Losing Edelman and Amendola may be the biggest change for Brady in years

[JarOfMayo51]

Losing Edelman was a devastating blow to this offense... I'd almost go as far as to say that with Edelman, they beat KC by getting a few more key first downs that sustained a few more drives and lead to some more points on the board

Amendola was the next person on that mental level with Brady and had the skillsets to make up some of that production with Edelman, except for the fact that Edelman is made out of NAILS and Amendola is made out of glass, so he can't sustain the violence that is incurred at that position the way Edelman can


I also think the reason the RBs weren't utilized more in the passing game is because KC has the personnel on defense to negate that strategy... they have a lot of talent in the front 7 that can cover RBs out of the backfield and they also have/had an All-Pro Safety (granted he was glued to Gronk all game)


You have to take your hat off to KC, they're a really good team that has a lot of talented players on it.. there is a reason they were the #2 seed last year, losing in the playoffs to the team we faced in the AFCCG (with a healthy Bell).. they aren't some chump team


Alex Smith also doesn' get a lot of credit for what he did as a 49er... Go look back to those playoff games he lost before he was traded and Kaepernick got the nod (huge mistake by 49ers in hindsight lolol).. 2011, the 9-7 regular season Giants met the 49ers in the NFCCG and the 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams gave that game away when he fumbled TWICE on a punt return deep in their own territory that the Giants capitalized on.. the last one was in OVERTIME


Recap of how that whole playoff timeline went;

Divisional round vs Saints:
Alex Smith leads a 4th quarter comeback, throwing a 14 yard go-ahead touchdown from 14 yards out on a 3rd and 3 with NINE SECONDS LEFT in the game to give the 49ers a conference championship birth


NFC Championship vs NY Giants:
8 minutes left in 4th quarter, 49ers are up 14-10 and stuff the Giants, forcing them to punt

Kylie Williams fumbles the return... lets the ball touch his leg and then doesn't even go after the ball, just walks away and the Giants jump on it and recover.. they score a touchdown on the very next play I believe with a pass from Manning to Manningham.. Giants up 17-14

49ers get a nice return to midfield (by Kyle Williams, gotta give him SOME credit.. i guess?).. Alex Smith gets a 20+ yard QB run that ultimately sets up the field goal to tie the game 17-17 with 5:35 left in the game

2:25 left in game, Giants get stuffed and the 49ers actually stripped the ball from the runner, but the refs called "forward progress" and ruled the play dead, saving the Giants season (remember this is 2011)... they ran a few more plays, punt and the game goes to overtime tied 17-17

Giants get the ball first in OT, they get to midfield but stall out and have to punt with less than 10 minutes remaining in OT

Kyle Williams muffs the punt and its recovered by the Giants at the 25 yard line. they kick the field goal and win the game

I don't need to remind everyone of what the Giants went on to do the very next game... you get the idea




So Alex Smith was playing well for the 49ers and was making some big time plays in playoff and championship games... he's not elite or anything, but hes a decent QB in this league

 

[mgteich]

It's pure speculation on my part, but I think the reason NE was willing to surrender a 1st for Cooks is because the expectation is he'll develop into a supercharged version of the Welker/Edelman role while also being an excellent chess piece on the boundary/downfield while that role is filled by current players.

In other words, now that both Julian and Danny are on the shelf, I'll be shocked if Cooks doesn't gradually take more of those responsibilities as the season goes on.

Let me get this straight. Beliechikc extended Edelman and retained Amendola. Belichick then chose to give up a 1st round draft choice to get a slot receiver who could occasionally go downfield?

I have another view. Belichick wanted one of the best receivers in the league to be our best downfield threat since Moss, so that the offense could regularly extend the field of play.

 

[Oswlek]

Let me get this straight. Beliechikc extended Edelman and retained Amendola. Belichick then chose to give up a 1st round draft choice to get a slot receiver who could occasionally go downfield?

If that bore any resemblance to what I wrote, I'd be confused as well. Perhaps you should read it again.

 

[mosslost]

Edelman actually caught 37 of 54 tgts for 359 yards and a TD as a rookie, and returned 6 punts and 11 kickoffs for better than league average. He showed at least a bit of his magic from the get-go.

In addition to Burkhead, either Foster and Carr may have been able to develop into a very good slot receiver - eventually. But I think their futures with the Pats may have changed the moment Edelman was injured and the slot receiver issue became a bit more of a "right the eff now" issue. Burkhead gets some time this season because he's a decent runner between the tackles.

I think, if you think of it terms of "production" as opposed to OMG we lost Brady's mind meld receiver, then I feel more positive. (Guessing on the stats at the moment but..) JE was like 98 catches, 1000ish yards, maybe 6 TDs or so, not sure, but I think that is sort of close... The Offense won't be exactly the same, but it is loaded with talent that Brady and Josh HAVE to figure out how to spread that production around. And they must somehow mirror the ability to constantly move the chains the way he could when JE was around. Mitchell being out too hurts tremendously. Hogan or more likely Cooks has to become huge on the third downs.. I am still betting they get the Offense rolling in Patriot like manner this season. 27-30 points in game one which most of us think they looked awful remember.