Ed Reed will be inducted into the Ravens Ring of Honor at Halftime on Sunday. RSR staff share their favorite memories of #20:
Tony Lombardi
Sometimes you just don’t realize just how special someone is until he or she is gone. I suppose that’s human nature in a way. We may take for granted something that is ours. And while we always knew Ed was one of a kind, the brightness of his feathers as a Raven could never be appreciated fully until he no longer dressed on Sundays in Baltimore.
He defines the term “ball hawk” and the moment he touched the ball as a defender he became the best offensive player on the field. Of course there are the record setting INT returns but for me the play that was his single most defining play took place in DC back in 2004, the year he was the league’s Defensive MVP.
The Ravens were wretched offensively that night, particularly Kyle Boller who was 9 of 18 for 83 yards and 3 INTs. Down 10-0 to a bad Redskins team Reed blitzed off the left edge, sacked Mark Brunell, stripped him of the ball and then returned it 22 yards for a touchdown. The play ignited the team and the Ravens eventually won 17-10.
Thanks for the memories Ed. We not only look forward to the unveiling of your placard on Sunday, we also look forward to your enshrinement in Canton. Two tickets to football paradise!
Derek Arnold
Ed is not only my favorite Raven, but my favorite football player of all-time. The list of Reed moments that come to mind start with his halftime speech vs. Florida State while he was still at “The U” (I PUT MY HEART IN THIS $#*! DOG!).
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG_f1GzmwHo[/youtube]
As a Raven, we remember him blocking punts regularly early on, sealing games with interceptions (Cleveland ’05 tops the list), turning into an elusive ballcarrier (if a careless one at times) once he got his mitts on the rock, and giving Brady & Belichick fits. I’m sure others will bring up some of his more memorable returns, so I’ll leave those alone for now. My absolute favorite memory of Ed is how much fun he was having during Media Week at Super Bowl XLVII. He was all smiles all week, and perhaps the best moment came when he conceded to Deion Sanders that sure, he looks like “Django.” Congratulations Ed, and thank you for everything.
“I’ll take off the hat, show ’em the fro!”
Brian Bower
He played with style, he played with grace and truly epitomized what it meant to play like a Raven.
While it’s truly hard for me to point out one particular play that stands out, his bone crushing hit on Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman sure does. In a game the Ravens won, Tom Brady was about to throw a go-ahead touchdown but Reed was there to deliver the jarring hit to the shifty wideout.
Reed was truly a joy watch throughout his tenure in Baltimore and left us with a constant reminder of just how special of a player he really was.
https://vine.co/v/erFVvD2UdX2
Joe Polek
What can you say about Ed Reed? One of the greatest to ever play the game… and one of the players that always got my blood boiling. The plays that made him famous are the very same plays that infuriated me (and a lot of other fans) as they were happening. The terrible laterals after an interception. The awful (which turned out to be great) thoughts of taking balls out of the endzone, when he should have downed them, which turned into touchdowns. But I think the memory I’ll enjoy of Reed the most, is him holding the Vince Lombardi trophy shouting “BALTIMORE!!!!” and singing “Two Tickets to Paradise!” His love for the fans and the game brought joy to so many of us.
Mike Fast
As a Hurricanes fan, I was really hoping the Ravens would draft Ed Reed. When I heard his name announced, I was so happy, and I knew he was destined for greatness. On the first day of training camp that year, I waited anxiously along the ropes at McDaniel College. Then it happened…
Reed came out from the locker room, paused at the top of the steps, and exclaimed, “Good morning, Baltimore!”
From Day 1, he gave his all for this team and this city. How did we get so lucky? Thank you, Ed, for everything. You’re the best safety of all-time. You deserve a restful and fruitful retirement. Congratulations!
Dev Panchwagh
Ray Lewis always refers to Ed Reed as being the “Robin” to his Batman. I’d like to think of the two as Superman and Batman. Ed doesn’t have the charisma or the bravado that Ray has, so he would at times get lost behind Lewis’ massive shadow. But he’s got the charm — and that’s why the city of Baltimore loves him. He was the essence of the team, and translated his raw emotions to embody the fan spirit on the field.
The 2012 Super Bowl ride is the best example of how Reed embraced the fans and channeled their energy — whether that meant belting out Eddie Money’s Two Tickets to Paradise or bringing the Lombardi Trophy to packs of fans during the team’s victory parade.
Maybe the best defensive play I’ve ever seen by Reed (or any other defensive player for that matter) came during the 2009 Wildcard matchup against the Miami Dolphins. You know the play. Reed flipped his hips to track a dying deep ball from Chad Pennington as if he were Willie Mays. The catch itself wasn’t enough though — Reed then cut back across the field and followed a convoy of blockers into the end zone for a 64-yard TD that gave the team a 10-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. That play had everything. And everything is what Reed gave to the Baltimore Ravens.
Ryan Jones
Ed Reed is the most athletic, ball-hawking safety in NFL history. What separates Ed Reed from the rest though was the intelligence he had of the game. No player was smarter, better prepared or more able to dissect a play before the snap better than number 20.
November 23, 2008 I had a front row seat to history when the Ravens were playing the Eagles. Ed Reed broke a record which he had previously set himself when he picked off Kevin Kolb in the back of the end zone and returned the ball 107 yards for a touchdown. While most would have taken a knee and settled for the pick and a touchback, there wasn’t a single person in M&T who doubted Reed would try to take it to the house.
Thanks for the memories, Ed. Every time I see a player lateral the ball, I’ll think you.
Tyler Lombardi
I didn’t realize what my favorite Ed Reed moment was live; it took almost two years for me to remember the play as fondly. As I watched Bill Belichick and Tom Brady talk about Ed Reed on A Football Life, I couldn’t help but smile. They were preparing to face the Ravens, and they discussed Ed Reed and how exceptional of a talent he is.
Why does that make me smile? Belichick and Brady were doing all that they could to keep Ed Reed out of the game. Yet Ed still got the best of him. Up 21-0, Tom Brady threw a pass down the right sideline. The ball was defended by Dominique Foxworth and batted up in the air. Ed Reed would pick the ball off, run down the sideline, and in classic Ed Reed fashion, successfully lateral the ball to Dawan Landry.
No matter how much you tried to avoid Ed Reed, he was always lurking. He was easily the best Safety of my lifetime. I’m excited to see him honored live.
Brian McFarland
Ed Reed is definitely my all time favorite Raven.
While the 2013 Super Bowl has always talked about as “Ray’s Last Ride”, it was always to me, be about Reed finally getting that elusive Super Bowl ring. Ray already had his (not that he didn’t deserve a 2nd), but Ed had been Robin to Ray’s Batman for so long and he was very deserving of having “Super Bowl Champ” added to his already HOF-worthy resume.
And you could tell by his reactions that night (and during the SB parade back in Baltimore), just how important it was to him too. The looks of joy and elation (and relief) were clearly evident in his eyes.
Reed had so many highlight reel plays that it’s hard to pick just one, but I think the play I will always remember him by was one that really spoke to the essence – in several ways – of Reed’s play. Carson Palmer often had his way with the Ravens, but Reed still was a thorn in his side and picked him off 6 times (IIRC). On the play in question, Reed came from across the field to step in front of an open Bengals receiver to intercept the pass and, as usual, followed with a long INT return. After the play, Palmer motioned wildly to no one in particular and was clearly surprised, and frustrated, by the INT. After the game, Palmer was quoted as saying that it was a play they hadn’t run all season and that Reed should have been nowhere near the receiver. But, there he was, whether by film study from past years or his gambling nature – or BOTH – and he had made yet another big play and frustrated and confounded yet another QB.
This week, Ravens Ring of Honor……….2019, NFL Hall of Fame!
Kyle Casey
My lasting memory of Ed Reed is his final performance in a Baltimore Ravens uniform. During the Super Bowl victory, Reed stepped up his play to a season high, fueled by his key interception over the middle. The 2012 season as a whole was a poor year for Reed, and it was obvious that he was on his last breaths of his career.
But few Ravens have played with more passion on the field than Reed, and his pure will and desire to give his all in order to obtain the precious Lombardi Trophy will forever be remembered.
Reed had countless memorable moments in purple and black, but his final 60 minutes wearing #20 for the city of Baltimore was the icing on the cake for his legacy with the organization.
Ken McKusick
His enormous interception totals came when interceptions were at an all-time low across the league, but the single play is easy, Reed’s 64-yard INT versus the Dolphins in the 2008 Wild Card game. Here’s what I wrote at the time:
The play had it all with McClain’s QH on Pennington, Reed outracing the ball to make the over-the-shoulder grab, the hop to escape Cobbs (does he have eyes in the back of his head?), the path to the left side of the field to draw the offense, the convoy collecting as he returns to the right side, Ngata’s leveling of Ginn, Suggs eyes widening as he flattens Pennington (who is realizing he’d made a big mistake), and the last little hop over Pennington/Suggs to reach the goal line a moment before London futilely pops the ball from his arm. After the pick, I don’t think Ed was ever running at full speed. Aesthetically, it was the most pleasing defensive play I’ve ever seen and the best thing about it was the way every Raven on the field was involved.
[Watch it HERE]
Reflection on his career as a whole, Ed was one of just a handful of NFL players so special that they demanded specific handling (as Tom Brady’s wristband has attested—“Find 20 on every play”). It was a thrill to watch him evade defenders every time he had the ball whether by interception, punt return, block, or lateral. Were he a poker player, he’d have been known to “play his reads”, but on the field Ed was the most successful and instinctive gambler the NFL has ever known.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/Akf8vE-v2QY[/youtube]
