Matt Birk On All-Pro Yanda: "Marshal is just a football player"

Baltimore Ravens veteran center Matt Birk joined head coach John Harbaugh and DE Cory Redding in the team's Monday afternoon press conference and entertained the media with his wit and wisdom. Baltimore Beatdown was in attendance and asked Birk what kind of pride the offensive line takes when one of their own, in this case, guard Marshal Yanda, is named All-Pro:

"I was just happy for the guy. I came here...Marshal's still rehabbing from a devastating knee injury and...Marshal's just a hell of a guy - high-character. He was rehabbing, just kept his mouth shut, kept working, working, working, and did whatever they asked of him. You know, (he) got thrown in there at right tackle, then got thrown in at right guard, then wasn't starting, then was starting. Marshal is just a football player. Playing next to Marshal makes me a better football player, and just being around him, being his teammate makes me a better player, because of his work ethic and what he represents. He'll probably tell you I'm holding him back a little bit, but that's all right. We're just all happy for him,because he obviously deserved it."

To see the entire press conference transcript, check out BaltimoreRavens.com.