Coach John Harbaugh: 'Everything you do before is a foundation for what you're going to do next'

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

When you went back and looked at the tape, what did you see from why the running game was so successful?

John Harbaugh (0:05)

Well, I think it probably started with Skett. I mean, he was running really, really hard, really, really, really well, set the tempo, brought the energy, juice, thought his reads were really good. Then, you know, of course, the blocking, you know, so there was a lot of good blocks.

I thought, you know, we did a good job with the game plan part of it in terms of getting in the right plays and everything. But a lot of things that needed to get better, too, plenty of things that weren't good enough, that need to improve, that can be so much better. I think when you talk to the guys, that's what they'll be talking about. That's what they were talking about after the game.

SPEAKER_1 (0:40)

And then real quick, your players spoke about your tackle of Malik at the walkthrough.

Well, what was your perspective on that? What happened there?

John Harbaugh (0:53)

It just kind of evolved into an opportunity to tackle. And I couldn't pass it up, I guess. But no, it was good. It was fun. It was all in fun. He had a lot of laughs.

Some guys gave me a sideways look. Some of the players were like, What are you doing? So it was good.

SPEAKER_1 (1:15)

Is this a regular part of your repertoire or is that a first for you?

John Harbaugh (1:19)

We may have to add it in. I usually do tackle guys or imitate tackling guys because I really couldn't tackle them in real life, I'm sure. But I have done that before, so it wasn't a first.

SPEAKER_1 (1:32)

Thanks, John.

John Harbaugh (1:34)

Evan Barnes.

Evan Barnes (1:37)

Hey, John.

Going back to look at Jackson, just when you go back to Uncle Tate, you obviously said he was tremendous with what he had to handle on his plate. But when you look back at it, was there anything else that just stood out with how he just managed the game, whether it was how he changed his plate as the line scrimmer, or just made the right throws? Was there anything that particularly stood out when you look at it again?

John Harbaugh (2:01)

Well, the thing I probably once I looked at this morning would be the accuracy. I thought his accuracy was really good. His on time, the rhythm passing, if you want to call it that.

Getting the ball out on time was really good. In critical situations, especially, when we needed to convert against man or zone, but numerous times against zone, he was able to put the ball right where it needed to be, right on time, and that was a big plus for us.

Evan Barnes (2:27)

I was going to follow up on that with third down. It seemed like I think he was, I'm looking at this right here, I think seven to seven on third down. I mean, just how much of that was something to be impressed with, just with him being able to not just make those throws, but do it when y'all needed them on third down, especially?

John Harbaugh (2:40)

No, it's exactly what you're saying is right. I mean, we should be impressed by that. I mean, that's the idea, that's the kind of efficiency that you hope to have, and that's what moves the chains.

Evan Barnes (2:53)

Thank you.

John Harbaugh (2:54)

Steve, why now?

Steve (2:56)

Hey John, a lot of your players talked about how your training camp sort of set the foundation for them being prepared for the O'Byrne, and it clearly looked like that. What is the challenge or how do you as a coaching staff now sustain that, everything you build in training camp, and continue it throughout the week to week part of a season?

John Harbaugh (3:12)

Well, really, everything you do before is a foundation for what you're going to do next. So we're building on our foundations every single day. What's under us and what we have banked, so to speak, try to maintain an understanding of that. But we also understand that how you play this week is not going to be good enough to win next week. How we played this last night will not win the game next Monday night.

It won't be good enough. So we've got to improve. We've got to keep improving. We've got to put everything we've got into this week to improve the most that we possibly can if we're going to have the best opportunity to win this game. So we've got a lot to do. So many things in that tape as a coach that you just focus on that just you know have to be better. So we do have a good understanding now of where we're at in terms of all the details with our football, and we understand because of that how far we have to go still. So that's what we'll be working on. Thank you.