Ed Reed hurt ankle on Ryan slide

Ravens safety Ed Reed said he hurt his ankle in Thursday night's loss to the Falcons when quarterback Matt Ryan slid into his foot. He suggested he may have suffered some ligament damage, and that he got up slow after plays as a result, but he continued to play.

Interestingly, it was the same play that TV replays showed Reed proceeded to dive at Ryan and dropped his elbow as Ryan ducked hsi head. It's not certain if there was contact, and Reed said he didn't remember exactly how the play unfolded.

"Once he hit my ankle, I have no clue what hit him," Reed said. "Once he hit my ankle, I knew he was down already. I was just like, 'Oh, my god, he slid right into my ankle.'"

What's more, Reed said reports of the demise of the Ravens' defense are premature.

"The day they beat us 59-28, then we have problems," Reed said.

When it was pointed out to Reed that 59-28 was the margin of the Eagles' Monday night victory over the Redskins, he backtracked. "I was just throwing numbers out," he said. "If we got beat 63-0, something like that, then we've got concerns on defense. Score was 21-26. They made a play at the end of the game. You can't put the call in the referee's hands, you got to make a play. You can say our defense ain't this, our defense ain't that, but look across the league. Every week it's something different. One minute, the defense is not doing 'this,' the next minute the offense is 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 [game]."
Reed also said he has not eliminated the lateral from his return game.

"No, I haven't ruled it out," he said. "If the situation presents itself and it’s a good opportunity, I would do it," he said. "If we needed it and it’s in good scoring position -- it’s not just a lateral just to mess with the game -- [but] it’s got to be a smart situation."

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(baltimoresun.com)