Two of the Ravens’ top defensive players went on the offensive on Wednesday.
First, cornerback Chris McAlister responded to being benched in favor of Frank Walker and seeing minimal action in the a 27-13 win over Miami on Sunday. A few days later, linebacker Terrell Suggs said he wanted Troy Smith to start at quarterback instead of Joe Flacco during a radio interview.
McAlister, a three-time Pro Bowler, said he isn’t not injured and was not disciplined prior to the game for wearing shorts and a T-shirt when the rest of the team wore suits.
“You’re all confused?,” he said. “The man [Ravens coach John Harbaugh] said he put his best 11 on the field. Obviously, he thinks Frank is better than me.”
McAlister, who leads the Ravens with three interceptions, had one of the more difficult games of his career Oct. 12 when Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison torched him in a 31-3 loss.
“I come to work every day just like everyone else,” McAlister said. “That’s all I can say.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh remained non-committal as to whether McAlister would start or how much he would play when Baltimore (3-3) hosts the Oakland Raiders (2-4) at 1 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.
“We’ve set up our match-ups this week against the Raiders with our guys against their guys and those are the ones we’re going to practice this week,” Harbaugh said. “What you need to see from the players as they go through it is practice it, get ready to go and hone their skills for Sunday and I’m sure Chris will do that.”
Suggs clarified statements he made on the Atlanta-based “2 Live Stews” radio show where he said he wanted to see Troy Smith start over Joe Flacco at quarterback.
“I said there should be multiple packages,” Suggs said. “I think both of them should definitely get a chance to play. You see with [Dolphins running back] Ronnie Brown and the Wildcat [offense] he’s getting some snaps at quarterback. I think multiple packages are good and that’s all I was trying to say.”
Suggs also said he never meant to imply that he was placing a “bounty” on Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward. On Sunday, Ward delivered a block on Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers that broke his jaw and ended his season. The NFL has already fined Ward $5,000 for stepping over the head of Ravens cornerback Corey Ivy and $10,000 for being flagged for unnecessary roughness penalties against Baltimore and Jacksonville in consecutive games.
“There is no bounty on Hines Ward,” Suggs said. “We’re just watching out for him. I don’t want my jaw broken. I don’t want to be out for the season. I’m not going to let him cheap shot me. There is no bounty on the man. We’re just alert.”
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