Re: Edelman may be worth $6-$8 million, but is he worth that to a team that has Amend
I do watch the games, so I see exactly what you see (unless you pull out coaching credentials and provide actual game film clips that a coach would review, then your opinion without facts on the subject is useless and not worthy of debate - I get that you don't like Amendola for all the threads you have created discussing him (too high contract, crony of the hated McDaniels, manipulated the Pats to get a sweetheart deal, etc.)). And what I see now is when pressed on the value of statistics, you lapse into unfounded opinion or redirect. Point of fact - he is a better player because you believe him to be, nothing more. Don't claim objectivity because that is the very definition of subjective.
Edelman is a better player for many reasons, he is better after the catch, has better field awareness, is more agile and capable of getting open in tight coverage, has an understanding situational football, catches the ball in stride better, positions his body against the defender better, can stretch the football field on the outside better, among other things.
My thinking he is better is not even a factor, the reality is he has proven that he is a better player because he has proven that he is, on the same team with Amendola he outperformed him from day 1. He had more catches in the preseason, and his week 1 play was more significant than Amendola’s since he caught two touchdown passes. The biggest difference is I am saying a player that has “done it” is the better player and you are claiming that a player who entered the NFL in 2008 and has never done it is better. It has nothing to do with my liking Amendola, for the record, I do like him just fine. It has to do with acknowledging reality, which is that he has never done what Edelman did this season and until he does, he should not be held in higher regard than Edelman should. I am saying the player who has done it is the better player, you are projecting that a player who has never done it is the better player, I have nothing to explain or justify because my opinion has a backbone yours does not it is built on hope.
What is the difference between Brady and Edelman? Brady joined the team in 2000 as a very low draft, survived cuts and tore up the depth charts with his performance in preseason to the extent BB made him number 2. Brady was competing with a marquee QB and the face of the franchise under a very high value contract with all the political ramifications of that decision. There is only one QB position, and multiple receiver positions. Edelman was competing against whatever journeyman happened to join the team. BB didn't trade Bledsoe immediately after 2001 because he believed Bledsoe to be the better QB. Edelman has been on this team since 2009, was allowed to test the market last year and there were no takers. Strange that an uber-receiver like that would not draw interest in the market, and he would settle for a paltry one-year deal. All the experts on the subject that make those determinations in the NFL must not see what you see with your amazing perception when watching the games, so I suspect that means you can join the NFL as a very high-priced scout with your supreme vision on the subject if you believe your own argument. First day of free agency in 2013? March 13th. Edelman contract signed? April 10th. Those are the facts. By your Brady comparison, Edelman advanced in snail like movement over 4 seasons, displacing nobody on the depth chart, until the depth chart literally disappeared last season. Coincidentally, all primary targets were injured or gone, and suddenly he gets thrown to all the time when the Pats start to run the ball more and his statistics go off the charts in comparison to past years. If you watch the games, you would understand all this and admit you just choose to dismiss it in claiming he is just better now while discounting all environmental variables that may put statistics in context. Outside of the generalized 'opportunity' theme, Brady was already there competing against the best after his rookie season, Edelman never was until all of his competition disappeared. Not even close to comparable.
Edelman made the team as late draft pick, tore up the depth chart to #2 by his performance as well. Edelman was competing with a marquee receiver in Wes Welker who was widely considered the best player to ever lineup in the slot in NFL history.
I cannot help but question if you watched the Patriots in 2009 because you clearly did not notice that Edelman was very productive as a rookie and immediately emerged as a factor. In 12 games (11 regular season, 1 postseason), Edelman had 43 receptions, 403 yards, and 3 touchdowns.
The team moved a different direction in 2010 and acquired the following players over the next 3 seasons –
- Deion Branch
- Rob Gronkowski
- Aaron Hernandez
- Taylor Price
- Brandon Tate
- Chad Johnson
- Brandon Lloyd
Edelman was lost in the shuffle and since he was Wes Welker’s backup and Welker never came off the field, his opportunities were limited, I cannot believe that you expected him to leap Welker and take playing time away from high draft picks and notable trade and UFA acquisitions.
If you believe Edelman had some receiver epiphany and became the second coming of Wes Welker in the past two years, then point to what is different this year in his performance than last year and prior years with actual images/evidence of improvement or articles describing such an evaluation and defeat the "any port in a storm" theory rather than offering a vague "if you watch, he is just better" answer. Know that NFL teams have people with that evidence, and disagreed flatly and universally with you last year when they did their due diligence. If you search interest in Amendola in 2013, there were rumors of interest by the Eagles, the Ravens, and others before the Pats signed him. The experts once again seem to differ with your opinion in comparing the two.
Who disagrees, name some names of teams, or experts that disagree with me today? Right now, you are leaning on experts and teams thinking a player who had proved what he could do with an opportunity to play was better than a player who had minimal opportunity to date during the 2013 offseason. Wow, that is shocking to hear.
I am talking about today, not 2013 and I challenge you to find any expert that agrees with your belief that Amendola is a better player than Edelman is right now.
Tonight’s Power Ball is $400 million, are you going to buy a ticket? Alternatively, do you simply expect to win without having the ticket that gives you the opportunity to win?
Just so you know I do not have to show you evidence the player I advocate for has had a 100+ reception, 1000+ yards, and 5+ touchdown season in his career; the player you are advocating for has never achieved one of those things never mind all three. The burden of proof is certainly on you to provide.
You can diminish what I say in posts all you want, add in suggestive statements like “you know I do not like Amendola” in order to imply a bias to discredit what I post all you want but it does not matter. At the end of the day, you are living in an imaginary land where a player makes the seventh year leap to elite. Given your opinion on this situation, I do not blame you for trying to discredit me with slighting and suggestiveness, it is your only hope at sounding creditable.
