Most Productive Safety In the NFL May Surprise You
Oct 12, 2008
Author: Ryan Lewis

Almost every time the topic is brought up, only three names are discussed seriously. Bob Sanders, Ed Reed, and Troy Polamalu. Throw in a couple more names, but those three are always near the top.

The AFC North claims two of those names, and when thinking about the defenses in our division, those two names are easily the first to come to mind. It’s not a question…right?

I don’t think I’m telling tales when I say Reed and Polamalu are almost annually picked to win Defensive Player of the Year by various pundits, nor am I lying when I claim that those two define the safety position, and head the class along with Sanders. They are thought to be the best at what they do, at the top, the upper echelon.

Interesting. I’ll give you three sets of stat lines from safeties in the AFC North over the past two seasons, randomly, and you tell me first what is the best production, then who they belong to.

Now because of the publicity, hype and media attention/love that two of these safeties get, let’s just let the production decide. After all, who wants biased debate?

Now every site (team site, ESPN, NFL.com) has different variables, so to stay consistent we’ll stick with ESPN.com, as it’s the easiest; and quite frankly, that means it’s the best for me. Keep in mind that all three are consistent within that site and it’s stat keeping credentials.

Player one – 10 INT, 207 tackles, 26 pass defenses, 1 FF.

Player two – 12 INT, 99 tackles, 21 pass defenses, 1 FF.

Player three – 3 INT, 135 tackles, 19 pass defenses, 4 FF.

Ok – what is the best production from the three.

We can rule player three out from contention due to being last in pass defenses along with only intercepting three passes – the four forced fumbles are nice, but not enough. Player three is Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So who was better at safety? Player two has two more interceptions, but 5 less pass defenses and over 100 less tackles, not even half that of player one, who also has one more sack. I think we can agree that player one has the best two year production, no? Also, players one and two join Asante Samuel as the only three players in the NFL to record at least five interceptions the past two seasons. And finally, player one is the only safety in the NFL to average five interceptions, 13 pass deflections and 100 tackles a year for two years.

Player two is Ed Reed, that was the easy one.

Player one is Sean Jones, Cleveland Browns Strong Safety.

So where are the accolades, where’s all the hype, the media attention, the Chris Berman nickname?

Is it because he doesn’t play on a feared, energetic, loud defensive unit like Reed? Is it because he doesn’t have big hair Polamalu? Is it because his last name is Jones? Is it because he plays on a poor defensive unit? Ok, that last one is probably a little true.

Or – is it because Sean Jones just goes to work. He doesn’t talk the talk, he doesn’t flash “Lights Out,” or play to the cameras. He doesn’t do anything – but play. He doesn’t have guys pulling his fair, he’s not leading with his helmet, or going after QB’s knees.

He’s not that fast, he’s not that big, he doesn’t have any outstanding features. He’s just a football player from Georgia who likes the field, not the papers.

And that’s all that matters.

Polamalu flies around the field and is a great presence, Ed Reed and his defense make the big, flashy play – all the while Jones stays out of it, because he doesn’t care.

And you know what – that’s fine with me. We want defensive stars to get the crowd into and make the big play. We don’t need all the extra glamour, we don’t want the extra glamour.

Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed get all the media attention, all the highlights from week to week, all the radio and TV station promos, all the preseason accolades, all the respect – and that’s just fine with #26 in Cleveland.
Because Sean Jones is the only player in football with at least 10 interceptions and 200 tackles over the last two seasons.

He’s the only one.

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