Re: Edelman may be worth $6-$8 million, but is he worth that to a team that has Amend
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.
If you watched the Pats this year, then you cannot offer a day 1 assessment because the reverse was true - even when Amendola got hurt that game. That was the Bills game. Refresh your recollection as to what actually happened there and the reviews of Amendola. The rest of the season was a hurt Amendola, which is what has been stated and repeated with an apparent lack of comprehension by you. Hurt players are not as productive as the healthy version. Try to grasp the concept.
Fact - there was reported interest 1 year ago from multiple teams other than the Pats. Fact - the same was not true of Edleman. Fact - Edelman signed a cheap one year deal to try again. Find something other than your thought process, admit you're wrong or admit you are incapable of distinguishing between fact and your unsupported opinion. Those are real NFL teams, with a real response and real motivations. Your opinion of his value has little weight next to that reality.
And if you are suffering a memory lapse, my reference to your issues with Amendola is taken straight from your incalculable number of threads and posts on conspiracy theories, McDaniels, Amendola and his contract. The fact you invite another discussion on whether Edelman is worth a high contract approximating Amendola is another invitation to troll the depths of your issues with Amendola. Feel free to run a search thread on your past discussions of Amendola and McDaniels. If you forgot your past threads on that subject, or how they pervade this Board, then you review them for enlightenment. I am not recounting your opinions for you. They were painful enough the first time.
Edelman has been with the Pats since 2009. Television performances are nice, but you need to grasp that people who are in the industry have coached and worked with him, just as they did with Brady, for far more time than you experience in watching a 60 minute game. Accept that your football IQ is a flatline next to the actual experts, and they did not keep him down as a player to lose games (the Pats went 10-6 in 2009 - where was JE and his phenomenal abilities with 37 receptions when the team was looking for offense? Oh yes, feel free to review the
game logs for how and when he made most of his receptions). He didn't move up on the depth chart for many years, which implies there were numerous other receivers better than he. This team runs multiple receiver sets, and
there is no depth chart of which I am aware for slot receivers. There is a receiver depth chart, and Edelman was not number 2 outside of this year. That link is to the Pats' depth chart, so please don't offer your fictitious slot depth chart that makes Edelman number 2. If it exists, link to it or accept that it is only a figment of your own imagination. I will. There actually can be two players labeled slot receivers on the field at the same time. It is weird how plays can script that feature.
And if you wish to call me out with phrases like "I cannot help but question if you watched the Patriots in 2009," feel free to IM me and we can have a candid discussion outside the public view of your perceived expertise. As a starter for that year, watch BB's
A Football Life - that was 2009, and understand what was going on with that team. Second, Edelman had 37 receptions, and 6 more a blowout loss to the Ravens after Welker went down in the Texans game when the game was out of hand the entire time. I was posting here in 2009, so I have that history and you can find my posts in actual discussions that year. You hadn't started your anti-McDaniels/Amendola crusade back then, so I have no clue what you were watching. You apparently have figured out the statistics function on ESPN, so feel free to look at the game logs and drive charts for the games in 2009 if you really did not follow the season. It may offer a clue.
And BB "lost JE in the shuffle"? Seriously - in a 53 man roster? BB seems to know exactly who is on his team and their capabilities, but apparently your vast expertise allows you to discern otherwise. I thought he hand-picked his roster, top to bottom, and attended every practice, game and most film sessions. That is why Brady saw the field in 2001. BB must have simply stopped watching JE, because you apparently know the truth. So let's close with that thought - BB forgot about JE and his nuclear strike receiver capabilities, until he was opened by other teams this year like a Pandora's Box of woe for defenses. You are absolutely right. JE is worlds better than Amendola. He may actually be better than Calvin or Andre Johnson. Statistically, Larry Fitzgerald as a rookie had only 58 receptions to JE's 43, so he is almost as good as Fitzgerald by your math. Rock on! Let's not pay him $6 million. He's worth $14 million easily. The NFL is calling for your expert services. Just pick up the phone.
