... before you call him a bust? First, he signs with us unhealthy, needs surgery, misses all of training camp, preseason, and the 1st 2 games. Then, he plays like complete crap for the "homecoming." Dude was tackling half-ass yesterday and took some bad angles. Could be rust, but how long?
Imo, it's def to early to tell. He was pedestrian at worst/best yesterday. Honestly, I can't recall a time where he even had an opportunity to affect the game on yesterday. Other than when Pierce hurdled him on the sidelines. The jury's still out on Reed, I'd like to see how he affects the games against NE, Denver, and Ind. Sadly, Reed appears to be the least of this team's problems at the moment.
He wasn't brought in to make open field tackles on breakaway runs. He was brought in to provide over the top help and ball-hawking skills. He maybe had one pass yesterday in the vicinity of where he was. For the most part, Flacco either dumped it off underneath or went long to the guy in one-on-one coverage.
I hope I'm wrong, but I still don't like this signing. It has just never felt right to me. I can't get over the feeling that Reed got his Superbowl last year and just wants to cash in on it and the Texans took the bait. Seriously, what does Reed have left to play for (besides 1 more huge paycheck)? He's already accomplished everything in his HOF career.
Safeties are the last line of defense.. their broken tackles equal TDs. Reed smacked Tate like a truck last year.
I was not high on the signing to begin with, even before the injury news came out. So still meh. I think he's fine. It doesn't matter how good the safety is when we can't generate a pass rush anyway
If I bought the Texans I'd cut him today and sign that gay safety. Bringing in a tackle would have made more of an impact.
Some people have a hard time understanding the game of football. I can see you are one of the few who understands the game well enough to know that Reed was brought in to cut off part of the field. There was several times yesterday that Reed was left in centerfield, by himself with corners in press and the other safety in the box. He did his job, and will be a play maker for this team when healthy. The Texans gave up 236 total yards on defense yesterday. Our secondary is second in the league in passing yards per game. They are doing their job. The Texans defense gave up 16 points yesterday. 7 of which were gifted by a terrible PI on Kareem, and 3 were a turn over on downs late in the 4th. Everyone needs to stop your complaining. The offense is at fault.
while i get the sentiment isn't his contract highly incentivized based on performance? or did i just make that up?
Reed has never been a good open-field tackler. He's the exact opposite of Bernard Pollard in that he is a poor tackler who has always taken bad angles on the hit, but he is the best ball-hawker the game has ever seen. His understanding of how to play the deep ball has never been matched, and quarterbacks KNOW this. When a ball goes over the top in his direction, he is almost ALWAYS in the right area to make a play. There is a reason why Flacco never once threw in his direction yesterday, and it's because he of ALL people knows Reed's capabilities. Some of you seriously need to stop overreacting to one loss. Are 49er fans flipping out about how Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman were completely neutralized yesterday, or how Kaepernick has lost his ability to run the zone read? The Texans of this season are built to get better as the year progresses, so give them time.
So much this. Fans just want to froth and foam at the mouth over all 53 guys on the roster, when in reality yesterday's loss can be put solely at the feet of Gary Kubiak, Rick Dennison, and the entire offensive game plan. The defense was absolutely BALLING in the first half yesterday, and in a span of about 4 minutes, the game went from a 6-0 slugfest to a 17-9 deficit. The offense's complete lack of ability to throw together a decent touchdown drive is what doomed this team, not the defense. If you give up 13 points (in the meaningful chunk of the game) in an NFL game as a defense, you are DOMINATING. Outside of one ball where Torrey Smith got the better of Joseph, the secondary was phenomenal yesterday. Flacco never looked comfortable in the pocket, and most of his passes were thrown to drag routes, and ins/outs, which man coverage will ALWAYS be susceptible to.
Maybe he didn't do anything because they never threw in his direction... and I wonder why they never threw in his direction...
It has incentives for playing. He gets X amount for every game he plays (beyond the normal contract). But there's nothing as far as how well he plays.
I have watched most Ravens games over the years. You can't really tell his impact but it is there. Most QB's will not throw his direction and if you do, it usually doesn't end that well. Recently though, he has started taking more risks on plays where it would result in a big gain for the opposing team. That has to do more with age than anything. He still has it in him though to get interceptions. Believe me, he is out there fully committed no matter what he looks like out there. 2 years ago, he was getting hurt every game going balls out, you should hope that he is fully right with his body because the impact is always there.
We have the third ranked defense and people are pointing fingers left and right. How deflating to a defense it must be that your offense is putting points on the board for the other team, special teams is giving up td's on blown tackles in coverage and what do they have to show for it? Tops in the league in 3 and outs, 2nd in passing yards per game. Joe Flacco had 176 total yards. That should have been a win. I stated in another thread, that this teams lack of play stems from the rhythm this team plays off of. Everything is so slow and methodical, no sense of urgency, and the defense is set every time. What do the best qb's have in common? They have the ability to operate quickly in and out of plays allowing the offense to dictate what the defense does. The Texans offense is predicated based off of what the defense does. Speed the offense up Gary, stop letting the defense get set over the top to bracket Andre, to shift coverage to Owen, to put an extra LB in the game to stuff Tate and Foster at the line on third and short. For heaven sake, run something besides a screen or draw on 3rd and long because you have two WR's who will go get the ball and a punter who will flip field position. A smarter coach wins the game yesterday. Rant over.
