FOXBORO, Mass. — For the same reason they don’t wear letterman jackets to away games, the New England Patriots don’t participate in pregame trash talk with the opposing team.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, fittingly wearing a Richmond Flying Squirrels minor-league hat due to his nickname, had nothing but praise for head coach Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday.
“I think that’s more of a media thing,” Edelman said about the back and forth between the Patriots and Ryan-coached teams. “Nothing but respect for Coach Ryan. We’ve had some big losses against him, we’ve had some wins, he’s knocked us out of the playoffs, I mean it’s all great and everything, but it’s all in the past. Just worrying about these Buffalo Bills. That’s more of what you guys want to talk about. I’m not saying that in a bad way. Do your job.”
Edelman said the Patriots don’t waste their time thinking about chatter coming from other teams’ locker rooms while they’re preparing for or during a game because they’re professionals.
“You don’t want to concentrate on what another team is saying,” Edelman said. “We’re not in high school where ‘rah rah, this guy said that.’ This is the National Football League. This is our job. If you’re taking time out of your day to think about what other teams are saying and what’s going on in the outside world, you’re taking away from preparing and ultimately, there’s only 16 games, so every one counts. I’m just going to worry about what I’m going to do.”
Ryan already has taken multiple shots at Patriots running back Dion Lewis, who gained 120 total yards in Week 1. Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, who’s coming off a one-game suspension this week, said he “hates” the Patriots.
Thumbnail photo via Doug Kyed/NESN
