Tag: Ed Reed

The best defensive player of all time for all 32 NFL teams

Who has terrified quarterbacks and coaches the most for every team?

The modern NFL game is not built for defenses to thrive. Heck, even in times of “three yards and a cloud of dust,” it’s arguable the league never actually wanted defenses to win. At least, once the powers that be learned that offense sells like hotcakes.

Suffice it to say, playing defense in the NFL can be an impossible job. So the men that have courageously taken on the assignment of slowing down high-flying attacks stand out all the more.

In pro football lore, the best defenders ever are those who made offensive coordinators lose countless hours of sleep as they game-planned. They are the players who made quarterbacks quite literally see ghosts when standing in the pocket. They are pictures of reliability and dependability and are the preeminent warriors of the West’s favorite gladiator sport.

The below list examines the greatest defender in the history of all 32 NFL teams. My criteria was simple and rooted around these questions: What was their production like? Did they have a high intimidation factor? How available were they for their teammates? Did they pioneer a new way of playing their position?

It’s not easy playing defense in the NFL. But these fine gentlemen sometimes made the impossible seem like a casual task.

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Mark Daigneault compares Cason Wallace to this Hall-of-Famer

“When he smells the ball, he’s a hawk on the ball.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder come away from the 2023 NBA draft with Cason Wallace as their top pick. The Kentucky guard was added to OKC’s roster following a trade up to the No. 10 spot with the Dallas Mavericks.

The 19-year-old is a defensive-first guard with offensive upside who has the makings of being a legit outside shooter. Playing at Kentucky should also excite fans. College players historically play closer to their floor than ceiling there.

Wallace has already drawn several high-profile comparisons to other great perimeter defending guards: Jrue Holiday, Marcus Smart and, even his own teammate, Lu Dort.

Following his introductory press conference, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault offered his own player comparison.

Ed Reed.

Yep. That’s right — the football player.

After establishing himself as one of the greatest safeties ever, Reed was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019. The Hall-of-Famer spent most of his 11-year career with the Baltimore Ravens.

What about Wallace made Daigneault think of Reed when he was studying his tape in the pre-draft process? His defensive tenacity to cause havoc on the ball without leakage.

“He’s like Ed Reed out there,” Daigneault told reporters following the presser. “He’s just got a beat on the ball. He’s got great discipline. He’s where he’s supposed to be. He’s not reckless. He’s not doing his own thing, but when he smells the ball, he’s a hawk on the ball. He played football coming up, and he looks like a free safety out there.”

That’s quite the compliment — both with its praise and uniqueness. Daigneault also spoke glowingly about Wallace, saying he fits right in with their culture and is a great two-way player who has playmaking potential.

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Former Ravens S Tony Jefferson retiring from NFL, joining Baltimore in new role

Former Baltimore Ravens safety Tony Jefferson is retiring from the NFL.

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The Baltimore Ravens have had a lot of great safeties over the course of their franchise history. Players such as Rod Woodson, Ed Reed, Eric Weddle and others come to mind, with other contributors at the position also stepping up in a big way both on and off of the field.

One of the more beloved players in team history is former Baltimore safety Tony Jefferson. On Thursday, it was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN and later confirmed by the Ravens that Jefferson will be stepping away from playing in the NFL after nine seasons, but will be returning to Baltimore to take on a scouting role within the organization.

The veteran was paired with Weddle to form a great tandem for the Ravens.  Unfortunate injuries were a part of his story in Baltimore, but he’ll now take the next step in his football career in the team’s front office.

Former Ravens S Ed Reed will no longer coach at Bethune-Cookman University

Former Ravens safety Ed Reed will no longer coach at Bethune-Cookman University

The Baltimore Ravens have had many greats walk through their doors, and few (if any) have made more of an impact on the team than former safety Ed Reed. The all-time great has been very vocal about his desire to coach football, and seemed to have that opportunity at Bethune-Cookman University after it was announced that Reed would take over the head coaching position at the school.

It looked to be a great match for both sides, although it was recently announced that Bethune-Cookman will no longer ratify Reed’s contract. The move means that Reed will not be coaching at the university after weeks of negotiations.

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Ed Reed rails against Bethune-Cook after head-coaching deal falls apart

Ed Reed will not be head coach at Bethune-Cookman after the school did not ratify his contract

The contract that Ed Reed had negotiated for weeks to become head football coach at Bethune-Cookman was not ratified, the NFL Hall of Famer announced on Saturday.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer tweeted the HBCU school would not make good on the agreement in principle it had reached with him.

Warning: Salty language in Reed’s impassioned speech.

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders showed his support for Reed.

Bethune-Cookman naming Ed Reed head football coach

Bethune Cookman is hiring ex-NFL star Ed Reed as its football coach

Ed Reed created many great memories as a star in college at the University of Miami. The former Hurricane great will look to do the same as a head coach. He agreed to the job with Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday.

Located in Daytona Beach, Florida, Bethune-Cookman is a Historically Black College with a football program that’s won a pair of national championships and 14 conference titles. However, Bethune-Cookman is coming off back-to-back 2-9 seasons since joining the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2021.

Reed, one of the greatest Baltimore Ravens of all time, was an assistant defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills in 2016. In 2020, he returned to his alma mater in an advisory role as the Hurricanes’ chief of staff.

Reed replaces Terry Sims, who was let go in November. Sims concluded his Wildcats career with a 38-39 record overall, having had four winning seasons out of the seven he led the Wildcats program.

 

Seahawks FS Quandre Diggs takes inspiration from Ed Reed on leadership

He is also taking inspiration from the greatest of all time.

Seahawks free safety Quandre Diggs plays his position about as well as anyone in the NFL right now. He is also taking inspiration from the greatest of all time. That title belongs to Ed Reed, who played safety for the Ravens the way Mozart made music from 2002-2012.

Along the way, Reed earned nine Pro Bowl nominations, five All-Pro selections, a Defensive Player of the Year award, one Super Bowl win and a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Like Jerry Rice, Reed’s supremacy at his position is unchallenged. Diggs says he wholeheartedly believes this Reed clip on leadership.

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Bleacher Report names one player Ravens should consider trading ahead of 2022 season

Bleacher Report named one player that the Ravens should consider trading ahead of the 2022 season

The Baltimore Ravens have had great talent in their secondary over the course of their franchise history. From all of the players they’ve had such as Ed Reed, Chris McAlister and so many others, the team has been known to find quality playmakers at both the cornerback and safety positions.

In an article published by Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report, he named one player each NFL team should consider trading before the 2022 season. When it came to Baltimore, Sobleski believed the team should consider trading away safety Chuck Clark. When explaining why, Sobleski said the team’s No. 14 overall draft pick in 2022, safety Kyle Hamilton, will get quite a few snaps on multiple different coverage packages in the secondary.

“But the team did draft Kyle Hamilton when he unexpectedly fell to this year’s 14th overall pick. Hamilton is a defensive chesspiece who’s capable of playing all over the field. The Ravens’ defensive staff will find ways to get him snaps. He may receive multiple big nickel looks with Clark and Marcus Williams also on the field.”

While Hamilton can’t guard the secondary alone from the safety position, Baltimore signed former New Orleans Saints safety Marcus Williams in free agency, who is expected to receive a lot of playing time. With younger players like safeties Brandon Stephens and Geno Stone looking to find a way in the rotation, it may not be out of question for the team to trade away Clark, even though head coach John Harbaugh told reporters he expected Clark to be on the team during the 2022 season.

Whatever the Ravens decide to do with Clark this season, he has been a key contributor in the secondary for years. If the safety finds himself on another club in 2022, he will be missed by many in the Baltimore organization both on and off of the field.

Former Patriots WR Julian Edelman reveals which Ravens CB he hated playing against

Former Patriots WR Julian Edelman revealed which Ravens cornerback he hated playing against

The Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots have had plenty of great matchups, with many of the games being extremely close and hard fought. Many legendary players have participated in the contests, including Ray Lewis, Tom Brady and others.

On a recent episode of the “I Am Athlete” podcast, former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was asked which player he hated playing against during his time in the NFL. Out of every player he faced, he pointed to Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith as his answer.

“I would play a lot of outside with Jimmy. I was [the outside receiver] at that time. I was F. Me and Jimmy, I remember him—like I trained over at Exos in LA and I remember him coming out and he was really quick in and out of breaks and I’m like, ‘Who’s this dude?’ And then we started playing against each other and that’s when we were playing Baltimore like twice a year. So like, we know each other. You know when you play teams a lot, I know your tendency, you know my tendency, so like, this is what we’re going to see who can win. So like there would be times he would win. He was a long guy. He was also kind of quick. He was patient at the line of scrimmage. He kind of knew how to.. he kind of knew how to f—- me. I won my battles but he won his. We always played in important games against each other.”

This isn’t the first time a current or former Patriot has given praise to a Ravens player. Coach Bill Belichick described how former Baltimore safety Ed Reed would leave him in awe.

While on the field the two teams have had a rivalry, off of it they have respect for each other, and it shows. Smith was one of the better cornerbacks in the league when he was healthy, and the praise that he received from Edelman shows just that.

Watch: Jonathan Ogden throws out first pitch at Camden Yards

Watch: Jonathan Ogden throws out first pitch at Camden Yards

The Baltimore Ravens have seen plenty of their current and former players have the honor of throwing out the first pitch at a Baltimore Orioles game. From Ed Reed to Lamar Jackson to Rashod Bateman and others, plenty of Baltimore greats as well as rookies have kicked off a baseball game in style at the historic Camden Yards.

On Tuesday evening, former Ravens’ offensive lineman Jonathan Ogden took the mound to throw out the first pitch before a game between the Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays. Ogden was all smiles after delivering his pitch.

The Ravens’ official Twitter account responded to the post, calling Ogden a very appropriate title.

Both Baltimore teams have a very good relationship with each other, as is evidenced by the crossover events that they do, the interaction between their social accounts, the support that they give one another and more. The tradition of Ravens players throwing the first pitch at Orioles games is a longstanding one, and Ogden is the latest of many Baltimore football players who have stood in front of the Camden Yards crowd and delivered a ball to home plate.