Devin McCourty says Julian Edelman is harder to cover than Wes Welker is

[Brady6]

I think games where he was "questionable" should definitely count against him. Every single week we see a bunch of "questionable" players who ARE integral to the team ruled out.

Maybe but Amendola was listed as questionable 6 times last season and he played in all 6.

 

[SalemPats]

I think this would be a bigger story if D-Mac said the opposite

 

[Brady6]

I think this would be a bigger story if D-Mac said the opposite

I don't think he would do that, there is a way to answer a question without choosing one player and McCourty could have done that if he did not sincerely believe Edelman was more difficult to cover.

 

[SalemPats]

I don't think he would do that, there is a way to answer a question without choosing one player and McCourty could have done that if he did not sincerely believe Edelman was more difficult to cover.

We can agree that if he said Amendola was tougher then it would be interesting news

 

[strngplyr]

We can agree that if he said Amendola was tougher then it would be interesting news

I think Amendola *IS* tougher to cover. Amendola can catch anything thrown his way from the sideline, theres never a defender within 30 yards of him.

 

[PP2]

Does Edelman have issues with concussions?

Seems like he's had one each year since '10 in the Ravens game. He had a particuarly nasty one in '12 in that Thanksgiving game vs. the Jets (Thurs) and was made active the coming Sunday, which IMO was not a good idea.

 

[Brady6]

Seems like he's had one each year since '10 in the Ravens game. He had a particuarly nasty one in '12 in that Thanksgiving game vs. the Jets (Thurs) and was made active the coming Sunday, which IMO was not a good idea.

He shows up on the injury report with a concussion in 2010 and 2012.

http://www.kffl.com/player/21170/nfl/injury_history/julian-edelman

 

[203Pat]

Honestly what else is he going to say?

 

[The Scrizz]

I kinda believe it. One of Welker's biggest strengths was making the first guy miss him when trying to tackle him. Edelman is probably harder to cover while Welker is harder to tackle after the catch.

I don't know; Edelman is pretty shifty in his own right. He makes guys look ridiculous with his 1st step on returns. Welker's change of direction ability before the ball is thrown is what I would call his biggest strength.

It would have been interesting to see what Welker would have done this year on the Pats if you swapped him out with Edelman.

 

[Rob0729]

I don't know; Edelman is pretty shifty in his own right. He makes guys look ridiculous with his 1st step on returns. Welker's change of direction ability before the ball is thrown is what I would call his biggest strength.

It would have been interesting to see what Welker would have done this year on the Pats if you swapped him out with Edelman.

You watch Welker and you see a guy look like he is about to lay him out and Welker somehow makes the guy almost bounce off him because he gets so low. Woodhead had some of that. Edelman doesn't have that because he is bigger. That was my point.

Welker in his prime probably would have done better. Welker of last year? I don't know. He looked to have lost a step even before the concussion. He looked more suited for the role that Denver used him as a second, third, or fourth option depending on the game, but never as Manning's primary receiver.

 

[AzorianPats]

I don't know; Edelman is pretty shifty in his own right. He makes guys look ridiculous with his 1st step on returns. Welker's change of direction ability before the ball is thrown is what I would call his biggest strength.

It would have been interesting to see what Welker would have done this year on the Pats if you swapped him out with Edelman.

Agreed. I'm sure everyone remembers JE TD against Denver last year. That was amazing. It looked straight out of a video game.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Edleman might be harder to cover from a pure physical skills, but Welker knows where to be and is on the same page with his QB (Brady and Manning). Not saying Edleman isn't, but that is really Welkers strength.

for example, if it's 3rd and 8, you'd be hard pressed to find Welker running a route that is less than 8 yards unless he sees the Blitz coming. Unfortunately for Wes, his current QB is going to get him killed and probably misses Brady's accurate passes/ability to throw Wes out of danger (as much as possible on a play).

Both have the hearts of a champion and I'm still glad that Edleman is on the team.

 

[Triumph]

I guess that's why I said "imagine," whereas you actually believe you know more about drafting players from reading Kiper and watching youtube than Belichick does after decades and decades of real NFL experience. You are truly delusional.

Imagine if the NFL had a salary cap.

 

[Triumph]

What is most impressive is despite not picking in the top 20 we have managed to draft players like Chandler Jones, Devin McCourty, Jamie Collins, and others who are nearly as effective as the JJ Watt, Darrelle Revis, and other top draft choices.

Which NE CB has been nearly as good as Revis? Please don't tell me Mcourty because that would truly be a joke. The Pats have failed terribly at drafting CBs and that's why they've had to go the FA route to fix the position with Talib and Revis. Dennard has shown flashes at being good and Ryan may develop. Lets hope.

C Jones is good, but I do not see him anywhere near JJ Watt

The Pats have hit on a few players. Gronk would be the best TE in the game and possibly NFL history if he wasn't constantly injured.

 

[Brady6]

Which NE CB has been nearly as good as Revis? Please don't tell me Mcourty because that would truly be a joke. The Pats have failed terribly at drafting CBs and that's why they've had to go the FA route to fix the position with Talib and Revis. Dennard has shown flashes at being good and Ryan may develop. Lets hope.

McCourty is a two-time all pro in just four NFL seasons, he is not as good a CB as Revis but as a safety he is on par with the class that Revis is in as a CB.

C Jones is good, but I do not see him anywhere near JJ Watt

Production wise Chandler Jones had 79 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and 7 run stuffs in 2013, JJ Watt had 80 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and 15 run stuffs. Is Chandler as good as Watt no not right now anyway, but is he giving us nearly what Watt is giving the Texans as I said, I would say yes.

 

[Brady6]

You watch Welker and you see a guy look like he is about to lay him out and Welker somehow makes the guy almost bounce off him because he gets so low. Woodhead had some of that. Edelman doesn't have that because he is bigger. That was my point.

Welker in his prime probably would have done better. Welker of last year? I don't know. He looked to have lost a step even before the concussion. He looked more suited for the role that Denver used him as a second, third, or fourth option depending on the game, but never as Manning's primary receiver.

Welker greatest attribute was his ability to anticipate impact and change the trajectory of it. You would see him running into what you thought was going to be a blow that split him in half and then at the last moment he could make a minor adjustment to avoid a devastating collision. Edelman has improved at that, but still needs some work, Amendola really needs to start learning how to do it because that is what leads to a number of injuries is taking those brutal hits in space from LBs and SAFs with 50+ lbs. on them.

 

[SalemPats]

Welker greatest attribute was his ability to anticipate impact and change the trajectory of it. You would see him running into what you thought was going to be a blow that split him in half and then at the last moment he could make a minor adjustment to avoid a devastating collision. Edelman has improved at that, but still needs some work, Amendola really needs to start learning how to do it because that is what leads to a number of injuries is taking those brutal hits in space from LBs and SAFs with 50+ lbs. on them.

The thing about Amendola that suprised was his lack of agility. Brady is the most patient QB in the league, he'll wait for you to have a bit of space or give it to you where you can make a play. Edelman surpassed DA because of his elusiveness and ability to create plays in space like Wes did. All 3 guys have good hands and can run a route, DA is just not as agile as those guys and perhaps not as tough. It's not a knock on DA, it's just how great Edelman and Welker are as slot players

 

[Brady6]

The thing about Amendola that suprised was his lack of agility. Brady is the most patient QB in the league, he'll wait for you to have a bit of space or give it to you where you can make a play. Edelman surpassed DA because of his elusiveness and ability to create plays in space like Wes did. All 3 guys have good hands and can run a route, DA is just not as agile as those guys and perhaps not as tough. It's not a knock on DA, it's just how great Edelman and Welker are as slot players

I think the general belief is that Amendola's lack of agility was a result of the groin injury. Personally, I'm not sure, I could go either way with it but for the sake of avoiding an Amendola debate I will assume that belief is correct and expect to see a more agile and effective player in 2014.

 

[SalemPats]

I think the general belief is that Amendola's lack of agility was a result of the groin injury. Personally, I'm not sure, I could go either way with it but for the sake of avoiding an Amendola debate I will assume that belief is correct and expect to see a more agile and effective player in 2014.

Even if he is healed, I don't think he's as good as mini-tron

 

[Sicilian]

Even if he is healed, I don't think he's as good as mini-tron

To be fair, Mini-tron wasn't as good as Mini-tron until he was healthy for a whole season.