FOXBORO, Mass. — The corner of Bill Belichick’s mouth begins to turn into a slight smirk when he knows he’ll get a laugh out of the media.
It happened during the New England Patriots head coach’s news conference Wednesday when asked if Danny Amendola’s role would change with Julian Edelman out for the foreseeable future with a broken foot.
“I mean, he’s gonna basically play the same position and do the same things he’s done,” Belichick said. “I mean, we’re not moving him to tackle or anything. He’s going to do what he does.”
So, just to recap: The 5-foot-11, 190-pound wideout won’t be filling in for Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer and Marcus Cannon.
He will likely see his targets increase with Edelman out, however. Amendola caught 10 passes on 11 targets for 79 yards Sunday in the Patriots’ 27-26 win over the New York Giants. He already was on pace for his best NFL season even before Edelman went down with 40 catches for 403 yards with two touchdowns through nine games.
“Danny’s a really consistent guy,” Belichick said. “I think anybody in the program would speak to that. His work ethic, his toughness, his intelligence, I mean, he’s ready to go every day. There’s no days off for him. Every play for that matter, he works on every play. I’d say it’s pretty much as advertised. It’s no different from what Josh said from what it was in St. Louis.
“I’d say the first spring that he was here, he’s stood out daily in the OTA work. Whatever it was, short routes, deep routes, catching the ball, quickness, returns, he’s really looked good since the day he got here. He missed some time, but other than that, I’d say his overall play and performance, he’s made a lot of big plays for us in critical situations. Very dependable guy, great hands. Buffalo two years ago, (the) catches he made in that game were remarkable.”
Amendola hasn’t dropped a pass yet this season, and quarterback Tom Brady has an 83.3 percent completion percentage while targeting the veteran receiver. Amendola does the majority of his work out of the slot, but he could start seeing more time in Edelman’s old “Z” role, as well.
It remains to be seen if the Patriots will continue to risk Amendola’s health by having him return kicks and punts, however. Amendola was known for being oft-injured when he came to the Patriots in 2013, but he’s managed to suit up in 91.3 percent of the Patriots’ games in that three-year span, including playoffs.
“We’ve been fortunate we’ve had good returners here,” Belichick said. “Troy Brown was a great returner for us, Kevin Faulk, Edelman, Danny, they’ve all done it. Julian, Danny have kind of — sometimes it’s been one, sometimes it’s been the other, sometimes they’ve both been back there, some nine-man looks.
“We’ve been fortunate we’ve had really good production and depth at those positions since I’ve been here and all the way through. It’s not just one guy. You’ve got other players that can handle the ball. Danny’s done a good job for us there. He takes a lot of pride in that, the play he made last week was a great play, great awareness, as well as his running and explosiveness to turn really nothing into an 80-something yard return. Yeah, he’s done a great job for us there, and we’re fortunate we have depth in that position.”
The Patriots also could use wide receivers Keshawn Martin or Chris Harper as punt returners. Safety Patrick Chung or running back James White could handle kick return duties for the Patriots.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
