Reed this
Two things that stand out about Reed, who might be the best ever at his position.
The first is his long, loping stride. No defensive player in the NFL covers as much ground in such a short time. It's not like Reed is 6 feet 4 or 6-5. He is only 5-11. When Reed is in full stride, he doesn't look as if he is running hard, but rather just striding and stalking.
The second is his field of vision. It's uncanny how he can find the open field after an interception. He finds his blockers, sets them up and makes great cutbacks.
Reed is so good at finding holes that at times it looks as if the action has stopped because he is so far ahead of everyone else in his thinking.
Flattened
The hit of the day belonged to Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. On Reed's 64-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first half, Ngata demolished Miami wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr.
Ginn was hit and flattened so hard that he blended in with the turf at Dolphin Stadium.
"He's a man," Ngata said of Ginn. "I give him credit. He got up."
Don't play soft
With a lead of 20-3 in the third quarter, the Ravens started playing soft and allowing the Dolphins to complete short passes.
After one to Ginn, Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle looked to the team's sideline and hunched his shoulders as if to say, "OK, Rex, when you going to do something about this?"
Rex Ryan, the defensive coordinator, didn't have to do anything. Four plays later, Reed stepped in front of one of those short Pennington softballs intended for running back Patrick Cobbs at the Ravens' 15-yard line for the safety's second interception.
"We knew they couldn't beat us except for some type of trick play," Rolle said. "But as a competitor, you want to step in front and take one of those passes the other way."
Rolle had three tackles, two near the line of scrimmage on running back Ronnie Brown. Rolle is not known for attacking the line of scrimmage.
"It's playoff time," Rolle said, laughing. "There is no tomorrow."
No rest for the weary
A major key against the Titans will be how well the Ravens hold up physically. There were a lot of players limping with injuries after the game, while the Titans had a bye week.
When the Ravens play Tennessee, they will become what's believed to be the first team in the NFL bye era to play 17 games without a week off.
