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BALTIMORE -- Safeties are the "quarterbacks" of the secondary. Ed Reed is the position's Peyton Manning.

"If he were 10 pounds heavier and doing some of this," Ravens secondary coach Dennis Thurman said of the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Reed, "you'd be looking at the next Ronnie Lott."

It's difficult to imagine any player -- except maybe Manning -- having a better season than the Ravens' Pro Bowl safety, the league co-leader with six interceptions and a popular choice for its defensive player of the year. Reed has the same grasp of Baltimore's defense that Manning has of the Colts' offense. Like Manning, Reed is a threat to produce a touchdown any time he has the ball. And the same way Manning manipulates coverages, Reed can dictate the game to quarterbacks.

In just his third season, Reed has given new meaning to the term "playmaker." He has 18 career interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns (including a record 106-yard runback against Cleveland three weeks ago), shares the record with three touchdowns off his four blocked punts (so he's facing triple-teams now), and has a sixth touchdown via return of a fumble (he caused it) earlier this year against the Redskins.

Reed takes a streak of three consecutive games with an interception into Sunday's contest against the Patriots. He has four picks in his last five games. He leads the league with 290 interception return yards and may challenge the league record of 349 set by the Chargers' Charlie McNeil in 1961.

"I look at it like this, I used to play offense (in high school)," he said last week. The offense, he said, has "linemen, half the receivers are behind me, a fullback, running back, and quarterback. They don't work tackling. And I feel like I can move with the best of them when I get the ball in my hand. I've got a switch that goes from defense to offense, just like that."

Reed has more than just a nose for the ball. He has a connection to it, a kinship with it. He seems almost drawn to it by some mysterious force.

Having adopted Ray Lewis' work habits, Reed watches film the way the rest of us watch HBO. He understands offenses so well to where defensive coordinator Mike Nolan grants him the freedom to roam the field and put both himself and his safety sidekick, Will Demps, in the best possible playmaking positions. "I try to pretty much be invisible," Reed said, "Because you can't read what you can't see."

You need to see several replays to truly appreciate Reed. He makes more meaningful plays than even his gaudy stats indicate. Always low and fluid in his movements, Reed covers a lot of ground in little time and can cover both his responsibilities and, when necessary, cover for teammates' mistakes. He's so quick he beats receivers to their spot. He's a dangerous blitzer who can apply pressure without rushing.

That's right. There was indeed a play in Baltimore's first meeting with the Browns when Reed lined up near the line of scrimmage and, confident he could still cover his area, backed out at the snap. Still, Jeff Garcia unloaded quickly, believing Reed was coming, and threw incomplete.

The following week against Pittsburgh, two teammates followed Hines Ward, leaving Plaxico Burress open. But Reed was all over the error and all over Burress, leaving Tommy Maddox with nowhere to throw. The result was a Terrell Suggs sack.

Later in that game against the Steelers, two plays after his near interception turned into a 58-yard completion from Ben Roethlisberger to Ward, Reed tried to make up for a breakdown in coverage; his assignment was Antwaan Randle El coming out of the backfield, but tight end Jerame Tuman came open over the middle. Reed covered Tuman but wasn't able to get to Randle El in time to prevent him from scoring a short touchdown. Frustrated, Reed immediately removed his helmet, earning him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

If Reed has a weakness, it is that his strength can be used against him. Sometimes, Thurman said, Reed gets out of his game by going out of his way to make a play. He may know the other team's tendencies a little too well. Opponents have tested his discipline with pump fakes and double moves. They try to bait him into jumping short routes and abandoning his deep responsibility by running a receiver in front of him and another behind him. Naturally, he's picked up on it.

As for his penchant of picking off passes and bringing them back the length of the field, the Ravens' coaches preach to the interceptors to find the nearest sideline. There their teammates, having flowed to the football, will be waiting to block the offensive players who aren't accustomed to making tackles. "It turns into a punt return," Thurman said, which is precisely what happened on Reed's tide-turning 78-yard return against the Jets two weeks ago.

When it comes to timing blitzes, Reed gambles in practice, and it pays off on game day. "He test his limits," Thurman said, "so in the game, it's not the first time he's put himself at risk of being offside."

In just his third season, Reed has given new meaning to the term "playmaker." He has 18 career interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns, shares the record with three touchdowns off his four blocked punts, and has a sixth touchdown via return of a fumble earlier this year against the Redskins.

In the third quarter of a Week 5 win over Washington, Reed scored Baltimore's first touchdown on the aforementioned sack/strip/fumble recovery. Coming off the right side against the left-handed Mark Brunell, Reed exploded into the backfield and beat Ladell Betts by dipping his right shoulder the way the Ravens defenders practice it by running around a pair of hoops.

The next Redskins possession, on third-and-1, Reed blitzed and blew up a Clinton Portis run two yards in the backfield, forcing a punt. Reed then threw a key block on B.J. Sams' go-ahead touchdown return.

And then there are the unexplainable plays, like the one Reed made against the Eagles on Halloween. Assigned the deep middle third of the field on Philadelphia's second play from scrimmage, Reed was running with Chad Lewis down the left hash when Donovan McNabb threw deep to Todd Pinkston down the right sideline. Reed turned completely around and sprinted a good 40 or 50 yards to make the interception, which was nullified by Chris McAlister's pass-interference penalty.

"It was one of the best plays I have ever seen," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "He's everywhere."

"Wherever the ball is," said New England coach Bill Belichick, "that's where he's going to show up."

"He plays football fast," Thurman said. "I don't know what he runs against the clock, and I don't care. But he plays football fast."

Reed, 26, quickly has become arguably the best safety in the game today, if not its best defensive player. But that isn't good enough for him. Reed, like Manning, is a perfectionist.

"I'm trying to be the best to play it," said the Miami (Fla.) product. "As easy as it is now, as easy as it was my first year, in a couple more years? I don't know what ya'll are going to see."

Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com.