Tom Brady, Ed Reed in thinking man’s matchup

FOXBORO - In the moments before the ball is snapped on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, two of the brightest, hardest-working minds in football will be churning.

Behind the center will be Tom Brady [stats], the Patriots [team stats] quarterback who has used a cerebral approach to become one of the most efficient players in the game’s history.

In the center of the defense will be Ed Reed, the Baltimore Ravens do-it-all safety who has been baiting passers into throwing him the ball since 2002.

Brady will spot Reed, because the QB said, “You don’t break the huddle and think, ‘Let’s just run this play without seeing where he’s at.’ ”

And Reed will be focusing on Brady’s tells, attempting to figure out where the play is headed.

“It’s all a game inside the game,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said.

Some have called it chess, and Reed acknowledged, “I (do) play chess.”

Reed will again on Sunday when the Patriots host the Ravens in one of the week’s marquee matchups. The showdown between the stars should be just as intriguing.

Reed and Brady both have spent their careers reacting before their opponents. Both have the tools to make it work.
“It will be fun to watch before the snap and after the snap,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.

Brady is a two-time Super Bowl MVP, the 2007 regular-season MVP and owner of the best touchdown-to-interception ratio of all time.

Reed is a five-time Pro Bowler, the 2004 defensive player of the year, and twice the NFL leader in interceptions with nine.

“I was hoping that he’d take this week off,” Brady said of Reed. “Every team goes into the game thinking, we’re not throwing Ed Reed interceptions.”

This is what linebacker Terrell Suggs, Reed’s teammate, said about Brady: “He’s one hell of a quarterback. We have our hands full.”

Both Brady and Reed have options to counter the other. Not one of those options is enticing.

Reed will always be around the ball. When he makes a pick, he’s a threat to run it back for a score, as evidenced by his 11 career touchdowns.

At times, he’ll appear to be freelancing, leading some quarterbacks to try to attack.

“And then he’s there right where he should be, playing his responsibility,” Brady said. “There are guys that guess, but he’s a guesser that always gets it right. It’s not guessing, it’s more knowing.”

If Brady tries to pump-fake, it may be a waste of time because Reed won’t bite. And when there is pressure, “He’s sitting on routes and jumping on them,” Brady said.

No worries. Brady is just as frustrating.

Harbaugh noticed Brady’s patience, and he wasn’t alone. Lewis said that if a defense is trying to disguise and shield what it’s doing, Brady will simply wait.

“Tom takes a lot of time at the line of scrimmage trying to get an idea as to what you’re (defense is) in before the snap,” Harbaugh said. “Then he’s as good as anybody just figuring out what you’re calling and getting the ball in the hands of his playmakers.”

What can the Ravens do to prevent Brady from finding wide receiver Randy Moss and Co.?

“I’ll stand still just like I am right now, like I’m doing an interview,” Reed said, laughing with his local reporters. “No, we give him some movement, but for the most part it’s pretty laid out on what we do on tape.”

Bill Belichick lauds Brady when the opportunity presents itself. After coaching Reed at a recent Pro Bowl, the Pats coach doesn’t mind voicing his opinion that the Ravens safety is the best at his position.

“He’s a rare, rare player, as good as any I’ve ever seen,” Belichick said. “He’s always around the ball and that’s usually bad for the offense.”


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(bostonherald.com)