Here’s the John Harbaugh Press Conference:
RAVENS HC JOHN HARBAUGH
(opening statement) “Alright, thanks for coming. (Laughs) It is good to see everybody. It is a great moment. On behalf of Steve Bisciotti, our owner, Ozzie Newsome, our general manager, Richard Cass, our team president, and every one of our players who you will be talking to I hope shortly—thank you Baltimore fans for sticking with us man, and for believing in us. We all did it together. I am talking about the fans, the players, the coaches and the organization. All of the kids at John Hopkins Hospital that sent us that video—thank you. For the 49ers, it was just a great football game. The way that game played out. The way it was 28-6 and the lights went out with whatever happened, I just knew with Jim Harbaugh being on the other sideline and all of those years we have been together that game was going to be a dog fight right to the end. Those guys were coming back. There is no greater competitor and no greater coach in the National Football League or in the world, as far as I am concerned, than Jim Harbaugh. The way that team played proves it. What they have done the last two years in the National Football League is unprecedented. They showed it today the way they battled back and fought right to the end. That is who he is and that is who they are. I could not be more proud of him and what he has done. My family, Mom and Dad, we love you. Thank you, thank you. Ingrid and Allison, thank you. Tom, Joani and your family, thank you for being here. It is a glorious, glorious day. God is gracious. God is good. God is in control.”
(on what it feels like to be the head coach of the world champions) “How do you think it feels? It feels just like you think it feels. It feels great!”
(on if the blackout affected the team) “Both teams had to deal with it. Actually, I thought they dealt with it better, obviously. They were able to turn the momentum of the game.”
(on the turning point of the game) “You know what the turning point of the game was? When we covered the kick on the last play.”
(on with the joy he’s feeling, if it’s tough knowing his brother is in pain right now) “It’s tough. It’s very tough. It’s a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. It’s very painful.”
(on the goal line stand to win the game) “I do not know if I have words for it. I think it just speaks to our resolve. Speaks to our determination. Speaks to our mental toughness. Speaks to our faith and trust in one another and our belief in one another. That is what wins and loses games. They also turn on situations like that. Our guys have been there in the end. We have won five or six there in a row like that. It has just been incredible.”
(on his thoughts on the power outage) “I thought we still had 13 minutes left to play in the third quarter. We had a lot of football left to play. I know who we were playing, the team and the coach that was across that sideline. It was going to be a tough game right to the end.”
(on his argument with an NFL official) “Yeah, I made too big of a deal out of that. It had to deal with the phones and whether we were going to have communication or whether we were going to have to take communication away because there are certain rules involved with that. I was trying to make the case. It ended up being a moot point, I guess. Isn’t that what they call it in law? It was much ado about nothing.”
(on WR/KR Jacoby Jones) “Jacoby has been a blessing to this team and we are just so grateful to have him on this team. He is right from here in New Orleans. Ed Reed is right from here in New Orleans and made the interception. For those guys to do that in their hometown, but those were just two phenomenal plays. The kick return was well-blocked and Jacoby made it with his speed. The other play to go up, make the catch, go down and outrun someone to the corner of the end zone. It should go down in Super Bowl history.”
(on facing his brother) “It was a great joy, but it was also the most difficult thing in the world to understand that he is over there. I just think that Jim is a great competitor. I just love him obviously. I think anybody out there who has a brother can understand what that is all about. It is nothing that anybody cannot understand. I just believe in him and I have so much respect for him. I admire him. I look up to him in so many ways and I am hurting for him in that sense.”
(on the meeting with 49ers HC Jim Harbaugh) “The meeting with Jim in the middle was probably the most difficult thing I have ever been associated with in my life. I am proud of him.”
(on containing 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick) “Our thoughts on Colin Kaepernick and their offense, and it is really not just Colin—he makes it go, but their offense is incredible. There are so many problems that they pose. Trying to find a defense to call is extremely difficult. I thought Dean Pees did a tremendous job. I thought our players did a tremendous job of playing with discipline. You make one mistake—you do not cover it exactly right, you do not close it exactly right and they make a big play. That is why they are so incredibly dangerous. This team is going to be around for many years to come.”
(on the Ravens being resilient) “Well we are a very resilient team. We have a lot of resolve. That is why we won the game.”
(on using LB Ray Lewis’ retirement as motivation) “I think all of that stuff is overrated. Ray (Lewis) obviously, we love Ray. We love Ray and there is no way our guys would ever want to have Ray not go out just like this. It is not just Ray, it is a team effort. It is a team accomplishment. Like Ray is saying right now, ‘We did it.’ It is a team accomplishment.”
(on Lewis starting his press conference) “Hey, where is everybody going? (Laughs) Go ahead. That is OK.”
(on what he told his team before the game) “I told them there is an old Motown song that says, ‘There ain’t no mountain high enough, here ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enough to keep us from winning this championship.’ That is exactly what I said. It is a great song too.”
(on if he thought the 49ers would give up down 22) “Well as I said before, not even close because I know who the other coach is. I know the way those guys liked his personality and he was not going to allow for it to end that way. They handled (the game delay) better than we did. The momentum turned and they handled it really well.”
(on if Jacoby Jones’ mom cooked dinner for the team) “Yes. She made gumbo, chicken and all kinds of stuff. Jacoby’s mom, yeah.”
A close contest. Let’s see if the Ravens can repeat in 2013.
Stay tuned.
Zennie Abraham | Zennie Abraham or “Zennie62” is the founder of Zennie62Media which consists of zennie62blog.com and a multimedia blog news aggregator and video network, and 78-blog network, with social media and content development services and consulting. Zennie is a pioneer video blogger, YouTube Partner, social media practitioner, game developer, and pundit. Note: news aggregator content does not reflect the personal views of Mr. Abraham.