Bill Belichick explains how losing a player like Julian Edelman affects the Patriots’ offense
Bill Belichick didn’t have much to say immediately after Julian Edelman’s apparent season-ending injury in Friday’s preseason game. However, Belichick did begin to open up Monday about how the loss of the Patriots’ top receiver would affect the team’s offensive game-planning.
In a press conference, Belichick explained that the Patriots don’t design passing plays around any single receiver, though he acknowledged players were not equally replaceable.
“I don’t think you can throw the ball like that – just drop back and throw it to one guy,” the Patriots coach said.
“Each player is unique, each player has his own set of skills, so depending on who the players are in there, that affects sometimes what we do with them,” he said. “But, in terms of saying we’re going to go back and throw the ball to this guy on that play and throw the ball to somebody else on another play, I mean, unless it’s a screen, I’d say that rarely happens. So, that’s not really a conversation.”
Belichick said the team’s passing game is built around adapting to what the defense allows on a given play. Without providing specifics, he went on to say the presence of a player like Edelman affects the frequency with which the team might choose a certain play and how they line up certain players.
“Whoever plays a certain position, we might run more or less of a certain type of route because of that player’s skills,” he said, later adding. “It depends on what the defense does. But, the skill set of the players is reflected in the position they’re put in for the route that they’re going to run on that play.
The Patriots have a reputation for compensating for injured players on both sides of the ball. However, in a WEEI radio interview Monday, Belichick said it’s not exactly as simple as the oft-referenced, if cliched, slogan, “Next man up.”
“I don’t know if there’s a book on this you follow,” he said of replacing Edelman. “You look at the situation, you look at the options, and you try to choose the one that you feel is the best or a combination of ones you feel is best for the team.”
Between Brandin Cooks, Malcolm Mitchell, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, and undrafted rookie Austin Carr, the Patriots have a number of options to help fill the void left by Edelman. Asked specifically about Hogan, Belichick told WEEI that the 28-year-old receiver had built on his first season with the team and was “one of our best players.”
During the press conference Monday, the Patriots coach also praised the play and durability of Carr, though he hinted it would be a last minute call whether the former Northwestern University walk-on makes the team’s final roster.
“Clock’s ticking,” Belichick said. “It will come down to the wire. But, you know, he’s battled, he’s competed, he’s been out there every day.”
