Final week of preseason a ‘reality check' for more than just Edelman

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FOXBORO -- Patriots players have said in the past that the final week of preseason is, for many, a week used to prepare for Week 1 of the regular season. Get healthy. Get some mistakes cleaned up. Get ready for the first opponent for the regular season.

Julian Edelman told reporters on Tuesday that this week has been a "reality check," perhaps because for the first time in a long time, he's actually preparing to play in preseason game No. 4 instead of dialing in to the first meaningful game on the schedule.

“Real football starts soon,’’ said Edelman. “It’s definitely been a reality check, but I’m not going to sit here and worry about things I can’t control. Ultimately, I put myself in this situation, so it’s more of let’s go and get myself ready for when I can play, taking the extra time to get my knee feeling great, getting my ankles feeling great, this, that, the other thing, because the NFL season is a grind. That’s what I’m looking forward to.’’

With players facing suspensions in prior years, the Patriots have used the preseason finale as a last-ditch effort to get the suspended player some real work. Tom Brady played 39 snaps in the fourth week of the preseason before serving his Deflategate suspension in 2016. In 2014, facing a suspension for a substance-abuse policy violation, Brandon Browner played a whopping 51 snaps.

Edelman explained he's been trying to get extra work in this week knowing it's his last real opportunity at Gillette before Week 5.

“I definitely put a lot more value into these practices and every opportunity I’ve had this week to go out and do extra,’’ he said. “Yeah, I won’t be there for the first four, so I don’t want to go into those weeks saying, ‘I wish I would have done this or I wish I would have done that.’ It’s been a hard week."

Edelman said he's chatted with Brady about how to deal with the looming time off since Edelman will be required to stay away from the team's facility throughout his suspension. He also joked that he'd have retired teammates Rob Ninkovich chase him around with pads on to help keep him ready.

Whatever Edelman is doing, his team will have to learn to function without him. Leading up to this week, he's appeared to be included as though he were a staple in the offense. The Patriots have obviously known that they'll be without Brady's top receiver for four weeks, and offensive plans surely have been made anticipating Edelman's absence. But on the field, he's been active.

Edelman has oftentimes been first up in drills. He's seen plenty of 11-on-11 and one-on-one work through camp. He's started all three preseason games to this point, and he's played a total of 70 snaps. Against the Panthers, he played with Brady and the other offensive regulars, and he was key to their third-down plan; three of his five total targets came on third down.

Why turn to Edelman in those spots? Especially when Brady and Edelman have an established level of chemistry that others on the roster don't? Brady's trained to do just that when he sees No. 11. And keeping the chains moving, thereby getting other players more snaps, was likely viewed as critical.

Plus, the importance of getting Edelman work that will a) shake off the rust from a missed 2017 and b) prep him for when he's back in Week 5 can't be overlooked.

"Jules isn't going to be gone forever," Josh McDaniels said Tuesday. "Our responsibility in training camp is to get everybody ready to go so that they have a good strong foundation that lasts them the whole season. We want to continue to work on that throughout the year, but this is a great time to build that.

"Chemistry is something that we need from everybody. We need our second and third string guys to work with our third string because at some point that's going to happen. In Julian's case, you know he's going to miss a few games, but he's going to come back."

For now, Brady will have his smaller security blanket taken from him. (The big one, Rob Gronkowski, is still available.) That means he'll have to lean on others in crucial situations. Maybe it'll be Chris Hogan. It could be James White. But what if it's Phillip Dorsett, Cordarrelle Patterson or Rex Burkhead -- players Brady hasn't spent as much time with? 

McDaniels was asked on Tuesday if Brady's different approach this offseason might have stunted others' development.

"We don’t spend a lot of time thinking about that," he said. "All we have is the number of days we have, and the opportunities we’re presented and we try to make the most out of each one of them."

For receivers coach Chad O'Shea, who's always worked with players at other positions on receiver-specific responsibilities, the team should be able to compensate for what they're lacking at receiver thanks to a deep group of skill position players. 

“Julian’s been a really productive player for us here with the Patriots,” O’Shea said. “We have a group of skill players who certainly bring a lot of strengths that allow us to be in position to be successful. It’s a positive on this football team that we have as many skill players that have done well for us and will continue to do well based on their skill-sets.”

This week, as the Patriots edge closer to games that matter, they may have a better idea of just how much they'll rely on those other positions with Edelman out. 

Who lines up in the slot? Who gets looks on third down? Who does Brady trust? Which personnel packages will be most successful? 

This week has been a reality check for Edelman, knowing he won't be a part of those conversations for the first month of the regular season. But it's a reality check for the group he'll leave behind as well. 

While Edelman will likely see plenty of action on Thursday, the Patriots must be, in some ways, preparing for the Texans in Week 1. That means that, in some ways, they must be preparing for life without him.

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