There’s just a day left to vote in Round 3 of the Homegrown Legends tournament, and the New Orleans Saints team of Louisiana superstars is all tied up with the Los Angeles Rams.
That’s not good enough. A loaded roster featuring two league MVP’s at quarterback (Peyton Manning) and at running back (Marshall Faulk), with Ed Reed captaining a defense boasting his Pro Football Hall of Fame peers Aeneas Williams and Fred Dean, should run the L.A. squad off the field. And that’s before we get into the all-world talents still playing today like Tyrann Mathieu, Devin White, Deion Jones, and Odell Beckham Jr.
A fictional team of New Orleans Saints natives like Peyton Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. is in Round 2 of the Homegrown Legends Tournament.
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A fictional team of New Orleans Saints players stocked with talent from around Louisiana would steamroll any other competition; we all know this. A combination of Peyton Manning, Marshall Faulk, Ed Reed, and Aeneas Williams doesn’t even cover half of the Hall of Fame-quality talent that would crowd that roster. We put together our Homegrown Legends picks earlier this year, which you can read in full at this link.
But to prove it, we’re on to Round 2 of the Homegrown Legends Tournament. New Orleans handled the Chicago Bears team in the opening round with ease, but now they have to contend with a feisty Detroit Lions squad.
Here is what New Orleans is up against, from Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon:
Detroit will have to win with ball control behind RB Jerome Bettis and play-action strikes from QB Jim Harbaugh to TE Antonio Gates and WR Andre Rison. The offensive line, led by Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLameilleure, can physically beat on the underwhelming Saints defensive front. On defense, all-time interception champ Paul Krause and CB Terry McDaniel will need to create a takeaway or two. The pass-rush, keyed by quickness from Bill Hewitt and blitzing from LB Carl Banks, must be effective to slow down an impressive Saints passing attack.
A team of all-time great New Orleans NFL players is set to face Chicago’s own Homegrown Legends, with Peyton Manning and Ed Reed in front.
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What would happen if each NFL team only recruited talent from a geographic perspective? And what if we could put together those squads from throughout pro football’s history? To take it a step further, which city would field the best team?
Our best guess: the New Orleans Saints. Louisiana has created together more great football players than the rest of the country put together, and that’s reflected in our Homegrown Legends roster. Peyton Manning would be throwing to Reggie Wayne and Odell Beckham Jr. when isn’t handing the ball off to Marshall Faulk, with Ed Reed commanding the defense.
Mr. Manning will certainly be familiar with Reggie Wayne, and here, we finally get to answer the question, “What if the Colts hadn’t traded Marshall Faulk to the Rams after the 1998 season, his only year with Peyton?” You could be writing an alternate history of the NFL in the early 2000s there. We’ll make up for that here by giving Manning a truly ridiculous group of receivers. Maybe he can keep Odell consistent, too. Aside from that, imagine how amazing it would be to watch a secondary that had both Ed Reed and Tyrann Mathieu. Unfair to every opposing quarterback, to be sure.
Now we’re in Round 1 of the Hometown Legends tournament, with the No. 2 New Orleans squad matched up against the No. 15 Chicago team in the NFC bracket. We don’t mean any disrespect to Chicago’s all-time greats, but this is a contest New Orleans should walk away with.
Even though he eventually got into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed wasn’t immune to fan boos.
Even Hall of Fame players aren’t always perfect in the eyes of their respective fanbases. Nearly every NFL player will hear the boo-birds come for them at some point. That was the case for Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed, who said he was booed by fans for a pretty innocent mistake.
In an interview with Justin Melo of Draft Wire, Reed recalled the time he was practically booed off the stage at a fan event during his rookie season. According to Reed, it was all because he was wearing a Jim Brown jersey. It just so happens Brown played for the Cleveland Browns, a Baltimore rival.
It happened during my rookie year (laughs). I had just gotten drafted by Baltimore. We had a little meet and greet event for the rookies. I walked on stage and everybody starts immediately looking at me. I think they were trying to figure out who I was. Everybody was just starring at me. Nobody was even saying anything at this point.
They weren’t even looking at me, personally. They were looking right at the jersey (laughs). I eventually figured that out when they introduced me and brought me up on stage.
‘Here’s our rookie, Ed Reed.’ I walk on stage and they’re booing me! ‘BOOO! Take it off!’ (laughs). I’m thinking, ‘Man, it’s Jim Brown!’ (laughs). It’s not even a Cleveland jersey, it’s a Jim Brown jersey before it’s a Cleveland jersey.
While an innocent mistake, it’s one Reed probably should have realized before walking on stage. The Ravens were once the Cleveland Browns, moving to Baltimore thanks to owner Art Modell in 1996. Despite being drafted in 2002, there was still plenty of animosity between the fanbases over the move, even beyond both teams playing in the same division.
Still, Reed took the verbal bashing in stride, classifying it as his “welcome to the NFL moment.” It ended up being just a small blip on what was a Hall of Fame career for Reed and something we can all chuckle about today.
Check out the rest of Draft Wire’s interview with Reed. There are juicy tidbits about his thoughts on current NFL safeties, which college had the greatest secondary in history, and so much more.
Check out Draft Wire’s exclusive interview with Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed
Ed Reed is with us today on The Draft Wire on behalf of Snickers to announce the “SNICKERS Hungriest Player” program is returning for the 2020/2021 NFL season. The honor will be awarded to one player each week who has shown hunger for more with big plays and moments on the field.
Snickers once again worked with iconic jeweler Ben Baller to design this year’s Snickers Chain, which is just as impressive as last year.
JM: As a Miami guy, I have to ask you, are you more impressed with this Snickers Chain, or The Turnover Chain?
ER: Come on man, how are you gonna put me on the spot like that? We started The Turnover Chain right here in Miami. Snickers came to the table with an incredible concept. I have to credit Snickers for bringing a great idea to the NFL level. It goes hand-in-hand. You can’t top the NFL, but you can’t top where it started either. It’s 50-50 at the end of the day.
JM: The safety position, which you played at the highest level imaginable, has changed a lot over the years. What are your thoughts on what safeties are being asked to do nowadays?
ER: I don’t know who’s coaching these safeties nowadays. I don’t know what they’re doing from a work standpoint. The scheme matters. One of the most important things for a safety is how his coach decides to utilize him. The scheme matters.
There’s a lot of great safeties in the NFL right now. The position is really evolving. NFL offenses throw the ball a lot more today than they did when I played, especially throughout the early part of my career.
JM: We’re seeing a lot of 2021 NFL Draft prospects opt out of the college football season due to the uncertainty created by COVID-19. We saw quite a few NFL players opt out, as well. What are your thoughts on that, and do you have any advice for the prospects who are going through this?
ER: It’s a tough time for everybody. There’s no doubt about that. I hate that we’re all in this position right now. You have to factor in a couple of things when making the decision to opt out. I’m thinking about it from a player’s perspective. What situation is your family in at this present time? You have to think about the people you surround yourself with.
Me personally, I would be playing this season. I wouldn’t have opted out. That’s just me. I would have done so while making arrangements for my family to make sure they’re protected. I wouldn’t surround myself with people that are being irresponsible or selfish. Unfortunately, you tend to get that in football. You tend to get a few undisciplined players in your locker room. That’s going to impact this season as we go forward.
I’m sure you’ll probably see a few players test positive for COVID-19. Those guys can’t be around the team at that point. I’m praying that it doesn’t happen to anybody. It’s a tough situation to be in. You have to make sure that you’re being smart. You have to do what’s best for you and yours. That comes first and foremost.
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
JM: Do you remember your “Welcome to the NFL” moment?
ER: Yeah, I got booed in Baltimore (laughs). They booed me for wearing a Jim Brown jersey.
JM: Wow, when did that happen?
ER: It happened during my rookie year (laughs). I had just gotten drafted by Baltimore. We had a little meet and greet event for the rookies. I walked on stage and everybody starts immediately looking at me. I think they were trying to figure out who I was. Everybody was just starring at me. Nobody was even saying anything at this point.
They weren’t even looking at me, personally. They were looking right at the jersey (laughs). I eventually figured that out when they introduced me and brought me up on stage.
“Here’s our rookie, Ed Reed.” I walk on stage and they’re booing me! “BOOO! Take it off!” (laughs). I’m thinking, “Man, it’s Jim Brown!” (laughs). It’s not even a Cleveland jersey, it’s a Jim Brown jersey before it’s a Cleveland jersey.
JM: That’s an amazing story. I bet you quickly learned how passionate the fans were in Baltimore.
ER: I really did. I took off the jersey and the crowd went bananas (laughs). That was my “Welcome to the NFL” moment, welcome to Baltimore. The fans are crazy here (laughs).
Andy Lyons / Allsport
JM: I often come across the debate regarding which college football team fielded the greatest secondary in history. I know your answer to this question is the 2001 secondary you played for in Miami, and I agree with that. Why is that 2001 Miami secondary the greatest of all time?
ER: I love that you didn’t even have to ask (laughs). For one, look at the draft picks. Look at what we did, look at how we won. We had Phillip Buchanon back there. We had guys like Mike Rumph and Markese Fitzgerald. We had so many guys that had an opportunity to play in the league, and some guys that didn’t.
Sean Taylor was a backup for us. That’s a Hall of Fame safety right there. We were so deep. Obviously, yours truly was on that team, as well (laughs). We didn’t take any crap from nobody. We went undefeated, 12-0.
What else can I say? We could have matched up against anybody at any given time. Put us up against any other secondary in the history of college football and I guarantee you that we come out on top.
With that said, I’m not going to disrespect the NFL by saying we could go toe-to-toe with an NFL team. You can’t put us up against an NFL team. I played in the NFL and I would never disrespect any NFL team like that.
Fans can follow #SNICKERSchain on social media for the chance to win rewards and weigh in on which player deserves the chain each week.
SportsPulse: Mackenzie Salmon connected with Ravens’ legend Ed Reed to get his thoughts on Baltimore letting go of Earl Thomas and what’s next for Lamar Jackson’s evolution at quarterback.
SportsPulse: Mackenzie Salmon connected with Ravens’ legend Ed Reed to get his thoughts on Baltimore letting go of Earl Thomas and what’s next for Lamar Jackson’s evolution at quarterback.
SportsPulse: Mackenzie Salmon connected with Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed to get his thoughts on the NFL’s new social justice messaging that will be featured on end zones this year. Reed was pretty blunt about what ‘messages’ mean at this point.
SportsPulse: Mackenzie Salmon connected with Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed to get his thoughts on the NFL’s new social justice messaging that will be featured on end zones this year. Reed was pretty blunt about what ‘messages’ mean at this point.
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick rarely shows emotion but he’s still gushing over one of Ed Reed’s best plays.
There are coaches in the history of the NFL who commanded as much respect as Bill Belichick. But interestingly, history is an area of professional football that coach Belichick is also something of an expert on. Put simply, he has forgotten more about the game than most of us will ever know.
With this in mind, it speaks to the greatness of a play or a player when Belichick describes something as “one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen.” This was the compliment Belichick paid to Ed Reed for an interception from Peyton Manning.
it takes a lot to shock Bill Belichick…
this was one of THE GREATEST plays he ever saw in the NFL
It’s not so much the play itself that Belichick loves, however. It was the preparation that went into everything before the play.
“[Reed] lined up on the weak side of the formation, and on the snap of the ball, he turned and ran to the middle of the field like he was going to play in the middle of the field.”
“Reed knew that when he went to the middle of the field, Peyton would come back to the ‘X’, so he ran to the middle of the field, and without even looking at the quarterback, turned and ran back over to the sideline and intercepted it.”
This wasn’t something Reed came up with the week of the game against the Colts, however. Reed knew that there are few quarterbacks to ever compare to Manning for diligent tape study. Reed decided to turn this strength into a weakness.
Favorite Ed Reed on-field anecdote: He intentionally played a certain coverage wrong multiple times early in the season because he knew Peyton Manning would watch it on tape. 10 weeks later, Manning ran a play, threw deep, and Reed sprinted across the field and picked it off.
This interception was 10 weeks in the making. That’s what made it one of the great free safety plays of all time in Bill Belichick’s opinion, and that’s just another reason why Ed Reed sits enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Bart Scott is clearly bitter. Bitter about his own average career, bitter about losing to the Steelers in the playoffs (twice), bitter about playing second fiddle to Ray Lewis while in Baltimore.
On Bleacher Report’s The Lefkoe Show, host Adam Lefkoe asked Scott: “When you’re around greatness, is it hard to hear other people called great?”
Scott began his answer by saying that there are different levels of greatness and, therefore, there should be different wings of the Hall of Fame. The former Ravens and Jets linebacker first brought up Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu. “Troy Polamalu is very deserving of going to the Hall of Fame but to mention Troy Polamalu in the same breath as Ed Reed? To me, it’s disrespectful.”
In an attempt to explain why he feels it’s disrespectful, Scott talks in circles.
The segment caused a heated debate among NFL fans on social media. Troy’s former teammate, linebacker Vince Williams, also brought up several valid points:
Troy and Ed didn’t play the same position. You wouldn’t compare an Inside Linebacker with an Outside Linebacker just because they both have “Linebacker” in their name.
Why would you take a player that’s so disruptive in the blitz and run game and put him in the post? Pretty sure Dick knew this the numbers speak for themselves.
The only knock on Troy that’s even worth mentioning is his durability, but it’s really just a microcosm of his play. If he primarily played in the post this would be irrelevant.
In 3 seasons, Eddie Jackson has established himself as one of the best safeties in the NFL. And he’s been compared to one of the best.
In just three seasons, Bears safety Eddie Jackson has established himself as one of the best safeties in the NFL. And Chicago compensated him as one, signing the former fourth-round draft pick to a four-year extension worth $58.4 million, making him the highest-paid safety in the game.
Jackson has been praised for his vision and instincts, something that has made him quite the ballhawk in his first two years in the league. In his first two seasons, Jackson totaled eight interceptions, 21 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and scored five defensive touchdowns, which garnered him All-Pro and Pro-Bowl nods in 2018.
And Jackson certainly has a fan in former Super Bowl-winning safety Rodney Harrison.
“I think this young player is a terrific player,” Harrison said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “Good size, great instincts, everything that you want in an all-star caliber safety. I thought he played a little out of position last year, playing a little more strong safety, I think he’s a more of a natural, ballhawking free safety. They need to bring somebody in to play that (strong safety) position. Just let him roam with his athleticism.”
While Jackson had a solid season in 2019 — which included his second Pro Bowl nod — he didn’t as many as those explosive plays that he’s become known for, which can be attributed to moving him to the box. Like many, Harrison believes Jackson’s great contributions come when he’s operating in centerfield, similar to one of the best to ever do it in Ed Reed.
“I think Eddie Jackson needs to go in the middle of the field, because he’s got so much range and so much vision,” Harrison said. “You look at the vision and the instincts, it’s like Ed Reed. Why would you take him out of the center of the field, and put him as the strong safety? If you’re going to do anything, send him off the edge, bring him, blitz him, disguise, move around, do all those different things.”
When the Bears signed Jackson’s Alabama teammate Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to join him in the secondary, they moved Jackson to strong safety, where he wasn’t able to contribute in the way he’s been known to roam the middle of the field.
“A guy goes from getting his hands on the ball, strips, INTs, pass breakups, and then you take him out of the center, where he was a first-team All-Pro, and I actually voted for him, and you put him in the box?” Harrison said. “It’s crazy. You don’t have to pigeonhole him, but don’t put him in the box solely, because you just limit his ability and what he can do.”
Thankfully, Jackson figures to return to free safety this season, and veteran Tashaun Gipson or Deon Bush will likely occupy the strong safety role, which should mean more of those explosive plays are on the way in 2020.
