Houshmandzadeh on being cut by Seattle: 'Me not being there had nothing to do with football'

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Newly-acquired Baltimore Ravens wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh implied that he wasn't given a fair shake by the new Seattle Seahawks regime of Pete Carroll and John Schneider.

The veteran wideout was cut one year after catching 79 passes in the wake of signing a five-year, $40 million contract.

"This is my opinion: Me not being there I can promise you had nothing to do with football," Houshmandzadeh said during a press conference today at the Ravens' training complex. "Not in my opinion, nobody on that team beat me out. If they're honest with themselves, they know that. If you watch practice, it's obvious. For whatever reason, they did what they did. I'm not going to comment on it and get to throwing rocks because I just don't want to.

"That's what they felt like they needed to do. You guys will see what I can do. I'm very confident in myself. People say I'm probably too confident in myself and I don't care because I believe in himself. I kind of got disappointed with what happened in Seattle for real. I know I can play. I know I can get it done. They know I can get it done. I don't really want to comment on it becuase it makes me really upset, but it happened."

Houshmandzadeh also expressed confidence that the football will be distributed enough so that everyone is happy in Baltimore, including fellow wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason.

“As long as you win, it doesn’t matter," he said. "Do I want the ball? Of course. And I’m sure they feel the same way. But as long as you win games, it doesn’t matter who gets the glory or who’s getting the ball, because at the end of the day, everybody benefits when you win. Period.

"I’m sure each of us will play a part in different games of playing the hero so to speak, but you’ve got Ray Rice, you’ve got Todd Heap, you’ve got so many different guys, you’ve got Willis McGahee, you’ve got so many different guys in this offense and have shown that they can do really good things in the NFL."

Houshmandzadeh also said he looks forward to playing against cornerback Darrelle Revis when the Ravens play the New York Jets on Monday night.

“I love it," he said. "This is why you play. He’s the best. They say he’s the best, and I love it. I don’t know if he’ll be on me because I’m just getting here. But whoever he’s on, this is why you play. You want to see how you rank up against the best. You want to see how you stack up against him.

"Now, I’m not sure what type of shape he’ll be in. You can work out, but getting out there running, it’s a different dynamic. So, it’ll be fun. I can’t believe I go from playing San Francisco to being on Monday Night Football playing the Jets."

Houshmandzadeh also said that the coaching staff in Cincinnati used to get nervous before games against Baltimore.

"I know what these guys bring to the table because I've played against them," he said. "I've sat in rooms when coaches had to game plan against these guys and I know how stressful it is for those guys to play in Baltimore because I've been on the opposite side and I know how much stress this defense puts on people.

"To not have to deal with it and worry about what protection is going to pick this up and that up, it's great. I feel like I'm coming to play with guys that are similar to me emotionally the way they play the game and how they love the game and that's where I need to be.

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