No passing on these greats
DBs Bailey, Law, Reed enshrined together in Hall
CANTON, Ohio — What a defensive backfield in gold jackets: Ed Reed, Ty Law and Champ Bailey.
Law, Reed and Bailey entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
Also inducted were tight end Tony Gonzalez, center Kevin Mawae, late Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, Johnny Robinson and Gil Brandt.
“Fitting to be in here with Mr. Johnny Robinson and Champ and Ty,” Reed said. “My DBs know it was always about us.”
Reed and Law’s voices frequently broke during their speeches.
Law spoke of his family’s support, and his hometown, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, which also produced his uncle, Tony Dorsett, and Mike Ditka — both Hall of Famers.
“I know there ain’t no crying in football,” Law joked.
“We are a community built on love, strength, struggle, and that Quiptown pride,” he said. “We did it, Aliquippa. We are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
Law became the first inductee from the Patriots’ standout defense that won three Super Bowls in the early 2000s. One of the most versatile and physical cornerbacks the NFL has seen, Law was selected for five Pro Bowl teams and was a two-time All-Pro. He finished with 53 career interceptions, twice leading the NFL in that category, had more than 800 tackles, 169 passes defensed, five sacks, and scored seven times.
Perhaps Law’s most noteworthy game came in the 2002 Super Bowl, when his hard-hitting style upset Rams receivers and threw off the “Greatest Show on Turf. That was emblematic of his attacking style — and soon after led to rules changes limiting how physical defenders could be against receivers.
Reed was just as big a playmaker for the Ravens, a safety who fellow enshrinee Ray Lewis called “a gift” to the Ravens and himself. He was elected in his first year of eligibility, just as Lewis was last year, and called for unity in America, setting a standard like a team’s — each pushing one another toward an achievement.
“Help each other, encourage each other, lift each other up,” Reed said. “Encourage those around you. Encourage yourself.”
Reed, a five-time All-Pro safety and member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, was the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year and made nine Pro Bowls. He had 64 career interceptions, seventh overall; led the NFL in picks three times; and his 1,590 yards on interception returns is a league mark. His 13 nonoffense TDs rank fifth all time.
In 2013, in his hometown of New Orleans, the Ravens won the Super Bowl.
Bailey played for the Redskins and Broncos in his 15-year career, and was a force in each of those seasons. He intercepted 54 passes, including one against the Patriots he returned for 100 yards in the 2005 divisional playoffs.
A 12-time Pro Bowler, a record for the position, and three-time All-Pro who made the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s, Bailey was the seventh overall draft pick by the Redskins in 1999. He was dealt to Denver in 2004 for running back Clinton Portis in a steal for the Broncos.
Bailey credited Hall of Fame corners Darrell Green and Deion Sanders, mentors with the Redskins, for setting his foundation.