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Andre Reed: "Progress" from 2019 Bills


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Vic Carruci TBN interview with Andre Reed.  Paywall, free trial I think

 

Key points: (.....) means text edited out.  My comments in italics.  It's a fairly long article with a lot of good comments I can't hit:

 

"If I had to say just one word, I would say, 'progress,' " Reed said of what he saw from the Bills in 2019. "Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott, from the time that I met both of those guys, said that they were going to change a lot about the whole situation in Buffalo from what it was before they were there."

Buffalo News: Some people see similarities between the current Bills and the team from the late '80s that was on the verge of becoming a serious Super Bowl contender. How do you feel about those comparisons?

Andre Reed: I think it's a fair assumption, but kind of unfair, too, because people in Buffalo and around the league, to a certain point, are going to always look at the team now and compare it to those teams. And that's kind of an unfair thing to do. We had a lot of veterans on the team and, basically, Buffalo is a pretty young football team now(.....) they're still growing to find each other, to play as a team, to embrace what's happening. The ups and downs of the season are all harder on young kids that have never been there before(.......) learning from your mistakes and some of the mistakes you make against good teams, that's going to take some time to do … where they go, "OK, we didn't win the game because of this reason. It's not that we played bad. It's we just didn't make that play at that particular time that could turn the game around for us to win."

(....)

BN: Wide receiver is a spot frequently mentioned as a key area of need this offseason. What's your perspective on that?

AR: getting a wide receiver, whether through free agency or in the draft, I guarantee you that's a priority for them, to give Josh more targets. 

 

Asked if the Bills need a #1 WR, Reed tried hard to be tactful....

BN: Do you feel the Bills need to find a true No. 1 receiver or do they have one on the roster?

AR: having a No. 1, obviously, is vital for every team. But I don't think it's really the most important thing. I think continuity is really important. (....) A true No. 1? I guess you could say John Brown's it. But maybe in the sense of being a bona fide, that-guy's-going-to-change-the-game-every-single-play-he's-out-there, I don't think John Brown is that if we compare him to other No. 1. But he has definitely done the job as a No. 1 for the Bills this year.

 

Most interesting comment on me was about Dawson Knox:

"The tight ends, I think they could have used Dawson Knox a little bit more this year. That game against Cincinnati, he really kind of showed himself. He kind of disappeared a little bit after that. (Reducing drops) will come with repetitions. More reps and being comfortable out there, especially in the offensive scheme. He'll be a lot better next year."

If Reed feels Knox will be a lot better next year, somehow gives me comfort...I don't think Reed is gonna throw Knox under the bus, but he didn't have to bring him up or say what he said.

 

BN: What did you see from Josh Allen in his second season?

AR: [Allen] took a major step forward in a lot of ways. Maturity-wise, the way he played the game. I think he did a pretty good job to put the team on his back a lot of times. And the whole (..) organization can look at him and say, "Yeah, this is the guy that we drafted in 2017 that we thought that would make this kind of progress in his second year." And he has.  I think confidence-wise, he needed that. He needed confidence from the organization, from Sean, from Brandon, from (offensive coordinator Brian) Daboll. He took that step and everybody fed off of that. Jim was that kind of guy, too. But we had Hall of Famers.

 

Inference is that Bills still need to take a step on offense, Talent-wise.  We don't have Hall of Famers (yet).  A lot of the rest of the article talks about Elbert Dubenion, who scouted Reed at Kutztown State.  I did not know that! 

 

Also talks about Reed's reading program for kids that he and his wife Theresa started.  Pretty cool choice:

BN: What are you up to these days?

AR: I'm doing my "Read with Reed" reading program through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. We have impacted probably 4,000 to 5,000 kids a day with our reading program in the past two years. We're going into our third year of inspiring kids and telling them how important reading is for their futures.

 

 

 

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Comparing any current team to any team from the 20th Century is going to yield little fruit.  Free agency, rookie contract rules and salary caps have changed the way teams are built.  But even more dramatically have changed the way teams are maintained.   

 

From 1967 through 1979, only three teams appeared in the Super Bowl only once.   Every other team was a bit of a dynasty with multiple super bowl appearances. 
 

From 2007 through 2019 10 teams only appeared once.   Getting to the Super Bowl is more teams pulling it all together briefly and going all in on a season (usually when multiple rookies contract players are playing starring roles).   The days of dynasty building are really behind us.  Each season is a new an unique experience. 

 

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Knox is gonna he a baller next year. Yes he had drops......as a rookie. But you can’t deny his ability to make catches in tight spots, his ability to truck CB’s and safeties when needed, his blocking and his mind for the game (Josh Allen’s words). Look forward to seeing him add bulk and develop next year. Gonna be fun. 

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10 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Knox is gonna he a baller next year. Yes he had drops......as a rookie. But you can’t deny his ability to make catches in tight spots, his ability to truck CB’s and safeties when needed, his blocking and his mind for the game (Josh Allen’s words). Look forward to seeing him add bulk and develop next year. Gonna be fun. 

 

Knox is already pretty jacked and strong enough to truck people at 6'4" 257.  I'm not sure we want him to add much bulk. 

 

I think it's interesting that 2 of our 3 top receivers this past year were HS QBs, Knox and Beasley.

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30 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Knox is gonna he a baller next year. Yes he had drops......as a rookie. But you can’t deny his ability to make catches in tight spots, his ability to truck CB’s and safeties when needed, his blocking and his mind for the game (Josh Allen’s words). Look forward to seeing him add bulk and develop next year. Gonna be fun. 

You were all over him leading up to the draft, the only one mentioning him around here, IIRC.  Your words carry more weight on this subject than most.  Thank you for posting an update.

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Knox is definitely someone they can add as another piece of the puzzle going forward! Another weapon! I am impressed that he seems to be able to get separation and get open. Don’t underestimate his ability to stretch the defense a little. He’s not a burner but can he get behind you. Didn’t think he was that good of an athlete coming out but  I didn’t think Josh was either!!

 

Would like to know what Andre Reed thinks of Singletary??

4 minutes ago, Cripple Creek said:

You were all over him leading up to the draft, the only one mentioning him around here, IIRC.  Your words carry more weight on this subject than most.  Thank you for posting an update.

Yeah, he was a nice find considering Hockenson was already gone! Knox has just as much ability!

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1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

getting a wide receiver, whether through free agency or in the draft, I guarantee you that's a priority for them, to give Josh more targets.

 

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

But maybe in the sense of being a bona fide, that-guy's-going-to-change-the-game-every-single-play-he's-out-there, I don't think John Brown is that if we compare him to other No. 1. But he has definitely done the job as a No. 1 for the Bills this year.

 

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Jim was that kind of guy, too. But we had Hall of Famers.

 

 

Andre's message to Beane:  Surround the kid with some real talent and you'll win more football games!!!!

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47 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Knox is gonna he a baller next year. Yes he had drops......as a rookie. But you can’t deny his ability to make catches in tight spots, his ability to truck CB’s and safeties when needed, his blocking and his mind for the game (Josh Allen’s words). Look forward to seeing him add bulk and develop next year. Gonna be fun. 

Your inside knowledge of the game should be a lesson for the commoners here

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2 hours ago, Bring it said:

Knox is definitely someone they can add as another piece of the puzzle going forward! Another weapon! I am impressed that he seems to be able to get separation and get open. Don’t underestimate his ability to stretch the defense a little. He’s not a burner but can he get behind you. Didn’t think he was that good of an athlete coming out but  I didn’t think Josh was either!!

 

Would like to know what Andre Reed thinks of Singletary??

Yeah, he was a nice find considering Hockenson was already gone! Knox has just as much ability!

Reed was very complimentary of him.

 

BN: How impressed were you with Devin Singletary?

AR: He was a big surprise. That kid is very elusive. He kind of reminds me of a young Thurman, no doubt about it. He's hard to tackle. He's very elusive inside the hole. (....) I think he should be the feature back next year.

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3 hours ago, Cripple Creek said:

Ferguson called him "a poor man's Hockenson" before the draft.  I'd never heard of the kid, but am very happy with what we've seen so far.

good of you to credit Ferguson : ) Good poster here for sure !

 and i love Knox.
will trend upwards exponentially.

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2 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Reed was very complimentary of him.

 

BN: How impressed were you with Devin Singletary?

AR: He was a big surprise. That kid is very elusive. He kind of reminds me of a young Thurman, no doubt about it. He's hard to tackle. He's very elusive inside the hole. (....) I think he should be the feature back next year.

Thanks I didn’t see his comments on Singletary before! I was really surprised with how hard he is to bring down once you get a hold of him that is!!

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Got to be careful posting stuff from Andre. There's a couple posters here that hate his guts. I'm sure they'll be around soon to talk bad about him.

 

Personally, everything he said makes sense. This is an exciting off season. So much cap space, no huge, glaring holes. Just fill the team with more talent and depth, hope to hit on some future elites in the draft, and come out swinging next year.

 

This has the feel of a team that is just a couple of pieces away to being a true contender (plus more Josh Allen experience).

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