After Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan carved up the Ravens’ defense last week, there was talk in Baltimore that the team’s vaunted defense was started to run out of steam.
Ravens safety Ed Reed has heard that talk. And he begs to differ.
“Yeah, some people don’t know anything about football,” Reed said, per Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com. “We were playing good ball, and we’re going to continue to play good ball. It’s just a matter of all of us putting it together in all three phases of the game.”
The Falcons game wasn’t the only time the Ravens’ defense has struggled recently; Baltimore’s 37-34 win over the Bills in Week 7 featured Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing for 382 yards and four touchdowns. But Reed says the Falcons and Bills games are nothing more than the ups and downs of every football season.
“Look across the league,” Reed said. “That’s why I said, some people don’t know anything about football. You’ve got to look across the league. Every week is something different. One minute the defense is not doing this, the next minute it’s the offense not doing this. We’re still a great defense, and you’re going to continue to add guys in every year and continue to take guys off. That’s the nature of the business.”
And the nature of the business is also that performances like Fitzpatrick’s and Ryan’s are going to lead to questions about the Ravens’ defense. Even if Reed thinks those questions are coming from people who don’t know anything about football.