In Ed Reed I Trust: Sign a playmaker
The Green Bay Packers need a ball-hawking safety like
Ed Reed.
The Houston Texans released NFL future Hall of Famer, Ed Reed, Tuesday only a few days after Reed played his lowest snap total of the season seeing the field for a meager 12 plays. Ed Reed’s release comes after criticizing the coaching staff after Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Reed stated that the staff got “outcoached” and the players were “outplayed.” The Texans decided he wasn’t worth the trouble and cut him after signing him to a three-year, $15 million contract this past summer.
So here is what I think.
Whatever Reed knows from an insiders’ perspective about the game Sunday is between himself and the Texans. Maybe he is right. Maybe they did get outcoached and outplayed. I mean they have lost seven straight and it seems that Gary Kubiak‘s job is still on the line regardless of his current health status. Could he possibly have gone about expressing his thoughts better? Probably. But Ed Reed is a veteran and maybe it was his ploy to wake up the team. The Texans’ organization may not have seen it that way. So they cut ties … And now Ed Reed will be available …
IN SHOULD WALK THE GREEN BAY PACKERS.
In my opinion if the Packers lose two more games before Aaron Rodgers returns then they just close the curtain on a possible playoff berth. The outlook of the NFC is just too harsh to think that 9-7 will get you involved in the mix. Even a 10-6 would be calling it real close. I can hear the grumblings of some Green Bay fans know. Why would we want Ed Reed? He’s 35 and he just got cut from one of the worst teams in the NFL?
Here’s why the Packers should sign Ed Reed:
- Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Packers are down to essentially their practice squad quarterback trying to keep hope alive until whenever Aaron Rodgers returns. Set to back him up is a former Green Bay quarterback who has had two incredibly brief stints with two teams where he lost his potentially starting job to newcomers. It’s time to do anything and everything to make the playoffs!
- The defensive secondary is seriously lacking playmakers. Ed Reed is a nine-time Pro-Bowler who is an incredible ball-hawking safety. Even at his age, he is still a huge upgrade over M.D. Jennings, Chris Banjo, and Jerron McMillian who have proven all season they can’t be relied upon. He is also a very good tackler which is something that the Green Bay Packers are sorely missing on their defense and have been for a while.
- The defense needs some kind of jumpstart. I thought last week with Clay Matthews coming back that the Packers would use that as inspiration to swell up on defense and play better. It didn’t happen whatsoever. This defense needs a spark. A fiery guy like Ed Reed who is fresh off a Super Bowl championship could provide the guys with the needed oomph to get them over the hump until Rodgers returns.
Of course signing Reed is not a long-term answer for the Packers. But we aren’t looking for long-term. The Packers just need a fill-in until they could look into drafting one in the offseason or looking toward the free agent market for some like a Jarius Byrd. Just taking a look at where the season could be headed should make Ted Thompson want to do all that he can to salvage things before it is too late.
I mean it couldn’t hurt to grab a winner like Reed’s self. Plus he is claiming that last week for the first time all year he was healthy. Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith. We need a big Lambeau Leap right now.