Fantastic Ed Reed ESPN Article

[Crabcake]

By our own Kevin Van Valkenburg.

Link to Article

Really great stuff. New material and very interesting. The part about how they don't know if he would have ended up making it out if he'd had to repeat the 8th grade was really cool.

I have to say, watching Ed's early career highlights makes me even more nostalgic than watching young Ray. He was a ridiculous athlete at his best. Special teams phenomenon both returning and blocking and the best safety the NFL has ever seen. But it's more than that. Just look at some 2002-2005 videos and look at the way he moves. It makes me sad that we didn't get to see more of that. He really only had about 5 or 6 years in the NFL before his body started breaking down. He still has that incredible football knowledge and he can play safety as well as almost anyone, but he was really something to see when he was at his best.

[Irish Raven]

Great article, thanks for sharing

KVV is one of the best in the business

[Kyle Cactus]

Thanks for posting this!

[scottie b]

I remember Chris Mortenson commenting on Ed early in his career, saying he was on a HOF trajectory, and this was a year BEFORE his DPOY season! i dont even know how people form their lips to dispute he isnt the greatest safety to every play the game.

[Justlovemybirds]

Man what a pleasure to read!

[Paintballguy]

Incredible article wow


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[lowrider]

Interesting piece in there about McKinney and how Ed persuaded Harbs to get him back in the lineup.

Awesome read. Thanks for sharing.

[elgonzo]

Great article. Thanks for posting it. I have read things that Kevin has wrote before, but I didn't know he was working out of Balmur. It was a great read. - Gonz

[ballhawk]

Interesting that it looks like he developed the habit of lateraling the ball after he sent his senior HS team to the playoffs by scoring a TD on a lateral from a teammates interception. Great article by KVV, who has posted on this forum a few times BTW.

[Bigfish]

Reed is definitely one of my favorite Ravens. Any of us who has followed him closely knows he doesn't lie and just lays it out there, even when many wouldn't and maybe he shouldn't. Looking at Reed pre Super Bowl, he is giddy with delight. Did he see something in film study that makes him feel good?

[Ravenalytics]

I really hope Ed manages to stay with us next year. I'd love to see how the defense morphs with him as the primary general. Sounds like he already has such a huge influence on the locker room.

[ed from Bel Air]

Great to read KVV. His "5 things" articles were always terrific. This was very enlightening to me. I always felt Ed was the most misunderstood Raven. Now I know why.