Playbook - Edelman Missing Blocks

Julian Edelman has established himself as the #3 WR on the team as evidenced by the surprising cut of Deion Branch at the end of training camp. Initially, many fans questioned whether Edelman's presence represented a threat to Wes Welker's playing time. The common rationale in favor of playing Edelman was that he was "a better, more tenacious blocker than Welker." I went back to examine this claim, and I found too many instances where Edelman missed his blocking assignments. I did find positive evidence for Edelman's blocking downfield, but I noticed that he had trouble executing on the edge. Let's take a look:

One way that teams have countered Stevan Ridley is with stunts from both edges. The Ravens and Seahawks had success with this concept, and The Rams used it in London too. Here, Ridley gets stopped by Jo-Lonn Dunbar coming from the edge for a loss of 4 yards. Dunbar comes through the gap virtually untouched by Edelman, who is supposed to seal him inside or force him outside. The RG Connolly pulls into the hole between Gronk and Solder, and there is good execution by everyone except Edelman. Dunbar beats him on the first step, and Edelman just whiffs.

In another play from London, we see a similar blocking concept with Edelman, but in the backfield we have Shane Vereen rather than Ridley. The Offensive line runs a zone-concept to the left with Sebastian Vollmer getting a nice cut block on the backside to seal off the weak side pursuit. Nate Solder pulls outside to pick up the DB lined up across from Edelman. Meanwhile, Edelman is supposed to crack down on the DE Robert Quinn, but he just doesn't get enough contact to make an impact. Although he doesn't whiff like he did in the Ridley play, he is a step late here as well.

Edelman might be a good blocker downfield against DBs, but its obvious here that he's not likely to be mistaken for a TE. Edelman is being asked to fill the gap left by the injury to Aaron Hernandez in these scenarios, but it's pretty obvious that he's not suited to block DEs and LBs from the tight wing position. I can understand the desire to try to fit Edelman into this role, but he just doesn't have the body type to seal the edge consistently.

Aaron Hernandez is probably the most unique skill-position player in The Patriots Offense because he's able to dictate the same coverage rules (personnel and scheme) as a WR like Edelman, but he blocks much better. Aaron doesn't get enough credit for his blocking, but when you examine his replacement you come to appreciate his dual threat. The Offense is just more dynamic when he's out there (run and pass).

No offense to Julian Edelman, but he just can't block like a TE, and shouldn't be asked to. Likewise, Hernandez' role can't truly be filled by a better blocker like Daniel Fells because the Defense would not treat Fells as a pass-catching threat. Hernandez just occupies a unique middle ground that make The Patriots much more dangerous. It will be good to have him healthy again.