FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots’ midseason addition Mohamed Sanu is a confident guy. But it seems that confidence is well-earned.
Sanu has earned rave reviews since coming to the Patriots before the trade deadline. The veteran wide receiver caught 12 passes for 104 yards with a touchdown in two games before the Patriots’ bye week.
“He’s doing well,” wide receiver Julian Edelman said Friday. “He’s a veteran guy who’s played in big games. He’s a professional. He prepares well, he practices hard. When you have those types of things, you fit in this Foxboro mentality. It’s good to have him.”
Sanu said Thursday he’s already at the point where he doesn’t need to think when he’s on the field with the Patriots. That’s big.
“If you don’t understand it, then you have to think,” Sanu said. “So, you’ve got to make sure you understand it and get up to speed so when you get out there you don’t think. Because when you’re thinking, you’re a step behind, step late, miss here, there and that’s when bad stuff happens.”
He said he got to that point early on in his second game with the Patriots. Sanu and quarterback Tom Brady had an early communication breakdown, then the two connected on 10 straight targets, including an early touchdown.
“Once I got going and was able to just be out there, just wasn’t thinking,” Sanu said. “I was playing ball at that point.”
Sanu said after his first game with the Patriots that he couldn’t wait to have Edelman and Brady’s level of chemistry. It certainly sounds like Sanu is doing a good job of earning Brady’s trust early in his Patriots campaign.
“It’s hard,” Edelman said. “You get it through consistency in practice, consistency in games, and you’re constantly earning it. It’s not something that you just get and then you keep. You’ve got to constantly keep on working on your craft and your chemistry and knowing what the coaches want, what Tom wants, knowing where you want to be, this, that, all of those things have so many variables. I think Mohamed is doing an unbelievable job.”
The Patriots take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. Sanu will have the benefit of a bye week to further learn the Patriots’ offense when he takes the field in Week 11.
