Edelman Injury Seems to Now Be Confirmed

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

I think people comparing this injury to gronk are ridiculous. Edelman was one of Brady's security blankets. I think the offense will score points but people will have to step up including Mitchell. Some teams might put a safety over the top on cooks.

 

[lancerman]

I love jules, but WR is are most stacked position by far. Like it was kinda ridiculous what we were fielding to begin with and that's before you even look at all our RB's who can catch out of the backfield. Realistically I don't see a reason why any schemes Edelman would be in can't be made up for by a mix of Amendola and Cooks. It would have been nice to have the decoys and extra options, but we aren't killed there.

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

Is Eric Decker still available?

 

[maineman209]

Would you risk anyone snagging him up, though ? And giving him a case of the foxboro flu is also dangerous unless you keep one of the designated spots open for him specifically because if Brady or JG sustain an injury then anyone coming of the street wont be as good as JB with respect to the system.

I honestly don't know.

For me, it comes down to the total number of reasonably viable pass-catchers on the roster.

Based on a breakdown of previous (+/-) 600 passing attempt seasons, my original target distribution projection was:

Tier-1: Gronk/Cooks/Edelman = ~95-100 targets each
Tier-2: White/Hogan/Mitchell* = ~65-70 targets each
Tier-3: Lewis/Allen/Burkhead/Amendola split the vast majority of the ~100-120 remaining targets among them.
Tier-4: Gillislee/Develin/a TE-3/Slater pick up a handful of targets each.

With Edelman gone (and *Mitchell dinged up, and Slater possibly gone), I don't think the target redistribution required to compensate for Edelman's loss is a matter of (A) simply promoting one guy from each Tier to the next Tier up in terms of number of targets, or (B) simply dividing Edelman's targets among the remaining guys proportionate to their Tier. At some point, one or more of the Tier-1/Tier-2/Tier-3 guys are likely to miss a game (or two or three), and further adjustments to compensate could limit the available playbook for those games/opponents.

Brissett taking up a roster spot certainly reduces the Pats' flexibility in retaining other supplemental pass-catchers.

So, it's potentially losing Brissett versus ensuring that the playbook isn't limited for Brady/JG at some point later in the season for a couple games, perhaps critical ones.

I just haven't decided yet which represents the greater downside and which provides more insurance.

 

[farn]

At the defining moment, Edelman made the play and Welker did not

This.

This is the only thing that concerns me. When the lights are bright and it's time to make a huge play, JE is the proven player. The O is still loaded, especially if Gronk makes it through the entire season & Cooks is the dynamic player we think he is. But, the trust factor + clutch ability is going to be a challenge to replace.

Won't be popular, but unless JE takes cheap $ upon returning, it's not a given we'll see the same player going forward. My hope is that a few of the younger players, such as Hogan, Mitchell and Cooks establish themselves to the point that JE can return and be a DA : ho hum in season, but crazy clutch when it counts.

 

[PatsWSB47]

I was wondering before this which talented player we'd have to let go only to be picked up by a rival. Now I'm wondering which one we just got to keep. Kind of a silver lining I guess.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Is Eric Decker still available?

The better question is his wife?

 

[Family]

Can never replace Julian. Sorry for him, but if anybody can bounce back it's Edelman.

If Matthew Slater is IRed I can see the Pats keeping all of Gillislee, Burkhead, White, Lewis, Develin, Foster, and even Bolden for special teams and veteran leadership, while still having a 5th WR.

If Slater is lost for a great part of the season as well, this is a lot of experience and leadership loss.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

He saw what happened in '15.

Exactly, we lost because edelman wasn't right after that foot injury from the giant game.

 

[Uptown]

(IF) the Pats choose to go the Veteran FA route, Eddie Royal may not be a bad option. Assuming he can pick up the playbook.

Eddie Royal

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

Someone will make the team either carr or Lucien. You can't go with just 4 wrs in hogan, cooks, mitchell, and amendola.

 

[PatsWSB47]

We lost Brady for 4 games last year and Gronk for the rest of the year after Seattle. We'll figure it out and get it done. "You gotta believe"........We will Julian. I'd buy a shirt or hoodie with at on it.

 

[maineman209]

In general, I agree with the sentiment that the offense has more than enough talent in the short-medium passing game to be formidable without Edelman.

What I wonder about is those segments of games last year, where the announcers just kept saying, "Brady to Edelman for a first down." At times it seemed to go on for entire drives. How much of that is about Edelman? How much about the play they ran, and it didn't matter much who the receiver was? How much was it that Brady just went there first because it is easy, and if he couldn't, he would have found someone else? I just don't know how to allocate answers to these options.

I think a LOT of it was about Edelman. There really isn't another pass-catcher on the Pats who can go from being well-covered to having a yard of separation in one ankle-breaking cut.

 

[bormio]

Someone will make the team either carr or Lucien. You can't go with just 4 wrs in hogan, cooks, mitchell, and amendola.

I think one of those will make the 53. Does not mean they will be active on opening night. Still think Burkhead may take some snaps along with Dola. But by the end of the year things could be very different.

 

[Uptown]

It would be bittersweet for Edelman's last significant memory be the Incredelman catch in the SB. Hopefully not. Hears to a wolverine-like recovery bro

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

I think one of those will make the 53. Does not mean they will be active on opening night. Still think Burkhead may take some snaps along with Dola. But by the end of the year things could be very different.

You can't have enough depth because of injuries. Our offense would have been ridiculous with Jules. It will still score points but it won't be as consistent i feel but we will see.

 

[Kdo5]

I don't doubt Edelman could make a comeback from this but can't help but be pessimistic. Best of luck, Jules.

 

[maineman209]

(IF) the Pats choose to go the Veteran FA route, Eddie Royal may not be a bad option. Assuming he can pick up the playbook.

Eddie Royal

Or simply not drop it repeatedly.

 

[bormio]

It would be bittersweet for Edelman's last significant memory be the Incredelman catch in the SB. Hopefully not. Hears to a wolverine-like recovery bro

By the end of the year, someone will be the #1 slot receiver for the New England Patriots, and Jules will be fighting to get his job back. That is the NFL.

 

[Ross12]

No passes for Edelman were intercepted last year - of course only 5 INTs.

Yeah, just thinking out loud. I don't have any data to back it up.