Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: How did the injured guys come out of yesterday?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I'd say (guard Jon) Runyan (Jr.) is pretty sore today. A lot of these guys are still getting an MRIed or getting looked at. But I'd say Runyan has an ankle. I'd say week to week, maybe more than week to week. (Safety Tyler) Nubin has an ankle, we'll see where he's at. (Center) John Michael (Schmitz Jr.), MRI looks okay, but he's sore. Who else do you want to know about?

Q: Is (quarterback Drew) Lock doing okay?

BRIAN DABOLL: He's getting an MRI at 12 p.m., he's sore. We've got a couple things right now, but don't have the results just yet. I know he's sore.

Q: So obviously looking back at Drew's performance, how will that factor into your decision this week when you're evaluating the quarterbacks going forward?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, Drew will be at quarterback this week, unless he can't be based on Injury.

Q: And I suppose, what kind of went into that decision? Was it just kind of how he performed yesterday or (quarterback) Tommy (DeVito) is still recovering, what went into that?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, he's played, really had one week of practice to go out there and play. Again, things that everybody could do better, but he'd be the quarterback this week if he's healthy.

Q: Have you ever been part of a losing streak, something of this magnitude? And looking back, was there any ways that you or the guy in charge, or people around you, did things to try to end it? Obviously, everyone's trying to end it, but anything, something where you could maybe latch on to?

BRIAN DABOLL: Unfortunately, I have been. I've been part of some losing streaks like this and some winning streaks. I think you are part of a lot of different things when you do it for as long as I have. You get a little bit of roll; you start playing good. Turnovers are a big, usually a big factor in that. Situational football is usually a big factor in that. Whether that be red zone, third down, and that helps scoring points, or preventing points. I've been part of a few of them where we started out and had a fair amount of losses, finished strong. Again, every season's different, every game's different. It was ebbs and flows to yesterday's game. We had some opportunities there, I'd say, in all three phases. We had 13 points basically that we had, and then we didn't have them, or we got blocked. And then we had some opportunities, we had far too many third downs offensively, didn't convert on those. And we had the one thing in the red zone there, defensively, where they did a good job of shifting out, we had an uncovered guy. So, there's plays every game, every season. Got to figure out a way to make those.

Q: Do you ever feel inclined, you keep on saying, 'we prepare well, you like the way we prepare', to do something differently during the week, just because it will be something different?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I'd say we have to do a better job ultimately on game day. Finishing things, obviously making some opportunistic plays. And that's everybody and that starts with me.

Q: Along the lines of the idea of not so much doing things differently, but because of all the new faces, and all the younger players, and the inexperienced guys that you had to get into the lineup for yesterday, you even talked, and even some of the players in the locker room talked about how those guys really performed yesterday above maybe what expectation was. Is there anything you could take from the way you guys attacked last week, and have to move it to this week, almost out of necessity and how you had to build the game plan around a lot of guys who really hadn't been out there for you?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I credit those guys. They put a lot into it. I mean, we improved just this one game from where we were from the previous ones, defensively speaking. Our tackling was a lot better. Obviously, our run game defense had a lot of negatives against a really good running back, and a team that likes to run it, we improved. We hit some more explosives than we have in the past. Turnovers were even. We're still going to try to win this turnover ratio. So, there's things that you can build off of.

Inside Linebacker Micah McFadden

Q: What were your impressions just of the young defensive linemen who had to step up with injuries? Guys like (defensive tackle) Elijah (Chatman), (defensive tackle Jordon) Riley and those guys. What did you think about their performance?

MICAH MCFADDEN: Yeah, I thought they played hard. Some of those guys playing their first regular season in the NFL Snaps, really happy for them and proud of the way they played. They were playing with knockback and physicality up front, and they kind of let the guys on the back end run and flow to the football. So, something we can build off of for sure. We're going to need those guys moving forward for the rest of the year. But yeah, really happy for them and proud of the way they played.

Q: I know last week you told us just about kind of how you said it's tough to deal with this losing streak because you have to deal with some of it in college. So, I guess for you guys now, this is now eight games of a losing streak. How do you try to just try to keep focused and get ready for this game next week when obviously there's new ways to lose, it seems as guys have said already?

MICAH MCFADDEN: Yeah, just stay motivated, stay focused on our goal and the task at hand each week. Obviously, we got a big one coming up here. But this is our job, and we got to go out and perform on Sunday and play for each other. I think that's kind of the ultimate message at this point in the year. Play for the guy next to you and do your job as best you can so they can play faster.

Q: How did (inside linebacker Darius Muasau) Moose do yesterday? Looked like he had eight tackles. He fit in pretty well.

MICAH MCFADDEN: Yeah, I thought Darius (Muasau) played great. He was playing fast. He was in the right spot. And he was physical at the point of attack for sure. Played up to the standard and something we know he's been doing all year long. And he's just continued to get better with each game and the more experience he's got this season. So really happy for him as well. And like I said, something to build off of for sure.

Q: The other thing I noticed is you guys seemed to have a lot of tackles for loss. Did you change anything up to create those opportunities?

MICAH MCFADDEN: Yeah, we definitely had some new fronts in, some different looks that they hadn't really seen from us or something we hadn't put on tape. So, just kind of changing the picture. Obviously, they were in some heavier personnels with who they got out and what they were trying to do. So yeah, definitely a big run defense against that team and something we knew we had to do well. And I think everybody executed as best they could.

Q: There's obviously when a season goes like this, there's a lot of speculation about the head coach and the general manager coming back and all that kind of stuff. And you guys don't have any say in that. But I'm curious what your impression is of (Head Coach) Brian Daboll and the job he does? What kind of case do you make for him for sticking around?

MICAH MCFADDEN: Yeah, I love Dabs. I appreciate what he's done for me. Him and (Senior Vice President and General Manager) Joe (Schoen) both, bringing me here, believing in me and trusting me to play within the scheme and the defense. Obviously, everybody, this year hasn't been what we wanted and what we expect of ourselves. But there's been a lot of close games, a lot of opportunity out there to flip the script. And we just got to stay the course and believe in the process. And I think guys are still focused on that.

Q: What do you think are some of the strengths that Daboll is showing in the face of the difficult season you're dealing with?

MICAH MCFADDEN: I think the team's playing hard. Everybody's still focused and preparing each week. Whether they're starters or not, everybody's focused on the task at hand and the opponent for each week. And we got to continue to do that. But it's on the players, obviously, at the end of the day, executing on Sundays. But, yeah, I think everybody's playing hard and still believing in what we're doing here.

Q: Have you ever had a game where you've had double-digit tackles and almost half of them were for loss?

MICAH MCFADDEN: Yeah, I don't think so. I think the closest I had was maybe last year against the 49ers. I think I had four TFLs. But yeah, this was definitely the most TFLs I've had in one game in my career.

Q: I saw one play where you're running horizontal across the whole line free to be able to make a tackle behind a line of scrimmage. I guess that's equivalent to a sack for a defensive end when you get a guy like (Saints running back) Alvin Kamara a couple of yards behind a line of scrimmage.

MICAH MCFADDEN: Yeah, I mean I give credit to the defensive line, the guys who played with knockback up front and did their job, stayed in their gaps and built the wall so we could rip and run on the back end. And they opened up the seams for us to go make those plays in the backfield. So, appreciate those guys and the way they worked and the preparation they did to get ready to play that game.

Q: Do you feel, you're a young veteran, established but young, do you feel that you and a lot of your guys in your similar situation that there's a lot of eyes on you for how hard you play down the stretch, how well you play down the stretch? And 2025 is coming sooner than you guys want, probably because of the way the season's going, that there's always someone looking at you and in a bad season, a lot of times guys just get wiped out. You need to prove it and these guys around you need to prove it that you deserve to come back?

MICAH MCFADDEN: Yeah, I think that's the standard every game. This is the NFL, and everybody watches every game. Regardless of the circumstances, they're not going to ask what the record was. They're going to ask, 'why didn't you make this play or where were you fitting here?' So yeah, I think just staying focused, staying connected, making sure we're talking and we're communicating on the field so we can all play fast. Yeah, it's part of the game and like I said, this is the NFL. So, we all want to keep playing hard and finish out the season the right way.

Wide Receiver Darius Slayton

Q: These last two games with (quarterback) Drew (Lock) under center, what have you guys liked about how he's done so far and how he's kind of built chemistry with you guys after two games and now with a full week of practice last week?

DARIUS SLAYTON: I think he's done a good job of coming in and trying his best to make plays. Obviously, on game days, he's making some plays with the ball in his hand, and I think he's done a good job for us over the past couple of games. I think he's done a good job of leading us. Obviously, we still haven't performed quite at the level as we'd like to as an offense as a whole. But I think him individually, he's done a good job under circumstances.

Q: Then, obviously, it took three quarters, you guys struggled against the Saints a little bit. I'm curious, what do you guys take away from that to try to improve for this Ravens defense coming up this week? Or do you guys take what you did well in the fourth quarter into this game?

DARIUS SLAYTON: A little bit of what we did well but also trying to build on some of the things that we quote-unquote didn't do quite as well. Some of those things were self-inflicted. Those are the type of things that you want to try to eliminate going into a new week against a new opponent and try to shore those things up while continuing to do the things well that you've already done well.

Q: Just a question about (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll). Obviously, a team that's in the situation that you're in, there's a lot of speculation about job security, etc. for both he and (Senior Vice President and General Manager Joe) Schoen. I'm curious on your end as a player, even though you have no say in this, what your take is on the kind of job he is doing, under the circumstances, and what kind of argument you would make for those who want the regime to be fired?

DARIUS SLAYTON: I would say all in all he's done a good job. A lot of the things that have happened to us this year have been largely out of his control. At the end of the day, as a coach, all you can do is call the plays, try to galvanize the guys and get them ready to go on Sundays. I think for the most part he's done a good job of that. Obviously, I'm a free agent going into this offseason so what they choose to do is up to them, but I think he's done the best he can.

Q: What do you think are some of the strengths that he has shown in the face of the losing and the circumstances that have presented themselves

DARIUS SLAYTON: I think he's shown a tremendous amount of resilience. It would be very easy for him to come in and be down in the dumps and low spirits, but I think he's came in every day with high spirits and the expectation to win. He's done his best to impress that upon us as a team, that the expectation is to win no matter what the circumstance is and to go out there and give effort and fight hard. I think he's done as good of a job as you can do at doing those things.

Q: A couple of weeks ago after, I think, the loss of the Buccaneers you were pretty emotional and said, 'This is exhausting.' The way the season has gone on, and there's been two more losses since then. What is it now if that was exhausting?

DARIUS SLAYTON: I'll speak from my perspective of being here for six years and a lot has transpired in that time frame. I made a statement after that game, but I would say that was probably somewhat unique to me and my experience. But obviously, Sunday's loss was particularly rough seeing how we fought, and I feel like we got ourselves in a position to have a chance to win the game there and we obviously still came up short. It's a rough way to lose no matter what your record is.

Q: You lose a blowout game to the Buccaneers, it's rough. Losing when you think you're going to go into overtime is rough. Does it have to be this rough? When you look around and you watch other games you see other teams, you see friends you know around the league. Should it be this rough? Should there be this much losing?

DARIUS SLAYTON: Certainly not. Not in the National Football League. We obviously have capable people to prevent these things. Specifically, this past Sunday's game I would say obviously there were plays we could have made to help change the outcome. Also having 13 points taken away doesn't help our cause either. So, for a variety of reasons we haven't got the results we wanted this year, but it is what it is at this point.

Q: You know the signs, right? Do you think guys are fighting to the finish here as best they can?

DARIUS SLAYTON: Yeah, I think if you just watch the way our team played on Sunday, I think our play is indicative of how guys feel and the effort the guys are giving, especially on defense. I think guys flew around for sure on defense. They came up with stops and held one of the league's best rushers to a relatively quiet day. I think our play on Sunday speaks to where guys' minds are at in the locker room and the status of our team as a whole. That goes for the offensive side as well, as far as an effort standpoint goes. We just have to execute better on that side of the ball.

Q: If you look at the stats from yesterday, Drew was sacked twice and I think the quarterback hit total was 13. As a receiver do you sense that during a game? Do you have to alter the way you run your routes based on that

DARIUS SLAYTON: I would say sometimes you do. I would say yesterday's game wasn't one of those games. All in all, I think we protected pretty well. We definitely had some plays that we could have converted on or should have converted on that had nothing to do with the protection. While that is a thing sometimes, I wouldn't say that that was a true thing of yesterday's game.

Q: So, statistics can lie?

DARIUS SLAYTON: I would say so, because there are different types of protections where somebody gets a pressure, but if it's a play action protection you can get a quote-unquote pressure, but it could just be the way that we're blocking on that particular play. So, it's not always as clean cut as it seems.