Ed Reed: Why the Baltimore Ravens' Star Safety Is the Best in the NFL...Barely

Recently the bloggers of ESPN.com ranked the best overall defenders in the NFL and the best safeties in the NFL.  The Pittsburgh Steelers' Troy Polamalu came out on top of both lists.

You didn't need to read those articles to realize that the argument over who is the best safety in the NFL is between Polamalu and the Baltimore Ravens' Ed Reed.

Both players are so much better than the rest of the players at their respective positions that it isn't worthwhile to even consider a guy like Nick Collins or Adrian Wilson.  Wilson and Collins are outstanding football players also.

While many people have tried to solve the argument of who is the best safety in the league, in reality, it is like comparing quarterbacks and pitchers.

Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu do not actually play the same role—or even position—on their respective teams.  Reed is a ball hawking free safety who specializes in baiting quarterbacks into throwing him the ball.  Polamalu is a strong safety that plays closer to the line of scrimmage on a more regular basis.

This argument is very similar to the MVP vote in this year's NBA.  Very few people will argue against Derrick Rose being named the MVP of the league, but is he the best player ahead of say, Lebron James? Is he even the best point guard ahead of Chris Paul?

If the argument was who is the most valuable player, then this would be simple.  Troy Polamalu is the more valuable player.  Polamalu gives you more because of his lack of defensive responsibilities.  Dick LeBeau has repeatedly referenced the fact that Polamalu doesn't have an assignment on every single play in his playbook.

The defense around Polamalu must be crafted in order to cover for his instinctual play.  That is why LeBeau loves the Steelers' current free safety, Ryan Clark, even if he is not the best player in the league.  Clark is the most valuable free safety in the league to the Steelers because of how he works with Polamalu, but obviously he is not the best free safety in the league.

The best free safety in the league is obviously Ed Reed.  He is also the best safety in the league.

Reed came second in ESPN's list of the best safeties in the league, despite leading the league in interceptions with eight last year.  He had one more than his biggest rival, Polamalu, despite featuring in only 10 regular season games.  Polamalu himself only played in 14 games.

Obviously interceptions are not the be all and end all of how to judge a player, but Reed's total of turnovers is significantly greater than Polamalu's.  Reed's 64 turnovers in nine seasons gives him an average of seven per season.  Polamalu's 35 turnovers in eight seasons gives him an average of just over four per season. 

Neither of these players has been the most durable in recent years.  However, this hasn't been a problem for Reed throughout his career, while Polamalu has constantly struggled to stay on the field, missing 21 starts since not starting for his rookie season.  Even if you take this into account Reed still comes out on top statistically.  Reed averages one turnover every two starts while Polamalu averages just over one every three starts.

Polamalu does play closer to the line of scrimmage which gives him an advantage in tackles and sacks, but his sack total is barely greater as he has eight sacks opposed to Reed's five.  The Ravens safety also eclipses Polamalu in pass deflections.

These statistics don't really separate the two because of the fact they play such different roles.  Reed has a slight advantage because of his incredulously greater turnover total but much of Polamalu's impact on a football field is not as easily tracked on the statistic sheet.

Polamalu disrupts offenses in multiple ways and has a huge effect on both the running game and the passing game.  It is a huge reason as to why he is the more valuable of the two.  However, Reed still has the edge as a better player because of his ability in the clutch.

While Polamalu has two Super Bowl rings to Reed's zero, Reed has repeatedly proven his ability to perform in clutch games against proven quarterbacks.  Reed's intelligence as a football player allows him to bait even the best signal callers in the league. 

He has picked off Peyton Manning more than any other player while all offenses will look to avoid him rather than work through him.  Polamalu does not have this in his repertoire as teams have figured out how to dominate the Steelers' secondary.  When teams spread the field, Polamalu can no longer freelance and use his instincts to take over football games.

Teams cannot do this to Reed because of how good he is.  In fact, the first thing most teams talk about when facing the Ravens is not Ray Lewis or Haloti Ngata—it is Reed and their need to keep the ball away from his general direction.

Reed catches the ball like an elite receiver and runs back like a kick returner.  He has six career defensive touchdowns but this does not include the pitches that he makes to teammates that lead to scores.

Ed Reed may not be as valuable a player as Troy Polamalu—the Ravens were 4-2 without him this past season—but he is a better free safety than Troy Polamalu is a strong safety...just.

When all is said and done, both of these players are Hall of Fame worthy.  There is no question who is the best at their respective positions.  Neither the Steelers or Ravens fans will be able to understand the magnitude of these players' talent until they are gone.

Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu will always be paired with each other.  The argument of who is the better player will never be truly determined because it is too hard to quantify but, from this humble writer, Ed Reed is the best safety in the NFL...barely.

My serial tweeting can be found @Cianaf.