Opening statement:
"First off, I would like to say that I thank you guys for being with us during the weeks. We get through it and try to find a way to win the game. Last week, we said get to 8-7-1, and that is what we get the chance to do."
On challenges facing the Ravens special teams unit in what is expected to be a low-scoring game:
"I have known (Ravens Head Coach) John (Harbaugh) for years and have gone against him even when we were both in college. I know (Ravens special teams coordinator/associate head coach) Jerry (Rosburg) from the league. You know that you are going to get physicality. We are going to try to do the same thing. You hope to keep the field position battle in our favor, be it kickoff coverage or punt coverage and all of those scenarios. We were very fortunate last time that we had a blocked field goal that kind of set us up and takes us out of a bad situation there. You have to look for those types of opportunities. You can't press the issue because it is kind of one of those deals where the physicality of the game is going to dictate a lot of the matchups and things like that that you really can't control from a standpoint of schematics. You just have to hope that you play your gaps right and play your edges, and pretty much like you do on offense and defense, just kind of keep battling."
On Raiders WR Dwayne Harris' punt return TD against the Broncos, particularly given it was a free return after being touched by Denver:
"I think it is probably the longest one in the history that I have ever seen. I have had quite a few scenarios. A lot of people do not know the rule. We always kind of practice it and always talk about it. Obviously, in those scenarios, we show those types of plays. Typical veteran move that Dwayne did. The biggest thing, and we were a part of it in Arizona with (Falcons CB) Justin Bethel through the years, you have to gain possession. You want to tip the ball back and keep it from going in the end zone and all of that, but there are other factors involved. The box has to get down there and they have to become the tackler because the gunner is focusing in on the tip back and stopping the ball from going in the end zone. That is what makes the punt game in pro football – it is not like that in college – and that is what makes our game so great is those types of scenarios because it is a thinking man's game on your feet. I thought it was great. Love to teach on it because you run your antennas up on something like that."
On Ravens K Justin Tucker's consistent production:
"For the most part, he was a guy that when he came out of Texas a few years back, we all looked at him. There were a lot of kickers coming out consistently down there that were backups, perennial backups and maybe shared reps or something as a senior. I think his work ethic is probably pretty good. I do not really know Justin that well because I never gave him a workout or anything back in those days, but I am sure that he has a tremendous work ethic. For a guy that is not very big, he has an extremely strong leg. He puts the ball consistently on his foot at the same spot and stuff like that. I just think probably the work ethic and confidence, the more you get the opportunity to make long kicks and you make some of them, you gain confidence. Same with (Rams K) Greg Zeurlein a few years back when we were going against the Rams a bunch."
On the Bengals blocking a punt last week late in the season:
"It is frustrating from the standpoint it happened, period. It does not matter what time of the year. The biggest thing is the awareness of the situation of the game. We had given up the punt return Game 1, and we knew that situation did not need to come back and haunt us. In that situation, we have to all have our antennas up in terms of, 'Hey, I have to do this. I can't chase looks. I can't chase something that is going to make me get out of my technique.' A lot of times, that is what happens. You might see something on film that you might think a guy is going to do something a certain way, but in the heat of the moment, he might go and react a different way. You kind of just have to put it in the concepts of: I have to do my job vertically and then I have to do my job exploding out in terms of the protection part of it. Never want it to happen, but unfortunately, when it did happen, my thought was immediately to get it corrected on the sideline from what we saw on the pictures because we were in a situation where the same play was going to happen again from the standpoint of we were going to go out there and play hands [team on kickoff] again and we might potentially have to punt the football again. You do not think about it in a negative like I told the players on the first slide for Wednesday. Sideline conversations are not for blame. We are not blaming. We are trying to correct and move on because the situation of the game is going to repeat itself if we do not. They accepted that."
On the Bengals' fake punt conversion:
"In hindsight, I probably should have kept a bigger personnel out there on the inside. I had always played with that so I will look at myself in that right off the bat and say it would have been better to have had a bigger body on the inside on the guard. When we played and when I called that play and sent it in, it is all eyes on what is going on and teams will give it away. The pre-snap keys, all those things were there. We just did not play very smart on that play, and then at the end of the day, we knew it was going to be something like that in that game, kind of like how we talked about with the Ravens. You have to play this game physically, and you have to react quickly. It is not a game for reading and guessing. It is a game for reactions and being physical. We need it to be on all accounts that way, but having a bigger body on the inside probably would have helped stop it a little bit better. Do not know if they would have gotten the first down or not. Everybody has the play so you have to go in knowing it. Baltimore actually ran it earlier in the year on the -6 or -7 yard line and got an offside penalty on the play."
On working with a coach like Head Coach Gregg Williams who has previously been a special teams coordinator:
"The good thing about having Gregg is he understands the mechanics of kicking and punting as well as he does. When I got started in special teams years ago by (College Football Hall of Fame Coach) Coach (Bear) Bryant, we were always good in special teams. As a young coach, I started there with him and then proceeded on in college. Not a lot of guys know about coaching kickers and punters and the nuances of what their mindset is. Gregg understands those things, and he is has been good in that respect. Everything about since we changed has been positive for me and then the players because now we can get through practice without any distractions and without any kind of situation where a guy might come off the field not knowing what is going on. Gregg has been great about that, and that is what happens. That is the key in Baltimore, right? Jerry and John together. I think it is great when the head coach knows something about special teams so I appreciate Gregg from that standpoint. He has allowed me to be able to do my job."
On Joseph's missed PAT and if the same mindset from college with a shorter PAT attempt carries over at times with young NFL kickers:
"Gosh, you would hope they see those crossbars are further away, right (laughter)? I think there was a great article today – I only saw it because a former kicker sent it to me – in the USA Today about the struggles of the extra point. It is a worthy read. I think the extra point deal from what I have gathered in my research and been in this league since they changed it, it is all about the process. We did something last week that Greg knows he can't do on that, and that aided in it being wide right because it hit the goal post. You can't deviate from your process. It is a field goal. It is not an extra point anymore. It is 33 yards. Where you spot it is your choice. That is the only difference in a field goal. The offense would have to put it on the left hash if you wanted it on the left hash or the right hash. Extra point, you get the choice. You can't let anything get you out of the process. What you practice and how you practice those things, whatever the situation is what you have to rely on. The same thing on offense and defense. It just goes back down to repetition. Hopefully, he can continue to grow. It was good to see him come back and hit the field goals after that. I have said it before, a guy that is going to make it in this league is a kicker that is going to be able to bounce back and not miss two in a row. That is what you have to understand with those guys and that is what they have to understand about themselves is they can't miss two in a row. If they do, they better find a damn way to make the third one because people are really going to look at them that way. It is interesting because it does not matter about age or experience. The guys that were in that article were veterans, and (Cardinals K) Zane (Gonzalez) was quoted in the article. It is kind of like they are all in that brotherhood of somebody is pushing one, somebody is hitting off the goal post and those types of things but give yourself a chance by being in the process and going through whether it is a delayed situation and stuff like that. It is kind of how we practice it, as well."
