Baltimore Ravens Safety Ed Reed
On the impact that Doug Williams had on him as a fellow Louisiana native:
“Just watching him, how he played the game with such passion. It just means a lot for what he’s done for guys opening doors as a quarterback. That’s awesome.”
On if he appreciates his first Super Bowl appearance more with it coming later in his career:
“Probably so. I appreciate the practices that we have. Media Day yesterday was awesome. Just the time that you spend, it’s a little different. It’s almost like being at a Pro Bowl, with all the attention and everything. With all the attention and everything, how everything is going. You’ve got obligations to do certain things when you first get started. We’ve got to do this every day, so it’s definitely a little different experience.”
On if he ever wondered if he would ever get to play in a Super Bowl:
“Of course. I didn’t doubt it, I just wondered when and if. I answered that question a couple times in my career. You have to have a special team. Everything has to be clicking, and you’ve definitely got to want it to get here. Not everyone is fortunate enough to go to a Super Bowl. I’m thankful and grateful. I’ve been saying that the whole time. To get the invitation to be here and to be in New Orleans, it’s even more special. Everyone won’t get to a Super Bowl. I know guys who didn’t play a down here and went to other teams and made the teams and got Super Bowls. Derrick Martin got two. That’s my boy, and I know he’s a hard worker and a great player who had an impact on those teams. You’ve just got to be part of something special and we’re glad to have it this year.”
On if he thinks this could be his final game:
“No, not at all.”
On if he has any special routine before the game:
“No, I’ll be following the same routine. Today’s my Wednesday, study day or whatnot, just doing everything the same. It’s a little different being at home. My mom’s been calling me like, ‘When are you coming home, when you coming home?’ I’m like, ‘Mom, I’ll see you later.’ I’m in a different mode right now. Nothing different.”
On if the Ravens will be introduced as a team or individually before the Super Bowl:
“I’m not sure. When we’re introduced as a team like that as the road team, we don’t do anything, no dancing, none of that individual stuff.”
On if he thinks he’s experiencing any memory loss at this point in his career:
“Yeah, but who doesn’t wake up and forget things? That was just a comment of, sometimes I feel like I forget things, but who doesn’t go through those things?”
On if any memory loss is football-related:
“I think some things I go through are football-related. I’m not all the way concerned right now about the memory-loss thing so much being football-related, because I only had about two or three concussions in my career, maybe more that you don’t really know of. There have been some things that honestly put up a flag. That’s the reason I assess myself every year. I keep saying that. But I feel awesome, I feel great.”
On what flags may have come up:
“Just stuff that I know, stuff that I’ve been through and might have been related, just because I’ve been playing football for so long. I’ve been playing football since I was a kid, seven or eight years old, not even counting the times we played without pads, when you’ve got guys as we called it ‘drop in the bucket,’ to try to get those extra yards. I’m sure there’s going to be something related to football. Like I said yesterday, I signed up for this. I knew it’s a contact sport. I know there’s going to be pains and ailments and injuries. Do I want that to affect my livelihood? No, but do I know that it’s going to affect it? Yes. I made the comment about the late, great Junior Seau. When I said I know he won’t have any regrets, I was talking about football, not the fact that the man passed away and lost his family. People tend to not write everything, and that’s the bad part about our business. No disrespect to his family, but people tend to write the wrong things and take it out of context and that’s the worst part about what we do.”
On whether seeing other players suffering physically after retirement concerns him:
“Yes, for my family. For my family to have to go through that if it were to happen, God forbid. But any family who has to go through that, any player who has ever played in this league or goes through this league would hate that for their family to go through. It’s like any other tragedy, though. To be honest with you, none of us know our time. None of us know how we’re going to go. None of us know when that day, when that hour is going to come and when it’s going to come to us. Some of the best people in the world have died in the worst ways. Does that make them a bad person, though? We’re going to have our time, and sometimes the way you live can have an effect on the way you go.”
On if he would let his son play football:
“I’m with (President Barack) Obama on that. If my son wants to play football, I would educate him about the sport as best I could, just like I tell these guys about taking care of themselves. It wouldn’t be any different. If he wanted to play, I’m going to let him play. I’m also going to educate him, though. That’s what my foundation is based on. It’s about getting information to kids. It’s no different than what I said about school systems. I’m not talking about our president, but we have stuff going on in our school systems that need to be taken care of. We have a whole bunch of things across this world that need to be taken care of. It’s not just football. We have to make sure that we’re educating kids and people about what’s going on, versus just saying, ‘Don’t do this,’ or ‘Don’t do that.’ If you have the knowledge and the information, maybe then you can make better decisions. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about, your choices.”
On how dangerous 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is:
“He’s very dangerous. He can run and throw the ball. Any time you have a quarterback like a (Michael) Vick, Randall Cunningham or a Doug Williams, those guys like that who can be in the pocket and also throw the ball, it poses a problem. The one thing about us as a defensive back, you have to stay in your coverage. You have to be disciplined in your coverage and rely on those other guys to make the play.”
On if facing Robert Griffin III and Michael Vick earlier this year benefits the Ravens’ defense in preparing for Kaepernick:
“Vick was Week 2 and RGIII was like, Week 10 or 11. That’s miles ago. Does it help? Maybe. Do I think it does? No. It’s just so long ago — different team, different o-line, different receivers. But he definitely poses the same type of problem that those guys did with running and throwing the ball.”
On if he has a sense of pride in the 49ers’ defensive style:
“We don’t play against that defense, so I’m not concerned about them. I’ve watched those guys, I have a lot of respect for those guys and what they do. I know Vic Fangio, the (defensive) coordinator. We ran some of the similar things that they ran, if not the same. Those guys are doing a great job over there. Patrick Willis and those safeties, (Dashon) Goldson and those guys making plays, the linebacking corps, everybody. Justin Smith, the d-line, they make plays. They’re a great defense, and that’s the reason they’ve had the success that they’ve had and gotten to the place they’ve gotten to, because of their defense, and their offense and special teams.”
On what influence his family has on his decision to keep playing:
“They always support me, and they know if I can walk and talk and run, I’ll be playing football. The decision is solely mine. Who I really talk to is my dad and my doctor, if I’m physically able. But it’s all here. If I have the heart for it and I want to continue to play, then I’m going to do it. If I don’t want to play, I just don’t want to play.”
On his desire to finish his career in Baltimore:
“It makes a big difference. I always said when I came into the league and got drafted that I didn’t want to be one of those guys jumping from team to team. If it was up to me, I would be right in Baltimore. If it happens to be somewhere else, I can play football on the moon.”
On if there are other teams that would be appealing to him:
“I have a lot of respect for Baltimore as a city, so certain teams would probably have to be weeded out.”
