During the past two seasons, the Ravens have been careful using Reed. Earlier in his career, Reed would hang around the line of scrimmage and blitz off the corner. Few teams could come across the middle because Reed was one of the most vicious tacklers in the NFL.
Reed can still deliver the big hit, but it has to be at the right time and right angle. Landry was a force against the run in 2007 when he made 91 tackles. He hasn't had that kind of presence since he was carted off the field with a neck/shoulder injury in Game 2 last season. Landry missed the Ravens' final 14 games.
"In the secondary, we're not used to hitting guys on every play," Rolle said. "As cornerbacks, we're not used to hitting 6-4, 235-pound fullbacks. When you hurt your neck, reality sets in. My whole attitude changed. If I knew then what I know now, I would have never went back out there.
"When you're out there, you're trying to avoid getting hit," Rolle said. "The only problem is when that happens, that's when you get hurt."
Landry concedes that it's not easy to come back. He said he struggled first in training camp, but once he got an initial hit, the flow of the game returned easily.
His family is more concerned about him reinjuring the neck than he is, and he said he wanted to return last season but couldn't get approval from team doctors.
According to Landry, there aren't many conversations between him and the other defensive backs about the neck injuries.
"Every once in a while we'll ask each other how the neck is, but I'm a football player," Landry said. "Even last year, I always wanted to be out there. I always wanted to be part of the winning."
Landry is only 27, and, according to Williams, a lot of players his age feel that way. They believe they are invincible and have very little regard for the future.
Rolle and his wife, Danisha, are expecting their fourth child. Williams is coaching his son's recreation football team in Ohio.
"Fans can say whatever they want about Ed Reed and Dawan Landry, why they aren't coming up to blitz," Williams said. "There is no way you can play that type of position of aggressiveness once you have that type of surgery. It's always in the back of your mind, one play, and it's over."
"I know about being the gladiator on the field and how coaches question your toughness," Williams said. "They pay you to be tough, but they don't pay you to be crazy. It all comes down to your quality of life after football, and when you have a neck injury, you think about it when you're playing the game. It's reality."
