The secret to Eric Reid’s breakout season with the Panthers? High risk, high reward
Footballs can’t fly, but this one did.
Or at least, it floated. Levitated. Hung suspended in midair at NRG Stadium in Houston, slowly arching up to the open roof of the dome before plummeting back to Earth. It was the final play of the Panthers’ 16-10 victory over the Texans in Week 4, and quarterback Deshaun Watson sailed a Hail Mary as far as he could.
Now, when a ball sits like that, a defender’s eyes grow wide. The chance of a pick is salivating — and in that situation, an interception preserves a win while also boosting personal stats. If you can just go up and make the catch ...
Only Eric Reid never considered that possibility. Never even entertained the thought.
Fundamental football says to swat the ball to the ground, ignore statistics and ensure no bobbled ball gets caught for a game-winner. And that’s what Reid did, rising up over everyone and emphatically slamming the ball down with his left hand. It’s only one example, but in the crucial dying embers of a must-win game, Reid’s intelligence won out.
“He’s just a smart guy overall, and football is no different,” linebacker Luke Kuechly said of Reid. “He just does everything the right way.”
‘We like him there’
Reid didn’t join the Panthers until midway through the 2018 season, after the team had placed starting safety Da’Norris Searcy on injured reserve. That opened the door for Reid, a former Pro Bowler with the San Francisco 49ers, to make his return to the NFL.
The reason he was available as a free agent? Reid was the first player to kneel alongside former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in protest of social injustice and racial inequality. A somewhat sluggish safety market, combined with his close relationship with Kaepernick, meant Reid had to wait to find a new professional home.
That was a chance Reid took, and it paid off. And his willingness to take risks has carried over to the field.
As a result, his first season back was trying. But this year, with a full offseason in hand, Reid has evolved into one of Carolina’s defensive leaders and more versatile players.
“I said it coming into this season: Being able to have the offseason with the team, learn the playbook, be here for a training camp, continue to learn the plays, I think it’s been instrumental to my play so far,” Reid told the Observer. “It’s just the repetition, the muscle memory. The reps. Things start to come naturally.”
Results have followed; Reid is currently third on the Panthers in tackles with 64, trailing only Kuechly (82) and Shaq Thompson (73). That’s also good for the 10th most by any defensive back in the NFL.
Those numbers reflect his importance as a last-line-of-defense stopper for Carolina. If a running back gets through to the second level — as has often been the case this season, given Carolina’s porous run defense — the responsibility falls on Reid to stop a touchdown.
On paper, that’s his role, but reality is it’s more expansive than that. With cornerbacks Donte Jackson and James Bradberry each missing time this season due to injuries, Reid has flown under the radar, but his presence has been as crucial as ever.
“He plays really close to the core. And we like him there because he does a great job as a blitzer, as an eighth-box defender, against the run and as an underneath zone defender,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “He has the physical traits to help us there, but he also has the coverage ability and the skills to play safety in the traditional sense.
“He gives us a lot of flexibility.”
‘That’s the enforcer’
It’s probably fair to wonder what Reid’s technical position should be labeled.
“I’m kind of a safety-linebacker hybrid, I feel like,” he said. “I have a lot of run responsibilities, but I also have pass responsibilities. I think the team is utilizing my versatility; I like that. And I’ve been blitzing this year — that’s fun. I mean, who doesn’t like getting sacks?”
Reid has three.
He started that evolution in his play toward the end of his tenure in San Francisco, when defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was hired. Reid, a physical presence at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, began spending more time in the box as an additional run defender. That he’s No. 7 in tackles against the run by a safety this season (27) only further validates that.
“We love it. That’s the enforcer,” safety Tre Boston said. “That’s what he does for us. He does all our dirty work, so we appreciate him for that.”
But this year, his transition has taken another step, as he’s become one of the better blitzing safeties in the league. His three sacks are tied for the most among all defensive backs, and those have come on just 24 rushes, according to Pro Football Focus.
That isn’t to say Reid has been perfect — not by any means. He has missed 12 tackles overall this season, and seven of those have come against the pass, which is the most misses by any safety in the league. In that same Texans game when he swatted the Hail Mary, he had a season-high four whiffs.
And his pass coverage has been suspect at times.
That said, Reid’s high-risk, high-reward style of play has also benefited Carolina at countless points this year. Against Tennessee two weeks ago, for example, he had a season-high 11 tackles and forced a critical fumble.
“He’s got such a feel for the game, and for what we do and how we do it,” coach Ron Rivera said. “He’s been able to (make a big play) a couple of times. Where you’re sitting there going ‘Oh, OK, I see it.’ He’s got that ability.”
‘Good things happen’
When the Panthers play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, pay close attention to Reid, Kuechly and Boston.
You’re likely to see when one of those splash plays is coming.
“You see a look — everybody sees the same thing — and all you’ve gotta do is do make sure the next guy sees the same thing, too,” Reid said with a grin. “It’s kind of like sign language. You just lock eyes and everybody knows. It’s unspoken.”
That nonverbal communication has been crucial between Kuechly and Reid, who often have related responsibilities by nature of their positions. That sort of sixth-sense isn’t unfamiliar to Kuechly.
“He’s kind of like Shaq or like Thomas (Davis) in the sense that I can just look at him and I know what he’s looking at,” Kuechly said. “He knows what I’m looking at, and we can kind of just click. It’s just easy.”
Sometimes, those silent communications lead to forced fumbles, and others big tackles for loss. Reid doesn’t have a pick this year, but he’s hoping to join Thieves Avenue in that department soon.
“A pick,” Reid said, when asked if he’d rather have an interception or a sack. “I’m still a DB (defensive back) at heart, but I mean, people seem to like sacks more. It doesn’t matter; both are pretty good.”
For the Panthers this season, that’s been an understatement.
Again, Reid has been far from perfect this year. But from his forced fumble against Tennessee, back to that swat against the Texans, one thing about Reid’s impact has become abundantly clear — and Washington articulated it most eloquently:
“Good things happen when he’s down there.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
