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Lombardi's Way - John Harbaugh's speech prior to today's practice

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John Harbaugh's speech prior to today's practice

I don't know what to say really.
Three plays from the 1 yard line
One yard away from the biggest victory of our professional lives
and we couldn’t get it done Sunday.
Either we block as a unit fellas, or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch, play by play, or we're finished...

We are in hell right now, gentlemen…
believe me, and we can stay here and let Harrison & Woodley beat our asses or…
We can fight our way back into the race.
We can climb out of hell.
One inch, at a time.

Now I can't do it for you.
I'm just a special teams coach really.
But I can see. I look around and I see these missed assignments, olay blocks and I think…
I mean, I made every wrong choice a second year coach could make.
I uh....I pissed away all my timeouts believe it or not.
I chased off any coach who told me to put the red flag back in my pocket.
And lately, I can't even stand the face I see on MASN every Tuesday night.

You know when you get old in life things get taken from you.
That's, that's part of life.
But, you only learn that when you start losing challenges.
You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game, life or football the margin for error is so small.

I mean one half-step too late or too early you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in every lame play called from the one…
every minute, every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch!
On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone around us to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know when we add up all those inches,
that's going to make the absolute difference between WINNING and LOSING…
between LIVING and DYING!

I'll tell you this, in any fight it is the guy who is willing to die or lie about injury reports
who is going to win that inch.
And I know, if I am going to collect any more paychecks and survive the wrath of Bisciotti
it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die and lie for that inch…
Because that’s what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face!

NOW I CAN’T MAKE YOU DO IT.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you

I think you are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team…even Willis
Because he knows when it comes down to it, you are gonna do the same thing for him.

That's a team, gentlemen.
And either we heal NOW, AS A TEAM…or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is.
Now, who’s gonna play like a Raven?
 
Ok, well maybe it didn't go down that way but it wouldn't hurt to go down this way...

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