Head Coach John Harbaugh
Q: Obviously, you made a trade for a quarterback today. Can you tell us what made you want to make that trade for (quarterback) J.J. McCarthy and what went into that?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, we've been talking about it ever since I think (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart) got hurt, that we would need to add a quarterback, quarterbacks. That's part of the process. We've been turning over every stone. This was an opportunity that kind of came up and able to finish the deal off this morning, late morning. Really glad, really happy, very excited to add J.J. McCarthy. I think he's a strong, young quarterback, has some experience in National Football League. Obviously, was a very high draft pick, very talented player and is going to make us a stronger football team. So, excited about it, think it makes us better and get him in here as soon as we can. Get to work on learning the offense. Obviously, that's going to be a challenge, but we'll go to work on that and that's where we're at.
Q: And then, the flip side of that is, the natural question is, what does that mean for (quarterback) Jameis (Winston)?
JOHN HARBAUGH: In terms of what?
Q: Is he your starter moving forward? Is he your starter no matter what?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, Jameis is starting. You guys asked me that last night. He's our starting quarterback and that's why we're rolling. We'll be ready to play this next game and going forward, excited about Jameis. I think we're going to find ourselves. I mean, we won the game. We did what we had to do to win the game and that's what we had to do. And I think Jameis did all the things as a quarterback that we needed to do to win that game, but that doesn't mean that's where we stand. We're going to keep growing. There's going to be new challenges in front of us. He's not going to be coming into a game kind of out of the blue, so to speak. Or is he going to be coming into a nor'easter every single week going forward here. So, I'm looking forward to seeing where we go and we'll build around. As we go too, we'll get a chance to build around Jameis' strengths, all that kind of stuff. So, I feel good about it.
Q: Can you provide an update for (outside linebacker) Brian Burns, what is official and what's not official at this point?
JOHN HARBAUGH: He's going to have surgery. He had an ACL tear.
Q: I mean, it goes without saying, I guess, what he means to the team and what kind of loss it is. But I want you to, it goes without saying for me, but not for you. I mean, he's such a vital part of the team. And back-to-back weeks, you've lost such key players. I mean, this is a pretty big hit, I would imagine.
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, big challenge for us. I mean, not just a great player, which he is. I mean, in many ways the leader of the defense, I would say, just as a veteran leader and star player, also a worker, out front kind of guy in everything he does. Just, you hate to see it. I mean, and really for him, too. I mean, he was just such a rock for us. Freaky play, kind of turning the corner, puts his foot in the ground, gets hit from the side right at the same time. Again, doesn't look much like these knee injuries sometimes, most of the time don't, these crazy contact injuries. So, just a tough deal, but it's one we've got to deal with. So, again, you feel it. It hurts emotionally. You feel it more for the player even than for the team. But the team is resilient. The team, the next guy will step up. We'll have to grow stronger. You kind of grow over the wound. You heal the wound, you grow over it, you scar up, and you move on. And we're not the only team that faces losses or will face losses. And the fact that there's been, yeah, we've got our quarterback one week and probably our top defensive player, you might say, the next week is shocking. But you've got to overcome the shock, and you've got to get ready to play the next game and find a way to win the next game. That's what we'll be doing as a team. But I feel bad for Brian more than anything. My heart breaks for him that way.
Q: When you have two injuries like that, what sort of went into the thought process of giving up an asset for a J.J. McCarthy, and how quickly do you think he can get up to speed to potentially challenge Jameis for that job?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, you need another quarterback, and you want to go get, you know our situation, and you want to go get the very best quarterback you could get, which is what we did. That's the thinking. I mean, anything else beyond that, I'm not really comprehending the question, I guess, but that's it. That's very simple.
Q: And what did your brother (Los Angeles Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh) tell you about sort of his experience coaching J.J. at Michigan?
JOHN HARBAUGH: He always had good things to say about J.J. I mean, I kind of watched it. I was following Michigan when Jim was coaching there. I don't follow them as much anymore, but when Jim was there, that was a team I watched closely, so I've watched J.J. play a lot.
Q: Hey, John. To rephrase the question asked at the beginning, once J.J. gets up to speed, is it your design here to allow him to compete with Jameis for the starting job, especially given that his skill set's a little different, has some mobility that Jaxson had that maybe isn't a part of what Jameis had? Or are you saying that you're trying to get him up to speed purely to back up Jameis, who is your clear starter from here on out?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Our design is to win the next game. Our design is to be 1-0 next week. And any other conversation – you could ask me who's going to be the starting quarterback next year or five years from now. I don't know. What I do know is that we're going to be playing the Cardinals in six days. And that's how it works. So, all the other conversation isn't going to help us beat the Cardinals. So, it's irrelevant. What we're going to be doing is he'll be either the number two quarterback or the number three quarterback Sunday. Jameis will be the starter. Jameis will be the starter for as long as I can see into the future. But I don't know. Nobody knows. What I do know is that we're going to be playing this game against the Cardinals on Sunday, and Jameis will be our starter, for sure. And he's going to play a winning football game. I know that. I have complete confidence that Jameis is going to play a great football game on Sunday. And that our guys are going to play great around him. What I don't know is who the number two quarterback is going to be. It could be (quarterback) Jake (Haener) or it could be J.J. We're going to have to see how it plays out during the week. And that's really as far in advance as I'm even willing to think about. And that's really the answer to that.
Q: Hey, John. Going back to Burns real quick. You've obviously been very high on what (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux) has meant to this team and how he's kind of – you've been complimenting him a lot since the offseason just how he's been into this team. With him and (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter) now having to step up into that role, one, what do you see with those two guys having to now shoulder a bigger load with Burns out?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, they're going to have to, for sure. And, I mean, and they've been playing a lot. Abdul especially has been playing a ton. And Kayvon's been playing a lot. So, it's not going to be a problem for Kayvon to play more snaps. What we just need to do is get on track up front in terms of the pass rush. I mean, I think they're doing a really good job. All those guys have done a very good job against the run. We've been pretty darn consistent against the run. We've had a few runs against us in the second half of the last two games that we aren't happy about. But generally, we've been a good run defense. And we want to keep building on that. But we need to get to the quarterback more. And some of that's – yeah, some of that, the ball comes out quick. Sometimes they're chipping. They're doing a lot of things to offset our pass rush. But they're having a little too much success offsetting it right now. So, we've got to keep finding ways to get the quarterback on the ground. And those two guys, obviously, are going to be a massive, massive part of that going forward.
Q: I was just going to ask about the pass rush. I was just going to say, what are you seeing in these three games where you guys are obviously trying to get to the quarterback, but you haven't been able to get a sack besides Abdul in Week 2? What do you think has been the biggest issue on your end with why the pass rush hasn't gotten hands on the quarterback?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, I mean, the biggest issue probably is the way we're being attacked. But we've got to find a way to overcome those, like I mentioned just in the last answer. So, for us, we've got to find a way to overcome those things. It's always a chess game. It's always kind of an evolution, back and forth. And we've got to find our next move. We've got to find our next couple moves to get ourselves to the quarterback. We'll be working really hard, and we have been, but we've got to find – we've got to make it happen. And that's what we'll be working to do.
Q: Going back to the quarterback for a minute here. Obviously, it's a position that has to know everything when it comes to the offense. And at this point to ask J.J. McCarthy to, I guess, absorb the entire playbook as quickly as possible might be a bit much. So, can you just talk about the approach you're going to take with him regarding how you're going to get him up to speed in the offense? Is it going to be like a game-by-game basis? Is it going to be extra work? What approach are you planning to take with him to get him up to speed?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, we'll figure that out as we get him in here. But it will definitely be extra work. And it will definitely be game-by-game, crash course, so to speak. We're going to have to get a good feel for like where he's at in terms of terminology. Kind of in Minnesota – we know their offense a little bit. We know how that system is built. So, our coaches have a pretty good idea on how he's going to be seeing the game. And then, what will make the most sense to him in terms of what we're doing, what's carryover, and then what's not, what's going to be new? The way we set up the protections or the way we flip the protections or the way we check the protections, all that kind of stuff, that's going to be a little bit of a work in progress probably, but there will be a lot of foundational knowledge because he's been playing quarterback for a long time, and he's been in a good system – a system that's somewhat similar to what we do. So, I feel like that's to be determined. You know, the next few days will determine kind of the process going forward as we get a chance to get a feel for where he's at.
Q: John, I'm wondering, the front office before you got here did a lot of work on J.J. in the draft. I'm wondering how much your evaluations from watching him as much as you said you did at Michigan and whatever you knew about him from Baltimore pre-draft matched up with what they thought about him here before the draft.
JOHN HARBAUGH: I don't know about how they felt about him before the draft. I didn't ask. But I know they really liked him in the conversations we had last week. They were the ones that brought him to the table, so to speak. Our high-level scouts, (Senior Vice President and General Manager) Joe (Schoen) and then the guys working in that group there all the way down, had a lot of recommendations. We talked about a lot of quarterbacks, and J.J. was right near or at the top of the list in their evaluations. So, they felt very strongly that he was going to be a good option, and that was interesting to me. And yeah, that's where they were at with it.
Q: Yes or no, does that put the search to rest for the week, or is there a free agent workout?
JOHN HARBAUGH: I would say you never know. Is there a free agent workout? I have no idea. I have not been apprised of a free agent quarterback workout, but that doesn't mean one hasn't been scheduled. So, I'm not sure about that, but I would say all options are on the table.
Q: What was the part of McCarthy's skill set that you felt separated him from the other candidates that you considered to add to your quarterback room? And did you get a sense that you had competition for him, that other franchises were involved or interested in possibly making a move for him?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Second part, I have no idea. First part, every quarterback is unique. Every player is unique. I mean, his skill set is he's a talented guy. I mean, there's just no doubt about it. He's talented. He was a top-10 pick for a reason, and there's plenty of good tape, even in the NFL, out there. So, I know he didn't hold on to that job in Minnesota, and that's why he's available. If he had, we wouldn't be talking or having this conversation right now. It would be somebody else. So, I did spend some time looking at him last week, along with a few other guys, and I came away impressed. Our scouts had already done the work, and I saw their reports, and I would have to concur with their reports based on what I saw. He can throw it. He can run it. He can make plays. There's a lot of things he could do better from what he did, obviously, and we're going to see where it goes from here. I mean, that's really what it boils down to. But just from a talent standpoint, I don't think anybody would deny that J.J. McCarthy is a very talented young quarterback.
Q: To follow up a little bit, what did you see in his college tape when you were watching those games at Michigan that gave you confidence he could succeed in the NFL?
JOHN HARBAUGH: You mean the national championship tape? The undefeated season stuff? All those plays that he made in those games? Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to go through it play-for-play, but there's a lot of really good tape. There's a lot of really good throws. There's a lot of really good plays. He makes plays with his feet. He makes plays with his arm. I mean, he had a pretty good college career, I would say.
