Ravens coach John Harbaugh claims The Associated Press made a mistake when it named Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison the league’s top defensive player.
“I think Ed Reed deserves to be the Defensive Player of the Year, without question,” he said at the team’s Owings Mills training complex on Monday. “Football teams win when great players play well.”
And Reed played great throughout a 27-9 win over the Dolphins, making two interceptions, including returning one 64 yards for a touchdown. His performance earned the Ravens (12-5) a trip to the second round of the playoffs to face top-seeded Tennessee (13-3) on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 in Nashville.
Reed, who had 41 tackles and an NFL-best nine interceptions this season, finished third in voting behind Harrison (101 tackles, 16 sacks, seven forced fumbles) and Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware (84 tackles, 20 sacks), whose team didn’t make the playoffs.
“He’s the greatest safety in the game and he’s proven that week in and week out,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “We as a team are disappointed that he didn’t get the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.”
Miami quarterback Chad Pennington won the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and New England linebacker Jerod Mayo were the offensive and defensive Rookie of the Year and Peyton Manning was the league’s Most Valuable Player. All four, however, are watching the playoffs from home.
“Almost everyone who has won an individual award is either out of the playoffs or they didn’t make it at all,” Suggs said. “We commend them on winning their individual award, but we are trying to win a bigger award as a team.”
Frequent flier miles Linebacker Nick Greisen should be close to earning a free flight after his weekend.
He arrived with the team in Miami on Saturday afternoon, but was forced to return to Baltimore just minutes after later when he learned his wife, Carolyn, had gone into labor with the couple’s first child. Greisen arrived in Baltimore around 10 p.m., and made it to the hospital to be with Carolyn when she gave birth to seven-pound, eight-ounce Claire McGuire. Greisen cut his first visit with his daughter short to return to Miami, where he ate breakfast with the team the next morning. He concluded his weekend by making a tackle in the victory over the Dolphins.
Swim fan Reed lost out on being named the Defensive Player of the Year, but still has a bigger fan than Ware or Harrison: Olympic star Michael Phelps.
The swimmer and devout Ravens fan who claimed a record-eight gold medals at the Summer Olympics has attended many of the team’s games, including serving as an honorary captain earlier this season. Phelps was at Dolphin Stadium on Sunday wearing a black No. 20 jersey in Reed’s honor.
“We all saw what he did at the Beijing Games,” Reed, who had two interceptions against Miami, said. “We just have to keep rolling like him.”
