Danny Amendola just might help the New England Patriots from afar.
The Detroit Lions wide receiver has offered Patriots rookie wide receivers some advice on how to succeed in New England. Amendola not only detailed to the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian the overarching task young pass-catchers like Maurice Harris, N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers must meet, he also offered them a useful tip on how to do so.
“They’re going to have to learn quickly, you know what I’m saying?” Amendola said last Wednesday following a Patriots-Lions joint practice. “At this point, I know they’re 100 percent focused in on what (Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is) saying, because he is who he is. They’re going to do their best to give themselves the best chance to succeed. But Brady is a huge helper. He’s a coach on the field. He understands how the process works, the operation of an offense. That’s the most important thing.”
Amendola also reserved some specific wisdom for Harry, the Patriots’ first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, who must adapt to his new environment in order to fulfill the vast expectations many have for him.
“There’s a couple things,” Amendola said. “The two-minute drill, all the situational football, that’s all new to a rookie. The learning curve is a little different for him. But once you get an understanding how the NFL works, how situational football works, you’ll get a pretty good understanding how the game works. Teams like the Patriots stress situational football moreso than a lot of other teams in the NFL.”
Amendola played five seasons with the Patriots, catching 230 passes for 2,383 yards and 12 touchdowns and helped the team win Super Bowls XLIX and LI.
He left the Patriots in March 2018, but the experience on which he bases his advice is as relevant now as it was then. The team’s rookie wideouts would do well to heed his words.
