People think it's just a 16-week season, but this is a 52-week kind of job. You're always thinking about how to improve and what to get for the next year.
— Julian Edelman
There's a whole lot of things that I've got to do to get myself better.
I played 51 percent of the snaps outside, though. But you can go ahead and call me a slot as well.
I like running that football.
To be really honest, I do not mind whether it is offense or defense. I just like being in on plays and doing what needs to be done to help us win.
I think it's an honor to play for coach Belichick. You never go into a week thinking you are not prepared.
As a punt returner in the NFL, I know all about teamwork, high-speeds, and collisions on Sundays.
Injuries are psychologically so hard for an athlete because you don't get to do what you love to do.
There are different types of cornerbacks: you've got your longer guys that will try to get physical with you and use their length, and you've got your quick guys that will try to use their quickness, and then you've got your 'tweener' guys that will try to use both.
There's nothing like a nice May day in Foxborough.
It's the NFL, so anytime you get to go out and get to play against another team, there's going to be some physicality.
It's nice not having to do that kind of stuff, getting surgeries and all that. It gives you an opportunity to get better. That's what the offseason's for.
Any time you have one-on-one time with any quarterback, it's very valuable.
Anytime you get to go out and see the fellas and play with them and talk with them and be in the huddle and look at guys and participate in drills - I mean, that's what you play the game for, ultimately.
When you become a pa, you have different priorities now, and you're not living for yourself; you're living for someone else now.
It's cool to get to play with guys that you have friendships with.
It's hard to shop for a guy who has everything.
Obviously, my goal No. 1 every year is to play in every game.
Go out and do your drills that you do to try to get better. You lift your weights, try to take things from the classroom to grass, try to get better every day.
I've always felt like if I had a bad practice, I could potentially get cut the next day.
It's always exciting to get back out there with the teammates and start a new year and get on the field.
No one likes going out and sprinting 20 sprints, but you do it because it's going to help you.
We never quit.
I think everything happens for a reason.
Tough times don't last. Tough people do. I preach that, and I guess you have to live to it.
Mr. Kraft and his family, they gave me an opportunity to come out and play in the NFL. And just to see the kind of role model Mr. Kraft is in the community, he's always around; he's here every day - darn near - he's very involved, and he's just a good man. Nothing but respect, and it starts at the top.
When you've got a leader that wants to go out and practice at the ultimate, highest level, when something that you should do doesn't go right, there's going to be a little fire under that, and that's what you need from your leader.
I'm a practice player. The more I practice, the more confident I become.
I love being a Patriot, and we'll leave it at that.
Ball security is job security here.
You've got these young kids out here that have to learn, but you learn from the guys above you. I learned from the Kevin Faulks.
I'm from the Bay Area.
I put at the top of my paper every day, 'Never comfortable.' It's just how I feel always.
I always preach you have to have a short memory, whether it is good or bad.
We ignore noise, and we really just to try hunker down on preparation, our practice, and going out and trying to play our best games on Sundays.
When you're clicking, you're not making mental mistakes. You're going out there. You're lining up fast.
In college, I guess you could say I was a running back that threw.
Special teams is one-third of the game.
The funnest thing to do is win.
Just play every play.
Your job as a receiver is to get open and catch the ball and block in the run game.
The more everyone tries to do their own job, that's when the team fires on all cylinders.
I just kind of try to go out and focus on what I've got to do to get myself better.
As a young player here in New England, there's a lot of ups and downs.
It's always nice to be on the practice field because, ultimately, practice is the most important thing other than the game because that's where you gain your confidence; that's where you get your fundamentals.
I think any time you can go out and put pads on and practice before the season, I think it's a good sign. It's a good sign.
I don't say I'm necessarily a professional football player. I'm a competitor. That's what was instilled in me as a young boy.
So I've been fortunate to have a bunch of teammates - pretty much all the teammates I've had have been pretty good guys.
It's always a great thing getting to play in the last game of the year.
There's a lot of crazy stuff in this league, and you got to go out and you got to earn your role out every year.
