Ravens DE Calais Campbell (9.13.20)

DE Calais Campbell

 (On his impact and the Ravens’ defense) “It’s honestly … It’s crazy, because I feel like I didn’t play as good as I wanted to. I left a lot of plays out there. But to still be able to affect the game and be able to win the way we did, that’s just a testament to our preparation. We had an incredible camp, and it showed today.”

(On if not having fans affected the Ravens’ energy level) “It is B.Y.O.E; bring your own energy. And that’s what we did today. Coach [Harbaugh] did a good job to get us prepared. We have a lot of guys on the team who took turns bringing the energy for us, and we could feed off of it. It was really cool to see just how … We hadn’t played a real game. We’ve been going back and forth in practice, and we hadn’t gotten the chance to hit anybody else. To get here, even though there weren’t fans in the stands, and the energy was kind of – we had to bring it ourselves, it was still cool to go out there and play football for the first time in a while.”

(On the Ravens’ pre-game demonstrations and their message) “A lot of players on this team are really passionate about the community – about our backgrounds and where we come from. So, most of the guys want to protest against the injustices in our communities. I saw [Ravens owner] Steve Bisciotti put out a message, and it’s very clear; We’re not protesting the flag [and] we’re not protesting America. We’re not protesting anything like that. It’s just injustice in our community. And so, this was just an opportunity for us to use this platform to try to affect change in the communities.”

(On how the game felt given the new protocols and unusual circumstances) “There were a lot of adjustments. A lot of the protocols on the sideline were unique. It was different. We’re used to certain things, and then you have to adjust. And I’m sure that affected a lot of us on the sidelines. I know it [affected] me. But you have to figure it out. There are going to be adjustments throughout the whole year. But I’m glad that we were able to find a way to win the game, even with [everything] we had to handle with the COVID stuff.”

(On if he was more tired during the game due to no preseason) “To a degree, maybe a little bit, but I think that it’s just that first game. You can go back every year; the first game of football, it takes a lot to catch that second wind. That’s football. But we got off to a fast start. We’re 1-0. And obviously, I don’t think anybody feels like they played their best football. But we’re 1-0 – a lot to look forward to.”