Archives for February 2014

‘”What can I say? There are so many things, emotions right now,” Reed told Buffalobills.com. “I want to thank the Bills, the organization, the fans all the support I had over the years. This is for you guys because I wouldn’t have done this without the fans and my teammates, Bruce and Thurman and Jim and all those guys. I could go on and on, but next to my kids this is probably the highlight of my life and to do it all in Buffalo is really special. So thanks to everyone, I appreciate it.”‘

‘Johnson spent the past 14 seasons as an assistant with the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick but resigned from the job 10 days ago.’

‘”Deacon Jones, rest in peace, always told me when you get there I guarantee you’ll cry,” Reed said, referring to the late, great pass rusher and how it would feel to be inducted. “I’ll think about my dad, who’s up there too, and all the games he was at and how he supported me, and all the people who watched me since I was 8 years old. You try to put that all in one emotion.”‘

‘”I am proud and honored to have spent more years of my career with Pepper Johnson than any other player or coach,” Belichick said in a statement last month. “Of all the people I coached or worked with, nobody has more passion and love for the game than Pepper. His energy and wisdom for football knows no limits.’

‘”Don’t tell me about a guy who has 1,200 or 1,300 receptions, but they were never on winning teams. I don’t want to hear about that. They were superfluous plays, plays made when it didn’t count. Andre Reed made plays when it counted. I hope it’s his time. He deserves it.”‘

‘Johnson takes over as defensive line coach, overseeing a group featuring three Pro Bowl selections, including Mario Williams. Johnson stays in the AFC East after spending the past 14 seasons as a New England Patriots assistant.’

‘Pagac has spent each of the past eight years with the Vikings, seven of which as Minnesota’s linebackers coach. The coach was the Vikings’ defensive coordinator for the 2011 season before returning to his original role as linebackers coach.’

‘A veteran coach with more than a decade of experience on both the collegiate and professional coaching levels, Pagac (pronounced PUG-itch) comes to Buffalo after spending the past eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. During his time with the Vikings, Pagac helped lead the Vikings’ defense to four top 10 finishes in total defense including three straight top 10 finishes from 2008-10.’

‘”Of course it opens the door,” said Reed. “That’s my era. I’m there with Tim (Brown), Cris (Carter), Jerry (Rice), Michael (Irvin). That’s our era. You can’t deny what we did. It’s amazing now that Marvin is in the mix now. Marvin is with Randy (Moss) and T.O. (Terrell Owens) and Hines Ward and the other guys that are coming up. But it’s a different game right now.”‘