Replacing The Irreplaceable

Loss Of Special Teams Ace, Linebacker Ayanbadejo Will Be Difficult For Ravens

It's not necessarily on par with the defense losing Ray Lewis or Ed Reed or the offense bidding farewell to Joe Flacco or Derrick Mason, but the void created by the season-ending injury to Brendon Ayanbadejo resonates deep within the Ravens' special teams.

Labeled the "heart and soul" of the unit, Ayanbadejo was a critical cog on every special teams group except field-goal protection, a relentless pursuer of opposing return specialists, and a de facto coach on the field.

"You don't replace him because there's no one person who can go in and do what he has done on special teams," special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said Thursday of Ayanbadejo, who underwent surgery with renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews to repair a torn left quadriceps tendon Wednesday after suffering the injury in the Ravens' 27-21 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday. "I think Brendon had put himself in a situation where he was a very unique player in this league. There's not many guys that are impact special teams players - a repeated Pro Bowl player - who can go in and play defense on that many snaps during a game and not miss a rep on special teams. He was doing something that I think was really quite unique in this league. We're all real proud of him around here. We're all supporting him. He's fired up about getting better and getting back here."

During a phone interview Friday, Ayanbadejo expressed faith in his teammates.

"That's a compliment from my teammates, but I've played with those guys every day and I know what they're capable of," he said. "They'll be fine. They'll still be able to do what they always do, and that's fly around and play fast and play physical football."

In addition to lining up at linebacker during passing situations, Ayanbadejo wore many hats with special teams. He was a part of the kick and punt coverage units, the kick and punt protection teams, and even the "hands" squad for onside kicks.

His teammates noticed that opposing teams would frequently double-team Ayanbadejo and gamble that their return specialists would be able to outrace the rest of the Ravens' coverage units.

"Usually, they would double B.A. all game," linebacker Antwan Barnes said. "Now that he's gone, they just think they can single everybody up and make a big return and they don't have to worry about blocking anybody. But we've got some things for them."