COURTESY OF BALTIMORE RAVENS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
We just talked to head coach John Harbaugh. What kind of impact does losing S Earl Thomas III have on your secondary and your pass coverage? (Todd Karpovich) "I thought Coach [John Harbaugh] already talked about that, and I think we're moving on in a different direction. So, if you guys want to keep on talking about Earl Thomas, I think we've already addressed that."
We've obviously seen S DeShon Elliott these past couple of training camps, [but] haven't gotten to see him in regular season action. How would you describe his style of play and how he might fit as sort of a free safety? (Aaron Kasinitz) "DeShon's [Elliott] been ready to go ever since he got here as a rookie. I've been really impressed with him from the time that he came in here. He's a hard-charging kid. He knows the defense. He's in his third year. He's had some unfortunate injuries that's limited him to I think, what – six or seven games? Something like that. But he's definitely deserving to play, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do when he gets out there. He's definitely ready to go, and he has great chemistry out there with the rest of the guys. They're hyped up to have him out there."
S DeShon Elliott, it's been tough for him with the injuries, and he's a confident kid that's wanted his shot at the field. Can you talk about how he's handled that in having to wait for his turn to be able to impact this defense? (Ryan Mink) "Every opportunity that he gets to make himself better, he's done that. It's always been about doing … He attacks whatever is in front of him. What's important now for him, right now, is just to get ready to play against Cleveland. But he's attacked every situation just like that. Whether it's in the offseason attacking the weight room, in the meeting room, he does everything to make himself better. He gets up in the morning, he's here early. He's leaving late. So, I'm extremely impressed with DeShon [Elliott] and have been ever since he's gotten here. I look forward to seeing him play."
Head Coach John Harbaugh talked a little bit about CB Jimmy Smith at certain looks at safety. You've been around Jimmy for a while. What characteristics of him as a player do you think will translate to him being able to succeed, and we know it's not a full-time position change, but if he takes some looks at safety? (Jeff Zrebiec) "The reality is – and I've talked about this before – the way that we play in our secondary, we have a lot of guys who do a lot of interchangeable things. We move guys around, whether it's a guy playing corner, a guy playing nickel, or a guy playing safety. We're going to optimize our looks as far as matchups are concerned. So, if there's a reason for using Jimmy [Smith] at safety, we'll do that. But as far as what I can see since Jimmy's come back, he's lost some weight. He looks great. He's running great. He's still a topflight corner in my eyes. So, we'll look at the matchups as we go forward in all those games. Whether its versus a tight end or a bigger wide receiver, whatever it is, we'll use him in that fashion. So, we'll continue to keep on moving him around, and he's embraced that role. I'm proud of what he's done so far."
How did you see today's performance by S Nigel Warrior? (Ximena Lugo-Latorre)"Nigel Warrior – Tennessee Volunteer. Nigel's a great kid, and right now, he's just learning how to play football and trying to take that next step to try to get himself on the football team. I think right now what Nigel's got to do is to help [special teams coordinator] Chris Horton out on special teams, and then find a niche on defense. Just moving forward, he's just got to go out there and go play. We'll see what happens with that."
With S DeShon Elliott, when we watch him at practice, he's a very talkative guy, very confident out there on the practice field. Do you see that in meetings, and things we don't see? Do you see that confidence exude in him elsewhere as well? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes. He's definitely a confident young man – sometimes too confident. But he definitely doesn't lack for confidence in any endeavor. He's just been that kind of kid. He's an energy bunny. He comes in the building and he's just ready to go. When he gets out on the field, he brings the energy to the rest of the defense. He's just one of those guys. I love the way that he plays."
S Geno Stone - a guy you're just getting a chance to work with. I'm just curious about your early impressions of him with what you've seen so far? (Cliff Brown) "Like I said, with all of those young guys, I don't want to put any undue pressure on those guys. They're still young and just learning how to play football. They really don't know what the National Football League is all about and how fast the game is going to go. Sometimes, I have a little bit more confidence about what they can do on a practice field until the point where they get in a real game. Just from what I've seen on the practice field, Geno's [Stone] an extremely smart kid. He's picked up the defense fast, and he's just got to continue to keep on developing his skills, and hopefully, we'll see what happens."
I'm curious, it looked like CB Anthony Averett had a really nice practice today. What have you seen from his progression in his young career? (Ryan Mink) "Like I said last year, we have a lot of great players in our secondary. Anthony's [Averett] one of those guys. Having Anthony and we've got … You guys didn't even mention Tavon [Young]. We've got Tavon back this year, which is a huge addition – that's like having another first round draft pick coming back inside of your room. As far as Anthony Averett, he's always been a guy who's very confident, very easy going, the game is easy to him. He just goes out there, and he goes and plays. It doesn't matter who's in front of him, he's confident that he can go out there and cover anybody. I have that utmost faith in him that if I ever put him out there in the game, that he's going to be able to go out there and do his job. But we have a lot of great players in our secondary. It's a long line, but 'Double A,' he's right there. Don't get it twisted – the kid can play."