LB Anthony Walker (9.28.23)
How have you seen the Ravens offense change?
“Yeah, I think it’s hard to say, you know, change. They’ve been explosive. They’ve been a really good offense. Really just trying to spread the ball around a little more. They got different playmakers on the outside with Zay Flowers, OBJ (Odell Beckham), all those guys. Obviously, got Mark Andrews. Sucks that J.K. (Dobbins) went down so early. Definitely would have been a huge spark for that offense. But again, just spreading around all the playmakers and you got number eight (Lamar Jackson) back there. It’s hard to say you’ve changed when he’s as dynamic as he is. So obviously present a huge challenge for us that we all got to be on the same page and ready to run to the ball because those guys present a huge challenge for us.”
You mention how dynamic Lamar (Jackson) is. Because you guys have been so aggressive in the first three games, do you have to change your approach because of him or can you continue to play the same way regardless of his mobility?
“You never want to play scared going against any opponent. Obviously, he presents a different challenge. So you got to be a little smarter in how you rush, how you contain him. But at the end of the day, you still have to be aggressive. We got to play aggressive defense.”
He’ll play three pocket passes pretty much. What do you think about that? Sounds like it’s not changing your game plan.
“Yeah, we play an attack-style defense. For us to play an opponent and say we’re going to stop attacking now will go against everything that we believe in. Like I said, you just got to be smarter, not less aggressive. But rush lanes, can’t be as risky. But again, just covering up for one another like we always do. Front line going, D line being the engine that they are. They go attack and we clean it up and make sure that we keep him in the pocket and if he does get out, we get him on the ground.”
That play that you made at the goal line, just such an amazing play there. Do you feel like you’re just off to one of the best starts in your career and the game seems like really kind of slow for you and that you’re flourishing this defense?
“Yeah, I will hope the game is slow for me. I’m kind of old now, so getting up there in years, but obviously with those years come a little bit of knowledge, experience. Obviously, that’s probably one of the better plays I’ve made in my career just because (Ryan) Tannehill looked me off so long trying to get me to go the other way and I kind of knew he was going backside. But that’s, again, that’s a tribute to my coaches. I knew Myles (Garrett) was going to get there, had to get the ball out fast so he couldn’t look too long. And that’s rush and coverage working together. So that’s what we preach here. That’s what we pride ourselves in. And that was a huge play for us. I thought the next play was a more huge play with Juan (Thornhill). That’s a tough read for him with the running back coming out from the other side and he played it perfectly. And then Myles being Myles at that third down stop. That was a huge sequence in that game that really sparked us as a defense and then the crowd just went crazy after that.”
When you were younger, would you pick that ball up?
“I hope so. No, I should have though. I should have. I owe myself on that one.”
What has Za’Darius (Smith) taught to you guys?
“I tell people this all the time. I think he’s the right fit for us. Having a guy like Myles (Garrett), but then having a guy like Za’Darius who really just brings that energy, that fun side of it, you know Myles is fun as well. But Za’Darius really, I think he got Myles to really open up and come out of his shell a little bit this year and you see it. Those guys have so much fun playing alongside each other. You add Dalvin (Tomlinson), another guy that just brings a different type of energy. That whole D line room is just a makeup of characters, you know includes Shelby (Harris) in there as well. So having all those guys just feed off of each other their energy and then Za’Darius is always with the smile on his face doing what he’s supposed to do. Doing the dirty work, always taking two, Myles always taking two. All those guys are just unselfish and that’s what you want to have.”
Going back to your days in Indy, you were always the leader of those middle linebackers talking about guys like Darius Leonard, Shaquille Leonard now and Bobby Okereke, being as you’ve been around those great linebackers. And now I feel like one of the unsung heroes is Jeremiah (Owusu-Koramoah). What do you see out of him and is there any similarities with his game and those guys?
“I just see the daily growth with him from year one to year three now just gotten better. He’s always been freakishly athletic, but when you really learn the game and he knows what he’s doing now. When you’re doing things with a purpose on defense, moving to the right spot with the purpose of the ball is going to be here when I get there and all that stuff. Obviously, he’s always, like I said, been a freakish athlete. Played downhill, played fast, just sometimes went to the wrong gap, but now we got him going into the right gap and still with that same violence and intensity and he’s making plays, he’s always made plays his whole career. Obviously, the NFL, you can sometimes guess and be right, but you can sometimes guess and be really wrong. And I think he’s more trending on the path of knowing what he’s supposed to do and really flying around and making plays consistently.”
How important to go into the bye week at 3-1 and on a roll and coming off another big AFC win?
“You got to win. That’s what this NFL is about. Anytime you step on the field, you want to win. Our number one goal every time we come into the building at the start of a new season is to win the division. Anytime you get a chance to play a division opponent, Baltimore this week, you want to take that next step. We want to show that again, we always want to prove ourselves right, then prove the others. We want to prove ourselves that we are what we think we are as a defense, as a team, as an offense. We want to prove ourselves right, and anytime we have a chance to step on the field, we want to do that.
Did the way the offense played against Tennessee give you guys a defensive jolt just because you guys have played so well through the course of the season, and that was obviously their best game?
“Yeah, when you compete against the offense for the whole training camp and offseason, I always said that they were going to be really good. And we always know that class players, especially you guys in the media, that sometimes defenses just are way ahead of offenses to start a season, and you see that in different teams this year. But when they catch their stride, it’s going to be scary to see. Obviously, we all have a long way to go. We want to trend in the right direction each week, obviously. But to say the defense has arrived and the offense hasn’t no, it’s not like that. Like I said, we’re probably a few steps ahead, but that’s just defense. Defense is like that. It’s easier. You’re reacting more so. And then offense, when they get their stride I said they took a step in a positive direction last week, but when they really catch their stride, they’re going to be a very dangerous part of our team.”
Are you surprised that as well as the defense is playing that turnovers haven’t come yet?
“That’s what I was just talking to about yesterday. I was talking to Rod (Rodney McLeod), I was like, the only thing we don’t have is turnovers. It’s kind of weird to say. A lot of teams pride themselves on getting turnovers, and we just pride ourselves on the effort, the swag and badassery, and then it’s like we’re making plays, but the ball just isn’t coming out. But I always said, man, if they’re not scoring, I’m excited. And obviously, we want to get those turnovers. They’re going to come. Obviously, they come in bunches when they do come, but right now I’m just happy to be playing, and we’re playing winning football right now.”
Had a lot of them in preseason.
“Yeah, it was. But we could be giving up 28 points and having five turnovers, or we could be giving up three and having none. So as long as they don’t score, I’m excited.”
Is there anything you do to increase that, or do you just keep playing it and wait for them to come?
“Yeah, I mean, you keep attacking the ball, you do the little things. Obviously, you catch the balls that are thrown to you like, I should have caught. You have to find a way to make those plays. But like I said, they’re not scoring. So, we’re doing something right, and we want to keep trending in that direction. We don’t want to start taking risks and chances for no reason. And we’re out of position now because we’re trying to make a play, cause an interception or cause a fumble. We’re playing sound defense so far right now.”
Is some of that because you guys are getting off the field so fast?
“Yeah, that’s a lot of it. I don’t think we had a leading tackle over, what, six tackles or eight tackles with Grant (Delpit) one time and JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) last week. We’re not playing a lot of plays, and that’s a good thing. We’re getting off the field on third down, a lot of three and outs, getting the ball back to our offense. So, a team keeps going three and out, one of them has to equal a turnover. We’re getting the ball back to our offense, and that’s all it’s about for us.”
Do you guys feel like finally starting to field that home field advantage like, some of the better teams in the league? Seattle and the Chiefs historically always enjoyed a competitive advantage because of the stadium and the crowd they play in front. You guys starting to feel like you’re developing that here?
“Yeah, no, we definitely feel it. The energy from the fans is unmatched. They really get us going. We feed off of them. I ran right over there after we got that third down stop right before the half, and they were, you know, pumped up and ready to go. And I thought that was huge for us, but third down has been hard for other teams. Really getting the crowd involved and going. And again, that’s just a tribute to, obviously, Cleveland and the fans, and we need more of that and consistently need that. And for us to be a great team and for us to go as far as we want to go, we need the fans to be with us.”
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