By Ed Reed: “Guys know that they have to step up and it’s going to take two people to replace a Terrell Suggs.”
May 7, 2012 – 7:45 am by Steven Cuce
The NFL regular season may be four months away, but the Baltimore Ravens were given some crushing news last week when Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles tendon while training for the upcoming season. Another rumor has surfaced that the NFL Defensive Player of the Year sustained the excruciating injury while playing pickup basketball, but at this point it doesn’t really matter because the Ravens are left without their star pass rusher and the 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year for quite some time.
Suggs claims he will come back this season to play, but his teammate on defense, Ed Reed is preparing for life without No.55. Reed has dealt with some injuries of his own over the past few seasons and knows this Ravens defense is prepared to step up to the challenge.
Ed Reed joined 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore with The Norris & Davis Show (Ed and Glenn Younes) to discuss the loss of Terrell Suggs to the Baltimore Ravens defense, the Ravens secondary feeling more pressure now that Terrell Suggs is out, and the team chemistry in the locker room if Terrell Suggs was to come back in the middle of the season.
Talk about the loss of Terrell Suggs for at least half the season to the Ravens defense?
“It definitely takes a team to win, so no one guy is more important than the team. I know Terrell. He’s a young guy, so he’s definitely got that on his side. He’s going to have to rehab. I was going to call him today and let him know that. The most important thing is going to be how he attacks his rehab if he has to have rehab after his surgery. That’s going to be the most important time. He’s definitely going to be missed man. We know what Terrell Suggs brings to the table, the fear that he puts in quarterbacks’ heads. So he’s definitely going to be missed. But even when I was out, you had guys step up. The organization does a great job of bringing guys in there and leaders like myself, Ray [Lewis], Jameel [McClain], and the guys around us. Just the whole locker room. We know how to make a person feel like they are at home because that’s how we treat it. When you treat an atmosphere as such with the locker room it is easy for guys to want to come in and want to play and want to perform. We have some young guys that have wanted that chance to step in there and play like Paul Kruger to come up and make some plays now and get the opportunity he always wanted. You hate to get it like that, but I’m sure he took advantage of it. Guys know they have to step up and it’s going to take two people to replace a Terrell Suggs.”
Is there more pressure on the secondary now that your best pass rusher is gone for the season?
“Like I said it takes a team man. He’s going to be missed. Knowing that Terrell was coming off the edge at times…you knew that ball is going to come out faster. I tell him and Haloti Ngata that all the time and they see that. Look y’all just get to the pass rusher. Put a little pressure on him. Make him throw it a little earlier then he wants to. They might try to hold it now longer cause than know Terrell is not there, but like I said Paul Kruger and those guys are going to step up and make plays, so at times they are still going to have to throw that ball and it’s still going to get picked off, but like I said we are going to miss Terrell and missing a guy like that on your pass rush definitely effects, but we are going to have to cover a little bit longer. We are going to get together as defensive backs and talk about and talk about some things now that we know the situation with Terrell going down. You know you gotta get things situated going forward.”
What’s the team chemistry going to be like if Terrell Suggs comes back at the end of the season? Is it better that Terrell Suggs got hurt this early?
“Well he’s gotta prepare that something may happen if I go down. The locker room is prepared for those situations. That’s why you have guys working so hard and preparing like they are starters. When Terrell Suggs comes back…it’s different for a defensive lineman versus a safety. With defensive backs we tend to play the whole game. There is really no rotation from a secondary standpoint outside of bringing nickel guys in or a dime guy. I mean for defensive lineman they are usually switching out, in-and-out, on second downs, so there’s a way to fit Terrell back into the game plan and we have so many different packages for so many different people that you get so many different looks man to where you never know who is coming at you. It’s a loss and a benefit to say when guys go down.”
Listen to Ed Reed on 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore here
Tags: 105.7 the Fan in Baltimore, Baltimore Ravens, Ed Reed, Glenn Younes, NFL, Terrell Suggs, The Norris & Davis Show
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