Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo didn't even wait for the end of the New England Patriots' Sunday night win over the Houston Texans to initiate a little AFC Championship Game back-and-forth.
Watching the game at home, the noted special-teamer took issue with Tom Brady's ability to snap the ball before opponents were ready.
"Are you watching the game pats vs texans?" Ayanbadejo tweeted. "If so you see the hurry snap offense catch em b4 they set up. It's a gimmick. Their offense is good enough to be successful with out that. ...
"You know the same organization that did spygate and cut a guy the day b4 the Super Bowl."
And then: "In a sport that is predicated on mano y mano, 'lets hurry up n snap it ' = bitchassness," he wrote.
It's safe to say these comments will get some play during the week. Let's get our thoughts out of the way:
- It's surprising that such a media-savvy player like Ayanbadejo doesn't realize Twitter essentially is a press conference for players. He probably wouldn't say these things with a microphone in front of him.
- His argument is odd. It essentially says that all no-huddle offenses are cheap. In a sport where every team is trying to gain the slightest advantage, quick-snapping the ball seems pretty tame.
- That brings us to Spygate. It seems ridiculous to bring up the controversy in this context, but it's actually not that crazy. The Patriots are an organization that seeks minor advantages in a million different creative ways. Their Oregon-influenced offense is an example. Spygate was another example; it just crossed a serious line.
New England's hurry-up approach comes from an organizational mindset that it isn't afraid to be different or push the envelope. That's part of the reason Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are headed to their seventh AFC title game in 12 years.
UPDATE: Brady was asked about Ayanbadejo's comments during his Monday radio appearance on WEEI-AM.
"I think we've had a lot of people comment about our team and our players this year," Brady said.
Brady went on to use more Patriots boilerplate, saying that it's best if they just focus on their own business.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
