Is Ed Reed THE premiere safety of his era?
by sherman r on Mar 8, 2010 2:09 PM EST
34 comments
I'll take Ray Lewis over any other LB of his era (many would), but can the same be said of Ed Reed at safety? I know he started his career labeled as a strong safety, but he's definitely better suited to be in coverage as a free safety--the position he's been listed at in each of the last four seasons. Regardless, is there any other safety (free or strong) you would take over Ed Reed in the last decade? I know I'm not a football officianado, and this is my first post here. I'm just wondering where people stand on this.
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Of course Ravens fans would.
But you know Steeler fans would pick Troy. It is a tough argument because the two of them do certain things so well.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Troy is a one-season wonder with interceptions
Reed is a perennial Ball-Hawk. Troy is more Brian Dawkinsy
The night is darkest right before the dawn
by Baltimore Warrior on Mar 8, 2010 6:56 PM EST up reply actions
one season wonder?
uhhh..FAIL
Ed reed is awesome too.
by Steelchamps !! on Mar 18, 2010 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions
without a doubt
this argument is more one sided than it appears. steelers fans and the national media want you to think this is a closer call than it really is. ed reed has 46 career interceptions while polamalu has 20 career interceptions. polamalu has 1 career touchdown while ed reed has 9 by three different means of scoring(6 int ret, 2 fumble ret, 1 punt ret.) Ed reed has 1,255 interception return yards and polamalu has 227.
i will say this ed reed has played one more year than troy so if reed gets skunked this year or retires(which i doubt) troy has to have 26 interceptions with 1,028 return yards and 8 touchdowns to be considered in the same sentence as ED REED the greatest saftey of this era
Ed Redd is Awesome
It aint always about the stats. Key plays at key times.
Reed Has the advantage. for now.
just glad he never picked Ben for pick 6 in AFCCG : )….ahhhh sweet Joy
by Steelchamps !! on Mar 18, 2010 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions
They both are great as much as that pains me to give props to a steeler. Reed is by far the best cover safety, but troy is probably the best as far as run support and tackling. I would still say Reed is the best because he is one of the best game-changers on either side of the ball in his era.
what makes you think troy is better at tackling
troy has forced 7 fumbles in his career and ed reed has forced 9 fumbles in his career. ed hits hard and blows people up on the regular. not to mention reed has recovered 9 fumbles and polomalu has only recovered 3. ed reed is hardly ever called upon for run support so ill give you the run support argument but not tackling.
I do see what you mean, however forced fumbles and recovered fumbles have nothing to do with tackling. You can strip people without making the tackle. This falls more under his game-changing ability which I did say Ed is one of the best in the game on both sides of the ball.
This is a tough one from an objective view
Ed makes all the spectacular plays, tries to rip the ball out and also gets caught at times out of position taking big risks, leaving his responsibility to help out other places. that helps us and also hurts us, as he’s been out of position causing other guys to get burned one-on-one with no safety help as planned.
Troy, on the other hand, is not as flashy as Ed and also plays a different position, strong safety vs. free. However, Troy is as solid and all-around player as Ed is but just doesn’t make the highlight reel like Ed does.
I like Ed, but if Troy was a Raven and Ed a Steeler, I’m sure me and most of you would think otherwise.
The easy answer is that Ed is the best free safety of his era while Troy is the best strong safety of his era. Fair enough?
aka 'Rexx'
Good analysis
Who would you give the nod to as the best all-around DB between the two?
Playing, coaching, and watching basketball.
It has to be Reed
I will admit that Troy is probably the best open field tackler in the league and doesn’t miss on any tackles. He also has great vision and hands, but not like Reed. Troy has more tackles while playing a year less than Reed, but Reed has nearly double the interceptions Troy has. What is more impacting in games, tackles or interceptions? No one has ever impacted the game as much as Reed has and his abilities are game changing.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
If I had to play them at corner instead of safety
I’d probably take Troy. Sorry, Ravens fans for the blasphemy, but Troy is a better cover guy than Ed, as Ed gets his stuff by playing off the QB’s eyes from out of the picture which just wouldn’t work at corner.
I also think Troy is a bit faster, am I right there?
aka 'Rexx'
excuse me..but!!!
Haa hey i would say the original poster didnt mention Troy… who is the second best of the decade and best in his position at strong. besides that even Deion thinks Ed Reed is the biggest game changer in the game, i woul just leave it at that…
I even cum Black & Silver...
by Tramp "Raider Roxxxtar" on Mar 9, 2010 4:18 PM EST via mobile reply actions
After the Miami playoff game 2 years ago, Rodney Harrison was in the locker room talking with Reed and said that he is the greatest safety to ever play this game. That is alot coming from Harrison.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Its probably true, he's above the game like Ray...just better to say best of the decade. we've had alot of awesome safetys in the league, one of position thats harder to compare in dif era's
Reed is my alltime pick at free though!
I even cum Black & Silver...
by Tramp "Raider Roxxxtar" on Mar 9, 2010 4:34 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Yea, definitely at FS. The FS is supposed to be the coverage guy, and the SS is like the 4th or 5th LB who helps out in the run. There is no doubt that Reed and Troy are the two best at those positions over the last 10 years or so.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
And I also hate leaving Dawkins out this conversation, but Reed and Troy have just recently took it to a different level that Dawkins never really reached. He was more a tweener at Safety.
You have to hate losing more than you love winning.
Can we all just agree:
Ed is #1, Troy is 1A.
Different positions, both the best now in the league in each spot. Done.
aka 'Rexx'
my bad bruce i missed your corner comparison
I agree with u on the one and two post. I also kind of agree on the corner thing, but will also admit that i think its purely because of Troys training at usc and pit. I dont have a reason to think its a natural dif…although Troy is my people so he’ll be around longer, longevity wise.
I even cum Black & Silver...
by Tramp "Raider Roxxxtar" on Mar 9, 2010 5:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Good Point
Honestly, I didn’t even think of Troy because I initially thought of him as a tackling safety and because he has not played as many seasons in this decade as Ed has, but the kid is in the conversation. In fact, it’s a two horse race (between him and Reed), and you could argue that as long as injury doesn’t keep him down, that Troy will go down and the best safety to ever lace up a pair of cleats.
Playing, coaching, and watching basketball.
yeah i dont mind leaving dawkins out...
He is a top safety but like u said isnt at that level they are, sorta like how montana made miracles out of dust and brady never has, u cant compare legends with well trained stars.
I even cum Black & Silver...
by Tramp "Raider Roxxxtar" on Mar 9, 2010 5:02 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Reed would be even better if good teams had to pass in the 4th quarter against us and not run out the clock for a win. That will change but as always…JUST SAYIN.
To be fair, pure stats are misleading
we all know about Ray’s tackle numbers but the number of times they throw away from Ed (and Troy) and someone else intercepts is a “homage” to their capabilities that QB’s avoid them.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Mar 10, 2010 9:19 AM EST up reply actions
The best there is (Ed Reed)
Ed Reed is the best Safety of his generation with apologies to Troy Polomalu. This proclamation has very little to do with being a Ravens fan. Reed has been the closet thing to a coach in the secondary in the last ten years. His leadership and film study is unparralleled and has helped set the tone for the Ravens defensively along with Ray Lewis.
The all-time great players are measured by how they “change the game” with their presence and forcing the oppossing Coordinators around the league to lose sleep during the week in preparation for up-coming games. Reed has done this over his brillant career.
An example is what can be called “the Ed Reed alignment” where he lines up in the deep third of the field as the single high safety and displaying the great range he has, breaks on the football and takes it back to house! Or he lines up 15-20 inside the opposite hash area of where the QB is going with the football, recognizes the offensive formation and personnel, reads his keys, and with cat-like precision flows to the football making a pick or breaking up a pass.
One play against the Bengals during this past season demonstrates the greatness of Ed Reed. As I remember the play the Ravens were in a dime defense 3-2-6 DB’s look. The Bengals were in 3 wide with Ochocinco outside the numbers and alone on his side of the formation. Reed was in his normal position (on the hash about 18 yards deep and opposite Landry or strong side) according to the formation and personnel group. Palmer looked to his left hoping to freeze Reed post snap but Reed saw Chad as the primary target (with Chad running a slant) and made his move to get into the throwing lane. With classic Reed anticipation and recognition he jumped the route, broke on the ball and if you are a Ravens fan you know what happen after that. These are the kinds of plays that “game changers” make. Reed’s been doing this from day one. His instincts are uncanny and very rare. Reed was a physical presence also prior to having the neck issue for those who would want to argue he’s been strictly a finesse player.
Reed’s an All-Time great and has been a plesure to watch all these years. I look forward to a few more.
Yup thats what i said earlier "game changing"
Besides the longevity (i could easily see Troy playing in 6 years) theres no way an argument can really ever be made, Ed Reed like Ray is above the game, its rare, but hey why else would i always be somewhere i can see both games!?!?! haha
I even cum Black & Silver...
by Tramp "Raider Roxxxtar" on Mar 10, 2010 12:46 AM EST up reply actions
If there ever was a vote
and alll Ravens and Steelers fans DID NOT vote, the rest of the league would surely have:
1. Reed
2. Troy
aka 'Rexx'
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