Julian Edelman’s willingness to go over the middle comes at a price.
Edelman not only looked a bit dazed after catching a crucial third-down pass from Tom Brady in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIX. The New England Patriots wide receiver also scared the daylights out of his father, Frank Edelman.
“I worry every second of the day, every second of every day,” Frank Edelman told the Boston Herald in a phone interview Thursday. “Being a parent of a football player — I don’t know what it’s like to be the parent of a big lineman — but there’s one thing we all have in common. We’re all frightened to death.
“There’s obviously so much joy and excitement and pride. That just comes with the territory. But there’s a dark side to it. And the dark side is the injuries, and when is it going to be taken away? Hopefully, your son can leave the game because he wants to, not because he has to, which is uncommon. Normally, you lose to the game.”
Julian Edelman appeared woozy late in the Patriots’ 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks, but he apparently checked out OK. The wideout wasn’t diagnosed with a concussion and stayed in the contest to catch the game-winning touchdown with just over two minutes remaining.
Frank Edelman, while admittedly a nervous wreck, suggested in his interview with the Herald that football players, like his son, understand the inherent risk that comes with playing such a physical sports. He, himself, has long been around the game — as a player and a coach — so he knew Julian was in for a crushing hit when Brady looked his way on 3rd-and-14.
“That (third-down) play is no man’s land in the NFL. When they’re setting up that Cover-2, they’re letting you have that, if you have the guts to go there. And that’s what Seattle will give you, is that area,” Frank Edelman said. “It was 3rd-and-14. They knew Jules had to take it. They called a dig route, and he knew he had to go there, but you’re going to take a licking when you go there. And I knew it was coming. And sure enough, (Kam) Chancellor lit him up.”
Julian Edelman is no stranger to putting his body on the line for the Pats. It’s something that Frank Edelman has learned to deal with from afar while watching his son tear up the gridiron.
Thumbnail photo via Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images
