Better Defensiveback: Ed Reed or Ronnie Lott

[JAF-N72EX]

I don't wanna derail this thread so I will stop there and say again, I personally prefer Reed.

[TecmoSuperJoe]

Doesn't matter. Because Kenny Easley. 

[Non-Issue]

On 8/26/2018 at 10:21 PM, Big Snack said:

Agreeing in part. I had the pleasure of watching Lotts entire career and even know some of the players he played against. I was just adding that stopping at enforcer is selling his career incredibly short.

I gotcha. But I really wasn't stopping at that. I was just trying to create a simple explanation of what, in the end, separates the two.  

I'm an old man myself. Watched plenty of both. Grew up in LA, so Niners games were no rarity. My opinion is that both players were good at everything, great at a few things, but really excelled in specific roles. That's all I was saying. I mean, I guess if I really wanted to get into the layers, Lott also excelled as a center fielder. It didn't necessarily show up with gaudy interception totals. But it showed in the number of receivers that suddenly developed alligator arms and all the dropped passes when they heard feet coming their way. Because the dude just wrecked fools. And Reed, as good as he was, could never have filled any sort of physical role up along the line if the play called for it. Certainly not like Lott did. Lott really was everything you could want in a safety. Everything. There were zero shortcomings. 

[Non-Issue]

21 hours ago, PapaShogun said:

Doesn't matter. Because Kenny Easley. 

Crazy to believe he wrecked himself with ibuprofen. Dude was a destroyer.

[Livewire]

On 8/26/2018 at 11:59 AM, Thomas5737 said:

Both were pretty much perfect for their eras but I'll take Lott by a small margin, like just a knuckle of a pinky finger.

Nicely done.

[Bolts223]

Ed Reed.

I don't think Ronnie Lott would've been as good in the pass friendly era that Ed Reed played in.

I would also argue that 49ers defenses in general were put in a lot better situations than Ravens defenses. When you have potent offenses that take large leads often it allows DB's to be more aggressive and make plays on the ball. Ed Reed didn't have this luxury to the same extent that Ronnie Lott did with SF.

[Non-Issue]

17 hours ago, Bolts223 said:

Ed Reed.

I don't think Ronnie Lott would've been as good in the pass friendly era that Ed Reed played in.

I would also argue that 49ers defenses in general were put in a lot better situations than Ravens defenses. When you have potent offenses that take large leads often it allows DB's to be more aggressive and make plays on the ball. Ed Reed didn't have this luxury to the same extent that Ronnie Lott did with SF.

Ehhhhhh... the argument can go a lot of different ways. Ed Reed had the luxury of spending his career playing on some amazing defenses and playing in the passing era. He had a front 7 that absolutely shut down the run game pretty much every year. Which forces teams to pass and take risks. And the front 7 could flat out get after the QB. Forcing even more risks. Almost all of that in an era where teams have passed more than at any other point in history. So, I mean, neither DB were exactly in bad situations.

[BlaqOptic]

Reed was one dimensional post-2005 (though, it's not his fault, can't control injuries) whereas Lott could do it all his entire career so the answer is Lott.

[BlaqOptic]

On 8/26/2018 at 7:16 PM, mdonnelly21 said:

I've never really felt like there was a discussion between Reed and or Troy and Dawkins. 

Troy was one of the all time great safeties no question and he made some amazing late game plays from what I remember whether it was a sack on a blitz, forced fumble, Interception or huge hit. 

However, I also seen Troy get burned a lot in in coverages against elite WR's. The game that comes to mind the most is the Steelers vs Cardinals Superbowl, where Kurt Warner destroyed the Steelers secondary. 

There were plenty of other games. All in all I think Troy might be the most balanced but I would take Reed 10/10 because I knew you could count on him more often then not to lock down the middle of the field which is what I think is most important for Safety, especially not letting up big plays like 9 routes. 

Dawkins and Troy were REALLY close. Dawkins was also better in coverage I felt, and the hardest hitting & tackling safety I can remember, practically like having another linebacker. However the one thing Troy had on him I felt was more big plays in his career, with the game on the line. 

There's so much wrong with this statement that I don't even know where to start... You're literally blaming Troy Polamalu for Ike Taylor getting beat in a Cover 3... 

[NFLExpert49]

Actually, contrary to popular opinion, Lott's strength was as a ball hawk. He was a piss-poor wrap-up tackler and somehow gets a pass for that because being an unguided missile appeals to the casual viewers. For every big hit he made he missed 2 tackles. 

I actually used clips of Lott as instructional videos of what not to do for kids I coached several years ago. 

Now all that said, I still give Lott a slight edge. Had he not been such an atrocious technician/irresponsible with his body in the tackling area he would have broken Paul Krause's career interception record. His instincts were off the charts. 

[Non-Issue]

The country has been drowned in hyperbole. 

[mdonnelly21]

3 hours ago, BlaqOptic said:

There's so much wrong with this statement that I don't even know where to start... You're literally blaming Troy Polamalu for Ike Taylor getting beat in a Cover 3... 

I've literally watched many games where Troy got burned. Ike Taylor was considered one of the better man to man defenders. 

[NFLExpert49]

On 8/28/2018 at 9:52 PM, Non-Issue said:

The country has been drowned in hyperbole. 

The only hyperbole in this thread is Ronnie Lott being referred to as an "enforcer."

Lott never played SS for the 49ers. After his injuries made him no longer viable at corner, the team attempted to extend his career by making him a centerfielder, which it did (and subsequently ended Dwight Hicks's career in the process, as he wasn't cut out for corner). And from there you would frequently see him jump on top of piles and get his name called for doing absolutely nothing. 

And then any time a running play bounced wide to his side, or a pass was completed somewhere in his vicinity, you could count on him taking a great angle to the play, only to lead with his chest instead of the top of his pads and either bounce off the ball carrier or get dragged 5+ yards.

It's pretty ridiculous how Brian Bosworth gets tons of crap for getting trucked by Bo Jackson, but Lott not only got trucked by Bo Jackson, but by just about every back and tight end you can name. Heck, he even got juked out of his jock on a scramble by Troy Aikman in the 93 Cowboys/Jets game. 

The 49ers' enforcers during the Lott years were Carlton Williamson, Jeff Fuller, Chet Brooks, and Dave Waymer. 

[jsthomp2007]

Ronnie Lott cut off his dislocated finger to play in the Super Bowl...that it enough for me to pick him over any DB. 

Like what was the conversation like with the Doc?

Doc: Sorry Ronnie, your finger is dislocated and you won't be able to play in the Super Bowl. 

Ronnie: Are there any other options? 

Doc: You can have your finger removed. 

Ronnie: Take it! Just lop the f***cking finger off. 

[BlaqOptic]

On 8/28/2018 at 11:22 PM, mdonnelly21 said:

I've literally watched many games where Troy got burned. Ike Taylor was considered one of the better man to man defenders. 

We didn't even play man! We played Cover 3 Fire Zones. We played Cover 2 in 2008. The only year we played anything resembling man coverage was 2010... Where Troy Polamalu won DPoTY before injuring his achilles in Week 14. Polamalu had a lower reception %, lower yards allowed, lower yards per reception, and less TDs allowed throughout his career and on a per game basis than Ed Reed but facts be damned right?