BEREA - Rob Ryan didn’t miss a tackle, didn’t bounce a snap, didn’t overthrow an open receiver and didn’t drop a pass.

That didn’t stop the defensive coordinator from hoisting all the blame for Sunday’s 27-6 loss to Denver onto his broad shoulders Friday in his weekly news conference.

“Everybody knows I screwed it up,” he said. “I can’t hide and I won’t hide. I messed it up. I messed up the whole game for the Cleveland Browns.”

Ryan was referring to a play with 13:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. Denver led 13-6 and faced a second-and-8 at its 49-yard line. Ryan ordered an all-out blitz on quarterback Kyle Orton, leaving cornerback Brandon McDonald in single coverage against receiver Jabar Gaffney.

The pass rush never arrived and Orton hit Gaffney on a deep out. McDonald got twisted around, allowing Gaffney to get past him to the 2-yard line.

“When you sell your soul out there, you have to be ready to suffer the consequences,” Ryan said. “The truth of the matter is, that game situation, a junior high coach would’ve called it better than I did on that play.

“It’s just a bad decision, and I’m a smarter guy than that.”

The Broncos scored on the next play for a 20-6 lead. Ryan said he got impatient and tried to force the action and create a turnover.

“I let emotion get the better of me and it really hurt us,” he said. “It’s really annoying to stand up here and admit that to you, but, (heck), that’s what happened.”

The Broncos scored again on their next drive, as Correll Buckhalter ran 45 yards off tackle, making safety Brodney Pool and cornerback Eric Wright look silly. The Browns allowed 188 yards in the fourth quarter.

“Just put it all on me,” Ryan said. “It wasn’t the players, it wasn’t them quitting, it was just me having an ill-advised play.

“It really took us out of the game. It took the whole life out of our team.”

Despite the blunder, Ryan said he wouldn’t hesitate to call another nine-man blitz.

“Next time I go with max pressure, (shoot), we’re going to hit ‘em,” he said.

The defense ranks 25th in the NFL, allowing 379.5 yards a game. It’s 31st against the rush, allowing 205.5 a game. The 30.5 points a game allowed ranks 29th.

“It obviously hasn’t started out like a house of fire, like we were hoping,” said Ryan, who spent the last five years in the same job in Oakland. “Our players, you can’t work harder than they are. I’m sure it’s frustrating. Hopefully we put ‘em in a situation to win this week.”

It won’t be easy. The Baltimore Ravens rank second in scoring (34.5 points a game), third in yardage (406.0), fourth in rushing (164.0) and fourth on third down (50 percent). Strong-armed quarterback Joe Flacco is a great complement to a stable of hard-charging running backs.

“It’s going to be a physical kind of game,” Ryan said. “I think we need that kind of game right now.

“This team’s not going to hide. We’ll see who’s the toughest team. I know they’ve got great, violent players on their defense and I know we’ve got some tough, violent guys on our defense. Looking forward to hearing the big hits and watching some football.”

Ryan said some of the holdovers told him they felt the Browns defense was pushed around by the Ravens in a pair of losses last year. He thinks the camaraderie building within the unit will make a difference Sunday.

“If you’re going to go into a big war like you’re playing the Baltimore Ravens - bodies are getting laid out all over the field - you better have guys that you care about, that you count on,” he said. “That you know when it gets tough they’re not going to run on you, they’re going to run with you into the thing.

“I know that’s what we got. Right now, stats and everything, we’re not worth a crap, but, man, I can see it - we’re coming together and I can see it. And if you throw out that (darn) fourth quarter, we’re not a bad defense.”

Ryan said all it takes is one big hit from the defense to change a season. He pointed to Bryan Cox, Cleveland’s defensive line coach, lighting up the Colts’ Jerome Pathon in Week 3 in 2001. New England went from 0-2 to the Super Bowl.

“Cox absolutely ripped his face off,” Ryan said. “I tell you what, his hit changed our team. Hopefully we’ll get a shot like that.”

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

NEXT UP

• WHO: Cleveland at Baltimore
• WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m.
• WHERE: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
• TV/RADIO: Channel 19; WMMS 100.7-FM

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