Where the Hell is Danny Amendola?

The stat sheet may say otherwise, but Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did indeed target his diminutive wide receiver more than once on Sunday afternoon in Minnesota.

What resulted from the third-down play in the second quarter, with New England leading, 10-7, was a nifty deep pass down the sideline, complete for 26 yards and a first down on what would be the Patriots’ only bona fide offensive drive of the game.

Just like that, with one catch, the “What the hell is up with Danny Amendola?” questions were put to a merciful rest.

Except for the flag. Offensive pass interference on Aaron Dobson. Ten yards.

Oops.

Maybe the play would have silenced the critics that have arisen in the wake of Amendola’s forgotten value. Maybe it would have instilled more confidence in Brady to look his way more than six times over two games, only four times more than Dobson who wasn’t even active in Game 1 against Miami. Hell, if the catch weren’t called back, maybe it would have re-worked the guy into an offense that has clearly either ignored or lost faith in his abilities.

“We have to do a better job as a coaching staff,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “I have to do a better job of creating a little more balance on our team offensively with our personnel, our play calling, our plays and so forth. We have a lot of good players. We have to be more effective utilizing all of them.”

Maybe that’s a shot across Brady’s bow, because for sure, the quarterback has naturally targeted Rob Gronkowski (17 times) and Julian Edelman (15) the most so far during this young season. But he’s also looked to Shane Vereen and Kenbrell Thompkins (10 each, even with the latter inactive at Minnesota) than he has Amendola, who he looked to 83 times last season, almost seven times per game over the dozen contests for which Amendola was healthy.

It all makes Amendola, signed to a five-year, $28.5 million contract the moment Wes Welker bolted for Denver, a curious presence in New England, a hard-luck nuisance that seems to be a member of the Patriots only because…well, hell if we know at this point.

Through two games of the 2014 season, the 5-foot-11 Amendola has all of 16 yards receiving on three catches, all during Week 1. Through the first two games of 2013, Amendola, ushered into an offensive game plan that many laud as the most confusing in the NFL, had 159 yards receiving on 14 catches, an average yards per reception of 11.36. It’s less than half of that average (5.33) one year later.

It all begs the obvious and sometimes lazy questions; Are the Patriots phasing Amendola out of the game plan? Has Brady lost faith in the wide receiver? Is he hurt? Again?

“I think Danny has shown that he can be an obvious contributor in our offense,” said Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels about Amendola, who has never been healthy enough to play a full 16-game slate. “He did it last year and played through some different things and came up huge for us in a number of situations and a number of games.

“I have a lot of confidence in Danny, I have a lot of confidence in all our receivers and tight ends and backs in the passing game, and I would anticipate that we’ll go forward and the ball will get distributed to a lot of those guys that can do a lot of good things with it.”

Remember two years ago when Welker began his swan song in New England with an opening game against the Titans in which he caught only three balls on five targets for 15 yards? The Patriots were supposedly either “phasing” Welker out at that point or Brady had given up on him. It depends on whom you listened to wail about the matter on your FM preset.

Welker only went on to amass a 1,354-yard season with an average of 84.6 yards per game.

It’s not like Amendola had a Pro Bowl season in 2013 (633 yards, two touchdowns), a year in which his presence was treated more as an olive branch for critics of the team for allowing Welker to walk without much fanfare. But he clearly dove in as an instant contributor, a matter that seemingly vanished in the season’s waning weeks as if he told Brady that building moats are for suckers.

He was virtually ignored on Sunday, yet one of the two times Brady looked his way, Amendola came up with a big play. What gives?

“First of all, we only threw the ball 22 times the other day, and many of those were in two-receiver-type settings or came out quick in three-step drops and those kinds of things, and a lot of times the coverage dictates where the ball goes,” McDaniels said. “I don’t think it was a case of Tom misreading the coverage or Tom not looking in any specific direction. We have all our guys in the pattern, and Tom is capable of reading the coverage out and throwing it to the right guy and always does a great job of that. Sometimes that means the ball is going to go certain places more than others.”

Brady (15-of-22 against the Vlkings) was pretty clearly disgusted with his offense’s effort on Sunday, but whether that stems from being disgruntled about his array of raw weapons (Dobson, Thompkins, unfamiliarity with Brandon LaFell) aside from Gronkowski and Edelman, or McDaniels’ insistence to grind the ball into the Minnesota ground so many times that the Patriots uncovered a homer hanky time capsule. Its not like this came out of the blue in regards to Amendola though, who has fallen off a cliff since a 10-catch, 131-yard day against the Dolphins last Dec. 15.

He also dropped what should have been a potential game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the 24-20 loss in Miami. It was a drop that might have been the difference between a 13-3 and 12-4 record for the Patriots, who could have hosted the Broncos in the AFC title game with a victory in Miami instead of having to travel to Denver. Ouch.

Brady targeted him only nine more times the rest of the way, including a pair of playoff games in which Amendola saw six looks and three catches.

“There is always a place you start with your read, and sometimes if the guy happens to open right away, you don’t need to go any further,” McDaniels said. “We always try to be balanced and distribute the ball to all of our skill players. We feel like we have capable tight ends, capable receivers, capable backs, and it never is our attention to go into the game and throw the ball to just one or two guys in a particular situation.”

Maybe Amendola isn’t getting open to the desired effect Brady would like to see. But maybe the problem lies with Brady being stubborn. Or is this a burgeoning issue with McDaniels, a guy who left waves of disgust in Denver to return to the protective arm of Belichick? If, as many have opined, he’s in grooming to take over the helm once Belichick steps down, yikes.

“Those guys have a great attitude – everybody has – and sometimes you start one way, but definitely it’s a long season, and there are a lot of opportunities left, “McDaniels said. “I’m sure the ball will get thrown a lot of different directions here as we go forward.”

That’s probably true, but after one-eighth of the season, the Patriots offense is a dysfunctional mess, a matter in due part thanks to Gronkowski’s injury, Brady’s reluctance to forgive and forget, and Amendola’s fall from grace.

“A year under your belt in a system, in new place, a new organization, it’s kind of like when a rookie comes in for the first time and tries to learn the offense,” Amendola said during training camp in July. “It might be difficult sometimes, but that second year, the learning curve is much less.”

Maybe it’s a hiccup, as McDaniels insists. But Amendola hasn’t been a factor for Brady dating back to last season.

That’s a trend, not merely a curve.

The Patriots have scored 50 points to open the season, though much of the credit goes to the defense in Minnesota. Last year New England scored only 36 points over the first two games, including that wretched performance against the Jets in Week 2, a 13-10, rain-soaked win at Gillette.

Amendola missed that game with a groin injury. Of course he did.

Might as well use him while he’s healthy and on the field, right?. Brady’s reluctance to even give him a glance says otherwise. It’s a curious presence on a team seeking an offensive identity, and as we’ve seen over the years, those usually don’t end well in New England.