Bills’ Reed can boast of humble work

By Anthony Bialy  |   Tuesday, June 23, 2009  |  Comments( 53 )

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The phrase “Eight-year veteran Josh Reed” just looks weird. The Buffalo Bills receiver joined the team a day before Drew Bledsoe did, and yet he still quietly maintains a roster spot. That’s not necessarily good, as some players remain unsung for a reason. But at least Reed was more noticeable this past season at performing his inconspicuous tasks. The question now is whether Terrell Owens may crowd out Buffalo’s most rugged wideout.

He improved by the numbers: Reed got 597 yards last season in 13 games. That’s 19 more yards than he accumulated in two more games during 2007. Reed also put up five more catches than the year before, finishing with 56 in 2008. He also scored, once, bringing his career total to nine over seven years. Unfortunately, he’s just not a closer, which means that the Bills must rely on coffee-meriting others to finish the sale.

The scoring dearth is unsettling, but Reed’s biggest downside isn’t how he plays; rather, it's how he’s been used. He was still starting last year, which is of course not his fault. The LSU man is at best a specialist, not a spotlight hog.

Owens of course changes Reed’s role because the latter doesn’t need to be the second-best wideout anymore, which is good news for all. Still, Reed doesn’t get enough per catch, even considering that he’s often been a Jeep in a Porsche’s parking space.

His 10.7 yards per catch last season put him 90th among qualified players. That was one place behind tight end Heath Miller of the Pittsburgh Steelers; he was two behind a more familiar player of Miller’s type, specifically former Bill Robert Royal. It’s not quite glamorous company for a player who’s aligned relatively far from the snap.

Still, it’s interesting company for Reed; at 5-foot-10 and 210 pounds, Reed is the equivalent of a tremendously undersized tight end. Knocking aside cornerbacks for his running back’s sake is as much his responsibility as is beating same corners on routes.

Nobody else’s numbers look so simultaneously meager and useful. Most notably, 36 of Reed’s grabs went for first downs. His nose for the stick proved useful for a team that only totaled 287 first downs last season, tied for the San Francisco 49ers at 21st best.

Even better is what Reed didn’t do last season, namely disappear much. While he caught three or fewer passes in eight games during 2007, he only had that small of a quantity in four contests this past season. On top of that, he reeled in at least two passes in every outing during which he played.

And now his reward is possibly losing his job, even if it may not be probable. Owens’ presence makes six receivers in the pen, which is perhaps one too many. We’ll go ahead and designate Lee Evans as a roster lock; meanwhile, the Bills won’t quite give up on James Hardy this soon.

The remaining three should feel varying degrees of tension. Roscoe Parrish is an oft-ineffective receiver who nonetheless contributes on special teams. Steve Johnson continued to provoke eyebrow-raising during offseason activities, and must keep pleasantly shocking coaches during training camp.

Parrish likely ranks below Reed as of now. But Buffalo may keep the entire six-pack. That would mean that the coaches would have seen enough unseen work from Reed to once again retain him.

If Reed is effective, it’s in a Jack Bauer/Batman way; he performs filthily necessary tasks without getting headlines. Daydreaming that he’ll evolve into a genuine flashy threat is as pointless as hoping fellow 2002 draftee Mike Williams shows up at camp unannounced, in shape, and motivated to change his vile reputation.

Instead, Reed’s hope is to at least avoid his tendency to turn invisible. Even better, he should aim to post a good year by his terms. That means catching four, hopefully five, passes per game while bruising and clawing for each one. It’s been a bumpy path, but Reed is still making a name for himself as Buffalo’s most anonymous component.
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CommentsComments: 53  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
Goose		07:07 AM
06/24/2009
Reed actually makes his catches in an area that should for the tight end's, plus he is one of the best blocking WR's in the ...
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No.2
07:21 AM
06/24/2009
Josh Reed was quickly developing into Trent's go-to guy last year before he was injured early in the 1st Dolphins game. Trent ...
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No.3
ddd		07:34 AM
06/24/2009
Josh Reed is unimpressive to me. He's nothing more than a slot receiver. We saw what a disaster it was when he started opposite ...
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