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The Football Diner Big Interview:
Reggie Kelly
interviewed by Michael E Lawrence
November 3rd 2011
 
Atlanta Falcons’ tight end Reggie Kelly has done it all in his thirteen year NFL career. The 42nd overall pick in the 1999 draft, Reggie has caught passes from a young Michael Vick, made history against Brett Favre in Lambeau, and mentored Pro Bowl tight end in the making Jermaine Gresham. Now part of a veteran core of leaders at the heart of 2011-edition Falcons, Reggie is determined to bring a championship to Georgia this season – yet remains as humble and as thankful as the first day he joined the league. The Diner caught up with him ahead of Atlanta’s Week 9 tilt in Indianaplois.
 
Hi Reggie, did you enjoy Halloween?
 
Yeah it was a great time, though the team was practising on Monday afternoon so for me Halloween evening was just soaking in the tub after a hard day’s practice. But my wife took the kids trick or treating and they enjoyed it. I’ve got my eye on some of the candy they collected too.
 
Did you carve any pumpkins?
 
You know we didn’t, but we did put some out around the yard to decorate it, and now we’ll be able to double up and use them for Thanksgiving too!
 
Tell us a little bit about the mood in the Falcons locker room after a slow start to the season followed by two consecutive wins?
 
The guys are on a pretty even keel – not too up and not too down. We’re keeping our minds on the task. There are still nine more tough games to go. But we beat the Panthers two games ago and the Lions after that and they’re difficult teams. That’s given us a lot of confidence.
 
Do you think the NFC South is now one of the NFL’s strongest divisions?
 
Oh definitely. Last year the Saints, Falcons and Buccaneers all had winning records and now the Panthers have a young, exciting quarterback in Cam Newton too. It’s a competitive division and each game is always a dogfight, always hard-nosed. We try to make sure we always prepare well and always play physical against each of them.
 
How confident is this Falcons team going into Sunday’s game at Indianapolis? The Saints beat them 62-7 after all…
 
From my experience it’s true that on any given Sunday any team can win. The Colts have two very talented rush ends in Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis and they’re going to pose a great challenge. You think about the Saints beating the Colts like they did, and then last week they played St. Louis, who hadn’t won any games, and lost. So on any given Sunday the underdog can always win.
 
What’s it like playing with Matt Ryan – how much better can he get?
 
He’s one of the elite quarterbacks in this league. He’s very talented, very poised – hence the nickname ‘Matty Ice’. It’s hard to find someone so young who’s such a great leader and it’s a privilege and a pleasure to work alongside him. He’s got a great supporting cast too in Michael Turner, Roddy White, Julio Jones and a future Hall of Fame tight end in Tony Gonzalez.
 
Gonzalez is the NFL’s second all time leading receiver. What can you say about one of the best ever to play the game?
 
It’s quite amazing to see a guy in his fifteenth year playing at the level he plays at. Normally it’s only the punters and kickers that manage to play that long, but Tony takes good care of his body and he could easily have two or three more years in him. I’ve been in the league thirteen years myself but you know I still watch him to try and get better and learn from the little things he does.
 
Do you ever ask him if he’d like to do a bit more blocking so you can do a bit more receiving?
 
I don’t! He’s been doing it well for quite some time and I’m happy to do whatever the team wants me to do for the good of the Falcons. If they want me to catch a few passes, cool, but my attitude is there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’, but there is one in ‘win’.
 
Looking around the NFL, it looks like another topsy turvy year – who do the Falcons have to overcome to get to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis?
 
For us, it’s always one game at a time – and the next game is the most important. But at the beginning of the year Coach stressed the importance of winning the division. Any one of the four teams in the NFC South could win it, and we want to be that team. It’s important to dominate the NFC South if we possibly can.
 
Do you keep one eye on the Packers?
 
We always look at the top teams to see how they’re getting it done, and the Packers are at the pinnacle right now and clicking on all cylinders. But we won’t get a chance to see them unless it’s in the playoffs. We may yet have an opportunity to play them in the post season, but the focus is winning the division and winning at home.
 
Who are some of the best young tight ends around the league as far as you’re concerned? Is Jermaine Gresham, who you mentored in Cincinnati, among them?
 
Definitely. Jermaine is a kid I had an opportunity to play with and he really can do it all. He’s an excellent receiver with great hands that can stretch the field, but he can block defensive ends and linebackers too and open up holes for Cedric Benson. It makes you smile to see it because it’s kind of hard to find guys who can do both. Another guy is Jimmy Graham in New Orleans. He’s really good as a receiver and he can block too. He’s so fluid and runs routes like a wideout. Rob Gronkowski in New England too, he’s a really impressive guy. The sky’s the limit for all of them and they’re making tight ends around the league proud.
 
What is Reggie Kelly’s proudest moment as a pro?
 
One that sticks out was back in 2002. We played Green Bay early in the season and dominated the game – but they ended up beating us. But we really got rolling that season behind guys like Michael Vick, Warrick Dunn and Alge Crumpler and made the playoffs. Lo and behold, we were scheduled to play the Packers again in the wild card round, and no one gave us a chance because it was Green Bay in January and we were supposed to be a dome team. The Packers had never lost a playoff game at Lambeau and the odds were really against us – but we did it, we beat them 27-7. By the end, the home crowd were booing their own team, and we ended up making history. That will stick in my mind forever.
 
Your division rivals Tampa and New Orleans have both been over to London to play an International Series game, what would you say to making the trip yourselves in 2012?
 
Yeah, that’d be exciting! I’d definitely welcome that opportunity. In fact, I wish I could fly my whole family out there too. Experiences like that are once in a lifetime. I went to Tokyo with the Falcons for a pre season game earlier in my career and it was so exciting. I’ll never forget it – I’d never been out of the States before then. So I sure would love it if the Falcons were to come to England and I could be part of that.
 
You could even come a bit earlier and catch some of the Olympics…
 
Man, I’d get a double dose of greatness! That would be great, hopefully we can get it done.
 
There’s been lots of talk about bye weeks affecting the rhythm of teams negatively this season, how are the Falcons getting round the long layoff?
 
I think the bye is a positive. The NFL season is very tiring, very stressing on the body and mind. Sometimes you need time to refresh so you can come back and finish strong. From summer you go through a long training camp, pre season games, the regular season and hopefully the post season, so you need time to recap and get your sanity back if you know what I mean. So I’ve always welcomed the bye, welcomed that opportunity to get the batteries recharged. The guys here came back in on Monday and looked energised and ready to play.
 
You feel like mindset is a big part of the battle to succeed in the NFL?
 
Yeah, mind is big, you have to be mentally sound. In the NFL all the players are pretty much even talent-wise, so what separates the good from the great is the mental preparation. Some guys don’t rest during the bye week, but the smart guys know how important it is to rest the mind as well as the body.
 
When it’s all said and done, Reggie Kelly’s NFL epitaph will read…
 
I’d like for people to say: ‘he was the ultimate teammate’. That you could always count on him to do it, and do it with a smile. I’m a country boy from Aberdeen, Mississippi whose family used to sit and watch football after church every Sunday. All the boys used to get together in our back yards and imitate our heroes like Walter Payton and Joe Montana -and now I’m here in the NFL doing it for real and I don’t want to let go. It’s a dream, and I’m still dreaming, and I don’t want to wake up.
 
Check out Reggie Kelly’s website – www.reggiekelly82.com – or follow him on Twitter @ReggieKelly82.