Rice has 'short memory' when it comes to costly playoff fumble

Ray Rice, like most NFL players, is doing his best to prepare for a new season as the lockout bleeds deeper into its third month.

When the Baltimore Ravens running back does finally get back onto the field, he made it clear in an interview with WFAN 660 in New York that he won't be thinking about the costly fumble that contributed to his team's playoff ouster in 2010.

"I have a short memory. As a running back, you have to have a short memory," he said. "You look at where you came from and you look at where you're going and you can't tarnish your whole career over one mistake."

With the Ravens leading the rival Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7 early in the third quarter of the AFC Divisional Playoffs, Rice caught a short pass from Joe Flacco and was stripped of the ball while fighting for extra yards. The Steelers recovered the ball deep in Ravens territory, setting in motion a comeback that culminated in a 31-24 Pittsburgh win.

It was Rice's first fumble in 331 touches. He has obvious regrets about the play, but said the key is learning from it and getting better.

"It’s the same thing for a quarterback. A quarterback throws an interception, he has to get over it the next drive," he said. "It wasn’t one of those situations where you see me getting laid out. It was a situation where the guy ... it was a perfect tackle, and I was in a cut. Sometimes when you cut the ball comes away from your body."

Rice said the play has led to better focus on the basics of the game in offseason workouts.

"You get back to work on your fundamentals, this offseason I've been doing a lot of strengthening in my forearms so that way when I'm cutting the ball's tighter, securing," He said. "I got over it pretty fast."

Rice's comments were first reported on Friday by The Baltimore Sun.

Entering his fourth season, Rice has been a key contributor for the Ravens since the team drafted him in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Last season, the Rutgers product piled up 1,776 total yards with five touchdowns on the ground and another through the air.

Playing arguably football's most punishing position while standing a stout 5-foot-8 means Rice is more at risk physically than most if the league decides to move to an 18-game schedule. He seemed resigned to however things play out.

“For a guy like me, you really just want to play football but 18 games is a lot," Rice said. "It’s hard on a body. It’s one of those things where, if that’s what they want, and they’re going to get it, then I’m not going to fight it.”

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Merriman's Bills stay likely short after he's placed on IR

Shawne Merriman's first season with the Buffalo Bills ended before it even really began.

The Bills placed Merriman on injured reserve Saturday because of a nagging Achilles' tendon injury, culminating a tumultuous year for the one-time feared linebacker.

The Bills claimed Merriman off waivers earlier this month, three weeks after the San Diego Chargers placed him on IR because of a calf injury.

At the time, Merriman also was nursing a strained Achilles' tendon. In his first practice with the Bills on Nov. 10, he lasted just 15 minutes before re-injuring it.

The Bills also placed linebacker Keith Ellison on injured reserve Saturday. Ellison couldn't practice all week because of an unspecified knee injury.

"We felt it was still going to be some time before Shawne and Keith were healthy enough to return to the field, and we certainly were not going to have them return to action until they were physically ready to do so," Bills general manager Buddy Nix said, according to the team's official website. "Knowing that we needed the roster spots, we felt this was the best move for our team and it's also best for both players. The most important thing at this point is for them to get healthy, and this gives them that opportunity."

To fill the two open roster spots, the Bills promoted wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt and linebacker Thomas Williams to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.

Merriman, a 2005 first-round draft pick and three-time Pro Bowl selection, also sat out most of the Chargers' offseason workouts and part of training camp to protest his contract, which expires following this season. He finishes the year with six tackles in three games for the Chargers.

Merriman expressed his eagerness for a fresh start when he made his first public appearance in Buffalo, one day before the Bills' Week 9 loss to the Chicago Bears in Toronto.

The following Wednesday, Merriman walked onto the practice field for the first time with his new team, but that's when things went awry. During a harmless-looking individual drill, he backpedaled, then pivoted to his left before pulling up and hopping on one leg.

Merriman immediately pulled down his right sock and limped to the sideline, where a trainer spent a few minutes checking the linebacker's ankle. Merriman then consulted head trainer Bud Carpenter at midfield before being escorted to the Bills' fieldhouse, where the team's training room is located.

Merriman was inactive for the Bills' next two games against the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals. On Friday, Bills coach Chan Gailey declared Merriman out for Sunday's home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24 hours before the team officially cut short his season.

Merriman sounded resigned about his situation when asked about it Friday.

"It's coming along, but it's still the same situation it was a few weeks ago. Just wait and see what happens," Merriman said after practice, according to the Buffalo News. "My main thing is just to get it healthy. It's been there for a year. I haven't had many other problems other than that. It's been there constantly -- on and off -- for a year now, and I never really had a chance to take care of it. I've been pretty healthy the last couple of years -- other than that. It's unfortunate, but I have to get it taken care of."

Nicknamed "Lights Out" for his aggressive and hard-hitting style, Merriman has 43.5 sacks in his 60-game NFL career. But his production has substantially dropped over the past three seasons, largely because of nagging injuries, including reconstructive knee surgery that forced him to miss most of 2008.

Since the start of the '08 campaign, Merriman has just four sacks in 18 games.

Merriman received a four-game suspension in 2006 after testing positive for steroids. He blamed the positive test on a tainted supplement, which he never identified.

Merriman also brought unwanted attention off the field after being arrested just before the 2009 season when reality television star Tila Tequila accused him of battery and false imprisonment at his suburban San Diego home. No charges were filed, and Merriman and Tequila settled dueling lawsuits.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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