00:00Mike, good morning. Congratulations.
00:03Hi, good morning, guys. Thank you.
00:05And I would like to echo what Chris has said, and I just jumped on.
00:09And, you know, we've got an unbelievable place if you need care
00:12and your health for our football team, for your families, for everybody involved.
00:16So I would absolutely second everything that I was able to hear him say.
00:22And those folks up there have helped us tremendously in my short time here.
00:26So I would echo what Chris just said.
00:30Well, you have been speaking quite frequently about Terrell Williams
00:35and everything he's gone through this season.
00:37You guys are wearing the pins.
00:39I know that you've said that he's been back in the facility around the guys.
00:42Just how much, if you bring up, you know, what you guys have had to deal with this season,
00:46how much does he bring to the locker room just having him around?
00:50Well, I mean, any chances he gets to be around our coaches and our players,
00:53and those are opportunities that everybody embraces.
00:58And, you know, just like everybody else, he's working hard and, you know,
01:03trying to fight to get healthy and be available.
01:07So these things aren't immune to just us.
01:12We understand what everybody goes through, especially the holidays.
01:15But numerous incidents where those people have been able to help us and provide care.
01:21And so it's a great place to be if you need some medical care.
01:27A great win for you guys yesterday in Baltimore, a late night.
01:30And after the win, you said about packing your guys' identity for the road.
01:34What, at this point of the season, after a comeback win like that, what is your team's identity?
01:41I mean, I think we're pretty resilient.
01:43I think we've got a bunch of guys that can help us on any given night.
01:47I think that's something.
01:48You know what I mean?
01:49But, you know, I think we play hard.
01:51I hope that we play hard.
01:53I hope that comes off the screen.
01:55And it's no more evident here than the last play.
01:57And, you know, plays never over and, you know, guys being able to chase the football on defense
02:04and offensively guys trying to finish longer than the guy with the ball
02:08and trying to make some plays downfield and spring some guys.
02:11So, you know, sometimes we don't always make the right decision.
02:17I hope that we continue to work on that and focus on that, you know,
02:20especially in the heat of the moment.
02:21But, you know, again, we just felt like we competed for four quarters.
02:28Mike, you talk about the compete level and staying, you know, mentally focused
02:32and mentally tough in situations when you get down a little bit.
02:36I saw Steph Diggs going up the sideline talking about, guys, keep your head up.
02:40What, from your team perspective in a game like that and coming away with that win,
02:47what really impressed you about the level of focus that your team had to keep their heads up
02:53and keep fighting at a game like that and able to win it at the end?
02:58Well, just a testament to the leaders on this football team.
03:01And like you mentioned, Steph and, you know, Mac and Morgan Moses and Garrett and, you know,
03:07on and on and on.
03:08Obviously, Drake is leading the charge.
03:11Hunter Henry, you know, defensively, a bunch of guys go down.
03:14You know, we lost some guys and next guy up and coaches did a good job managing
03:20where guys were going to have to go and play.
03:24And, you know, so just a great team effort.
03:27Well, I was surprised because according to Greg Bedard, Mike,
03:30Steph Diggs was confused in routes in the prior weeks.
03:33Were you surprised that that speculation that the issues with Steph Diggs
03:36was in his route running, as some speculated?
03:41No, I'm not.
03:42You know, I mean, you asked me a question about last week
03:45and usually after last week I move on to the next week.
03:49So we'll be moving on here pretty quickly
03:51and we'll focus on the things that we have to correct
03:53and whatever things that we can reasonably try to improve
03:59and whatever we'll need to try to do to go on the road and win another game.
04:03How would you say that the current performance, I guess,
04:08Steph Diggs, last week and going forward, how much of this offense—
04:12You mean last week, like yesterday, last night?
04:14Like last night.
04:15I don't know.
04:15We're all in three hours.
04:16Yeah, the Ravens game last night, he was great.
04:18He was spectacular.
04:19Just say last night.
04:21Sorry, last night.
04:22Ravens game last night.
04:23He was great.
04:24And what has he done for Drake's development this season?
04:27Well, I just think that there is a passion, there's a fire,
04:31there's a competitiveness.
04:34And, again, we've been through this, it seems like, every week.
04:39The nature of this position, everybody wants the ball.
04:42They want it as many times as they can get it.
04:45I think they're always open.
04:46I've been around receivers, you know.
04:49Every time I went in there on a goal line, I thought I was open,
04:52and I wasn't probably most of the time.
04:54So they've stayed focused.
04:58They've stayed committed to understanding that it could be anybody's night
05:02and that the ball was going to find them
05:05and that Drake was going to, you know, improve on some of the things
05:09that when it didn't find guys and making sure that it did.
05:13You know, I think that, you know,
05:15you've got to keep telling these guys run routes with the intent to win
05:18and the ball finds you.
05:19You've got to make the play, and guys were able to do that last night.
05:23And, again, I had a lot of contributions from that wide receiver room.
05:28And, you know, the group helped us, and Hunter, you know, helped us.
05:32And so that was good to see.
05:34Mike, as a player, you've seen this in the NFL,
05:38and as a coach you've probably seen it.
05:40Guys start in their careers one place,
05:42maybe not having the success that they would like to have,
05:46and then finally get into a place where they're having the success.
05:50When you look at a guy like Chason, who makes an unbelievable play,
05:55me and my boys are watching this game,
05:56and we're talking about the hustle and never giving up on plays,
06:00and he comes back and he punches it out,
06:02and you look what he's been able to do for your football team.
06:06Like, where did you notice him as a player to say,
06:09okay, we could really utilize his skill set,
06:13and this could be the right opportunity for him?
06:15He had play speed, and he played hard.
06:20And I think that that's what jumped off the tape.
06:24And, again, all the credit goes to him for being able to come
06:29and help himself and help us.
06:31And so, you know, he puts a lot into it,
06:35and I think that's just a great reminder that just the effort
06:41in which you play with can help you.
06:43And he combined some effort, he combined some awareness,
06:47you know, coaching points throughout the week
06:49and came up with a huge play there.
06:51But, again, there's a lot of different journeys to an NFL career.
06:57You know it and I know it,
06:59and there's a lot of different paths to having a career.
07:03So, wherever guys started or however they got here,
07:06we just focus on what they do when they get here.
07:08Mike, you guys were dealing with injuries going into this one
07:12and then continued throughout the game.
07:14Just you've always been next man up mentality.
07:17How do you feel like the team was able to do that yesterday
07:19and get that win?
07:22It's just kind of what we preach.
07:24We tell everybody to prepare as a starter,
07:27and you never know.
07:29And that's hard.
07:30You know, I mean, you can go a few weeks,
07:32go months without having an opportunity.
07:35And then all of a sudden, you know,
07:38you're thrust into that position
07:39and you have to be ready to go.
07:42And so to give them credit, give the players credit,
07:45and give the coaches credit for having them ready.
07:48How big of that play?
07:49I mean, to me, obviously, the fourth quarter,
07:51you had the Zay Flowers fumble.
07:53But for me, the biggest play of the game
07:55was the second drive of the Ravens,
07:56getting that fumble off of a fortunate fumble
07:58with Derrick Henry really, I think,
08:00changed the trajectory of that game.
08:02And it certainly was a huge play
08:05to be able to, you know,
08:07the way that they were kind of rolling.
08:09And, you know, we needed something.
08:12And so, again, we talk about being able
08:14to get the drive stops a lot of different ways.
08:16And, you know, as hard as he runs
08:19and the things that he does,
08:20there was opportunities to be able
08:22to attack the football.
08:23And, you know, so, again,
08:25give credit to our players
08:26for having that awareness.
08:27And, you know, whether it's, you know,
08:30Gonzo breaking a stiff arm down
08:32when it bounced out on the edge,
08:34like, I've seen that be a touchdown
08:36plenty of times, trust me.
08:39And, you know, to hold that to four
08:41or five yards, whatever it was,
08:43that those are big plays
08:44and things that we coached on
08:46and coached with and talked about.
08:48And then the turnover there
08:50on the second drive.
08:52Mike, at what point in that game,
08:54like, did you feel like,
08:54all right, you could start to feel
08:56the momentum shift a little bit
08:57and that you could kind of see,
09:01like, all right, here's what we need
09:02and here's the direction
09:03that we're heading to put us
09:04in a position where we can win
09:06this football game?
09:08Well, I think it just got
09:09to the fourth quarter
09:10and, you know, we were able
09:11to get a stop.
09:12And, you know, offensively,
09:14we were able to put a great drive together
09:16when we needed it.
09:18And, you know, we forced it upon,
09:21you know, we made it,
09:22whatever it was there, 24 to 13.
09:26And, you know, we were able
09:28to force him to, you know,
09:30we got the touchdown
09:30and then got to stop.
09:32And, you know, I think really
09:34just in the fourth quarter
09:35after Derek scored,
09:38you know, we answered
09:39and, you know, Drake came up
09:41with a huge throw to Kyle
09:42and, you know, two-point conversion
09:44and all those things.
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