RAVENS ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/D-LINE COACH ANTHONY WEAVER ON FORMER TEXANS TEAMMATE/TEXANS HEAD COACH DEMECO RYANS: "DeMeco, from the second he stepped on the field with us, he was a leader. You can tell, it was in him. So, I'm not shocked by this at all. I'd like to see him start 0-1, obviously. After that, I'll cheer for him for sure."
RAVENS HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH ON TEXANS QB C.J. STROUD: "We know C.J. Stroud is extremely talented. I watched him play a lot, and [I] have the upmost respect for him, his ability, for their offense, for the system they run [and] for the players they have."
RAVENS DC MIKE MACDONALD ON STROUD: "He looks impressive to me. He doesn't look like a rookie on preseason tape. He seems poised back there and comfortable. He's always been a really accurate passer – that definitely hasn't changed. I think the scheme and him fit well, and obviously, he's a really talented guy. He has a pretty good command of what they're doing, it looks like. It'll be a great challenge for us, so we're ready to go."
RAVENS OC TODD MONKEN ON STROUD: "He's a tremendous player. Last time I saw him [when I was at Georgia], we were in a barnburner with him in the [College Football] Playoff. So, he's a tremendous player and a great, great young man.
RAVENS LB ROQUAN SMITH ON STROUD: "I have a great deal of respect [for C.J. Stroud]. He went very high [in the draft], but every guy that goes high … It doesn't mean that he's going to be a star power right away, but the guy has a lot of talent, and he can do a lot of great things with the ball."
HARBAUGH ON FILM STUDY IN PREPARING FOR THE TEXANS: "We're turning over every stone. So, you look at all those things you just mentioned and anything else we can think of really. You do go a little bit by coordinator history and pedigree a little bit. So, all those things factor in, but really the focus, especially in the opener, has to be on yourself and your team. It's really not about the opponent per se as much as we execute, how we run, how we operate, how we play, [and] play the way we envision ourselves playing. That's what we're really going to be focused on."
HARBAUGH ON TEXANS SPECIAL TEAMS: "We're playing a great special teams outfit. [Houston] was the No. 1-ranked [Senior NFL writer Rick] Gosselin [special teams-ranked] team last year [and] the No. 2 DVOA [Defense-adjusted Value Over Average] team in special teams. Their fifth- and sixth-year veterans are all over their core group right there. They know how to play. We're going to have our hands full. So yes, we have to emphasize special teams, especially this week, just to make sure that we're doing our part, and so that's what we'll be doing."
RAVENS LB ROQUAN SMITH ON RB DAMEON PIERCE: "They have a really good running back in 31, so I have a lot of respect for him. I played against him last year, so I know he runs very hard, but I love great challenges and I'm always up for it."
MACDONALD ON PIERCE: "Man, he's a great player. We say he runs angry. The first guy is going to have a hard time bringing him down, so it's going to take a group effort. That's definitely a point of emphasis this week."
