One of the biggest reasons why the New England Patriots passing attack is among the toughest for opposing teams to defend is because quarterback Tom Brady has an abundance of quality pass-catchers to target each play.
With so many options for Brady to choose from, not every wideout is going to get a consistent number of targets each week. Even Julian Edelman has to deal with this scenario. He was a key part of the Patriots' Week 1 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, tallying six receptions for 83 yards on 11 targets. Week 2 was a bit different. Edelman caught four passes for 51 yards on four targets in a 43-0 victory against the Miami Dolphins.
Overall, Brady has completed at least one pass to seven different receivers in each game this season. He's also thrown a touchdown pass to four different players. This picture is great for the Patriots, and also frustrating for fantasy football owners.
Edelman isn't focused on targets, or any other individual stats. He just wants to win football games and, ultimately, another Super Bowl title.
“I think it is everyone buying into the process of improvement," Edelman said Friday morning on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Morning Show".
"That is what September is about. It’s about going out and learning your team and improving your team through practice and games. When you have guys who are unselfish and really buy into that, the best stat is the win stat. That is what I am looking forward to and that is what I look forward to doing, is trying to play your best game on Sunday and collect wins.”
New England Patriots
Edelman is Brady's most trusted target, and a quick look at his playoff game log provides compelling proof of that. The 33-year-old veteran was Super Bowl LIII MVP, and he played a very clutch role late in New England's win over the Kansas City Chiefs in last season's AFC Championship Game.
Edelman is still going to be a huge part of the Patriots offense regardless of how many weapons Brady has at his disposal.
“I played with this guy Rob Gronkowski, I don’t know if you guys have heard, he’s probably like the best tight end ever to play the game. It’s not like I am not used to playing with superb weapons," Edelman explained. "It’s part of the game. This is a team sport. If I wanted to go out and collect stats I would have played tennis or ping-pong, or golf — an individual sport.”
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