonhard – you know, the job he’s done with Jim Leonhard back there, and Jim’s played as well as any safety in the league. [He’s] a guy that most people didn’t think could play at that level, except for us and for Mark. Mark has worked with him every day. And the way that Dawan Landry was playing before he got hurt... You think about guys like that, and the rest of our staff, it’s probably a pretty meaningful deal.”

I know that you’re concentrating on the Jaguars, but do you look at any possible playoff opponents now?

“As far as potential playoff opponents with the players and the coaches and the preparation this week? No, we don’t look at that. But we do look at it from an advance standpoint. We have certain coaches on our staff who are advancing, always advance a week out, because you’ve got to do breakdowns and scouting reports and things like that. So it’s a tougher task for those guys this week, as it is for all the playoff teams that play in the first week, because there are three potential opponents for us. And our coaches are breaking down, doing three times the work this week that they would normally do. But as far as the players and coaches are game-planning, no, it’s strictly Jacksonville. We’ve got our hands full. Jacksonville is a very good football team. They’ve got a lot of talent. They can run the ball as well as anybody in the league. We think their linebackers are as good as anybody in the league. And they’ve got a lot to play for coming in here, in their minds. I know they want to win that football game. Their running back [Maurice Jones-Drew] has already stated how important it is and how excited he is to play against our defense, and I think that’s indicative of the mindset they’re going to bring into this football game. We know what the expectations were for that team coming into the season. They’ve obviously had a disappointing season, and that only fuels them more in a game like this. So, it’s going to be a very, very tough, rough football game, because that’s the kind of football team that they are.”