Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

August 15, 2010

Edelman's simply finding his own destiny

Despite comparisons, Julian Edelman isn't Wes Welker, but he's getting there in a hurry.

By Mike Lowe mlowe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

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Edelman, who is listed at 5-foot-10, 198 pounds, tries not to listen to that kind of talk. Based on his rookie season -- he caught 37 passes for 359 yards and one touchdown (then caught six passes for 44 yards and two touchdowns replacing Welker in the playoff loss to Baltimore) -- expectations have been raised.

He's trying to temper them.

"I've got to prepare like I prepared last year to do my job," he said. "You've got to manage those expectations."

But they'll get higher after performances like Thursday's. On New Orleans' first punt, Edelman caught the ball at the Patriots' 41, sidestepped a tackler, shrugged off another, slipped through another and ran down the right sideline for 40 yards, setting up a 35-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.

On the Patriots' next possession, he made another jaw-dropping play.

Taking a quick pass from Tom Brady in the right flank, Edelman made a quick head-and-shoulders move, making Saints cornerback Jabari Greer miss. Then he ran 21 yards to the Saints' 16, leading eventually to a touchdown run by BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

Afterward, Edelman said that he knows he can't slack off.

"I still have a long ways to go," he said. "I've got to keep working hard, taking my notes and preparing real hard every week.

"There were a couple of mistakes left out there on the field and I've got to go out there and get that fixed. We'll watch the film and I'm sure there's probably more (mistakes) and I'm going to get yelled at.

"I'll just take that and bring it to next week's practice and get ready for next week's game."

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com

 

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