Edelman was at the tree lighting as a guest of honor. No boot, walked fine, no limp. Seems to be doing better, ahead of schedule. Knock on wood that his recovery stays on track and progresses as nicely as it has but if he doesn’t come back, I don’t see a Super Bowl for us. His presence on offense is significantly missed and I don’t see dola picking up the slack and making those cuts like he does

Thanks for the info, and Edelman was also seen in Boston this weekend with a similar report. As I’m sure everybody knows, walking around is one thing, cutting on a dime to get instantly open is another. The other thing is how quickly can Edelman get up to game speed? Remember Brandon LaFell’s first game back? What if that’s Edelman in a playoff game? (Maybe that’s a bad example since LaFell isn’t Edelman, bust still)…

Honestly if the receivers would just catch the ball I think the Patriots will be fine and make a decent run at the Super Bowl no matter where Edelman’s at. For all the stats that we can throw around at the dropoff of the offense without Lewis, Edelman and Gronk, they’re still moving the ball and even had a chance at an impossible comeback. They’re still feeling things out a bit and establishing an identity, but if Martin and LaFell pick up the slack things will be okay.

The thing is, this defense is primed for a Super Bowl run once Hightower gets back. If they can avoid a significant injury going in the next four games (certainly not a given with the way this season has gone), this will be the best I’ve felt about our defense going into a playoff run since 2007.