Expect New England to keep on rolling despite Edelman’s Injury

Trevor Palagonia, @tpalz, Aspiring Sports Writer

Trevor Palagonia
Aug 26, 2017 · 5 min read

The MRI of Edelman’s knee proved to be a torn ACL and he will miss the entire 2017 season. He suffered the injury last night, only a couple minutes into the Patriots’ second pre-season game against the Detroit Lions. But if there is a team that is best equipped with the players and coaches to endure losing a receiver like Julian Edelman, it would be the New England Patriots. Tom Brady still has Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Rob Gronkowski, and new addition Brandin Cooks at his disposal. Gronk’s health will now be more critical for reaching the promised land this year with Edelman out. Both James White and Dion Lewis can add to the passing attack from the backfield or lining up at receiver. And if any coach-quarterback duo has proven their ability to produce offense and win games with different surrounding pieces it has been Belichick and Brady.

Edelman has undoubtedly played a significant role in New England’s passing game since he’s been there. According to ESPN Stats, since 2009 Brady has a .818 win percentage with Edelman on the field, but that drops to a .684 win percentage when he’s been out. Brady has thrown 215 touchdowns and 44 interceptions with Edelman out there, a TD-INT ratio of 4.9. He’s thrown for 33 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, a TD-INT ratio of only 1.7 without Edelman. Brady and Edelman connected for 98 receptions, 1106 yards, and 3 touchdowns in 2016.

The trade for Brandin Cooks now seems like a key replacement rather than an overkill addition to an already impressive Patriots’ offense. But have no doubt that New England will remain impressive. No matter the supporting cast, Brady and Belichick have proven capable of scoring. And a passing attack built around Cooks and Gronk is not a bad place to start. If Gronk is healthy and is doing things like this.

Cooks had 78 receptions for 1173 yards, and 8 touchdowns in 2016. Cooks can help fill Edelman’s void in the short passing game and intermediate crossing routes, while also providing a spark as one of the best deep threats in the game. Exhibit A and Exhibit B.

Expect Danny Amendola’s and Chris Hogan’s roles to increase respectively. Amendola caught 65 balls last year for 648 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Hogan caught 36 balls for 450 yards and 2 touchdowns. Malcolm Mitchell, who caught 32 balls for 401 yards and 4 touchdowns last year, will also see a larger role. They will all help fill the void with Edelman sidelined for the year. James White has already been primarily a receiver rather than a runner; he caught 60 passes last year for 551 yards and 5 touchdowns while only running the ball 39 times for 166 yards. Belichick loves to run screen and pic/rub plays; these designs put his players in a position to make an easy play. White can be utilized in these plays like he was here.

Dion Lewis or “Little Dirty” as Edelman calls him, is back from his own ACL injury. Lewis was the one who filled the pass-catching back role before James White had stepped up in his absence. When healthy in 2015 in just 7 games, he had 388 yards receiving and 234 yards rushing. His return for the playoffs last year was historic; against the Houston Texans he had one rushing, receiving, and return touchdown each. He looked just as explosive as ever.

With the addition of Mike Gillislee as more of a true runner, Gillislee will assume the role of the goal-line and short yardage back. The New England plan of attack will remain the same. A balanced dose of running and passing, while keeping opponents off balance with meticulous game plans. The offense is an efficient machine that feeds off of small but meaningful gains. They are able to run the ball effectively and use short passing plays and screens as extended running plays. They have a big go-to target in Gronk if he stays on the field, and guys like Cooks, Lewis, and White that can hit the home-run plays. I expect the Patriots to approach this with a “next man up” mentality, and handle the void in production with in-house players. I expect them to sign someone and can see them finding another diamond in the rough like they always do, but I don’t anticipate them going out and desperately looking for trades. They have the pieces to be just fine, and they certainly have the right Coach and Quarterback for the job. No one is better at game planning and putting their players in a position to win.

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Trevor Palagonia

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Student, Sports Fanatic, Film and Music Junkie, History Nerd, Thinker.

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