Ed Reed gives Miami’s defense a taste of what it’s missing

By Hugo Guzman  |   Wednesday, January 07, 2009  |  Comments( 6 )

Miami Dolphins
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Just three days removed from a season-ending debacle at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, this writer thinks he’s figured out the No. 1 area of need for the Miami’s resurgent but far from elite defensive unit.

Simply put, the Dolphins need a game-changing defensive back.

Granted, as a unit, Miami’s starting defensive backs came up with their fair share of turnovers and big plays in 2008. Starting strong safety Yeremiah Bell, the team’s leading tackler, finished the season with three forced fumbles, a sack, and countless other big plays that don’t necessarily show up on the stat line. Starting cornerbacks Will Allen and Andre’ Goodman combined for a respectable total of six interceptions, two sacks and two forced fumbles between them. Even much-maligned starting free agency Renaldo Hill managed to come up with three picks of his own, and was credited by the coaching staff for helping stabilize the unit when he returned from injury in the early stages of the season.

Still, none of these guys have really made game-changing plays their calling card. Even the aforementioned Bell, who has earned the respect of teammates and fans alike with his tenacity and consistent play, falls way short in the interception department, having bagged just one during his entire career.

On Sunday, Miami’s defensive backfield caught a glimpse of a true playmaker in the secondary. Ravens free safety Ed Reed almost single-handedly won the game for the Ravens, coming up with two key interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown, and was a disruptive force in the secondary throughout the afternoon.

Understandably, some will be quick to mention that Reed is quite possibly the greatest safety to ever play the game (which is saying a lot; after all, he is following in the footsteps of all-time greats like Ronnie Lott) and that players of his caliber don’t come around very often.

However, nobody is saying that Miami needs to secure the rights to a Hall of Fame safety in the offseason. Instead, the Dolphins simply need to find a player – at either cornerback or one of the safety positions – who is capable of consistently changing the course of games with his play. The likeliest position is free safety, because Hill seems to be a liability in the tackling department and because the steady and productive play of Bell, Allen and Goodman should translate into a return to the starting lineup in 2009.

That said, all four of these players are on the wrong side of 30, so the search for younger and more dynamic replacements should – via draft or free agency – needs to occur at every position.

In the end, it really doesn’t matter if the big plays come from the cornerback position or either of the safety spot. What does matter, though, if this franchise wants to go from postseason contender to true Super Bowl contender, is that the Dolphins find themselves a playmaker capable of changing the course of a game the way Reed did Sunday.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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