Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said Tuesday that he didn't hear any taunting from the Detroit Lions when he was on the ground after hurting his ankle in Sunday's 23-16 Falcons victory.
"I didn't hear anything," Ryan said in an interview with ProFootballTalk.com. "I was on the ground trying to take care of my own business and just get back up and get back into the game. I didn't get involved with any of it, didn't hear any of it.
"There's always dumb things that are said on the field week in and week out. Our team has done it, too."
Ryan's teammates, receiver Roddy White and center Todd McClure, touched off a firestorm Sunday by accusingLions defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh and Cliff Avril of taunting Ryan after the quarterback had his ankle stepped on by one of his offensive lineman and briefly had to leave the game with what looked like a serious injury at the time.
"I lost a whole lot of respect for 90 [Suh] today, and also 92 [Avril]," White said after the game. "The [expletive] they were doing when Matt got hurt, that was unacceptable. ... Like 92 was kicking [Ryan's] feet, saying, 'Get him off the field.' We don't do stuff like that. We don't rally over guys when they get hurt. It was just inappropriate behavior. I mean, 'Get the cart'? Are you serious? Come on. When you compete, you never want to see a guy get hurt."
Suh and Avril both denied the allegations, with Suh telling reporters that what happened to Ryan was karma for what he called dirty play by the Falcons.
Ryan was asked if he thought Suh was a dirty player.
"He's a good player, I know that," Ryan said, refusing to take the bait.
Ryan also said his ankle was fine, and that he would have played this Sunday if the Falcons didn't have a bye.
