Reed overcomes own anguish to be a pain to opposing QBs

The little-known back story to Baltimore Ravens ballhawk Ed Reed's remarkable season is that the five-time Pro Bowl safety has played so well despite a nerve impingement in his neck and shoulder.

Because of the condition, Reed wore a hands-off red quarterback's jersey much of training camp and was sidelined the entire preseason.
Reed has battled through the condition to become a relentless pain in the neck to opposing quarterbacks.

"I never doubted my ability," Reed says. "It was just a matter of playing with my injury. The pain is still there. I've just been doing a lot of treatment this year and staying focused and keeping my eyes out for any feeling that I had in training camp that would put me out.

"I haven't had that. So I just move forward with it, take it day by day."

Reed led the league in interceptions with nine this season and has 43 in the regular season for his career. He also has five career playoff interceptions and would seem a natural spokesman for the Maryland Lottery folks because of his uncanny knack for cashing in a pick six.
Fittingly, six of his career interceptions have gone for touchdowns, including a record 107-yard return this season in Week 12 against Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Reed is an interception waiting to happen because he's a quarterback mind reader. He makes the dynamic, game-changing plays that alter the course of a postseason. He did it again by intercepting Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington twice Sunday. He returned his first interception 64 yards for a touchdown, sparking Baltimore's 27-9 wild-card elimination of the Dolphins.

When general manager Ozzie Newsome drafted Reed out of Miami (Fla.) 24th overall in 2002, he envisioned Reed as a generation-next Rod Woodson. Reed hasn't disappointed.

"He's the best ballhawking safety I've seen in the NFL in a long time," says Woodson, an NFL Network analyst.

"What makes him also scary is once he gets the ball in his hands, this guy is looking for the end zone every time. And he's a great pattern reader. He understands the back sides of routes and has great vision and field presence."

The Ravens are 27-8 when Reed makes an interception. When he has two in game, the Ravens are 8-0.

The 2004 NFL defensive player of the year is the only player in league history to boast a touchdown off a punt return, blocked punt, interception and fumble recovery. "He's maybe the best player in the game," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.

Reed has picked off two passes in three consecutive games and has 10 interceptions in Baltimore's last seven outings.

With its five forced turnovers against the Dolphins, the second-ranked Ravens defense, led by coordinator Rex Ryan, was probably the most dominant force of wild-card weekend.

Against Miami, Reed changed the complexion of a 3-3 game in the second quarter. Dolphins second-year receiver Ted Ginn Jr. put a double move on cornerback Samari Rolle only to stumble while the ball was in the air. Reed ran down Pennington's deep pass, making an over-the-shoulder catch as if Pennington's pass were intended for him.

After the catch, Reed turned and burned in punt-return mode, picking up a convoy blockers as he cut first to his left, then back across the field and down the right sideline for the 64-yard score.

He intercepted Pennington again in the third quarter to stop a Dolphins drive that had reached the red zone.

What Reed hopes to get his hands on most, however, is the Lombardi Trophy.

Reed arrived two years after the Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV.

Baltimore was positioned well as the AFC's second seed two seasons ago but lost its divisional-round playoff against the Indianapolis Colts, the eventual Super Bowl champions.

Reed and his teammates are determined to make the most of this chance.

"We're on a mission," Reed says.

Reed and 10-time Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis have a sandlot-type synergy born of their study habits, their tenacity for making plays and their habit for practicing the way they play.

Ryan conducts a dominant defense that thrives on creating chaos for quarterbacks often bewildered by which defensive linemen are dropping into coverage and who is blitzing. The Ravens racked up a league-best 34 takeaways during the regular season.

"I love watching them practice," NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth says. "They'll have six guys on one side, and they'll blitz on the other. You go, 'How did they do that?'

"Ray Lewis and Ed Reed make so many calls on the fly. I had a conversation with those guys on the field one time and asked them, 'How do you guys make so many changes? Are you just making this up?'

"And they said, 'Yeah, a little bit. At the last second, we redirect guys and change the blitz. And this guy will have to adjust and cover for me if I do this.'

"This team is a dangerous football team,"

They are led by that pain-in-the-neck safety no quarterback wants to face.

"Here we come," Reed said after the wild-card win. "Here come the Ravens, the team you don't want to see."

(usatoday.com)