NFL

Rex stays away from Orioles-Ravens controversy

Chance are Rex Ryan won’t be sitting down to watch Orioles-White Sox on Thursday night, but that was the game that forced the Super Bowl champion Ravens to open the season on the road and allowed Ryan to put himself in the middle of another controversy.

When the NFL schedule came out in April, Ryan criticized the Orioles for not changing the start time of their game at Camden Yards so the Ravens could open the season at home. Instead the Ravens are facing the Broncos on Thursday night in Denver.

On Thursday, Ryan would not touch that controversy again.

“I don’t want to get beat up by [Orioles manager] Buck Showalter,” Ryan said. “When I was heavier I think I could have got him down. Yeah, that’s somebody else’s team.”

That didn’t stop Ryan in April when he opened up a conference call on the night the NFL schedule was released ripping the Orioles.

“I understand the Orioles are playing a game at home. Well, who really cares?” Ryan said on April 18. “You’ve got 81 of them things at home and maybe you could’ve done the right thing and given one up and played 82 on the road and 80 at home. I really don’t think people are going to care about that game. You have a chance to have the defending world champs open the season at home where they rightfully should. I think that’s unfortunate. . . . The defending champion, in my opinion, should always open at home. They’ve earned that right. To think that something couldn’t have been worked out, that’s disappointing. If baseball had a 16-game schedule, you might understand it. But when they have 162 games, I think you might just, out of common courtesy, say, ‘You know what, maybe I’ll play this one on the road or whatever.’ ”

Showalter then fired back: “I’d be a little more concerned about Nov. 24 when the Jets come here and try to figure out a way to beat the Ravens.”