Filling in for Ed Reed.

According to a radio interview Ed Reed did a few weeks ago, he is not confident he will be ready for the season opener vs. the Jets. You do not need me to tell you that any defense without Ed Reed has a huge whole to fill. Whom will the Ravens select to fill that whole?  Will that player metaphorically be more of cork or a cheap piece of Styrofoam?

This offseason Ed Reed underwent surgery to repair his hip, the same hip that kept him out of four games this past season. The rehab for this surgery will take longer than many expected leading to Ed Reed verbalized his uncertainty about the timing of his return on Sirius Radio. While many Ravens fans myself included are biting our nails about the huge vulnerability the defense just acquired, safeties Ken Hamlin, Tom Zbikowski and Haruki Nakamura are looking at this as a huge career opportunity for them.

Is this the end for Ed Reed? I doubt it but he will be m.i.a so the Ravens will probably turn to one of the safeties on the roster. The first man that comes to mind when I think of Reed's temporary replacement is Tom Zbikowski, 5'11' 210 pounder that filled in for his all-pro counterpart in four games as a starter. Zbi is aggressive, possesses immense physical talent and is grasping more nuances of the defense as he studies and practices. He took nearly all the reps at the free safety position during the Organized Team Activities (OTA) but he is not a shoe-in for the starting position.

The Ravens signed safety Ken Hamlin days before the fans got an understanding of just how much time Ed Reed will need before he returns. Hamlin has a reputation around the league as a hard hitter although the only memory most Ravens fans have of him is the stiff arm he took from Leron McClain before the fullback/running back rumbled 82 yards down the field in Cowboys stadium to silence the onlookers. Hamlin must get a good understanding of the defensive system here and prove he can defend passes and the run in order to step into Reed's shoes.

There is one more factor in this equation, Haruki Nakamura. His 2009 season ended early because of the injury he suffered vs. the Browns covering a kick. Nakamura probably would have started in place of Reed instead of Zbikowski last season if he did not get injured. The obstruction he faces on his journey to start besides the competition on the roster is his health. Unfortunately the chances of him being 100 percent before Ed Reed are not very high.

Well these three men seem to be the choices right now. Amongst them, I would rather have Zbikowski standing in the backfield week one. He knows the system and played pretty well while Reed was out last year, snatching two interceptions in four games as a starter. Zbikowski looks like a cork in a wine bottle to me. Firm and able to keep this defense fresh. It even may be hard for coaches to detach him from the starting position once Reed is back because we will not know if the Reed that returns is the playmaking safety of old or a shell of what he once was. We'll see