Inside The Numbers: Edelman Has Been Flawless in the Red Zone, Solid on Third Down
 Julian Edelman has once again been a big key in New England's offense during the early part of the 2014 regular season. (USA TODAY Images) |
Tom Brady talked on Monday about the performance of one receiver after the slow start the Patriots' offense has gotten off to and looking closer, Julian Edelman has been a key component in some big situations so far through three games.
The veteran receiver is once again off to a fast start, having already accumulated 22 receptions for 260-yards along with a touchdown. Through three games last season Edelman had 27 receptions for 201 yards and two touchdowns, so while he's slightly behind last year's pace, he's still well ahead of the next closest receiver, tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has 11 receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
Brady talked about Edelman during his weekly appearance on WEEI, saying that so far the receiver is one of the few who has been productive to this point.
“Yeah, he’s done a good job, so that’s one,” Brady said via ProFootballTalk.com. “We’ve got a lot of other guys on offense. There’s 22 other guys on offense, so I’m not going to sit here and say every single guy is clicking. We’ve had one individual player that’s caught some passes. Great. Does that make a good offense? I don’t think so."
Edelman has been flawless in the red zone when Brady's looked his way, having caught 6-of-6 along with converting three first downs and his touchdown grab. He was just as solid at this point last year, having hauled in 4-of-5 with two touchdowns.
He's also been a big key on third down, having caught seven passes on 10 targets, five of which have moved the chains. He had similar success over the same span last season, having caught 8-of-8 with five first downs and two touchdowns.
Needless to say, Edelman has been doing his part in an offense that is still trying to work out their issues. Brady admitted that if everyone was playing the way Edelman is, things would certainly be different and that's something they'll need to figure out moving forward.
“We’ve all got to figure out how to do a better job of that. It’s not one person. It’s not not singling any person out to say, ‘Wow, if this person were out, or if this person were in.’ I mean, if we had 11 people on the field that were producing like Julian Edelman, we’d have a pretty good offense. We’ve got one guy."
