Canton- Baltimore Ravens’ own Ed Reed has been enshrined with the 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame class and now is a good jacket holder among the elites, but it came with a price. Reed was a two-star recruit and made it his business to outwork anybody on the field. “I always said I wanted to become a master of my game, like Bruce Lee,” Reed said. “I mastered my art of football because that’s what it truly is when you understand it.”
Reed was one of the defensive stars that was the heartbeat for the Ravens and a lot of QB’s like Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Payton Manning, and others had a difficult time throwing to their receivers if they were running routes in his direction. He was a player that used manipulation to his advantage. He was so skilled and so fast that he was the key factor that coaches’ circled every week to try to find a plan to stop him.
“Everyone has their own greatness and you reach your own greatness depends on your environment, your structure, the company you keep and your attitude,” Reed said. “There will be good and bad, right and wrong. Your reaction of choice good or bad has consequences that affect you and those around you. No matter what, encourage those around you and yourself.
“I stayed encouraged. That guy there, no matter what, was focused. He stayed encouraged. There were some hard times. There was a lot of tears. Even now. I tell you, each one of you, stay encouraged. Encourage each other. Help somebody. We should. We’re supposed to. That’s what being a human is about, leaving this place better than when we got it. That’s all it’s about y’all. Man, I love y’all.”
