Ed Reed's 4 days out from a title game chess match with Tom Brady, but it sounds like he's breaking more tape on his own guy than the freak he has to go up against. Reed's a film room fiend, and apparently he didn't like a lot of what he saw from Joe Flacco against the Texans. He told Sirius XM radio "I think Joe was kind of rattled a little bit by (Houston's) defense. They had a lot of guys in the box on him. And, I mean, they were getting to him. I think a couple times he needed to get rid of the ball. I don't know how much of the play-calling ... But it just didn't look like he had a hold on the offense."
Photos: Ed Reed
If I didn't know better, I’d think that Ed Reed is saying his quarterback got intimidated and had no idea what he was doing with the ball. In fact…, that’s exactly what he's saying. Reed even referenced a specific play where he felt Flacco should have hit Torrey Smith on the outside instead of trying to check down to Ray Rice. Like, he did everything short of pulling Flacco into the Dark room, grabbing the laser pointer and schooling him up. And maybe he should. And Flacco should listen. 10 years in, Reed probably knows the quarterback position better than Flacco does.
Normally, I’d say that a defensive guy shouldn't be admitting his QB was rattled before one of the biggest games in franchise history... But he’s not saying anything that anyone who saw that game doesn’t already know. Ed Reed has already secured a yellow jacket; but he knows he has no shot at accessorizing it with a ring if #5 shows up the way he normally does in the playoffs.
Reed’s comments are actually pretty refreshing. Normally, Flacco’s teammates are defending and hyping him like he’s Tom Brady himself. Even Flacco was whining before the Texans game about not getting enough credit or respect for winning in the playoffs. You want run? You want respect? Go to Foxboro and beat the Patriots. And I’m not talking about letting the defense win the game for you again. And don’t just manage the game. Go win the game. And don’t ask Ray Rice or Ray Lewis to do it for you.
