A transcript of Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan with the media:
Opening statement: “All right everybody, I think I’ll take a timeout first, because everybody wants to talk about it. I’d like to talk about that first. It’s my job as a defensive coordinator to put our players in the best defense possible to stop what we feel is going to happen.
"In most situations, Tom Brady is the master at that, you can do your work, you can go back and study like I did, spend as much time as I do, and know the tendencies of a football team. And if you do that, you’ll see why I called the timeout. We have our speed team on the field at the time, which is only one defensive tackle, then we have all linebackers and defensive backs filling out the other 10 spots. And obviously, if they’re going to run a sneak and you know it’s going to be a sneak, you probably don’t want that personnel grouping on the field.
"If I would’ve had a crystal ball, I would’ve obviously left that group on the field and won the game by stopping it like we did. I don’t believe Brady when he said he could’ve made the first down. Our guys did a great job, Ray [Lewis] made a heck of a play in there, but we get the timeout and then we come back and we get the people we want on the field and Belichick knows he can’t run the sneak against that front, so he ends up going to the next run and I believe we hit it for a 2-yard loss.
"Now, nothing has been said, I’m sure the guy never jumped on purpose, but that’s the way it goes. But hey, I’ve got skin like an armadillo, I can take it, but I think it’s kind of foolish for people to put it on me. They must not know the game. If they studied half as much as I did, they’d realize that we needed to put a different personnel grouping on there. I haven’t heard anybody talk about we only had one defensive tackle on the field, so it’s fine.”
On an earlier play that drive where they got a first down on a QB sneak against that same unit: “We never called a timeout then. It was on third down. When the game is on the line, that’s when I ask Brian [Billick], or I needed the timeout, because you can win a game. We’re not going to concede anything in a situation to win a football game.
"We always talk about it: The ball is on the six-inch line, we’re not going to concede anything. So, in that, I’m not going to burn timeouts in a different situation. But when it’s a fourth-and-inches, we want to have the best call to put ourselves out there. And obviously, the call we ended up making with our 46 look was the right call to do.”
On what adjustments the players made to stop the Patriots on that run: “Anytime, it’s a sneak adjustment. I’m not going to say what we call it, but anyway, we stuff our guys down in there. Our defensive tackles in that case were Terrell Suggs and Antwan Barnes, but we’re squeezing them down in there as tight as we can. We were prepared for that kind of situation. We knew going into the game what they like to do. I think you can go back and look. I think only in five years of studying, how many times Tom Brady has been stopped on that, I think you all would be surprised. I’ll let you figure it out.
"But we knew exactly what the deal was going to be. If I would’ve known better that we would’ve given up a touchdown playing cover zero, I probably wouldn’t have called zero, too, so you can blame me for that as well. But again, I’ve got nothing to hide. I stand by my calls. I’d do the exact same thing again, in the future, so you can start ripping me all you want, that’s fine. But nobody is going to be as prepared as I am, our coaches, and our players. So you can criticize us all you want, and we’ll take it.”
On the team’s strategy against the Patriots: “We just got lucky (joking). That’s what you want to think. Obviously, everything we do is by design. Wes Welker is a tremendous player, but Corey Ivy is a pit bull; he gets right on them. We knew that was going to be a matchup in our favor. We liked our matchups on the outside.
"We actually never realized that Chris [McAlister] could play until right up before game time. So we were ready to go in without Chris, but then he showed up and said he wanted to go. I commend Chris for that.
"But we knew it was going to be a great game. It was an opportunity for us to showcase what the Ravens were all about. It was great having our starting corners out there for the third time this season. Again, we knew. I said all week that it was going to be a great challenge for us, but it was going to be a heck of a challenge for them, as well. I think, if you ask them, I’m sure it was. And the same thing this week.”
On facing a quarterback like Peyton Manning: “I think what you have to do is, you have to mix it up. You can’t just give them a dose of one thing. We mix up three-man pressures, some four-man things, five-man pressures – whatever it takes to get the job done.
"But there is that kind of omnipresent feeling that pressure is coming. And that’s what you’ve got to have – I believe – to be successful against a top-notch quarterback. Hopefully, you put some doubt in his head a little bit. Hopefully they lose confidence in their protection. Against a great one, that’s what has to happen. We did keep them off balance. We probably played a few more trap coverages than they’ve seen all season, probably for a few years. And I think that played in our favor. Our guys did a great job preparing all week. Our scout team gave us great looks, and the players went out and executed. Unfortunately, we got beat. I’m still trying to figure it out. Hopefully we can get a victory this week.”
On comparing Tom Brady and Peyton Manning: “Quite honestly, I wish we’d have to wait for Peyton next year. Both of them are unbelievable quarterbacks – the best two quarterbacks in the league. They’re smart, they study, they’ve got great ability, they’ve got excellent receivers, they’ve got a great knowledge of their system and a great knowledge of what they see from defenses.
"Again, I know we’re not real traditional with some of the things we do. It might give them a little more of a challenge, but we know Peyton and Tom Brady are great. You have to keep them guessing a little bit, play the game with them, to have any chance of success.”
On Manning’s ability to audible: “I think what happens is everybody assumes he does because he’s up there and he’s doing all that kind of stuff. It’s tough to watch. But he does a great job. Like I said, I’ve got great respect for him, and I think after the game, he’ll have great respect for us.”
On if he was proud of his players after shutting down Manning in the playoffs last year: “I was proud of that performance, but, obviously, our goal was to win that game, so we never reached the goal. Just like last week, I’m always proud of the guys’ preparation and the passion we play with each week. This week won’t be any different.”
On the development of OLB Antwan Barnes: “[Rushing the passer] is something we thought he was going to do a lot for us. He’s got a low center of gravity. He can get underneath some big guys. [He’s a] great athlete, he runs a 4.4-something [40-yard dash]. We’re excited about him. He’s just now maturing a little bit and understanding the defense, understanding his role in our system. I think you’re going to see a lot of good things from Antwan.”