Baltimore Ravens - C Matt Birk - Ingles

September 14, 2011

On if he is stunned at how well the offensive line played Sunday vs. Pittsburgh:
“Not stunned, no. We prepared hard. We are a veteran group. Guys have played a lot of football. You know what you have to do week-in and week-out to prepare for your opponent. Like we said, it wasn’t an ideal situation going in, but maybe we just – I don’t want to say prepared a little harder – made sure we spent a lot of time in the meeting room together, because we weren’t able to be out on the field together, just talking through things. It wasn’t just the offensive line, obviously. It was the whole offense just stayed in a good rhythm and was really in sync.”

On how the offensive line meetings have changed since T Bryant McKinnie and C Andre Gurode signed:
“[It’s] just different from their personalities a little bit. You kind of throw together those personalities and you never know what you’re going to get. As you guys know, offensive linemen – other than being the best-looking group on the team – tend to be pretty good guys and pretty easy-going. We just have fun. Obviously, I know Bryant from before. I played with him for a long time, so we like to have a lot of laughs.”

On what McKinnie brings to the table:
“Obviously, he is a physical presence – a physical force. He has been a very good left tackle for a long time in this league. There are not a lot of those. I think when you are talking about someone of his physical stature, certainly that poses some matchup problems for guys, because he just happens to be a very big guy who can move very well.”

On if the offense was simplified for the game on Sunday vs. Pittsburgh:
“No. The whole offense was in and it is kind of up to the new guys to pick it up. That’s why we spent a little extra time in the meetings making sure everybody had the calls, and everybody was able to communicate out there in the heat of the battle.”

On the satisfaction of having the whole offensive line together:
“I don’t know. We just want to play well, and obviously, we just want to win. It was a big division game at home. Those are the games you have to win if you are going to have a chance down the road. I guess this is the part where I am supposed to say we don’t read the papers. (laughter) It was just a great team win. We don’t look at it as it’s just us or our unit. People like to break it down into the offensive line, running backs and wide receivers. We’re the whole offense. Everybody works together and everybody was just in sync on Sunday.”

On if he expects the same physicality at Tennessee:
“Every game is physical. Every Monday morning when I wake up, I am pretty sore. Tennessee, they have been playing a physical, tough, hard-nosed, defensive brand of football for a long time. Even though it’s a new coach, the film that I have seen, it doesn’t look like that has changed a whole lot. Every week is a new challenge and this week is certainly a challenge. [It’s] very different from the Pittsburgh team we just played. Pittsburgh is mainly a 3-4 front. Tennessee is a four-man front. [They’re] a lot of different technique things that we will be working on this week.”

On how it felt to play 60 minutes of football:
“I was out there, so I felt good. I was talking with our trainer, Mark Smith, right before kickoff. He said, ‘Well, we made it this far.’ I didn’t know if I would ever make it that far. Certainly, I think the older you get, you don’t take it for granted anymore. You don’t take your health and your ability to be out there, being able to compete and be with your teammates and contribute. Being able to play the whole game and feeling pretty good… I am going to go out there and practicing again today. I guess I can’t complain.”

On how the communication improved throughout the game on Sunday vs. Pittsburgh:
“I thought it was pretty good. [There were] definitely some things that we are going to clean up. That’s every week. Just because you win doesn’t mean you overlook your mistakes or things you can work on. Us being a veteran group, I think we understand that. The Pittsburgh game, in a way, is ancient history to us right now, because Wednesday is the start of a new week, and we’ll be working on the Titans.”

On the chemistry of the offensive line:
“We are only one game in, but it feels good after the game. I certainly think this is the most veteran that the offensive line has been since I have been here. Certainly with Bryant and also with guys like [Mark] LeVoir and Gurode, even guys that aren’t necessarily starters. Just kind of having a little bit more veteran presence in the meeting room, you kind of talk about things. More and more guys can give their input because they have more experience. Again, it’s just one game – veterans, rookies, whatever. Every week you have to work at it and you have to prepare your butt off. That’s really the only thing that gives you the best chance for success. It’s not a secret formula.”

On what he is reading:
“Right now I am reading the ‘The World is Curved’ by… The guy’s last name is Smick or Swick. It’s an economics book. We’re all screwed. (laughter) It’s bad times.”