From scoop and scores, punt returns, punt blocks and of course...pure ball hawking moments, there is a lot to pull from when making a top 10 list of Ed Reed plays. Reed is not only one of the best coverage safeties to grace the field but he was an all out play-maker who just needed the ball in his hands to change a game. As he gets set for his entry into the Hall of Fame on August 3rd we look at number 20's top 10 moments.
10. Sending it Right Back in Arizona
One of his early career touchdowns coming in his second season in 2003, this 22 yard blocked punt and return gave the Ravens their first touchdown of the day, putting them up 16-7 in the second quarter. The Ravens went on to win the game 26-18 with another defensive touchdown from Chris McAlister and a handful of Matt Stover field goals. This was one of the early moments of Reed turning defense and special teams into the team's offense. It takes special players like Reed to win games with Kyle Boller throwing only 75 yds and no offensive touchdowns.
9. First Career Pick Six
The first of many run backs came in Reed's second season during a week 2 match up with Cleveland where he had two interceptions. This one came in the fourth quarter where the young safety ran it back 55 yards to effectively put the game out of reach. The Ravens went on to win 33-13 and fans got their first taste of watching the electrifying Ed Reed taking a pick six in the other direction. From then on when Reed intercepted the ball it was usually just the beginning of a big play. When the ball was in Reed's hands everybody was frozen in anticipation as he was equally talented as a return man as he was a coverage safety.
8. Trick Play? Not Today!
In this matchup in 2004, the Jets ran a running back sweep pass with Lamont Jordan, hoping to catch the Ravens defense off guard. The play was busted as the defensive line came crashing in on the sweep but Jordan desperately chucked the ball into the back of the endzone where Ed Reed was waiting. In classic fashion, Reed doesn't knee it like most defenders would but he takes it 78 yards in the opposite direction by finding the open lanes with decisive cuts and maneuverability. This became Reed's longest interception return of his career to that point and would have been longer had it not been for a holding penalty from Will Demps which prevented Reed from taking it all the way to the house. However, Reed would top this career mark just one week later. Lets look at that one later down the list.
7. Finishing the Drill
This is one my personal favorites cause it just shows off the next level play-maker Reed was. In a week 8 home matchup, the Bengals were trying to move the ball down field following an early first quarter score by the Ravens. Carson Palmer was picked off by corner-back Samari Rolle who had defensive support blocking ahead of him. As purple jerseys spread throughout picking up blocks, Reed followed closely behind Rolle as backup to extend the play. This is what separates Reed from so many other defenders, his goal was always touchdowns not turnovers.
As Rolle was corralled by Bengal's receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Reed came right up behind the corner to secure the ball from him and ran it the rest of the way untouched for a touchdown.
Reed not only ball-hawked but he was involved in many lateral and pitch plays that dished the ball off to a new defender to extend the play or exploit a open running lane on the way to the end zone.
6. Ed Polamalu
Tackling and hard-hitting was always an under-looked part of Reed's career. His excellence as a coverage safety detracted from his natural ability to lay down hard hits and strip balls out of the grasp of players hands although these abilities faded later in his career. In his prime Reed was prolific in all facets of the game.
We've all seen enough footage of Troy Polamalu timing snap counts getting after the quarterback (*cough *cough Joe Flacco) but not enough tape gets shown of Ed's ability to do the same. With the skins up by 10 in the third quarter of a week 5 match-up, Mark Brunnel dropped back to pass trying to push his team to the other side of the 50 yard line. Creeping in from his safety spot, Reed transitioned into a full-out blitz at the snap of the ball. The safety rushed Brunnel's blind side, ran around a poorly attempted block by running back Ladell Betts and stripped Brunnell in time without even getting touched.
Reed doesn't even position to hit the quarterback but has his whole body locked onto the ball. The young safety doesn't posture or lose focus but immediately has his head on a swivel, scooping the ball and scoring without hardly being touched on the play.
The Ravens would go on to win with a BJ Sams punt return as their only other touchdown in the game.
5. Out-Smarting the Forehead
This one is not as sexy as other Reed highlights but it shows the cerebral, next-level part of his game. During a week 10 match in Baltimore where the Ravens would ultimately only lose by two to an undefeated Colts team, Ed Reed shows why he is a next level defender in both athleticism and intellect. Reed, like all great players, was an intense film student and this play shows it.
Lined up on his own 25 at the near side of the field, the safety takes off backward toward the center of the field at the snap of the ball and 10 yards in he reverses direction to the near sideline picking the ball off in stride right before it would have been perfectly placed in the receivers hands in route to the end zone.
More impressively, Reed has his back toward Peyton the whole time because he knows where the ball is going before it is even snapped. Very few can bait quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady into interceptions but Ed Reed does it with ease because, like them, he has a high football IQ and is truly in a chess match with them when they line up opposite of each other.
4. Pick One Hundred and Six
In week 8 of the 2004 season Ed Reed made history. With under a minute left in the 4th quarter, Jeff Garcia lead the Browns down the field on a long drive in hopes to punch in a go ahead score for the win. On second down from the Ravens' ten Garcia tried to connect with tight end Anthony Shea on a button hook route in the front of the end zone. With Ray Lewis all over the tight end in coverage the ball went through Shea's hands and straight into the hands of Reed who of course didn't knee it and effectively end the game but continued in an all out sprint for 106 yards and a score, setting an NFL record.
3. Big Players on Big Stages
What was a disappointing playoff performance for the Ravens offense was a dominant performance for the defense, spear-headed by Ed Reed. The Ravens' defense was staunch, holding the Colts without a touchdown and only 170 yards passing. Where some Ravens fell flat on the big stage, Ed Reed rose above with 2 interceptions and 3 pass deflections and one incredible hit on Dallas Clark running down the seam. Unfortunately, Reed was unable to take one of those interceptions back to the house for the game's only touchdown which would have advanced the team to the next round.
2. Hurricane Ed
From one playoff game to another, this one came in the second quarter of the Ravens's 2008 wildcard game with the Dolphins. Like he did a year before, Ed Reed secured two interceptions in this game but this time he was able to take one 64 yards to the house. Like a true center fielder, Reed plays the ball and not the receiver, allowing him to corral the overthrow intended for Ted Ginn. The Ravens defense bowled over the offense (enjoy Haloti Ngata's block at the 20 yard line on the return) as Reed weaved in and out on his way to the end zone in a return that hearkens back to days of playing backyard football.
Dolphin's quarterback Chad Pennington would throw four interceptions on the day, helping the Ravens move on to the next round with a 27-9 victory.
1. Record Set and Record Broken
Just a few months before that game in Miami, Reed broke his old record and set a new one with a 108 yard return during a week 11 match-up with the Eagles that stands to this day . During the 2008 season Reed scored three defensive touchdowns and tied his season high with nine interceptions.
Unlike his previous career long return, the game was almost put away with the Ravens up 22-7 before the interception with starter Donovan McNabb being pulled early in the game after having no success against the Ravens defense. Kevin Kolb was put into the game but to no avail as he went 10 for 23 with 73 yards passing and 2 interceptions.
With seven minutes left in the fourth Kolb and company were just trying to make the score look better in the morning paper as the quarterback tried to squeeze the ball through a tight window in the back of the end-zone. Instead, it got worse as Reed plucked the ball and took it the other way, setting an NFL record for the longest interception return of 108 yards in route.
Ed Reed built a legacy as being the most one of the most exciting Ravens' players to watch. He energized stadiums at home and silenced them in disbelief on the road. I don't think it is a homer opinion to say he is the best free safety to ever play the game and one the most exciting defensive play-makers the game has ever seen. He played the game with a perfect blend of intelligence and a loose backyard style that inspired many of his iconic return plays. It is no wonder why Reed's play is not only highly respected and admired in Baltimore but by football fans of all teams. On August 3rd Reed will become the third Raven to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
All footage is provided by the NFL and its affiliates. Full video of Ed Reed highlights here.
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