Reid: I like our wide receivers
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Reid: I like our wide receivers
Daily News staff
We brought you the first part of Andy Reid's interview with Dave Spadaro early yesterday morning, so we will keep the trend going with the highlights of Part 2, including Reid's staunch support of his group of wide receivers.
DS: How do you look at this group of wide receivers moving forward?
AR: "I like our wide receivers. It was great to get DesSean (Jackson) in the action there (in 2008). I think this is a big year for him because teams are going to do just like we're doing. They're studying our offense and they're going to study DeSean Jackson. They're going to slow it down, watch it, look at his tendencies, his physical abilities, what type of routes we're running him on, so we've got to take it to another level with DeSean. DeSean has to continue to work hard in this off-season, get stronger and more precise in his route running, all of those things. And then we have a big challenge as coaches of coming up with new things to make sure that he has an opportunity to catch the football.
"Kevin Curtis, I think the exciting thing about Kevin Curtis, is, even though he's a little bit older, in NFL years, fairly young. He had gone on a church mission when he was in college, so there is a two-year differential there in his NFL years compared to his age. Kevin is coming off sports hernia surgery that, as we know here, slow you down a little bit. I don't think Kevin was feeling what he normally feels as a football player until probably the last three games of the season and you were able to see that as we went into the playoffs.
"We've got young guys around them – Hank Baskett and Reggie Brown, who is a starting-caliber player and who has started a lot of games for us. We consider him a starter in this mix. Jason Avant, you saw him bloom into this third receiver who was virtually unstoppable as an inside receiver. He just had a phenomenal year, and he was coming off a sports hernia surgery from the year before and was also banged up just a little bit as we went down the stretch. We expect good things from him and for him to take another step up."
DS: You speak glowingly of these players of these players around Donovan. Is the group good enough to win the Super Bowl, as is?
AR: "I think it is as you compare it to other teams, the teams that went to the Super Bowl. Now, you've got Larry Fitzgerald, who is the elite of the elite, and to compare him to our guys – I think Larry is probably the finest receiver in the game right now. But I'll put that group up against other receiving groups in this league, especially with Donovan throwing the football and with the type of offense we have throwing the football."
DS: Tra Thomas recently said that maybe you needed to have more of a personal relationship with players, or communicate better with players, that the approach was too business-like. What is your reaction to that?
AR: "I am who I am. I do what I do. We've had a little bit of success here. Can I get better at what I do? I'm always going to strive to get better, just like I mention with the players. But I can't change personalities, because players read through that and they're going to think you are putting on a show. Am I up for suggestions? I'm always up for suggestions. To get better, I'm always up for suggestions. I really respect Tra, too. Tra has been with us here for a long time and helped us win a lot of football games, so I respect the things he says and look at them. But to change, it's hard to change as a person. That's a tough thing to do, and still have players respect you as a whole and the things we've done here."
To read the transcript from Part 2, visit the team's Web site, by clicking here.
PhillyPhantastico - why do we always have to get one or the other? The team has enough money to address the wide receiver, O line and D line problem.— jkt- I still don't understand why Andy didn't overpay for Dante Stallworth like y'all wanted him to two years ago. /sarcasm— ahab
- "We've got young guys around them – Hank Baskett and Reggie Brown, who is a starting-caliber player and who has started a lot of games for us. We consider him a starter in this mix. Oh, now I get it. Reid doesn't suit up his starter WR for big games like the NFCCG. I was wondering why Brown was standing on the sidelines in a sweat suit against the Cards. I didn't realize we were that stacked at WR. Once again Andy Reid shows why he is a legend in his own mind, besides being full of ish.— billro3
- in reality he can't really say anything else other than that he likes the wr's b/c he may have to go into the season w/ these guys..but he has to see the bad route running, dropped passes and inability to beat press man to man coverage...bad personell moves is the no 1 reason the eagles have not won a super bowl...taking fred ex over reggie wanye, l.j. over jason witten, trading outta the 1st round after u finished 8-8 & drafting a qb in the 2nd round in the same draft who won't see the field for another yr at least, wasting 2nd rd picks on the reggie brown & matt mccoy, wasting 3rd rd picks on the likes of tony hunt and r moats....no punt returner in '07 and no fullback this past year....we have only 1 player on off/def that the opposing team has to gameplan 4 and thats bwest...he's our only playmaker on this team and he's 60/70% of our off as a rb and we don't even run the football consistently...this team needs a real proven GM or draft consultant with a proven track record...teams that win super bowls the patriots, colts & steelers draft well & have playmakers up and down their rosters on both sides of the football— the tru 1
Comment removed.- I read the title, the first sentence and nothing else. It is just blah, blah, blah...more useless verbal garbage from the EAGLES. But hey, we ended the year $40M under the cap— Scobie1
- PhillyPhantastico, of course we have the best receiving corp in the NFC East if Burress doesn't return to the Giants. TO is also gone. Who else is there in our division? I'm with you with the O and D Line comment, but there were guys in FA to address this problem and they didn't do anything, even with the ton of money they have under the cap. And those comments about Reggie Brown, Jason Avant and Kevin Curtis are ridiculous.— EL Zorro
- Anybody in Philadelphia hear from Weaver's agent lately????— ox
- I really hope we don't draft Percy Harvin. That would suck.— owumd
- Did I just read that TJ Housh is "an old Hank Baskett"??? NICE! Reading these comments is so much better than reading the actual article. Btw, I'm hoping you all SAW the actual interview. DS and AR were literally sitting so close together, I was hoping Spadaro would just climb into his lap and start barking like a Pomeranian or something. It was classic. I want to believe that AR was just saying what he had to say... but then again, we had Reno Mahe on our team for YEARS!— jjvas1
These are the guys eagles try to win with: Na Brown Dameane Douglas Brian Finneran Dietrich Jells Charles Johnson Torrance Small Troy Smith FredEx Stinkston James Trash- Comment removed.
- The Eagles have no clue when evaluating receivers so who cares what he thinks about them. Get ready for 2 more linemen with our 2 first round picks unless, of course, they trade them both away. This franchise is a joke compared to the Phillies who now have too many skilled players vs. the Eagles not having any at key positions like FB and TE.
Nerd420 I hope you're getting a big reciever for your fantasy team this year..Eagles fans - maybe you should worry about getting a QB who can run a 2 minute drill and can throw a touch pass...— wokmaster- Hey Andy. You pass way too much. You need a big power back to keep the defense honest . That will help make the recievers you have live up to expectations. Stop being a dough boy and start pounding the ball. Geez..— MJPD345
