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if you enjoyed this I suggest looking at Ray Lewis who is one of the best if not the best Middle line backer to ever play the sport. I also suggest the 2000 Defense of the Baltimore Ravens. Arguably the best defense the league has ever seen.
Troy was a strong safety and Ed a free. They both define the positions perfectly; the strong safety is an extra linebacker most of the time while the free roams deep, and they sometimes switch roles to confuse the offense. As a free safety, we must stay " as deep as the deepest" meaning no one can get behind us whether they have the ball or are running a route. Ed was special because he was able to do his job or even completely abandon his job when his instincts told him to, leading to incredible interceptions and huge hits. Many players take risks, but Ed had a knack for taking the right risks. These plays he's making take an absurd amount of studying and watching game film. He's coaching ball this year, excited to see him on the other side of things!
This is a great explanation of the two players. They get lumped in together a lot because they are both safeties but 15 years ago those positions were more different from each other than they are now. Ed was a great leader too but got overshadowed by Ray Lewis in that regard in Baltimore. His speech against FSU isn't super famous but for people who followed the Hurricanes then, it was legendary.
Ed reed was a great safety. Ed tells a story that he tricked Payton Manning into a throwing an interception. Basically Ed reed ran the wrong coverage on a play in an earlier game in the season to put it on film since he knew Payton Manning would see it when they would play later in the season. So when game time for the colts to play the ravens, Manning threw the ball expecting a long touchdown, only for it to be an interception by Ed Reed
Ed and Troy played for two huge rivals at the same time. Games between us in that era rarely had more than 20 points scored because both teams had incredible defenses led by those two.
Ed and Troy epitomize what it meant to play free and strong. Both of them are cerebral players, otherworldly talent combined with high football IQ and you get this.
What’s pretty insane is that in about a ten year stretch the Hurricanes ended up producing arguably the best LB (Ray Lewis), safety (Ed Reed), 0 tech (Vince Wilfork), and returner (Devin Hester) of all time - and on top of that have about a half dozen more Hall of Fame candidates produced in the same time period. What an insane run of talent production that was.
That stretch also produced some great offensive players too. Too bad Sean Taylor was taken otherwise he probably be in talk of one of the greatest saftey. Can't go wrong with sean or ed.
@@jasonnelson6624 same. I think it was because there was good news, then terrible news. Obviously we experienced it again with Hamilin a couple months ago, but I can't remember 24 hours of sadness compared to the Taylor story. It didn't matter if you loved the Skins or not. You knew we could lose a great man
@jason nelson yeah I think it hit a lot of people really hard. Maybe it's because he was one of the best players in the league at the time. He definitely was one of the most recognizable defensive names at the time. And lots of us were young/in our teens when his death happened. Right as many of us were starting to understand and truly become fans of the game. Plus the madden effect, making some names super well known to many who were not fans of the his team.
@@fidge54 Lol, true in my case. No lateral speed -- I never understood it. We used to do physical fitness tests in middle school and I was in the top 10% in everything until the agility tests, where I'd see I was going slower than everyone, I'd command my body to pick up speed, and it just wouldn't. Even the fat kids were lapping me. Years later after watching guys with high agility (Muhammad Ali, Darrelle Revis) all had thighs you could throw a bowling ball between. But I've got really narrow hips: each leg has to cross through my center of gravity before I can change direction. But I could watch the quarterback's eyes and move on the ball just fine. It's also a high IQ position.
This video did a great job of showing what Ed Reed looked like to me as a kid. Every interception a highlight reel, every hit a bone cruncher. About as "must-watch" as defensive players ever get really.
In my opinion, Troy was the greatest strong safety of all time, and Ed was the greatest free safety. Slightly different positions. Congrats on your success guys, almost 2k views in just 3 hours. Impressive.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is easily one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time. He's known for his expressionless monotone speaking and how he never gives up any strategy. The way he GLEEFULLY talks about Ed Reed and how he could never outsmart Ed says so much
I had the pleasure of meeting Ed Reed back in 2012 when i was just 13, he was doing a Christmas charity event for homeless families in Baltimore with a teammate of his (Torrey Smith) He is one of the coolest, most chill dudes i have ever met, i’ll never forget the fun back and forth i had with him as a kid, it went something like: Me: I bet I could break your ankles Reed: Haha, maybe on the basketball court, you probably got me there Me: Yeah and I would moss you on the football field too Reed: Now that’s not happening 😂
Great comparison with Hester. Early in his career Reed actually did return punts for the Ravens but eventually he was so good at safety that it wasn’t worth the injury risk for him to continue to do it. But for a few years they’d still randomly put him back there every once in a while instead of the usual punt returning, usually if the other team was punting late in the game and the Ravens were losing.
A Joseph Vincent video i highly recommend is the Sean Taylor (RIP 🙏) one he was a legendary talent who’s career got cut short while protecting his family
Growing up in Baltimore in the 2000s watching Ravens games were straight smashmouth slugfests and watching Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Terrell Suggs with that defense was a treat. We weren't the best or flashiest offense and when the offense was really bad we used to just hope for Ed Reed to make a pick and possibly take it to the house to score along with some Matt Stover field goals to win the game lol
I'll never forget the week before the Jets played the Ravens in the late 2000 season: this was before Chad Pennington stepped in and made all things possible until his rotator cuff was basically destroyed. The coach, Al Groh, in basically a must-win game, goes "I don't think our team has much of a chance on Sunday. I've never seen a defense like this." Well, yeah, but you don't SAY that!
The catch he makes at 6:03 is great enough as it is, but once you put on a regulation football helmet for the first time and realize how much your overall vision is impaired it's downright incredible. I remember the first time I put on full pads and a helmet and thought "I'm not sure if I can do this, I can barely see a thing"
There will never be another tandem like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. As a Ravens fan, I will never have as much fun as I did watching their defenses in the 2000s
Love to see you guys covering defensive players and safeties, which is my favorite position on the defense. Several other safeties to look into: Ronnie Lott, he is widely regarded as the best safety as all time and preceded Ed and Troy, playing for the 49ers championship teams of the 80s and 90s. He played both safety positions as well as cornerback. As a Washington football fan, we would be remiss to not mention Sean Taylor. Had the sideline to sideline ranging and interception instincts of Ed Reed, and was probably one of if not the most ferocious hitters at the safety position. His life was cut short in 2007 at age 25 when he was the victim of a home robbery in Miami. Brian Dawkins of the Philadelphia eagles is also one of the greatest safeties of that era.
Loved watching him play, but I'd be lying if I said he didn't give me heart attacks sometimes. It wasn't reflected in the video, but he had a very strong desire to always get 6 on a turnover, and had the tendency to try to keep a play alive with laterals if he saw he had no lane (or was wrapped up). He'd start a return and I'd see his head swivel as he approached traffic looking for a nearby teammate and I'd start muttering "no no don't lateral it, just take the turnover." It worked out more often than not but it's the only negative aspect of his game worth mentioning. I was also there for the endzone pick 6 vs the Browns. It was the first game they played in the "blackout" uniforms. We were upper deck in the corner of the endzone he was running towards for the TD. Incredible moment in person.
@@Kmaitland89 hopefully they see this, NFL films caught lightning in a bottle with that series. Some of their best work ever. Walks the thin line of appeasing the hardcore fans while still being palatable for newer fans
Love this series. Ed reed and troy are arguably both the best at there positions. Troy was a strong safety and Ed was a free safety. They were both unique and special, i doubt we'll ever see anyone like those 2 ever again.
I think the quote is something like 2/3 of the earth is covered by water... the rest is covered by Ed Reed. Best safety to ever play, best ball hawk, best returner... nugf said.
He's got a bit of Devin Hester in him because they both went to the University of Miami for college football. You should see the video of Ed Reed in the tunnel his senior year talking about how he was hurt but still going back into the game. Dude was a SAVAGE! I can't imagine a defensive team where you would pick a safety over Ed Reed, and there is a lot to pick from.
let’s go ed my favorite player of all time this video didn’t really show how much he was respected by the greats like bill belichick and tom brady to the point those two would sit down and game plan specifically around ed and toms wristband said “find 20 on every play”
It was incredible getting to see Ed Reed and the Ravens vs their rival the Steelers and Troy Polamalu in their primes. Those two revolutionized both the free safety and strong safety positions. Two of the best to ever do it.
Troy let his instincts take over and he had damn good instincts, Ed was technically better, even Tom Brady whenever he played Ed wore a wrist band that he would look at and it said "find 20"
If you want to see more great safety play from this era look at Brian Dawkins he’s sort of a hybrid of reed and Troy. He has a lot of sacks and forced fumbles but he played free safety and got a lot of picks in coverage. He’s a hell of a play and one of the most vicious tacklers to ever play.
While you're on the subject of safeties, 2 guys you should look at that kind of set the role for Reed and Polamalu are Ronnie Lott and Steve Atwater. Lott amputated a broken finger so he could go back into a game and Atwater had the nickname the smiling assassin because he was so nice, but such a big hitter
Steelers vs Ravens are a HUGE Division rivalry too they play twice a year .... [Polamalu was on Steelers and Reed on Ravens] also cool to see Lewis and Reed both retire with a Superbowl that year
Love these videos & watching you guys really learn from each. Would highly recommend Steve Smith Sr, one of four WRs in the last 30yrs to win a triple crown (lead nfl in receptions, receiving yards, receiving TDs) after being drafted onto one of the worst nfl teams as a returner with no outstanding physical attributes & a 55/100 draft prospect grade. His story is amazing & the personality somehow even better. AND HE BLOCKED. The Joseph Vincent video on Steve is excellent!
Troy played more like a linebacker, very different from reed. Reed was, as suggested, a “ball hawk” he sat in the middle of the field, waiting, and watching the QB. If that QB made even the slightest throwing error, ed was gonna come down with the ball Troy on the other hand, while still great in coverage, provided more help rushing the passer, and stopping the run
Bro, this is one of my favorite channel's, you guy are learning about the top players and actually enjoying and entilizing i, unlike some reaction channels who don't even speak, keep up the content guys🤞🏼💯
When playing these 2, the scary thing about Troy P is that you never knew what he was thinking or would do. But the scary thing about Ed is that he knew what you were thinking or doing already. Not sure which is worse.
Great video but it did Ed Reed zero justice on just how great he was in the field. I suggest you do a top career plays of him rather than the Joe Vincent videos.
I think that having a high football IQ is the best attribute a safety can have He is really the last line of your defense and because of where he plays he has the best view of what is going on and can use that high IQ to be where he is needed the most .
Now that you've seen Polamalu & Reed, I really hope you guys check out Joseph Vincent's vid on Brian Dawkins next. Like Polamalu & Reed, he's an entirely different type of player. Also maybe the scariest physically of the three. You only need to see Dawkins lay one hit to be absolutely terrified of him.
@@scottiepatterson4251 Charles Woodson was GREAT cornerback, not so good as a safety. in 00's Darren Sharper (shame), John Lynch, Bob Sanders, Roy Williams (31) were special. Darren Woodson was great Cowboys safety from 90-s. Ed Reed , Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins is legendary. Rod Woodson and Ronnie Lott is 🐐🤗!
@@DNReacts thanks guys, love your content, and also left some other players in other videos over the past, its a good variety of eras and player types, also love your enthusiasm for a game for which I love and consider myself a true student of. Let me know if ya guys ever need any info or stuff, happy to help. Some things like why the clock stops in the game where never covered in your previous videos but is helpful to understand all these nuances and why certain players where so great. Context is key. Love your stuff and will continue to watch
@@timdecoursey287 The are actually studying him now, they responded to me and a list I give them in an old video. I think they will love it, and see what the idea of Tom Brady is before he was even born in Otto Graham. thanks buddy
Thanks for reacting to ed reed it was an honor growing up watching ed reed and ray Lewis play ! U gotta react to a 10 minute video of all of ed reeds Interceptions
As far as snap timing , I would say Derrick Thomas is the only one who might rival Troy Polamalu. He played a different position ,but if you like sacks , Derrick Thomas is a must watch. I believe he still has the single game record for sacks at 7.
Nice! I was one of those who recommended Ed Reed from the Polamalu video. They were different, Troy was like a hybrid safety/linebacker. But for me, maybe i'm biased Troy hands down is the best safety of all time.
Troy was easily the greatest strong safety of all time and Reed was debatably the greatest free safety of all time. Both were very instinctive players and both knew exactly what was happening at all times. Reed always had more interceptions because FS are played deep and Troy always had more tackles because SS are played in the box, but both were undoubtedly the greatest of their time
Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu inspired and entire generation of defensive backs, myself included. Growing up I worshiped those guys. Those two were cut from a different cloth than the rest of us.
One bit of additional context: Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed are undoubtedly two of the greatest safties that the NFL has ever seen, and the best part is that they played at the same time, in the same division, on opposite sides of one of the fiercest rivalries in the NFL. Both players were big hitters, and both played on defenses that were pretty star-studded and among the best in the league for most of their careers. When the Steelers and Ravens played in those years, you were guaranteed to see some massive hits and impressive defense from both sides.
You guys are getting there with the understanding! Troy was a strong safety, Ed was free. Ed reed was more of a pass defense mastermind, Troy disrupted the game on all levels. Ed reed played further back in the secondary, Troy played near the line of scrimmage more often (where they snap the ball from each play.) Both all time greats, maybe the best ever at their respective positions. And they played for bitter rivals at the same time, like viera vs keane. I absolutely hate the ravens but have ultimate respect forever for Ed reed as a Steelers fan, our only saving grace was having Troy on our side! They had the toughness of a keane and the ingenuity of a cantona or zlatan. Two legends
As a Seahawks fan I gotta give a shoutout to Earl Thomas as someone who's in the conversation for best safety to play the game... but I would personally still cast my vote for Ed Reed as the best to ever do it. One of my favorite players of all time.
I dislike Ed Reed for what he did to my 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII (2013), but I cannot deny that he is one of the greatest to ever play the safety position. Another great video lads, keep ‘em coming!
This video honestly doesn't do him justice. He was one of the smartest safeties ever and, much like Polamalu, he knew he could do things no one else could. He would show up absolutely out of nowhere and completely break the game and honestly regular highlight videos do that more justice than the Joe Vincent edits.. I do like his stuff but it's more entertaining than being good at showing you guys how Ed Reed played and impacted games.
Don't know how the youtube copyright stuff will work out. But the NFL Network did the 100 greatest players when the NFL celebrated its 100th season couple years ago. Episodes go by position group as well as greatest coaches. Might give you guys a quick rundown of NFL history.
There is a great clip of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick behind the scenes breaking down Ed Reed before a game. Shows how good he is when 2 of the best of all time had so much respect for you and are trying to figure you out.
The freakin GOAT. Watch him in college and its just as impressive. It's funny you say he has a little Devin Hester in him. Both Miami Hurricanes. Ray Lewis was also a Miami Hurricane.
If you two gents would like an example of just how much American football fans love the game take a good look at UTs videos concerning what became known as the "Heidi Bowl". It was the last two minutes of a 1968 season game between the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders that will never be forgotten.
I got some Insider information for you I'm a Ravens fan I've been watching ed since he got drafted watching the interview where ed said that he hides behind the referee just think about that for a second ed reed was a genius and the best free safety ever
Yeah he was insane. He made it not worth throwing his way. Getting a int wasnt the biggest threat at that point. He can turn it into 6 if he got the ball. That was game changing. Best FS ever hands down. Coverage was insane, willing to hit and was clutch.
Check out his college highlights. Ed Reed, Devin Hester & Ray Lewis All went to The University of Miami.(Not at the same time) The other top safety to look up is Sean Taylor he probably would've been the best ever if not for his untimely passing. He also attended The university of Miami.
I don't care about the Ravens, but watching Ed Reed, from Miami to Baltimore, was a joy. He was amazing. He is my favorite free safety I have ever seen. He was better than Rod Woodson which is ridiculous.
There happens to be an NFL Top 10 video for the Saftey position, as well as other positions. It is NFL Films tho, so understood it may not make the channel.
There are two types of safeties, free and strong. As the responder before me had written, the two safeties you looked at closely play the different safety positions well. Much like there are two different running backs; a full back is more akin to a strong safety, strength being more important than speed, and a half back being more akin to a free safety, speed being more impotant than strength. I would suggest watching a you tube video on the full back Daryl “Moose” Johnson, where strength and blocking is more important than a half back’s speed and juking ability to avoid tacklers.
I think a great player to watch would be James Harrison! He was an outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He went from being undrafted to winning Defensive Player of the Year and also had the best defensive play in Super Bowl history. Also was one of the scariest players of his generation.
All of the Baltimore Raven's defense from that time period benefitted from each other...they could take risks because the rest of the defense was good enough to cover mistakes. Good players got to become very good, very good players became excellent, and excellent players headed to the Hall of Fame...Don't know if you can find a video about the 2000 Ravens or the 1985 Bears but you can see how they all made each other even better.
Great Vid Guys if you want some more Safety action Ronnie Lott is the way to go Multiple Super Bowls and he went to USC one of the most Feared Hitters in the NFL
Watching troy and ed show the difference, traditionally, between a free safety and a strong safety. Ed being a FS was more a coverage guy while troy being a SS, was more in the box. Both are the best at their positions imo.
Him and Ray Lewis were the leaders of one of the best defenses of all time. In my opinion, the best of all time. That 2000 ravens defense was something special.
Ed was so fast and smart. probably best safety ever. Ronnie Lot from the old days was the best. Best pass D is Seattle's "legion Of Boom". Good video guys who are your favorite guys so far? should send you some posters for your walls.
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Thanks for the Ed Reed video guys.
if you enjoyed this I suggest looking at Ray Lewis who is one of the best if not the best Middle line backer to ever play the sport. I also suggest the 2000 Defense of the Baltimore Ravens. Arguably the best defense the league has ever seen.
Troy was a strong safety and Ed a free. They both define the positions perfectly; the strong safety is an extra linebacker most of the time while the free roams deep, and they sometimes switch roles to confuse the offense. As a free safety, we must stay " as deep as the deepest" meaning no one can get behind us whether they have the ball or are running a route. Ed was special because he was able to do his job or even completely abandon his job when his instincts told him to, leading to incredible interceptions and huge hits. Many players take risks, but Ed had a knack for taking the right risks. These plays he's making take an absurd amount of studying and watching game film. He's coaching ball this year, excited to see him on the other side of things!
Very well said!
Where is he coaching? Do you know?
He WAS going to be coaching but he and that school had a falling out.
This is a great explanation of the two players. They get lumped in together a lot because they are both safeties but 15 years ago those positions were more different from each other than they are now. Ed was a great leader too but got overshadowed by Ray Lewis in that regard in Baltimore. His speech against FSU isn't super famous but for people who followed the Hurricanes then, it was legendary.
Troy had beautiful hair. Not to disrespect Ed's. It's just Troy's hair really separated him from the rest
Ed reed was a great safety. Ed tells a story that he tricked Payton Manning into a throwing an interception. Basically Ed reed ran the wrong coverage on a play in an earlier game in the season to put it on film since he knew Payton Manning would see it when they would play later in the season. So when game time for the colts to play the ravens, Manning threw the ball expecting a long touchdown, only for it to be an interception by Ed Reed
Ed and Troy played for two huge rivals at the same time. Games between us in that era rarely had more than 20 points scored because both teams had incredible defenses led by those two.
Afc North football. The Bengals had a couple different teams too. AFC North football was prime during the mid 2000s
I needed liquor 🥃 when watching ravens vs Steelers cause I’d be so stressed out
Ed and Troy epitomize what it meant to play free and strong. Both of them are cerebral players, otherworldly talent combined with high football IQ and you get this.
What’s pretty insane is that in about a ten year stretch the Hurricanes ended up producing arguably the best LB (Ray Lewis), safety (Ed Reed), 0 tech (Vince Wilfork), and returner (Devin Hester) of all time - and on top of that have about a half dozen more Hall of Fame candidates produced in the same time period. What an insane run of talent production that was.
That stretch also produced some great offensive players too. Too bad Sean Taylor was taken otherwise he probably be in talk of one of the greatest saftey. Can't go wrong with sean or ed.
@@jasonnelson6624 For sure. There isn't a defensive player discussion that goes by that I don't think of how good Sean was and could have been.
@@scottiepatterson4251 Yeah for some reason his death hit me harder or different. Just sad.
@@jasonnelson6624 same. I think it was because there was good news, then terrible news. Obviously we experienced it again with Hamilin a couple months ago, but I can't remember 24 hours of sadness compared to the Taylor story. It didn't matter if you loved the Skins or not. You knew we could lose a great man
@jason nelson yeah I think it hit a lot of people really hard. Maybe it's because he was one of the best players in the league at the time. He definitely was one of the most recognizable defensive names at the time. And lots of us were young/in our teens when his death happened. Right as many of us were starting to understand and truly become fans of the game. Plus the madden effect, making some names super well known to many who were not fans of the his team.
ed , sean taylor, troy, and brian dawkins were the reason i played safety in middle school!
but in my eyes ed was the best, he was SO INTELLIGENT
I thought it was because you were too uncoordinated to play cornerback
@@fidge54 Lol, true in my case. No lateral speed -- I never understood it. We used to do physical fitness tests in middle school and I was in the top 10% in everything until the agility tests, where I'd see I was going slower than everyone, I'd command my body to pick up speed, and it just wouldn't. Even the fat kids were lapping me.
Years later after watching guys with high agility (Muhammad Ali, Darrelle Revis) all had thighs you could throw a bowling ball between. But I've got really narrow hips: each leg has to cross through my center of gravity before I can change direction. But I could watch the quarterback's eyes and move on the ball just fine. It's also a high IQ position.
This definitely came across in the video. Thanks for the comment!
This video did a great job of showing what Ed Reed looked like to me as a kid. Every interception a highlight reel, every hit a bone cruncher. About as "must-watch" as defensive players ever get really.
Love this, thanks for the comment Estova!
@@DNReacts Thank you guys. Been fun learning all the sports I love all over again, crazy how much you forget thinking you know everything.
In my opinion, Troy was the greatest strong safety of all time, and Ed was the greatest free safety. Slightly different positions. Congrats on your success guys, almost 2k views in just 3 hours. Impressive.
Thank you Ken. We’ve really enjoyed both of these watches. We keep going, hopefully onwards and upwards.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is easily one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time. He's known for his expressionless monotone speaking and how he never gives up any strategy. The way he GLEEFULLY talks about Ed Reed and how he could never outsmart Ed says so much
I had the pleasure of meeting Ed Reed back in 2012 when i was just 13, he was doing a Christmas charity event for homeless families in Baltimore with a teammate of his (Torrey Smith)
He is one of the coolest, most chill dudes i have ever met, i’ll never forget the fun back and forth i had with him as a kid, it went something like:
Me: I bet I could break your ankles
Reed: Haha, maybe on the basketball court, you probably got me there
Me: Yeah and I would moss you on the football field too
Reed: Now that’s not happening 😂
Great comparison with Hester. Early in his career Reed actually did return punts for the Ravens but eventually he was so good at safety that it wasn’t worth the injury risk for him to continue to do it. But for a few years they’d still randomly put him back there every once in a while instead of the usual punt returning, usually if the other team was punting late in the game and the Ravens were losing.
A Joseph Vincent video i highly recommend is the Sean Taylor (RIP 🙏) one he was a legendary talent who’s career got cut short while protecting his family
Growing up in Baltimore in the 2000s watching Ravens games were straight smashmouth slugfests and watching Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Terrell Suggs with that defense was a treat. We weren't the best or flashiest offense and when the offense was really bad we used to just hope for Ed Reed to make a pick and possibly take it to the house to score along with some Matt Stover field goals to win the game lol
I'll never forget the week before the Jets played the Ravens in the late 2000 season: this was before Chad Pennington stepped in and made all things possible until his rotator cuff was basically destroyed. The coach, Al Groh, in basically a must-win game, goes "I don't think our team has much of a chance on Sunday. I've never seen a defense like this." Well, yeah, but you don't SAY that!
@@jessejordache1869 🤣🤣🤣
The whole month of October our offense couldn't score a TD but that 2000 Ravens D won 2 of those games still lol
Maybe check out "Larry Czonka" He broke his own nose so many times playing running back in the "70's" One tough man.
The catch he makes at 6:03 is great enough as it is, but once you put on a regulation football helmet for the first time and realize how much your overall vision is impaired it's downright incredible. I remember the first time I put on full pads and a helmet and thought "I'm not sure if I can do this, I can barely see a thing"
I'm so glad you guys chose to do Ed Reed. Ed actually played with 1 of the greatest middle linebackers ever in Ray Lewis. Keep up the great work guys.
As a Steelers fan, I loved watching Ed Reed throughout his career, Thanks Ed
There will never be another tandem like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. As a Ravens fan, I will never have as much fun as I did watching their defenses in the 2000s
Love to see you guys covering defensive players and safeties, which is my favorite position on the defense. Several other safeties to look into: Ronnie Lott, he is widely regarded as the best safety as all time and preceded Ed and Troy, playing for the 49ers championship teams of the 80s and 90s. He played both safety positions as well as cornerback.
As a Washington football fan, we would be remiss to not mention Sean Taylor. Had the sideline to sideline ranging and interception instincts of Ed Reed, and was probably one of if not the most ferocious hitters at the safety position. His life was cut short in 2007 at age 25 when he was the victim of a home robbery in Miami.
Brian Dawkins of the Philadelphia eagles is also one of the greatest safeties of that era.
Thanks Clement, appreciate the comment and context! More safeties coming too, it’s a position we’ve really enjoyed too
Loved watching him play, but I'd be lying if I said he didn't give me heart attacks sometimes. It wasn't reflected in the video, but he had a very strong desire to always get 6 on a turnover, and had the tendency to try to keep a play alive with laterals if he saw he had no lane (or was wrapped up). He'd start a return and I'd see his head swivel as he approached traffic looking for a nearby teammate and I'd start muttering "no no don't lateral it, just take the turnover." It worked out more often than not but it's the only negative aspect of his game worth mentioning.
I was also there for the endzone pick 6 vs the Browns. It was the first game they played in the "blackout" uniforms. We were upper deck in the corner of the endzone he was running towards for the TD. Incredible moment in person.
Thanks Inara, appreciate the comment! Great read
You guys should start reacting to the top 100 all time list made by NFL films, great series and reasonably short videos
1000%. I mentioned this on another of their videos!
@@Kmaitland89 hopefully they see this, NFL films caught lightning in a bottle with that series. Some of their best work ever. Walks the thin line of appeasing the hardcore fans while still being palatable for newer fans
Watching Ed Reed is watching football being played at absolute perfection
Ed Reed hitting people really was the epitome of a car crash tackle, same goes for Troy too!
Love this series. Ed reed and troy are arguably both the best at there positions. Troy was a strong safety and Ed was a free safety. They were both unique and special, i doubt we'll ever see anyone like those 2 ever again.
I think the quote is something like 2/3 of the earth is covered by water... the rest is covered by Ed Reed. Best safety to ever play, best ball hawk, best returner... nugf said.
He's got a bit of Devin Hester in him because they both went to the University of Miami for college football. You should see the video of Ed Reed in the tunnel his senior year talking about how he was hurt but still going back into the game. Dude was a SAVAGE! I can't imagine a defensive team where you would pick a safety over Ed Reed, and there is a lot to pick from.
let’s go ed my favorite player of all time
this video didn’t really show how much he was respected by the greats like bill belichick and tom brady to the point those two would sit down and game plan specifically around ed and toms wristband said “find 20 on every play”
It was incredible getting to see Ed Reed and the Ravens vs their rival the Steelers and Troy Polamalu in their primes. Those two revolutionized both the free safety and strong safety positions. Two of the best to ever do it.
Troy let his instincts take over and he had damn good instincts, Ed was technically better, even Tom Brady whenever he played Ed wore a wrist band that he would look at and it said "find 20"
Keep it up guys you’re coming along just fine. Our football season can’t come fast enough. Let’s go!
If you want to see more great safety play from this era look at Brian Dawkins he’s sort of a hybrid of reed and Troy. He has a lot of sacks and forced fumbles but he played free safety and got a lot of picks in coverage. He’s a hell of a play and one of the most vicious tacklers to ever play.
While you're on the subject of safeties, 2 guys you should look at that kind of set the role for Reed and Polamalu are Ronnie Lott and Steve Atwater. Lott amputated a broken finger so he could go back into a game and Atwater had the nickname the smiling assassin because he was so nice, but such a big hitter
Highlights are great but watching him just take over games was amazing
Nasty nasty man. Beyond him look at his draft class from Miami. Arguably the greatest college team ever assembled.
Steelers vs Ravens are a HUGE Division rivalry too they play twice a year .... [Polamalu was on Steelers and Reed on Ravens] also cool to see Lewis and Reed both retire with a Superbowl that year
The footwork at 3:50 to not touch out of bounds... Crazy instincts
Yessss! So glad you guys checked out Ed Reed, he and Troy P were competing for title of best safety in the league when they played!
awesome thanks for doing Ed always love to see the ravens on here, Ed and Troy was a blast to watch back in the day
Awesome smart player.
Love this!
Love these videos & watching you guys really learn from each. Would highly recommend Steve Smith Sr, one of four WRs in the last 30yrs to win a triple crown (lead nfl in receptions, receiving yards, receiving TDs) after being drafted onto one of the worst nfl teams as a returner with no outstanding physical attributes & a 55/100 draft prospect grade. His story is amazing & the personality somehow even better. AND HE BLOCKED. The Joseph Vincent video on Steve is excellent!
Troy played more like a linebacker, very different from reed. Reed was, as suggested, a “ball hawk” he sat in the middle of the field, waiting, and watching the QB. If that QB made even the slightest throwing error, ed was gonna come down with the ball
Troy on the other hand, while still great in coverage, provided more help rushing the passer, and stopping the run
Bro, this is one of my favorite channel's, you guy are learning about the top players and actually enjoying and entilizing i, unlike some reaction channels who don't even speak, keep up the content guys🤞🏼💯
Thank you Marski, really appreciate it 💪
When playing these 2, the scary thing about Troy P is that you never knew what he was thinking or would do. But the scary thing about Ed is that he knew what you were thinking or doing already. Not sure which is worse.
Great video but it did Ed Reed zero justice on just how great he was in the field. I suggest you do a top career plays of him rather than the Joe Vincent videos.
I think that having a high football IQ is the best attribute a safety can have He is really the last line of your defense and because of where he plays he has the best view of what is going on and can use that high IQ to be where he is needed the most .
one of the most cerebral and carnal players ever
Now that you've seen Polamalu & Reed, I really hope you guys check out Joseph Vincent's vid on Brian Dawkins next. Like Polamalu & Reed, he's an entirely different type of player. Also maybe the scariest physically of the three. You only need to see Dawkins lay one hit to be absolutely terrified of him.
Charles Woodson was pretty special at safety as well
@@scottiepatterson4251 Charles Woodson was GREAT cornerback, not so good as a safety.
in 00's Darren Sharper (shame), John Lynch, Bob Sanders, Roy Williams (31) were special.
Darren Woodson was great Cowboys safety from 90-s.
Ed Reed , Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins is legendary.
Rod Woodson and Ronnie Lott is 🐐🤗!
Don't forget Ken Houston, Donnie Shell, Kenny Easley, Steve Atwater, LeRoy Butler, Eugene Robinson, Rodney Harrison, Lawyer Milloy were special too! :))
Calvin Johnson WR is a good one, QB Otto Graham, and CB Richard/Dick "night Train" Lane. Love the content and keep it up
Johnson recorded and due fairly soon Bradley 👍
@@DNReacts thanks guys, love your content, and also left some other players in other videos over the past, its a good variety of eras and player types, also love your enthusiasm for a game for which I love and consider myself a true student of. Let me know if ya guys ever need any info or stuff, happy to help. Some things like why the clock stops in the game where never covered in your previous videos but is helpful to understand all these nuances and why certain players where so great. Context is key. Love your stuff and will continue to watch
I think Otto Graham and Night Train Lane would be a little challenging. Maybe wait until they know the game better.
@@timdecoursey287 The are actually studying him now, they responded to me and a list I give them in an old video. I think they will love it, and see what the idea of Tom Brady is before he was even born in Otto Graham. thanks buddy
Thanks for reacting to ed reed it was an honor growing up watching ed reed and ray Lewis play ! U gotta react to a 10 minute video of all of ed reeds Interceptions
As far as snap timing , I would say Derrick Thomas is the only one who might rival Troy Polamalu. He played a different position ,but if you like sacks , Derrick Thomas is a must watch. I believe he still has the single game record for sacks at 7.
The Baltimore defense with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed were just different.
Sean Taylor Ronnie Lott and Brian Dawkins were some other safeties worth checking out
Great job as usual DN
ED REED! thats all folks 🐐
Nice! I was one of those who recommended Ed Reed from the Polamalu video. They were different, Troy was like a hybrid safety/linebacker. But for me, maybe i'm biased Troy hands down is the best safety of all time.
It is nuts, the fact we lived through Reed and Polamalu is nuts as well.
Ed Reed The 🐐
if Troy and Ed played together i think Quarterbacks would quit.
Troy was easily the greatest strong safety of all time and Reed was debatably the greatest free safety of all time. Both were very instinctive players and both knew exactly what was happening at all times. Reed always had more interceptions because FS are played deep and Troy always had more tackles because SS are played in the box, but both were undoubtedly the greatest of their time
Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu inspired and entire generation of defensive backs, myself included. Growing up I worshiped those guys. Those two were cut from a different cloth than the rest of us.
Ronnie Lott would be another one to put in that conversation for greatest safeties
Agree. And Lott made the pro bowl at three positions: cornerback, free safety, and strong safety.
now imagine playing him and ray lewis at the same time
Safety Larry Wilson is also another good one
A good game to watch is the National title game between Miami and Ohio St 2003. All time great! Thanks for the content guys!
Thank you Nick, appreciate your support. Have added this one to our list too
Should really watch the Sean Taylor video. An amazing player and a really sad story.
One bit of additional context: Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed are undoubtedly two of the greatest safties that the NFL has ever seen, and the best part is that they played at the same time, in the same division, on opposite sides of one of the fiercest rivalries in the NFL. Both players were big hitters, and both played on defenses that were pretty star-studded and among the best in the league for most of their careers. When the Steelers and Ravens played in those years, you were guaranteed to see some massive hits and impressive defense from both sides.
Oh boy Ed Reed oh man. I think he might be the only player who both Manning and Brady have said that feared going up against him.
Best safety ever.❤😊
You guys are getting there with the understanding! Troy was a strong safety, Ed was free. Ed reed was more of a pass defense mastermind, Troy disrupted the game on all levels. Ed reed played further back in the secondary, Troy played near the line of scrimmage more often (where they snap the ball from each play.) Both all time greats, maybe the best ever at their respective positions. And they played for bitter rivals at the same time, like viera vs keane. I absolutely hate the ravens but have ultimate respect forever for Ed reed as a Steelers fan, our only saving grace was having Troy on our side! They had the toughness of a keane and the ingenuity of a cantona or zlatan. Two legends
As a Seahawks fan I gotta give a shoutout to Earl Thomas as someone who's in the conversation for best safety to play the game... but I would personally still cast my vote for Ed Reed as the best to ever do it. One of my favorite players of all time.
Sean Taylor RIP
I dislike Ed Reed for what he did to my 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII (2013), but I cannot deny that he is one of the greatest to ever play the safety position.
Another great video lads, keep ‘em coming!
This video honestly doesn't do him justice. He was one of the smartest safeties ever and, much like Polamalu, he knew he could do things no one else could. He would show up absolutely out of nowhere and completely break the game and honestly regular highlight videos do that more justice than the Joe Vincent edits.. I do like his stuff but it's more entertaining than being good at showing you guys how Ed Reed played and impacted games.
100% agree. That video did not show off his skills to me.
Don't know how the youtube copyright stuff will work out. But the NFL Network did the 100 greatest players when the NFL celebrated its 100th season couple years ago. Episodes go by position group as well as greatest coaches. Might give you guys a quick rundown of NFL history.
YAAAY!! Next pls follow up watching Ray Lewis’ on the field accomplishments.
I believe your current Ray Lewis video is just a Mic’d Up
There is a great clip of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick behind the scenes breaking down Ed Reed before a game. Shows how good he is when 2 of the best of all time had so much respect for you and are trying to figure you out.
The freakin GOAT. Watch him in college and its just as impressive. It's funny you say he has a little Devin Hester in him. Both Miami Hurricanes. Ray Lewis was also a Miami Hurricane.
If you two gents would like an example of just how much American football fans love the game take a good look at UTs videos concerning what became known as the "Heidi Bowl". It was the last two minutes of a 1968 season game between the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders that will never be forgotten.
I got some Insider information for you I'm a Ravens fan I've been watching ed since he got drafted watching the interview where ed said that he hides behind the referee just think about that for a second ed reed was a genius and the best free safety ever
Ronnie Lott is another all-time great safety. He played for arguably the greatest team of all-time, the 1989 San Francisco 49ers.
Yeah he was insane. He made it not worth throwing his way. Getting a int wasnt the biggest threat at that point. He can turn it into 6 if he got the ball. That was game changing. Best FS ever hands down. Coverage was insane, willing to hit and was clutch.
Check out his college highlights. Ed Reed, Devin Hester & Ray Lewis All went to The University of Miami.(Not at the same time) The other top safety to look up is Sean Taylor he probably would've been the best ever if not for his untimely passing. He also attended The university of Miami.
I don't care about the Ravens, but watching Ed Reed, from Miami to Baltimore, was a joy. He was amazing. He is my favorite free safety I have ever seen. He was better than Rod Woodson which is ridiculous.
There happens to be an NFL Top 10 video for the Saftey position, as well as other positions. It is NFL Films tho, so understood it may not make the channel.
Thank you Brandon, I’ll check it out
This man and Al Blades Sr. heavily influenced what college football team I chose to follow.
Can you do just a regular highlight video? Shows more plays, hits, ints, etc.
The Joe Vincent Barry Sanders video is worth it's weight in gold...wish that was the one you'd reacted to for him :/
Pretty sure Belichick, the Patriots head coach, considered Ed Reed the greatest safety to play, and wished Reed would've joined New England for a bit.
There are two types of safeties, free and strong. As the responder before me had written, the two safeties you looked at closely play the different safety positions well. Much like there are two different running backs; a full back is more akin to a strong safety, strength being more important than speed, and a half back being more akin to a free safety, speed being more impotant than strength.
I would suggest watching a you tube video on the full back Daryl “Moose” Johnson, where strength and blocking is more important than a half back’s speed and juking ability to avoid tacklers.
I think a great player to watch would be James Harrison! He was an outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He went from being undrafted to winning Defensive Player of the Year and also had the best defensive play in Super Bowl history. Also was one of the scariest players of his generation.
Best reactors in the game 🐐
Reeeeed!!!!!!! 💪🏾.
All of the Baltimore Raven's defense from that time period benefitted from each other...they could take risks because the rest of the defense was good enough to cover mistakes. Good players got to become very good, very good players became excellent, and excellent players headed to the Hall of Fame...Don't know if you can find a video about the 2000 Ravens or the 1985 Bears but you can see how they all made each other even better.
Great Vid Guys if you want some more Safety action Ronnie Lott is the way to go Multiple Super Bowls and he went to USC one of the most Feared Hitters in the NFL
No wonder this defense was so dominating with two all time bests in their positions like Reed and Lewis
Watching troy and ed show the difference, traditionally, between a free safety and a strong safety. Ed being a FS was more a coverage guy while troy being a SS, was more in the box. Both are the best at their positions imo.
Him and Ray Lewis were the leaders of one of the best defenses of all time. In my opinion, the best of all time. That 2000 ravens defense was something special.
It's hard to compare different eras but them and obviously the '85 Bears would be 1A/1B.
@@Kingeptacon for sure, when you can just say a year and a certain team and everybody knows what you're talking about, you know that team's all time.
Polly was the big hitting “holy 💩biscuit” opponent.
Ed was the “you have no idea where he was, how he got to where is showed up…”
Love this! Thank you for the comment 🙏
Ed was so fast and smart. probably best safety ever. Ronnie Lot from the old days was the best. Best pass D
is Seattle's "legion Of Boom". Good video guys who are your favorite guys so far? should send you some posters for your walls.