Former DHS star one of the best this decade in NFL

We are about to the end one of the most celebrated decades ever for football talent to come out of the state of Louisiana.

You can make a strong argument that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is not only the very best football player to come out of the state of Louisiana, but also the very best football player in the NFL over the past ten years.

Players like eight-time Pro Bowl offensive guard Alan Faneca with the New York Jets, seven-time Pro Bowl offensive center Kevin Mawae with the Tennessee Titans, three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Reggie Wayne with the Indianapolis Colts and two future NFL Hall of Fame performers in St. Louis Rams halfback Marshall Faulk and Arizona Cardinals/St. Louis Rams defensive back Aeneas Williams, have their football roots in the state of Louisiana and they have made a huge impact in the NFL.

But no defensive player has left his mark in the NFL, especially in the secondary, like former Destrehan High School and current Baltimore Ravens free safety Ed Reed.

Reed was selected to the All-Pro team five times since entering the league as the top overall selection by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2002 NFL draft.

The 5-11, 205 pound Reed was the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL in 2004.

In eight seasons, Reed has intercepted 46 passes and totaled 1,255 interception return yards.

This past weekend, Reed got his single-season record for interception return yards (358 yards) broken by New Orleans Saints veteran safety Darren Sharper, who has 376 yards for the 2009 season.

He has also scored 13 touchdowns off of forced turnovers.

The former Miami (Fla.) All-American defensive back has scored on two fumble recoveries, one punt return, three blocked punts and seven pass interceptions during his eight-season run in the league.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick called Reed, “the consummate pro and one of the true impact performers in the NFL.”

But current New York Jets head coach and former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan said it best when he described Reed as one of the most intelligent and instinctive players he has ever coached.

“I have been pretty lucky in my coaching career because I have had two once in a lifetime performers in Ed Reed and Ray Lewis,” Ryan said. “Ed is the best safety in the NFL today and he will go down in history as the greatest free safety to ever lace up a pair of cleats.”

While Reed has battled a host of injuries in 2009, he is no doubt the most feared pass defending safety in the game today and like Manning, Faulk, A. Williams and Faneca, a future NFL Hall of Fame selection.

 

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