Julian Edelman’s Return Makes New England Patriots Offense Whole Again

January 20, 2016   ·   Erik Frenz   ·   Jump to comments

When the New England Patriots lost wide receiver Julian Edelman to a foot injury in November, their offense went into the tank. His return was seen as the potential difference-maker in the Patriots rediscovering their success on offense.
The expectations weren't too high. 
Without Edelman for two months, quarterback Tom Brady was without one of his most trusted targets on short passes. As a result, the pressure on Brady increased, putting the Patriots into a Catch-22: they couldn't achieve as much success on short passes without Edelman, but couldn't switch to a more vertical passing game without good pass protection from the offensive line.
With Edelman back, the conundrum has reached its conclusion. NESN's Doug Kyed noted Edelman's importance to the team:
It's no coincidence that Brady's average time in the pocket went down considerably with Edelman's return. According to stats website Pro Football Focus, Brady averaged 2.13 seconds in the pocket in the ...

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