By NOAH TRISTER (AP Sports Writer)
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Now the Harbaugh family goes for the sweep.
After watching his brother Jim coach Michigan to a national title Monday night, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh has his sights on another celebration in the Super Bowl next month. His team is the top seed in the AFC and has this weekend off, but the excitement of Jim Harbaugh’s victory was enough to whet John’s appetite.
“Like any brother, sibling, your brother gets something, you want it too, right?” John Harbaugh said Wednesday. “You become a part of the celebration and the confetti and the jubilation and the tears. And (it) just kind of sinks in. It’s like, ‘Man, I really want to experience this for our team, I want our team to experience this.’
“That’s the big picture. That’s the ultimate goal for the season. And then with that, back to one day at a time, one play at a time.”
The Ravens don’t want to think too far ahead. Even their postseason opener is still a week and a half away, and they could face any of four possible opponents in that game. With no game to prepare for this weekend, John Harbaugh was able to travel to Houston to watch his brother’s team beat Washington for college football’s championship.
The Baltimore coach was shown on TV greeting his brother on the sideline during the game.
“I’d been down there for about five or 10 minutes of the game, and they were going, he was working,” John Harbaugh said. “Then the ball came that way and there was a timeout, and he was just like 10 feet away from me. So I’m like, that’s my opportunity.”
John Harbaugh already has one Super Bowl victory on his resume — he defeated Jim in that game at the end of the 2012 season when the latter was coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Since then, the Ravens are 2-5 in playoff games, but the current team finished the regular season with the NFL’s best record.
Harbaugh said the Ravens will have a practice at the stadium this Saturday.
“We thought that would kind of put us in more of a rhythm in terms of the pace as if you were playing a game this weekend,” he said.
The Ravens made one interesting move recently, signing running back Dalvin Cook to their practice squad. The 28-year-old Cook rushed for just 214 yards in 15 games for the New York Jets this season before being waived. He signed a one-year deal with the Jets during the summer after four straight seasons of more than 1,100 yards rushing for the Minnesota Vikings.
“We view him as a very valuable, or potentially very valuable weapon on our offense,” Harbaugh said. “Dalvin Cook is a high-pedigree player, highly decorated player. He’s still got talent and ability and is smart. He’s in great shape, he’s in football shape. He’s been playing football. He looked very good in practice out here today.”
The Ravens lost running back J.K. Dobbins to a season-ending injury in their first game, and rookie Keaton Mitchell later went down with a knee injury. Cook could add another big-play threat to the offense.
“Just being a dynamic player (that) he is, the sky’s the limit,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “There’s no limit for that. I don’t know. I believe when he gets his opportunity and his number’s called, he’s going to do what he does.”
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