Ravens coach John Harbaugh doesn't anticipate a rib injury from preventing seven-time Pro Bowl free safety Ed Reed from playing in the AFC wild-card playoff contest against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday.
"He's getting treatment and all that," Harbaugh said Monday. "I'd be surprised if he's not ready to go, but you never know."
Reed said he sustained the injury while getting tackled at the end of his second interception toward the end of the second quarter in the team's 13-7 win against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday.
Reed, who finished the regular season leading the NFL in interceptions with eight despite spending the first six weeks on the Ravens' physically-unable-to-perform list, said he was asked at halftime to refrain from playing, but he declined. That didn't shock Harbaugh.
"Ed's that kind of guy. He's going to play," Harbaugh said. "He was urged to come out of the game at one point — very strongly by the head coach. He was ordered out at one point, but that's who he is. He's just a courageous guy. I'm sure he could've finished the game."
Left tackle Michael Oher appeared to aggravate the right knee that he sprained on Dec. 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. His status for Sunday is somewhat unclear.
"I haven't talked to him today, but I think [trainer] Bill [Tessendorf] thinks he's OK." Harbaugh said. "We'll just have to see how he responds. I'm sure he's going to be sore."
If Oher cannot play, Oniel Cousins would be the primary candidate to start at left tackle.
Cornerback Josh Wilson and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe suffered shoulder stingers, and Harbaugh again defended his decision to play many of the starters until the end against Cincinnati.
"Once guys start getting nicked a little bit, you can't pull guys out of the game and [still] be able to play defense," Harbaugh said. Players like Ray Lewis, Harbaugh suggested, didn't want to come out anyway.
"We were trying to win the game … if I tried to take one of those guys out of the game, it was hard enough getting Ed out of the game with the injury that he had. So A, they wanted to win the game, and B, the numbers really don't allow you to do it," Harbaugh said
Penalty skirted
After the Ravens' win, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs acknowledged getting away with a punch that could have given the Bengals a critical first down and extended a promising drive in the fourth quarter.
Suggs was driven to the turf by Cincinnati left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who also ripped off Suggs' helmet. But Suggs directed his anger at wide receiver Jerome Simpson, connecting on a blow that the officials missed on what had been fourth-and-1 at the Ravens' 26-yard line with the team clinging to a 13-7 lead in the fourth quarter.
Harbaugh essentially agreed with his four-time Pro Bowler.
"I saw it in person," Harbaugh said. "I was right there on our sideline. I saw all the other stuff that was going on, too, and yeah, we don't ever want to retaliate because usually they [the officials] get the retaliation. My feeling is what they did was, they saw the whole thing and they could have flagged it both ways and they chose just not to flag at all and let it go. So I think it was a good common-sense decision by the officials. We strive very hard to keep our composure, and I think we've done a really good job of that this year."
No regrets
The Ravens' newest addition, long snapper Kevin Houser, generated more news with his legal woes than his talent, but Harbaugh said the coaches and players aren't holding his off-field issues against him.
"It was discussed with him, and it's in the past," Harbaugh said. "He took some good-natured ribbing, I think, from all of us, and that's how we kind of cleaned the slate."
Houser, who was signed on Wednesday to replace rookie Morgan Cox (torn anterior cruciate ligament in left knee), has been accused by former New Orleans Saints teammates and coaches that he led them to buy a combined $1.9 million in Louisiana state income-tax credits they never got in late 2008 and early 2009. A trial date in the civil suit is set for November 2011.
Houser, who has, in turn, sued Wayne Read, the man who allegedly promised these tax credits, played capably in his debut with the Ravens Sunday, according to Harbaugh.
"He did a good job, and he did a good job with the protections," Harbaugh said. "They were coming after him. They got us with one little twist in there where they got pressure. Maybe he could have done a little better with that and maybe could've got a little more help. But I'm not surprised that for the first week, they came after him."
Brotherly prognosticating
Speculation regarding the future of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh continues to swirl, and the former NFL quarterback has been linked to head coaching vacancies with the San Francisco 49ers, the Carolina Panthers and the Michigan Wolverines.
If one person would know, that would be his brother, right?
