Head Coach John Harbaugh
(opening statement) "Thanks for sticking around. Was it worth it? First of all, condolences to Torrey and to the Smith family. If you know Torrey, as you do, and you get to know the Smith family, you know that it's a great family. Torrey is a great, great young man. We dedicate that victory to [Torrey's late brother] Tevin [Jones] and to the whole family. I just think our team fights. Our team just fights, period. [Senior vice president of public and community relations] Kevin [Byrne] has all the stats up here, so I don't even really know what they are. We just have a bunch of guys that will just not quit. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you don't. Tonight, we won. I couldn't be more proud of a football team, and couldn't love a bunch of guys any more than we do right now."
(on how he knew WR Torrey Smith would be ready to play tonight following his brother's death) "I guess, if you're around athletics, you feel like it's an escape, it's an opportunity to get out there and do what he does. He has been doing it his whole life – he knows what to do. But, when Torrey said he wanted to play, then the decision was finished. He was going to get the opportunity to play, he deserved that. If it didn't work out, then we'd have known, and he'd have known. Obviously, he's a pretty special guy."
(on how big it was for Smith to have the performance that he had tonight) "How do you explain it? Coming from a faith perspective, God and heaven work in beautiful wonders, mysterious, wonderful ways. I am not talking about winning and losing, I am talking about what you see people accomplish in the face of adversity. That's really what it's all about. To me, that's one of the great things about sports. If we had lost that game, if we had gone that way, like last week, we would've been disappointed, but it wouldn't have taken anything away from the accomplishment, the effort."
(on QB Joe Flacco's performance) "Joe can talk about it. It was fantastic, it was elite. I see that one coming. (laughing) To me, Joe is a great quarterback. This is what we've been saying for five years. He has a tremendous supporting cast of players and coaches. It's not surprising in any way. I'll head that question off. It's who Joe is, it's who he always has been. He is our quarterback, he always has been. He is not going to be perfect – none of us are. But, what you saw out there is Joe Flacco, that's who he is as a football player."
(on the defense coming up with big stops at the end of the game) "That's what they had to do to win the game. We were fighting like crazy. This offense is really, really good. That quarterback [Tom Brady] is really, really good. We have great respect for Tom Brady. We have obviously been on the short end of a bunch of these in their stadium over the years. So, we have a lot of respect for them. I am really proud of our defense for stepping up and getting those stops when they did. I thought [defensive coordinator] Dean [Pees] called a great [game]. Down towards the end there, he really started heating it up a little bit, and it really made a difference. It was a big win for Dean Pees. It was a big win for Art Jones. It's a big win for James Ihedigbo. All of those guys, this game meant something to."
(on if he was given an explanation on why he wasn't awarded the timeout near the end of the game)"Why they threw the flag? Is that what you're asking me? *(Reporter: "It looked like on camera you were saying, 'I just wanted a timeout.'") *Right, that's what I said. Well, here's how I understand it. I guess I didn't understand how he interpreted it. But, what we're told is to get the timeout where they can see it in front of their face in those situations. That's what I've been told for five years going into this game. I think he took it as bumping him. I didn't mean to bump him. I wanted to call a timeout, so I apologize for bumping, but the intent was to call a timeout."
(on the rollercoaster nature of the game, and the team's resiliency) "I hope that's who we are. I hope that's how we're defined. I hope we don't have to do it this way all the time, but when you play great football teams like we played, who are so well-coached, who have such great players, it's going to have to be that way sometimes, I guess. What would be a better story than the one you just saw? That's pretty good. Enjoy writing this one up. I think you will."
(on how big it was for K Justin Tucker to make the game-winning kick) "It's big. It's really big. To hit your first game-winner like that, I think that's something that every kicker would cherish."
(on if he was worried that the kick would be sailing right) "If I was, I would not admit it. *(Joe Flacco interjects: "I was.") (laughing) *The first one did look a little more clean, I will say."
(on going for it on fourth-and-1 late in the game, and if he is concerned with the team's short-yardage offense) "I think that's something we need to do well. I really do believe that we will be very good on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1. I think that's something we have the offensive line and running backs to do. Of course,we have play-action calls in there too. We have one of the best play-action quarterbacks in football standing right here [Flacco]. So, I think we'll go for those a lot. I want to go for those. If the percentages tell you should, it won't be very often that we don't go for those."
WR Torrey Smith
(on his emotions of the day)"It was tough. I didn't know until about four o'clock if I was going to play or not. I only had like an hour of sleep, because it happened at like 10:30 p.m. the day before. I went home right away, didn't sleep in the car ride and went to sleep about 6:30 or seven in the morning. It was tough emotionally. I didn't know how I would hold up, but thanks to my teammates and coaches and all the support from really everyone around the league, just everyone, everywhere. You know, I was getting texts and people were telling me on Twitter. I just thank everyone on behalf of my family. I was telling my teammates a minute ago that this is new territory for me personally. I never really had to deal with a death in the family, let alone my brother. In our family, everyone's so tight. Just like a lot of other families. It's part of life and, due to my teammates and my family and friends, I'll be able to get over it."
(on if there was a final factor that helped him decide about playing) "What it came down to, being a receiver, you've got to have your mind clear. You can't have anything weighing on you, [to] tense up, that's going to cause you to drop the ball or have mistakes. I didn't want to hurt my team. I came here, the more I was running, the more comfortable I started to feel. I'm glad I came back up here. I think it helped me out a lot. It helped me a lot."
(on what he was thinking when he scored) "I just said a quick prayer, took a knee. You know, obviously you play with a heavy heart, you want to play for that person. My mom, all my family, everyone's back at the house watching. They didn't even know I was going to play until the last minute. I texted my mom [when] I got here to the stadium. That's when I really made my decision I was going to play. So she was excited about it. She was like, 'Of course, he'd want you to play.' He'd admired me so much, which is what makes it so much, and it's just a tough situation altogether. I'm just glad I was here with my family. We got this win and look forward to going on to the next [game] Thursday."
(on what the pre-game moment of silence meant to him) "That touched me right there, the fact that the organization took the time out to honor my brother, one of my family members, who had absolutely nothing to do with this program besides me. It meant a lot when they came to me and told me. I was kind of in shock. I was like I would definitely love it. He loved being up here. His birthday was Oct. 6, coming up. He was going to come up Thursday, come to the game versus the Browns, raid my house all week. I'm just thankful [for] the organization, it's everything I thought it would be. The way they care about you. That's the reason I wanted to be in Baltimore. That's the reason I wanted to be a Raven."
(on what made his brother such a special guy)"It's hard to explain. You had to be around him. He's honest, he had a great heart. A lot of people say that all the time when people pass, but he truly was that person. When you see him mad, you'd always laugh because it didn't look right. So, to be around him, his big smile and his laugh, which was probably one of the most annoying laughs ever, I'm definitely going to miss him. He laughed so hard at everything, and you know, he'd do anything for you. It's a tough loss for us."
(on if New England players said anything during the game) "They were just giving their condolences. I thanked them for that as well. It was weird, just seeing the people who were showing support from afar, from Steelers guys that I don't know. I saw something that Lamarr Woodley did, and I appreciate that a lot. The fact that we're on rival teams, you know, football is a war every time we get together that he would come out of his way and just even say a prayer for my family. That means a lot to my family."
(on his thoughts during the game) "When I was here, my teammates, they keep you focused. You've got to go out there and play. I didn't want to be out there, just running around, doing nothing. If I was going to be out there, I was going to give it my all, and you're on the lines, you just want to make the play. Afterwards is when you can sit back and reflect on things. My teammates, I love them to death, and they helped get me through this."
(on getting so many passes from Joe Flacco) "That's the way the progression goes. Joe was just throwing the ball to me. It was fun, obviously. I don't know how many yards he had. We were moving the ball pretty well, and everyone was getting involved. I think that's the type of offense we're going to be. We have a lot of different threats, and one day I might have a million catches, the next day it might be zero because we've got guys that can make plays all over. It doesn't fall on my shoulders or anyone else's."
QB Joe Flacco
(on if it becomes comfortable going the length of the field to win the game) "I don't know. I wasn't really thinking about that. In the moment you're thinking, 'Good job defense for getting us the opportunity;' and let's go start with a positive play. I think that first completion is always a big one and we were able to do that, keep it rolling from there. We did a great job on the outside today, just making some plays, and Ray [Rice] did a great job underneath on some of those check downs, especially in the second-to-last drive."
(on thoughts on how WR Torrey Smith played) "It was awesome. I can't imagine what he's going through. Torrey plays like this all the time, and for him to come out and be able to play football the way he did tonight, it says a lot about just who he is. We all know he's a great guy, awesome teammate, but this is just unbelievable, for him to be able to come out there and just focus on football. Hopefully, we gave him a little time away in his mind for him to just think about football and not that. I'm sure it won't last too long, but at least we gave him a little bit of time to come out and play football and have a little fun."
(on if he thought WR Torrey Smith was focused) "Yes, obviously, I didn't see him all day until he got into the locker room. When I saw him, I went over and said hello, and he seemed his normal self, he really did. He seemed like he was ready to play football and ready to go out there and help us get a win. That was great; we all wanted to rally around him and go get it for him."
(on how he felt about being on the winning side) "It feels good, obviously. We've won games like this. It was a little up and down there. We kind of went on some streaks as an offense. We scored here, had a couple lulls. I think we did a good job from the second quarter on. Even in the second half, a couple of possessions we didn't score, we hurt ourselves. I haven't seen the holding call yet, but that kind of took us out, and then on the fourth-and-1, I'm sure that we could have done some better things there to get on that run. But I love the fact that we went for it there and tried to continue to move the ball and put the ball in the end zone. And, it feels good to win."
(on feeling like he would have to have success on offense because New England was having success on offense) "When you see the offense move the ball like that - they were scoring touchdowns - you know that you have to make the most of every possession that you have, you have to go down and put points on the board. I would say there really wasn't any pressure, but there was definitely a sense of urgency to go down there and really be successful in each drive we had."
(on the difference from last year to this year with the second deep threat in WR Jacoby Jones on the roster) "Jacoby is doing a lot of good things for us. He's a great athlete, has some speed on the outside. Besides the fact that he and Torrey can take plays on the outside, they really free the other guys up underneath and let them go to work in man-to-man coverage and let Ray [Rice] go to work, and that just helps our whole offense out."
(on what this win means to him) "It just means we're 2-1 and not 1-2. We can probably move on to Cleveland a little bit quicker than we would have if it went the other way. It was a good win, and we have to take it for what it is, which is just a win and move on."
RB Ray Rice
(on tonight's win) "Everyone was talking about revenge tonight, but last year was over. I guess this win solidifies whatever it means to win."
(on his role in the victory) "It felt good to get the running game going. The run set up the pass. They were in a lot of cover-two and we knew they were going to do that. They didn't bring a lot of pressure. Joe Flacco really picked that defense apart tonight. But we also ran the ball really well. I didn't want to get into a scoring match with them, but when they got ahead we never hung our heads, we just continued to battle and I was enjoying the back and forth. It was a heavyweight fight."
(on not getting the ball on fourth-and-1) "How surprised was I about fourth-and-1? We won the game. That's all that matters. Bernard Pierce is 230 pounds. I'm 210 pounds. So the moral of the story is we won the game."
(on K Justin Tucker's game winning kick) "I was already sending my farewells. I've seen him make those kicks in practice all the time."
(on the Patriots defense) "That defense over there is a great defense. They don't get much credit because they have Tom Brady. They've got two great pass rushers, [Vince] Wilfork is a beast and they've got great linebackers. They've got safeties and corners that play the game really well. It was like I said, a slugfest. You saw what they did to us early in the game. We got down 10-0 and we had to battle the rest of the game."
(on finding their offensive identity) "It's different week-in and week-out. We say tempo, we say no-huddle, but it depends on what we're playing. Every team we play is going to be different. But we did have a good tempo going today. Obviously when we got to the red zone we wanted to score points, and we actually scored seven down there. We definitely didn't want to mix and match three points playing against them. It feels good to win tonight after all the hard work you put in. To face a great quarterback like Tom Brady, and a great organization like the Patriots and come away with a win is a great feeling."
(on playing the Cleveland Browns in four days) "I've got my iPad. I'm going to be watching Cleveland when I'm driving home. I'm not mourning a loss right now, I'm mourning a win. I can't go out tonight because we have practice tomorrow. So if I'm going to stay up for a few hours, I might as well study the Browns."
(on the offense never being out of the game) "I don't think we're ever out of any game. I think that our defense trusts us now. They did the job, they got Brady stopped and got us the ball. Hats off to our defense and Coach Dean Pees. They did whatever they had to do. That's a tough offense over there, everybody knows that. Everybody knows what they're capable of doing and they showed that tonight. But, America got to see what the Ravens offense can do as well."
(on WR Torrey Smith playing tonight) "He's a stronger man than I am. If I had to face death within hours of playing the game, that would be a tough decision, being the family man that I am. He's got two families, he knows that we have his back. We're facing a different fight with everything that's been going on the past few weeks with Art Modell. We've all been playing with a chip on our shoulder. Torrey Smith is one of the hardest working guys on the team, so he would have had to have been broken to not play."
(on if the game helped WR Torrey Smith) "It could have been a relief for him, to be around his brothers. I think he did what his brother would have wanted him to do, and that's to go out and play like a Raven. And what a show he put on for his brother tonight. In this cold world, his brother is in a better place. It's a tragedy, but if you look in the good book, God makes no mistakes. He'll go through the mourning and the healing, because he's raised his whole family. It's just another bump in the road that the Ravens organization will help him get through."
TE Dennis Pitta
(on the last drive) "We had that last opportunity, and we wanted to show people what this team was all about. We have some great veteran leaders on this team, and we just keep fighting, and we were fortunate to come away with a win."
(on what the locker room was like dealing with WR Torrey Smith's situation)"Oh my gosh. I can't imagine going through something like that. There's not a better person on this team than Torrey Smith, and to come out tonight and play the way he did with all that adversity and turmoil in his life right now, the guy is unbelievable. Enough can't be said about him."
(on the last drive) "We knew we were going to get one last shot. The crowd was unbelievable. It always comes up big in those situations. The defense did their job and got us another shot, and Joe [Flacco] led us down the field."
S James Ihedigbo
(on what it was like to play against his former team) "It was a great opportunity. When you think about it, anytime you get a chance to go against your former team, it's kind of personal. I went into this game with that kind of mentality, and when you put the history of these two teams on top of it, it just became a very personal and emotional thing. It was great the way it turned out. It couldn't be any sweeter. We just persevered through everything – all adversity that took place in the game, from the things that were in our control, the penalties, and the things that were outside our control. When it all accumulates in a win, we're very excited."
(his thoughts when K Justin Tucker was lining up for the field goal) "I knew he was going to drill it. [Justin] Tucker's been great all year. We had all the faith that he was going to make the kick. He did his job and it was awesome."
(on whether he is happy to be a Raven) "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. God's will for my life is exactly what it is and it wasn't in New England. It's worked out for both sides. I'm exactly where I need to be, and I'm with a group of guys that you couldn't ask for anymore."
DE Arthur Jones
(on his anticipation for this game) "This is awesome. This one was on my calendar ever since last year. It was a bitter taste the way it ended last year and it was sweet to beat my little brother [DE Chandler Jones]."
(on whether he saw his brother [DE Chandler Jones] last night or today)"No. I didn't get a chance to. He was tied up with their defense and everything."
(on whether he watched his brother [DE Chandler Jones] from the sideline) "I checked him out a little bit and [T] Michael Oher did a great job on him. Today wasn't one of his better days, but he's young and strong and he's going to be one of the great ones."
K Justin Tucker
(on the Patriots' time out before his game-winning field goal)"It's pretty common practice. You see that all across football, from high school all the way up to here. I really just take the opportunity to take a warm-up shot at it. I take it for what it's worth. If somebody wants to do that, it really just gives the guy another opportunity."
(on the kick not going directly down the middle) "Bottom line is it went in. That's all I care about. It went in."
(on the feeling of making the game-winning kick) "It was pretty cool. It may not have sunk in yet. I'll give myself a few minutes to think about while I grab a bite a little later on. Then, it's on to [Thursday]."
(on if the kick felt normal or different)"I try to make it feel the same, but at the same time, you can't help it, there's a lot of emotion. There's a lot of history between these two teams. It's just one of those things that you accept, and you've really just got to embrace it and embrace it in the moment."
(on if the weight lifts off his shoulders when the ball goes through) "It definitely feels good. Again, the end result is what we're looking for and not just for us, individually, for [long snapper] Morgan [Cox], [punter] Sam [Koch] and myself, but we want to get Ws."
S Bernard Pollard
(on K Justin Tucker) "Tucker's money, man. Tucker's different from every other kicker. The dude has character. He's loud, he's having fun, and we're enjoying him."
(on whether K Justin Tucker is as laidback as he seems) "Tucker is, like I said, he's a character, and he belongs in this locker room."
(on what it meant to the team for WR Torrey Smith to be at the game and play as well as he did) "That's our brother. That's our brother. This was a very tough loss [for Torrey Smith]. Our condolences go to the Smith family. Torrey came, he came and he won, so that says a lot about him. We're just grateful here to have him on our team, so we'll rally behind him, and he's going to be okay. Anytime you lose family, that's really tough, but he has 60-plus men and coaches that are family in here."
(on what the defense was doing on the last stretch compared to the rest of the game) "We just went out there and played. We weren't worried about how many points we were down, when we were down. We just went out and played and I think for us, we played [the] Raven way towards the end of the game. We kind of got some miscues and everything else at the beginning of the game, but no one's going to be perfect."
(on the Ravens' blitzing) "With No. 12 [QB Tom Brady], you've got to get pressure in that man's face because if you let him sit back there, he'll eat you alive, and I think you guys saw that. Allowing him to sit back when [there are] guys running around him, he can thread the needle."
S Ed Reed
(on how he feels about the victory) "Second win, big win at home against a great football team, we all knew that. [I'm] just glad to be on this side of the ball."
(on putting pressure on QB Tom Brady at the end of the game) "We had to tune in. Like I told [Tom] Brady after the game, he's a great quarterback. The way he adjusts and knows the receivers, it's like they're one. They understand and know exactly where to be, and he's putting the ball right there. They're a great team."
(on whether there are corrections that need to be made) "We are going to watch the film and make corrections. There are always corrections. This team goes so fast. We had a couple of miscues, but we worked it out. We made it work, maybe had some free runners at times, but to come out on top, that's what it's about."
(on how big the New England offense was performing, how big it was to get the two defensive stops) "Huge, we knew it was going to come down to us having to make a play, make a stop, to get our offense the ball back. There was a little frustration early, but we kept fighting. We kept focused, and that's what it was about. It was about staying focused and persevering through. Everything that happened out there on the football field, I mean, 31-30, that is a great game."
(on WR Torrey Smith playing and what Reed, who lost his brother in 2011, said to Smith today) "I gave him a psalm. God's in control, and God has a plan bigger than ours. We don't know our time, none of us. We all experience the same things, so I just told him that we're here for him; I'm here for him. I can relate to him. I told him we get so caught up, like our pastor said today, in the physical and what we see. I still talk to my [late] brother to this day because I know there's much more to us than just being here. I told him [Torrey Smith] that he could still have those conversations. Just know that he's [Torrey Smith's late brother] in a much better place. It's not always how you go. That's what we look at; we look how we go sometimes. Sometimes, you see the so-called bad people or good people go certain ways, and you think they didn't live a full life. We don't know God's plan. According to God, we all live a full life when it's our turn."
G Marshal Yanda
(on the win) "Great game, great win. We all worked our butts off. It came down to the end, and we stayed in it. It was awesome."
(on the defense trusting the offense) "We come down to the end, and we feel like we can get it done. Joe's [Flacco] doing really well keeping the ball moving. It was a great win for us."
(on whether there was a revenge factor from last year) "No, there wasn't. They won the game, and they deserved to win. They made the plays when we didn't. That game was long gone. We were worried about executing today. 2012 is a whole new year."
(on the Patriots defense) "It's a big game for us, it was a big game for them, so we knew we were going to get their best, and they were going to get our best. And it came down, usually like it does, to one play that decides the game and luckily we got the last good play."
(on the mindset of the offense on the last drive) "We knew we could do it. There's definitely that feeling. Three or four years ago, we would have thought, 'Oh, I don't know if we can do it.' But now when we get the ball, we're thinking about scoring. We only needed three, so we were like, 'Hey we can do this.' I have a lot of confidence in Joe [Flacco], and I have a lot of confidence in the guys."
(on playing after the whistle) "That's just football. That's the way it goes. Sometimes things get chippy, but guys are competing. We're all competitive guys, nobody wants to lose, so obviously there's going to be a little chippiness in there. They're good guys over there, they play hard, we play hard. Sometimes we're going to get after it. After the play is over, it's fine."
WR Anquan Boldin
(on WR Torrey Smith playing) "It was probably a relief for him to come out and play football for three hours. I can't imagine being in that situation, but he came out and played his butt off."
(on WR Torrey Smith's demeanor before the game) "I saw him throughout the day. You could see times where he thought about it. But when it came to game time, he was pretty much focused."
(on trusting WR Torrey Smith in that situation) "For him, he's one of those guys, that if his head wasn't in the game, he wouldn't have played. So we weren't worried about that. I'm happy for him."
(on the Ravens offense) "We feel like we can move the ball, especially when we catch the rhythm. The first couple of drives stalled on us, but we figured out what they were trying to do to us, and after that we moved the ball up and down the field pretty good."
(on the physical nature of the game) "They tried to be physical and the refs let them get away with some stuff. But I don't want to talk about that."
(on the game winning drive) "For us, that's a drill we go over every day in practice. It was the exact same drill we had this week in practice. On Wednesday, we did a 1:55 time remaining, we need a field goal. So we walked in the huddle and it was just like Wednesday practice, we move the ball up the field and got in position to kick the field goal.
(on offensive adjustments) "We just figured out what they were doing. I think in a game like that, they tried to switch up defenses. The first couple of drives, they tried to keep us off balance, but we got a read on that and we countered."
(on how they could help WR Torrey Smith) "All we can do is be there for him. I can't imagine what he's going through. It's a tough situation. All you can do is put your arms around him."
(on playing four games in 17 days) "I feel a certain way about that, but I will keep my opinions to myself. It's definitely a tough stretch, but we've got one more game coming up on Thursday, we just have to be prepared for it."
(on putting tonight's win behind them) "It's about 12:30 a.m. right now, so it's Monday, so we have to put it behind us and get ready for Cleveland."
LB Ray Lewis
(on the game tonight) "Before we left the locker room, the message was lock the door and throw away the key. It doesn't matter how long it takes to get the job done, let's get the job done as a team. That's football-wise. But it was said, because of what Torrey [Smith] just went through, the game will fade, trust me, the game will fade. But losing a brother, then coming back. Forget how this happened, how that happened. Understand that there is something way bigger than why we're here today, and that's what the whole message was. It was a whole different vibe on the sideline. Sometimes you get mad when things go wrong. Tonight there was a calmness. Finish the game. Finish the game. We've been here before. Those were the common things that kept coming to mind. We've seen this before. All we have to do is make one play. You make those plays, and you think about last year and the way everything went down. Put that all in perspective, and then come here tonight, and it happens just like that. It's what makes championship teams. It's what makes that run sweeter. I take my hat off to my team. No matter what went on tonight, no matter how ugly it looked, for us to be down 13-0 and fight our way out of the hole and keep fighting, keep fighting, then come out and get this win, I just take my hat off to my team."
(on stopping the Patriots in the fourth quarter) "You look at last year, same exact scenario. You go back on the field against one of the greatest of all time, with our defense, being maybe one of the greatest of all time. I kept saying all week, it's going to come down to the last drive. Somebody is going to have to make a play. And for us to make that play, the way we made it, time after time, no matter what was going on, it's a book. It's a book that somebody is going to write someday, about the greatest rivalries of all time. The way that went down tonight, I think fans appreciate it. That's why sometimes we want everybody else to move out of the way. Move people out of the way. Let the game take care of the game. Because the game is beautiful and the game is awesome. We really like being on this side of it at the end of the day."
(on beating the Patriots for the first time in Baltimore) "Six times in the regular season, and we had never beaten them. But when you're dealing with God, seven is the number of completion."
(on whether it's one of the all-time great games) "It has to be. It has to be because of what happened last year. This was the same team that stopped us, dropped pass, field goal, whatever, from pursuing our dream, which was a championship. To come back and get it the way we did, it has to go down as one of the greatest of all time."
(on redemption) "Redemption always takes care of itself. Sometimes you never have to brag about it. All you have to do is keep playing the game and things will take care of themselves. To win the way we did, I just take my hat off to my team. No matter what went on, we knew we were going to be in this game for 60 minutes."
(on the replacement referees) "That's a whole other subject and I really don't want to go there and damage the win, but you can't do that to the game. You have to let the game take care of itself. One of the biggest plays of the game, you give them three points. Ed [Reed], there was no helmet-to-helmet. He turned his head to the side and clearly hit him with his shoulder pad. Those things cannot affect the way this game is played. The saddest part about it is when you hear other people talk about it and say those are the rules. Those aren't the rules. The rules of this game are, do whatever you have to do, by whatever means necessary. That's the beautiful thing about this game. It takes away the pureness of the game. We have to find a way to address it. You can't let guys keep going through that. This is our livelihood. People make careers off of this right here. Some of the things they say to you, as men, you can't speak to another man like that, just because you have on a black and white uniform. Be a man about your call and if there's any indecision, don't make a call like that to affect the game. Something needs to change, nothing against the league, I just hope we can all get together and make something happen."
(on playing three games in 11 days) "It's going to be tough, and we knew that. But I think Coach [John Harbaugh] is very smart with that, he's very smart with how he practices us. One thing that he's always said is if you need a blow, take a blow. Get yourself healthy. So, we're going to have to get healthy and get healthy real quick. Cleveland doesn't care how we feel."
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CB Cary Williams
(on the offense having a big day against a good New England team) "They've done it before. They've done it against great teams; they did it against Pittsburgh last year. We know what our offense is capable of, we know what they can do and we've got full confidence in them."
(on how he gauges the defensive effort from tonight) "I think we just got a 'W'. We went out there and we didn't stop fighting, man. We kept fighting and hung in there and we got the 'W'."
(on what the defense needs to work on to get better) "We've got to work on every aspect of our game. We're far from perfect, we know what is expected of us, and we just need to come together as a unit and get the job done."
(on QB Tom Brady seeming to be able to do a lot on the field tonight) "He's Tom Brady, man. He's not 'Joe Schmo'. He's a future Hall of Famer. He came out and did what he was supposed to do."
(on tonight being an emotional win for the team) "It was huge. It was very emotional, especially after a loss like [Torrey Smith had]. You never want to see one of your teammates experience something like that, especially when it hits so close to home. He was like a father figure to those young guys and he has so much on his shoulders. His whole story is amazing and your heart goes out to him. My condoloences go out to him and his family in this tough time. He came out and played with a lot of emotion, and did what we needed for him to do, and that's all you can ask for. He didn't have to play. He just showed his courage, showed his determination, showed his hunger, and it showed his willingness to be selfless, and that's important."
CB Lardarius Webb
(on what the defense needs to do to get better) "Just keep working. Just keep practicing hard the way we're doing, keep correcting the mistakes that we're doing on the field, and just move on. Other than that, I think we still have a great defense. I think we still played like the Ravens, we just have to correct some things."
(on having a quick turnaround going into next week) "Oh, yes. Yes, we just have to get prepared. We have to let this one go right now. It's a short week, so we have to move on. Our preparation needs to be on point this week, because we don't have that many days, so starting in the morning we have to go prepare. Right now."
(on how tough it is to have to prepare for a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback every week) "I don't know the difference; all I know is to prepare. Really not knowing who the quarterback is, not really worried about the quarterback, just knowing that I have to be prepared for their offense."
(on whether allowing a lot of points or yards can be used as motivation for the following week) "Oh, yeah. We just want to get better every week. We want to be better than we were the week before, and like I said, that comes with correcting our mistakes. Correcting what we didn't do well the game before, and correcting it for the next game. I guarantee you we'll be correcting some things this week and moving on."
