Brandon LaFell spent his time on PUP rooting hard for his team and had been looking forward to getting back out on the field before his rocky return two weeks ago against the Jets.
Throughout the season his cheers could be heard on Twitter, with the veteran receiver having to watch from the sidelines the way the fans who root for his team do, and he was a vocal supporter during his time recovering from a foot injury that left him as a spectator to start 2015.
His first game back didn’t likely turn out quite the way he hoped. Against the Jets his nerves seemed to get the better of him and he had difficulty catching the football after Brady targeted him eight times with two receptions, with the remaining incompletions coming because they simply fell from LaFell’s grasp.
But a lot has changed from that game and two weeks later LaFell finally returned to form, finishing with 102 yards on five receptions during Sunday’s 27-10 win over Washington. It was great to see, as the veteran finally started looking like the player who became a key component in the Patriots’ championship run last season.
Of LaFell’s five catches, four of them went for first downs and moved the chains for New England including a 48-yard grab that Brady heaved down the field in his direction, helping him finish with a 20.4 yards per catch average.
LaFell told the media after the game that the foot that sidelined him from the start of the season still bothers him, but he was glad he was able to get into a rhythm Sunday.
“My foot felt pretty good during warmups,” LaFell said afterwards. “It wasn’t giving me a lot of pain like it usually does. Brady came and found me early and often and I got into a good rhythm today. Just played good. The offense played good today.”
Seven receivers caught passes on Sunday, with Brady doing a good job of spreading the football around while each of them made plays. LaFell admitted that getting everyone involved from the time the game starts is going to be important, and it helps the entire offense be more productive.
“I think it’s very important for every guy on this team,” said LaFell. “We’ve got so many guys that can make plays, so the sooner we get the ball in these guys’ hands, they can start getting their confidence rolling and get into the rhythm of the game.”
“Get hit, get up, and just keep rolling. I feel like we played better, especially when we spread the ball early.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
