Head Coach John Harbaugh
Q: Coach, with cut down less than a week away, do you in your mind pretty much know what you want to do or is there a lot of indecision, like tough decisions to be made?
JOHN HARBAUGH: It's probably in the middle there. I don't think, we're certainly not certain about what we want to do yet, yet I wouldn't say it's all up in the air either. There's probably some key points, some clutch areas where we just have to make decisions still with three, four, five decisions that have to be made.
Q: John, what was the extended leadership meeting about if you're willing to share?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Just in-house stuff. It really isn't anything that I want to share and it's nothing that would be very interesting, I don't think. Just schedules and things like that, what they prefer to do, what they would rather do.
Q: That seems to be the next step in Malik's (wide receiver Malik Nabers) progression?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yes, yes.
Q: What did you think?
JOHN HARBAUGH: I thought he looked good. Look at the tape later, but he was moving well, probably moving the best we've seen him look. You guys could be the judge of that too, right? You've seen him. It was a good practice for him today. Got the red shirt off. That was a good step.
Q: So that means, John, you're good with him getting contact. I know this was no pads today, but you're fine and clear with him getting contact?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, I think it'll be very reasonable though. It'll be a protect each other kind of deal, but that'll be true for everybody right now. We'll be in this mode this week, we'll be a little more, as far as the contact part of it, probably a little more in-season-ish in terms of taking care of one another.
Q: What happened with (tight end) Theo (Johnson)?
JOHN HARBAUGH: He had collided with Thibs (outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, so I think he's okay. Didn't get a report back that it was serious, but they'll look at it. I haven't talked to him since, so I'll go in and find out here when we get done.
Q: What about (offensive lineman) Jermaine (Eluemunor)?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, he's going to be fine. He should be back tomorrow.
Q: With Malik, it would seem like if you were able to get into contact, right, barring some sort of setback, that he's trending towards being ready for that first week of the season?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, I just don't want to make any kind of statements like that. I think it's reasonable to assume that. Those are all kind of things that you can assume. It's just based on watching the guy practice. The only thing I know more than you guys know is what the docs and the trainers tell me, as far as his rehab. And that's doing well. He's doing really well with that. He's strong. He's in a good place, but how he gets through practice, how ready he is to play and protect himself, is really based on practice. You're watching practice, too, and you can see it.
Q: John, as you're watching (inside linebacker Arvell) Reese here over the last few weeks, from where he's come in from April until now, and maybe minicamp until now, what's impressed you about the way he's started to acclimate to the NFL game?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, it's kind of the same as it's been from day one. He hasn't really missed a beat at all. He learns very quickly and he executes the defenses really well. And then when he doesn't, he listens to every word of the coaching and applies it on the next opportunity.
He's making a lot of progress real fast. Once we start playing the real games, I think that'll be a learning experience for him, too. He's not going to go out there and, he'll never have experienced a regular season pro football game until the Cowboys. So, after that game, I think it'll be a big step for him as far as, oh, okay, this is kind of how I need to approach this.
Q: John, you said Sisi (offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa) would be back this week, probably tomorrow?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Expect him to be, expect him to be, yeah.
Q: With (cornerback) Paulson Adebo, he got off to a kind of slow start to camp. What have you seen from him in the last few weeks?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, kind of what you're seeing, I would say he's doing well. He had a good game. It was good to get him out there.
Q: I didn't say that.
JOHN HARBAUGH: Oh, you're not saying that with your question the way you asked it? Kind of the way you led the question in there is exactly what you were saying, but that's cool. I shouldn't put words in your mouth, right? You don't put words in my mouth, I won't put words in your mouth. We can all agree on that. He's doing well.
Q: (Fullback) Patrick (Ricard) said that you put together a leadership council several years ago. Do you remember when you first started doing that as a coach and why you like to have seven or eight or maybe nine players in that group?
JOHN HARBAUGH: I don't remember when. Early on we had kind of a de facto leadership group because of the guys we had back then. Then it kind of grew into an official group. We've been doing it for a long time. It's good. I do kind of try to emphasize to the team that everybody's a leader and everybody has every opportunity to speak their mind. Talk to anybody. Talk to me. Talk to (Senior Vice President and General Manager) Joe (Schoen). Talk to anybody in the organization about anything they need to, any suggestions they have. But sometimes it just kind of helps because guys don't always want to do that. So, if they can go to those veteran guys who are on the leadership crew and say, "Hey, this is something that is on my mind. Can we get this fixed? Can we get a pool table?" Something like that. They might not want to ask for that so they can go to those other guys. They asked for a pool table today. So, I told them, "Hey, we win games? We might get a golf simulator if we win enough games."
Q: What about that group of players made you want to go with them for that kind of role?
JOHN HARBAUGH: The players vote for that.
Q: The players are elected?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yes, the players vote for that. So, that was a player vote. And there were a lot of other guys that got votes, too. But those are the guys that got the most votes.
Q: John, you saw (wide receiver) Calvin (Austin III) a lot, obviously, in Pittsburgh. Just curious, after the preseason game and how you guys used him, what makes him such an effective weapon and how have you guys been excited to kind of use him instead of have to face him, if you will?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, it's a skill set, right? I mean, it's pretty clear all the things he does well. And the nice thing about Calvin is that he can play all three spots. You can move him around in any one of those positions. He's a quote, unquote, smaller receiver, and yet he can go outside. He's played outside a lot. You don't see that that often. So, he gives us a lot of versatility that way, and that – kind of everything you ask him to do, he does it well. He's very reliable. Runs the right routes, makes catches. He's been that way kind of his whole career.
Q: I know the (Jaguars offensive lineman Daniel) Faalele trade was like a week ago now, but we didn't ask you about it I don't think. Just how did that come about and what does that say about just how you guys feel with the depth inside?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, I think it says we feel good about our depth, for sure. We do feel good about our depth on the offensive line generally and inside. And it's not too often you get a trade like that. You know, it's not too often you can trade a player for a sixth-round pick in the middle of training camp. But sometimes teams have needs, and Daniel's started many games in the National Football League, so they felt like that was valuable for them. With us, Daniel was doing well for the role he was going to be playing, and yet we have other guys that were doing well, too. So, it was a luxury for us. Any time you can add picks, it's a valuable thing. It's a future thing. Doesn't seem like much now, but it'll matter day three of the draft. It'll be something that we'll be happy we've got.
Q: How much more is that something you would like to do maybe moving forward here in the next couple of weeks?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, I mean, if we could, we'd do it as much as we possibly could. We'd like to take advantage of the opportunities, if they'll come up, as much as we can. We do have some guys. We're kind of deep in a few positions, and maybe that'll happen. It doesn't happen that often, but maybe it will.
Q: John, you guys had a large gap at one point in last year's draft where you made a pick, and then you had to wait a while before you were ready to make another one. Was that in the back of your mind at all when you were starting to accumulate some of those extra day three picks?
JOHN HARBAUGH: You know, it really wasn't. It was a long time, though. It was like the desert for a while. Everybody kind of disappeared. Where's everybody at? Oh, we don't pick for like a day, you know? It seemed like. The draft is a little bit of a numbers game. I mean, the more swings you can take, the more chances you have to hit on guys. So, having more picks over time, I hope that's something that we're able to accumulate and have a lot of picks year to year.
Q: John, you've been around some exceptional quarterbacks, and now that you've spent a good amount of time around (quarterback) Jaxson Dart, what can you say about him that's special or jumps off the charts to you?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, I mean, I've kind of said it many times as far as he's very talented. I think he's got exceptional arm talent. He can throw off different platforms. The quarterback coaches will talk to you about throwing off platform and things like that, off balance throws, arm angles. I think he's really good at that. I think he sees the field well. I think he has a good pocket presence. In other words, he has a good feel for the pocket, where people are at in the pocket. That's a big plus, too. Those are probably things that you can't really – he works on them, but certainly they're just kind of natural, natural talents. And then, he works on all the things that are important. He really works on the fundamentals of the game. He's still a young quarterback, so he's got so much opportunity to grow fundamentally as a quarterback. So, I think his upside is tremendous as well.
Offensive Lineman J.C. Davis
Q: So, how quickly did it take you to fall asleep on the plane on Saturday?
J.C. DAVIS: You know what's crazy, I usually don't sleep on the plane, so I didn't sleep on the plane at all. I was up the whole time.
Q: What was that like? I know you probably realized you were in there for every snap, but to play 81 snaps in that heat, what was that experience like for you?
J.C. DAVIS: I don't remember the last time – I think the last time I played a game that hot had to be when I was in New Mexico, we played A&M, I think. So, it's (been) a minute before I played in something like that, but we (were) prepared. We (were) hydrating all week, so we knew it was going to be hot. We had practice out there Thursday, so we (were) well prepared for it.
Q: How much did maybe (tackle) Andrew Thomas or any of the guys talk to you about what to expect or prepare for, knowing you were going to be out there for a full game?
J.C. DAVIS: I mean, it's not like I haven't played a full game before, but they just told me, just be you. Play football. Don't stress it, it is what it is. Just play football.
Q: What kind of an opportunity was that for you, and how do you think it went?
J.C. DAVIS: I think it was a great opportunity for the coaches to see my ability, what I could do at left tackle, and I think it went pretty good. Of course, I've got things to improve on, but overall, it was a good game. We got the win. That was the most important thing.
Q: What (has) camp has been like for you?
J.C. DAVIS: I mean, of course, there's been ups and there's been downs, but I'm just trying to keep a steady pace. Same thing the whole way. Just keep improving every day.
Q: You were getting most reps with the threes the first week or two, now you've been more with the twos. What has the feedback been from the coaches about moving you up?
J.C. DAVIS: Just keep working. We notice you but just keep working. You've still got more stuff to improve on.
Q: What has it been like learning from guys like Andrew (Thomas) and some of the vets? What are you seeing from them? What have they been talking to you about?
J.C. DAVIS: As far as watching them, just seeing how different it is – from being that guy at Illinois almost, but he's that guy in the NFL. He does way different stuff than me, but I'm trying to pick up and learn from him and pick off stuff that he does. Some stuff you can't do what he does. That's him.
Q: I think when you got drafted, they might have said initially they were going to probably play you at guard. How did you land a tackle and how have you accepted that?
J.C. DAVIS: I mean, coach put me at tackle. That's what I've just been playing at. Wherever the team needs me, I'm going to be at.
Q: What have you tried to pick up from AT (Thomas) or some of the vets?
J.C. DAVIS: Probably his preparation, just going into practice, just being ready for the game, stuff like that. Or just some of his pass sets, some stuff he does in the run game. A little bit of everything.
Q: How does your body feel a couple days after playing so many snaps this early?
J.C. DAVIS: Of course it's sore, but that's what comes with the game. It's all about getting treatment.
As long as I get your body right for next week.
Q: A lot of time in the tub?
J.C. DAVIS: (Laugher) Yeah.
