Q. You often have said that your job is to give the team what it needs at any particular time. What did it need on the day after the loss in Cleveland?
A. Consistency. Our process, if we believe in it, I need to display really, really solid consistency there, win or lose. Over the last month, we come in a day after the game. We analyze our performance, not only what we do as individuals, but what we do as a collective. How we come to decisions, how we manage the game, the quality of play, and all of that particularly in significant moments. That's all in the effort to build a more perfect plan and division of labor for the upcoming game. And so we did exactly what we've done in recent weeks. We did it the day after the game. We analyzed why we were unsuccessful. There's a fine line between drinking wine and squashing grapes in our business. We looked at the tape with sober eyes, and that was the foundation or the beginnings of the development of our plan for this week.
Q. So then, starting on Wednesday when you introduced the plan, what did the team need from you at that point moving forward?
A. How to properly direct our energies. We all will acknowledge where we'll be on game day in terms of focus, in terms of willing to do anything and everything in an effort to secure victory. But what does that look like during the course of the week? I pay respect for big games with urgency and preparation, and so Wednesday it was about that. It was about setting a trajectory of professionalism and urgency that reflects how we want to perform on game day.
Q. When you were asked about a response from the team following the loss to the Browns, you said that "response" is action-based. Based on that, were you pleased with the response you got from the players starting at the middle of the week?
A. I certainly was. We've had a really good week. We've worked hard and smart, and believe me, at this stage of the journey, it has to be both. Working hard without vision, without the understanding that you need to get to the stadium prepared and in the best physical condition you can be in, is a major component of being ready to play this time of year. We've absorbed a lot of snaps in-stadium. We've absorbed a lot of snaps in preparation. And so you work hard and smart, you focus your energies. There's a heavy emphasis on walkthrough and detail and gaining an understanding through communication, formally and informally. So it's been a really good week.
Q. Was there anything the team was able to take away from the game in Cleveland that might be a help in terms of the offense having to play another game without DK Metcalf?
A. A. Certainly we grow through experience, and that being our first game without DK it's reasonable if we do nothing. If we just repeat process, it's reasonable to expect it to be better. Certainly we're not going to sit on our hands and haven't, but just from that perspective, you get better through experience. That was our first experience. It's reasonable to expect us to be better. But not only that, we're adapting and adjusting some division of labor and things that we're asking people to do based on that experience that makes that statement doubly true.
Q. When Aaron Rodgers met with the media after the game in Cleveland, he said he didn't play well. Do you agree with him?
A. I always do. I think we're all our toughest critics, and you don't have a resume like Aaron's unless you are your toughest critic. Over the course of this journey, when he's made those statements, I've certainly agreed with him, because I just understand what it's about, what it's like to walk in his shoes, the things he has to absorb and is willing to absorb. And certainly I respect that component of self-evaluation, and I'm in agreement.
Q. Just talking "quarterback play" here for a minute: Even I can watch a slow-motion, all-22 video and point to a receiver and say, "Look right there. So-and-so is open." But I'm not seeing it in real time and from field level. Is that kind of thing a fair criticism of quarterback play?
A. It is a component, certainly, of quarterback evaluation that everyone who plays and really everyone who coaches, understands the differences of perspective. Doing things at real time from an in-helmet perspective is why we practice. It's why practice is so important. Certainly, things look different from a bird's eye view, and certainly things look different when you have the ability to run it back or present it in slow-motion. But that's not how the game is played. And that's just a fine example of why practice and full-speed practice and preparation is such a component of play.
Q. Do you watch video with Aaron Rodgers?
A. I do. Weekly.
Q. Just you and him?
A. It's me and the quarterbacks
Q. What kind of discussion takes place in those sessions?
A. Rreally a myriad of things. We talk strategy of opposing defensive architects, how they divide labor up. What we should anticipate from them in situations, what their call sheet looks like, how things come off their call sheet. Does it come off in a very systematic way, or is it somewhat haphazard? It's all based on getting an understanding of the personality of a defensive play-caller and a defense. We also talk situations. Situations that we could be in, how we manage them, how we see around corners, how we communicate with the masses in the midst of some of those moments. There's a lot of things to be done with the head coach and specifically with the quarterback. You can't be reactionary in your thinking or behavior, and so we allocate time weekly in an effort to pour into that. And certainly there's a cumulative effect, and so certainly there's great comfort at this stage of the journey. But it needs to be. As the road gets narrow there doesn't need to be any discomfort regarding how we go about certain situations, what's required of us in the unique positions that we hold, and how we can help our team orchestrate victory.
Q. What do you need from Patrick Queen tonight?
A. I need him to be defensive quarterback. And what I mean by that is not only distribute formal communication to the rest of his unit – the defensive play-call, down and distant circumstances, personnel groups, etc. – but also the informal things that come with the position. In year two, that's been a significant step that he's taken. He not only knows what to do, but he's absorbing the informal responsibility that comes with his role, and certainly in a game like this, given his knowledge of the opponent, that informal communication is big.
Q. Patrick Ricard is a 6-foot-3, 300-pound fullback. How does a defense have to deal with him when he's in the game?
A. We just have to understand how they divide labor up. And how they divide labor up is that Picard is a point-of-attack blocker in their run game. And to be honest with you, self-scout, analytics and all of that stuff is out the window. There are certain hills that you're willing to die on, and the Ravens are willing to die on that hill. They don't care if we know. And that's how good Picard is at his job. That's why he is a Pro Bowl fullback. Certainly we recognize his presence, and we certainly recognize what his presence means. He is a point-of-attack lead blocker for the nuts and bolts of their running game. And if we're going to have a solid day today, we certainly have to minimize his efforts.
Q. With the way the Ravens run the ball schematically, does a defense have to allocate certain people to dealing with Ricard and then others to dealing with Derrick Henry? Is it reasonable to expect one defender to do both?
A. I don't know that the discussion is, Ricard and Henry. They work as a tandem. The quarterback keepers and things of that nature that generally go in the other direction, the 11-on-11 football, the designed quarterback run component is really what makes it challenging in terms of dealing with them. As I mentioned, Ricard is who he is. They don't care that you know. Ricard usually carries you to No. 22 and that's a certain component of their run game, and that's an attrition mindset. And then there's the zone-read component of their run game that really encompasses Lamar Jackson's special talents of mobility, and that creates a different challenge. An 11-on-11 challenge, a really solid schematic challenge in terms of how we allocate people. How do we stop the play-side running game, which is Derek, Henry and No. 42, or the backside running game, which is the key component, what they go to often when situations are thick, and certainly we're in a thick situation.
Q. You said the Ravens defense has gone to more zone than it played in the first meeting a month ago. How should the offense respond in passing situations when the defense does that?
A. Sometimes you've got to take what they're willing to give you, and that's OK. That's always the discussion when you're thinking about zone defense. They're going to zone for a reason. They want to die slower. They want to make you orchestrate 10-to-12 play drives, as opposed to 5-to-6 play drives highlighted by one-on-one circumstance and a chunk play. And that really kind of outlines our scoring drives in our first game. They usually were comprised of a significant gain, like the first series of the game when we hit the long ball to DK. We hit a long ball to Calvin Austin, we had another long ball to DK. Explosion plays represented our scoring drives. We had a long scoring touchdown to Jaylen Warren, for example. This new shift in their schematics represents their desire for offenses to earn it. And so if that's their desire, if they're playing in an umbrella shell, we've got to be willing to and capable of functioning under those circumstances and still engineer drives.
Q. Are receivers asked to read coverage on the fly and adjust routes accordingly against zones?
A. Without question. And I think that's one of the values of Adam Thielen, to be quite honest with you. He's a been there, done that guy. He's a crafty veteran. He has a real good sense and feel for space, and particularly as it pertains to zones. I often say that about Pat Freiermuth. He does similar things at the tight end position. He's very zone aware. Oftentimes, when we play teams that really focus on zones, like the Cincinnati Bengals, people ask me, 'Why does Pat always play well or play significantly when we play the Bengals?' Because they're based in zone defense. And so sometimes individual opportunities are based on schematics, particularly as it pertains to how we divide our labor up. And so as Baltimore changes, so might the playmakers in a game like today.
Q. This is the 40th time in this Steelers-Ravens series that it's been a matchup between Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh. Can there be anything new at this point? Can familiarity be used as a weapon?
A. I think the answer to both elements of the question is yes. There certainly can be new things, because the talent afforded us oftentimes dictates schematics. And the players, their level of readiness, their level of health, individually and collectively, oftentimes dictates how you approach business. And then also there's "it's chess, not checkers" component of repeat competition – the close quarters that's associated with divisional play, and particularly when you've been competing against someone for so long. There's certain familiarity. I'm sure he shares the same mind-set. It reminds me of the knock-down, drag-outs we used to have with Marvin Lewis and the Cincinnati Bengals and Vontaze Burfict and Pacman Jones and so forth. It's just an honor to be in these matchups, to be in these games, big games, against familiar opponents with high stakes. That's what we sign up for, and it's really cool to pursue and be a part of it.
Q. Tonight's matchup will be historic in that it's the first time these teams have met in the regular season finale where the winning team goes to the playoffs and the losing team goes home. What kind of game do you expect this one to be?
A. Reflective of that. I've been in a game against this group for the AFC Championship and things of that nature. I know what it feels like. Certainly, there is talent, there is preparation, strategic preparation, physical preparation of the individuals. Games like this, though, they come down to the will of the men, and that's what I'm excited about. I know we've got a strong-willed group. I'm excited about them putting that on display in the pursuit of victory.
