Ed Thompson: You have an unique perspective on this game because you're
the only guy who's going to be on the field on Saturday who's played for both
the Colts and the Ravens in recent history…
Gerome Sapp: Yeah, the Ravens drafted me in '03 and then the Colts picked me
up six days later, actually shorter than that. Then we ended up playing later on
that year, then we ended up playing the Ravens in the first game the next year.
And then the Colts traded me back to the Ravens and now I'm playing them in the
playoffs. It's very ironic actually, but it's very exciting too, to be able to
go against a lot of my old teammates and old friends. It should be a good
competition and I'm looking forward to it.
ET: You had close friendships with Colts WR Aaron Moorehead and TE Bryan Fletcher, have you been talking to them at all this week?
GS: We talk just about every week, but especially this week we made sure we
talked. We didn't really say much about anything, but we reiterated to each
other how exciting this game's going to be for us and how we all look forward to
seeing each other on the field.
ET: Obviously you watched film of the Colts/Chiefs game in practice, but
did you watch the game live as well?
GS: Yeah I did. I watched with a couple of the guys. For me it was weird
because that's like the first entire Colts game I've seen this year, so that was
kind of fun. And I like to cheer for the Colts, so when they won I was excited
that they were coming here to play.
 |
| Gerome Sapp and LB Ray Lewis celebrate (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) |
ET: You used to be part of that Colts defense. After how they've
struggled against the run this season, what do you think they did that allowed
them to dominate Larry Johnson?
GS: The thing they did better last week was they just tackled and swarmed the
ball. If you look at other games, guys were missing tackles and there was no one
around to pick up the slack. That game, they came out with a mission and
[Dwight] Freeney had a wonderful game, as well as the whole defensive line. I
think everything starts with the defensive line. When they're getting pressure
and helping disrupt the run, things go their way. Defensively they looked a
whole lot better.
ET: Tell us about your transition back to Baltimore earlier this year…
GS: It actually went smoother than I thought it was going to go. I still knew
a lot of guys on the team, had a lot of friends, still knew most of the coaches,
and kind of knew the area from my rookie year. So when I got here I met with all
of my coaches -- and it was kind of like a homecoming actually -- and I fit
right in.
ET: What's been the reaction around the locker room to the comments made
about the Colts by a few of the Ravens this week? Is that all just business as
usual?
GS: Yeah. it kind of is. Every week is a physical week for us, no matter who
the opponent is. I know the Colts are going to come in and play a physical game
too, but I think it's going to come down to who can consistently play physical
-- and I honestly think we have the edge with that. It's going to business as
usual for the defense just going out and putting on helmets and shoulder pads
and being the physical defense that we are.
Read the rest of this exclusive interview in our SCOUT Q&A feature for Scout.com subscribers. Gerome talks about QB Steve McNair, the challenges the Colts offense presents and much more!