COURTESY OF BALTIMORE RAVENS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
Obviously, the Ravens had said they followed you from afar for a long time, and you spent a long time in Denver. Now that you’ve actually been able to be in the building and practice, how do you think the start of your Ravens career has gone? (Luke Jones) “I’m finally home. It feels like … They welcomed me with open arms, man. My teammates have welcomed me with open arms. The organization has welcomed me with open arms. It was a sigh of relief, because obviously, when you spend so much time in one place, you start to get comfortable and your family is comfortable. And then when you have to uproot and leave, it’s a difficult situation. But I couldn’t be happier, really.”
What can you say about your new teammates? (Ximena Lugo-Latorre) “Nothing but good stuff. These guys are ready to win. They want to win a championship, and they’re willing to do whatever it is to win a championship. They put the work in every day, and we bring energy to practice every day. It’s fun to come into work.”
You coming in with a guy like DE Calais Campbell, it could be viewed by some that you were kind of the under the radar signing. Do you view it as that, and if so, do you kind of relish in that role a little bit? What do you think? (Shawn Stepner) “Look man, I couldn’t be more grateful to have a guy like Calais [Campbell] on the team. I might be 30 years old. I might be going into my ninth season, but there’s still something to be learned from a guy like Calais. He’s been in the league four years longer than I have. Every single day, I pick his brain, he picks my brain, and we compete with each other. It’s fun to have competition. If you’re a great athlete, a great competitor, you want somebody to compete with every day, and that’s what we do. We push each other, we make each other better. When one of us is a little tired, ‘Hey, come on. Let’s go. Let’s get it. We’re in the weight room. Let’s go to the weight room. Let’s get this early lift in.’ We push each other to be great. Iron sharpens iron. So, it’s great to have a guy like him around. I hope he feels the same way.”
It seems like you looked at everything before you came here. I think you were weighing here or Houston. You mentioned DE Calais Campbell, that was one thing. Head coach John Harbaugh being sort of a player-friendly head coach, defensive coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale, playing with QB Lamar Jackson, a contender. Was there one thing that really sealed the deal for you? (Kirk McEwen) “Elvis Dumervil. I talked to Elvis Dumervil, and I was like, ‘Hey, man. What do you think?’ And he was like, ‘Yes. Sign with them immediately.’ So, he was like, ‘You’re going to love it there. It’s your kind of place. They play your kind of ball. It’s a defensive organization.’ Even though we have a great offense right now, our defense is the backbone of this team and of this organization, really. Growing up in northeast Ohio, I got to watch the Ravens play football all the time, all their games were on. So, I got to watch that 2000 Ravens defense. Those were like my early years of football. So, that’s how I learned how to play defense was from watching the Ravens and how they played flying to the ball, ripping the ball out, playing physical, being nasty and gritty and very humble – that’s the kind of football I like to play.”
I don’t know how much interaction you’ve had with CB Tavon Young thus far, but as a guy who’s had a couple of injuries derail him a little bit, he’s back out there playing at a very high level. Does he remind you of anyone since you’ve been with Denver for so long and seen other players? Does he remind you? (Pete Gilbert) “I can’t say he reminds me of anyone, but his ability is unbelievable. He’s just got so much ability that … There’s multiple players I could compare him to. But I don’t like to compare guys to anybody, because everybody is their own man and you have to make your own name in this league. I don’t really like being compared to other players. I don’t ever want … To me, that’s not a compliment, man. I’m my own guy. Let me be my own guy, don’t compare me to somebody else. I think that he … The sky is the limit.”
After a couple of weeks of getting to watch DT Justin Madubuike in live practice, what’s kind of jumped out to you? (Childs Walker) “Oh, the kid can play. He’s going to be a good football player, man. He’s a great rookie. He’s strong, he’s tough, physical. He wants to be good. He listens, he writes down everything. That’s all you can ask for. He’s always asking questions, always trying to get better. I think that kid is going to be a really good football player.”
DT Brandon Williams referred to you and DE Calais Campbell, recently, as the twin towers. Where is this D-line right now? How’s that relationship with ‘Big Baby’ going so far, and just the progress you guys have made so far, not even two weeks in? (Bobby Trosset) “I was talking to Calais [Campbell] and ‘Baby’ [Brandon Williams] about it yesterday, about how special we can really be. When you’ve got a group of veterans and you’ve got a group of young guys that are playing well, you can roll guys like the hockey roll. Just rolling guys in and out and being fresh. Just wreaking havoc on offensive lines. ‘Baby’ and I actually have a ton in common; our birthdays are just days apart, our daughter’s birthdays are just days apart, we both have English bulldogs, we both like to hunt. So, obviously, him and I, we got along right away. Same with Calais. The group is gelling really well, and we’re getting along really well. We care about each other, and that’s what’s most important, man. You’ve got to be able to trust the guy next to you out there, that he’s going to do the right thing, he’s going to do his job every time. I’m really happy to be here. I’m really grateful.”
How bummed are you that … The team announced we’re not going to have fans for the initial games, at least, for the season. How bummed are you that you don’t get to experience that M&T Bank Stadium crowd being a new guy and you don’t get to hear a wolf howl? (Ryan Mink) “That’s a bummer. I’m more bummed out for the fans themselves, because they’re not going to get to [go]. Who knows? Maybe a couple of games in we might be able to start letting some fans in. Maybe by the end of the season, going to the playoffs, we’ve got a full packed stadium. You never know what’s going to happen in the future. But I do, I feel worse for the fans than I do for myself. Because, to me, I’m out there to do a job. Whether people are screaming and yelling for me or not, I’m going to do that job.”
