Last year, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady played the Super Bowl without receiver Julian Edelman. This year, Brady will have at his disposal the player Brady calls his “little brother.”
“Yeah, we have a great relationship, Jules and I, and I trust him so much,” Brady told reporters on Saturday. “We’ve put in so many hours together in the meeting room, in the film room. . . . He’s always been kind of like my little brother, in a good way. I don’t have a little brother but he’s kind of like a little brother and he knows how much I love him. What he’s done with his career has been incredible and he’s so impressive as a player, as a leader -- to go from playing quarterback in college to receiver in the pros and then to become really a dominant receiver in the pros, I think speaks to his work ethic. I’m so happy in everything that he achieves and obviously I can’t say enough good things about Jules.”
Edelman is only the second player in NFL history with more than 100 postseason receptions, joining Jerry Rice.
“It’s really beyond incredible for Jules to do that,” Brady said. “When you talk about Jerry Rice, that’s a guy that’s set every receiving record in the history of the NFL basically. For Jules to be right there as one of two guys including him, again it’s just such a credit to Jules. Look at his stature. He wasn’t built like Megatron. He’s just built the way he was built and I think he’s just worked so hard over the years to learn how to play receiver. I think his quarterback background’s probably helped him in terms of knowing where to be, knowing how to get open and knowing when the quarterback wants to get rid of the ball. He’s just done an incredible job.”
Edelman had nine catches for 151 yards in the divisional round against the Chargers and nine for 96 against the Chiefs in the AFC title game. His presence has been critical to the ability of Brady to get rid of the football quickly, quickly enough to avoid getting hit.
