Posted Aug 9, 2008
By BaltimoreRavens.com
Post-practice transcripts from Head Coach John Harbaugh, RB Ray Rice, S Jim Leonhard, and LB Ray Lewis.
RAVENS TRAINING CAMP TRANSCRIPTS: AUG. 9
Head Coach John Harbaugh
On players returning to practice: “It’s great to have
Ed Reed
back. It’s great to have Samari [Rolle] back. They looked good. Samari made a couple plays, and Ed’s moving around well. You could find Ed out there. It was pretty easy to find him in his red jersey. It was good to see them.”
On when Reed will be able to have full contact in practice: “It’ll be soon. I don’t know if it’ll be before the next preseason game, but it’ll be soon for him in the preseason.”
On the issue with Reed’s shoulder: “It’s more of a strength issue. He’s got a little nerve issue in there, as far as a bone in there, that gets a little smaller and smaller as time goes on. As long as he’s strong, he’s OK to play.”
On an update of the injury status of LB Prescott Burgess: “There is [an update], but we’re not going to disclose it right now.”
On Le’Ron McClain’s physical play: “Le’Ron is a physical guy. Our whole offense was physical and can be a lot more physical. Our defense was physical, and they can be more physical. That’s one way to have a great advantage in the NFL. Le’Ron is the kind of guy, physically, who should be able to do that for us.”
On McClain getting in playing shape: “He’s still not there shape-wise, physically. He’s done a heck of a job. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a guy get into playing shape as quickly as he has, from where he was coming from. He worked hard. He took a ton of reps. He had a full-body cramp on the steps right over here one day. You guys all saw that. That was part of his process, and he had a good game the other night.”
On who jumped out to him after watching game film: “Lots of guys jumped out. It’s hard to sit here and single out one guy or another guy. We had a lot of guys playing like Ravens, competing hard. At the same time, there are a thousand things we need to get better at and we need to get better at fast. I don’t know if you can just pull guys out. We do have great guys. We evaluate guys, but it’s not something you could single out right now.”
On S Jim Leonhard: “Jim’s a veteran player. He’s been in Buffalo for a bunch of years. He’s a good blitzer, he’s good in coverage deep, he’s good in man coverage, he returns punts and he does a lot of things that help a football team.”
On Leonhard lining up at nose tackle on one play vs. New England: “He was kind of concerned because he lined up and he dropped, and even though it was a drop-back pass, the guard chased him down the field. He didn’t understand quite why.”
RB
Ray RiceOn playing in his first NFL game: “It was a unique one for me. I’ve never been a part of an NFL experience. I’ve never been to an NFL game. So, that’s actually the first one that I was actually playing in and being a part of. It was unique for me. I got caught a little bit just looking around when I first got into the stadium.”
On being anxious for his first game: “Yeah, you had nerves. I just had nerves. It’s not like being out at practice. You’ve got a whole stadium rooting against you. I had dealt with that in college, but like I said, I had never been in a pro stadium like that before. That was my first experience. As far as the hitting, I’ve been hit by one of the best out here in our defense. So that was kind of natural for me.”
On his first time in an NFL stadium: “No, I’ve never been to an NFL game at all. The first NFL game I had tickets to was this year’s Super Bowl, but I was training so I couldn’t go.”
On picking up the blitz at Rutgers: “It was a very small role. I tried to embrace more of a role my sophomore and junior year picking up blitzes. Obviously, if you can’t pass protect at this level, you’re not going to last very long. As short as I am and as small as I am, I really have to pass protect. I can use my leverage of being short to my advantage. I can’t let guys get up under me. I’ve got to be low. It kind of helps me out as well.”
S Jim Leonhard
On the difference between Buffalo’s defense and the Ravens’: “It’s a lot different. Obviously, the Tampa 2 they play in Buffalo is night and day with what they do here. I just love this because the safeties are really involved, and they can make plays, run around and hit.”
On whether he was overlooked earlier in camp: “Not necessarily. I got my opportunity, and you know you’re going to get your chance in training camp. You’ve just got to make the most of it. The two drafted guys [Tom Zibikowski and Haruki Nakamura] are going to get their looks, which is totally understandable.”
On playing with a chip on his shoulder because he’s 5-8: “I think you have to. I think everyone has to have that chip on their shoulder, no matter what it is. I just go out there and try to play and make plays.”
On being let go by the Bills: “It was disappointing. I felt last year I started out the season really well and then got injured. You kind of get forgotten when you get injured. It’s just a great opportunity here. I miss a lot of the guys there, some great guys, but it’s the same thing here. Like I said, there’s no better defense to play in than this. It’s a lot of fun.”
On winning slam dunk contests while at Wisconsin: “I did early. It was back in my young days, sophomore and junior year. I just had fun. It was offseason conditioning stuff, and the coaches had a little fun with it.”
On what his signature dunk was: “I’d just dunk it as hard as I could because nobody expected me to be able to do it. It’s a little shocking when you get a 5-8 guy up there dunking pretty hard.”
LB
Ray LewisOn wearing the defensive radio helmet for the first time: “It’s cool. It gives you the same advantage our offense has had. I think you will be able to test it more once you get in front of the crowd and not have to run to the sideline every play or signal in for three or four guys. So, I think that’s going to be great. It’s adjusting to the defense as best as you can. If I’m a captain on defense, get [the call] out – just like the quarterback does.”
On if he worked with the radio helmet during mini-camps: “I did. I worked with it. I’ve been working with it pretty much all year at camp. But like I said, it’s kind of easier out here because there isn’t as much noise, so you can hear really clearly. I think you will see the real use of it when you get in a real stadium and it’s loud – definitely in our stadium.”
On teammates returning from injuries: “The pieces are starting to come back together. Anytime you start a camp, you try to keep people healthy. But the thing is, when you are able to start piecing these guys back together one at a time, two at a time, that’s always a great advantage. You want to build up to your first game. Once these guys come back, then you start to see our whole defense gel. The great part about camp is that you get a whole lot of work out of the guys. That’s why a lot of the young guys are getting a lot of work as well.”
On how the team progressed after the first preseason game: “I don’t think you progress [physically after the first preseason game]. I think you just get better as a team, as far as chemistry-wise, and as far as [playing] other teams and [finding out] what the season means. I think [knowing how well we’ve progressed] is just too far away. I think right now we are working on the basics, like our speed both offensively and defensively. I think that if you look at the other night, I know mistakes were probably made, but the beauty of what I saw the other night was speed. Everybody was flying to the ball, having fun, and that’s the way to play football, regardless of what happens and however long the season is. So, for us, I think just getting it down out here [on the practice field] is what we are really focusing on right now.”
On the potential he sees in Le’Ron McClain: “Le’Ron is a fullback with tailback ability. His speed is great, his hands are great and he’s just a great young kid. His future is really based upon how hard he works and if he wants to be good or great. You see the potential in him and the work ethic that he has. His upside is a great upside. [Working hard], that’s totally on him.”
