Gotta love what this team is about off-the-field as well…
Great photo of Rob Ninkovich visiting pediatric patients at @DanaFarber this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/LIrJbhYiKT
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 3, 2013
Do you think Edelman will end up the same way as Welker at the end of this year, or are both sides on friendlier/interested terms and more likely to get a deal done?
It will certainly be a hotly-debated topic very shortly for sure.
The biggest thing, as I see it, is if you’re another team, how confident are you that Edelman is not a product of the New England system? Unless you have an elite QB at the trigger, it might be a stretch to think that Edelman can put up the same kind of numbers.
No question, he is an elite punt returner on any team, but do you pay him like a #1 WR? The Patriots have some insurance with Amendola, who should take some good strides forward next year after a full season in the system. I mean, most of us thought Amendola would be the main slot guy anyway.
It took Edelman some time to develop and, maybe most important of all, he’s stayed healthy. Don’t think there’s much dropoff from Edelman to Amendola next season if Edelman walks. But Amendola would just need to stay healthy like Edelman has this year.
But Edelman’s a homegrown player and is showing how much he’s earned Tom Brady’s trust. They knew what they were getting into when they gave him a “prove it” deal (just like with Talib) and they might have to live with having his pay bumped a bit because he’s proven it.
Edelman got to test the free agent market last season and really only got interest from the Giants as I remember. I’m just not convinced any team will believe he’ll play up to the money it will take to get him out of New England with a different QB.
Right now I’d say it’s likely they can figure something out that will work for both sides. But if the Pats can survive Welker’s departure, they can certainly survive without Edelman.
Still, you want to keep homegrown players in house and Edelman is one of the few WRs they’ve developed. They re-did the passing offense this season, there’s no reason to let the receptions leader walk again after he just emerged.
A more interesting question might be if they’d consider cutting Amendola and putting some of his cap space towards a long-term deal with Edelman…?
I won’t concede many things in the Peyton-Brady debate, but the acting category is one, even though this one is all Ron Burgundy.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/i-wont-concede-many-things-in-the-peyton-brady/
Team of the Month, Q3 | ProFootballFocus.com
Team of the Month, Q3 | ProFootballFocus.com
Gronk makes the team, and actually has four TDs in his last four games. We were saying it all along, ‘wait till the offense gets healthy’ and now, with Gronk back, they’re healthy and showing long stretches of being unstoppable.
Ho hum, now everyone’s focusing on whether or not the defense is good enough like this is 2010-2012 and simply glossing over the fact that the Pats re-did their passing game on the fly.
And by the way, the defense is good enough.
For those who appreciate the X’s and O’s of the game, it was pretty neat to watch how the Patriots manipulated matchups to create advantageous situations for their best players to make plays. The two things that stood out to me in the second half were going empty with two-back personnel (creating a matchup against the Texans’ base D) and creating an “open” side of the field by aligning both receivers to one side and attacking the “open” side in the passing game with tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back Shane Vereen matched up against linebackers and safeties. They also had some big runs against the Texans’ nickel defense out of their two-TE and two-back groupings. It was just another reminder to me that the Patriots’ coaching staff is always thinking and one of the best in the game.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/for-those-who-appreciate-the-xs-and-os-of-the/
