Reed’s stock is rising
Josh Reed hadn’t scored a touchdown in so long he jokingly asked, “What is a touchdown? How do you spell it?”
When his 24-game TD drought ended earlier this season, he sighed and said, “You don’t appreciate something until you don’t have it.”
The Buffalo Bills can say the same thing about him.
Where would the Bills’ passing game be without Reed, who is second on the team with 54 catches for 576 yards? He is a quarterback’s best friend because of his ability to run polished routes and find soft spots in coverage.
“I’ve said this all season long, that when it comes to third down situations, he’s one of the best in the league in terms of getting open, recognizing zone and man coverage,” quarterback Trent Edwards said. “The hardest thing in this league as a receiver is to be able to recognize where the zone is and where the man coverage is and get open for your quarterback. He plays that position like a quarterback almost, and my comfort level with him is extremely high.”
Reed’s value to the Bills was evident when he missed three games (all losses) in the middle of the season with a high ankle sprain. In the seven games before his injury, the Bills averaged 222 passing yards. During his three-game absence, they averaged only 172 yards.
Lee Evans certainly suffered during Reed’s absence. Without Reed, the Bills’ top wideout caught only six passes in three games and was shut out in a Monday night loss to Cleveland.
With Evans seeing constant double coverage, Reed has made opponents pay since his return to the lineup. He has caught 28 passes in the last five games, including a career-best nine last week at Denver.
“We prepare every week for [teams doubling Evans],” Reed said. “The coaches tell us all the time that when teams [focus on] Lee, other guys have to get open. I just know when they call my number I have to be ready, and when the ball comes to me I have to make things happen.”
New England has historically shut down Evans, who has just 16 catches in eight career games. If you listen to Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Reed will be a bigger concern when the teams meet Sunday.
Perhaps no opposing coach holds Reed in as high regard as Belichick, who speaks in such reverent tones about Reed you would think he was the best receiver the Patriots have faced. Maybe it’s because Reed’s two longest catches, including a 51-yard touchdown in 2005, were against the Pats.
“I think Josh is an excellent receiver,” Belichick said this week. “He’s a great competitor and he’s very hard to tackle with the ball in his hands. He’s an excellent runner, strong, quick and knows how to make yards and get open. He’s a tough guy to match up against.
“You get maybe players that are as quick as he is, but they’re not nearly as big or physical. You get guys that are bigger and more physical and they can’t match up to his quickness and his ability to change directions and get open. So he’s really a hard receiver to cover.”
Reed has been a tough cover this season, his best since setting career highs of 58 catches for 588 yards in his second year in the NFL.
“Josh has been a steady player for us all year,” Bills receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said. “It’s impressive that he’s close to career highs in catches and yards because he has missed three games. It’s a credit to him and his hard work. He has done a good job, he takes coaching really well and he’s a guy we can depend on.”
Big things were expected of Reed when he arrived as a second-round draft pick out of LSU in 2002. But there was a time when it looked like Reed would never become the player the Bills had hoped for.
Reed followed a promising second season with just 16 receptions in 2004. He dropped catchable balls and went through a crisis of confidence.
“That was a time when I had trouble dealing with things,” Reed said. “If I had a bad play I would let it carry over the rest of the game or the following week. I learned bad plays are going to happen. It’s how you come back from it and how you deal with it. My teammates and coaches had a lot of faith in me. I just had to get it in myself.”
Reed has evolved in the last five years. He is far more self-assured and doesn’t allow mistakes to affect his performance. He also is more comfortable as a leader. He has become a role model for the Bills’ younger receivers, who look to him for guidance.
“When I first got here, his confidence was down a little bit,” Tolbert said. “I heard from a lot of people that he was really beat down. Seeing how Josh reacted to certain styles of coaching, the best way he responded was positive reinforcement. You don’t berate him when he makes a mistake. You coach him up on what he did wrong and give him plenty of encouragement and it has worked.
“Good things happen to good people. The way Josh has persevered after people wrote him off is a credit to him.”
Reed is neither the fastest nor the biggest receiver around, but few play with the same toughness. He is a physical runner after the catch, a byproduct of his running back background. He excels as one of the best run blockers in the NFL at his position.
“It feels good to be where I am as a player, but I feel like I haven’t even reached my peak yet,” Reed said. “I feel like I learn something every game. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m just enjoying taking it all in and trying to get better every time I step on that field.”
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