Brendon Ayanbadejo, a three-time Pro Bowl player for his achievements on special teams, had no doubts he could contribute on both defense and special teams. Convincing his coaches required a little more effort.
"I always believed in myself, but I knew it was going to take a coach to back me up and support me and believe in my skills," Ayanbadejo said. "Obviously, it did take awhile. I just told coaches: 'Give me a chance. Just put me in there, and you can't just throw me in for one play and you can't just throw me in for two plays. It's something that you have to take time with. Rome wasn't built in a day.' "
Ayanbadejo is getting his wish this season, as the Ravens are inserting the 33-year-old linebacker more frequently on the defensive side of the ball. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Ayanbadejo usually replaces starter Tavares Gooden during the defense's packages in passing situations.
The coaching staff's faith is getting a nice return. According to statistics provided by the team, Ayanbadejo ranks second behind linebacker mate Ray Lewis with 17 tackles, including 11 solo stops.
Ayanbadejo registered an interception, a sack and six tackles in the Ravens' 34-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns last Sunday, which on Wednesday earned him the first AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors of his career.
"Brendon has been, obviously, one of the dominant special teams players in the league for the last six or seven years," coach John Harbaugh said.
"Now he's becoming a real asset, defensively, to us. He's basically on the field for all of our sub-packages. Our passing situations, when people put three wide receivers on the field, he's out there."
Added Lewis: "Working with him is good. Brendon is, physically, doing the things he wants to do. So my job is just to direct him in the right way and instruct him [on] what I'm thinking we're going to see. From there, he's just a heck of a football player. So it's a great appreciation playing with him."
Ayanbadejo has experience at linebacker, making three combined career starts with the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears and contributing in five other games. But he carved out a career on special teams, earning back-to-back invitations to the Pro Bowl in 2006 and 2007 with the Bears.
While appreciative of his hard-earned reputation on special teams, Ayanbadejo privately chafed at being pigeonholed.
