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Dear Tom Brady, Julian Edelman: He is really, really sorry

By Hector Longo - Staff Writer | Jan 22, 2019

Julian Edelman is an absolute true Patriot, and it's time columnist Hector Longo realized it.

Apology time here in this corner, time to admit a sports faux pas or two, clearing the air once and for all.

First and foremost, this one goes out to Tom Brady, the legend headed to his ninth Super Bowl in search of ring No. 6 against the Rams in 11 days.

Look, I should have nothing to apologize for with TB12. I was one of the first to call for Brady – or anyone for that matter – to replace Drew Bledsoe long before Mo Lewis came along and did it for us back in week 2 of 2001.

I proclaimed Brady as the best quarterback ever following the 2004 title win and never once entertained the thought of Peyton Manning being half the QB the Michigan man is/was.

Again, for those of you just joining in, It’s Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali and TB12 as the top athletes ever in my book, and nobody else is really close.

So why must I apologize? Well, Brady made me angry after the Chargers’ win. He pouted on national TV, with his “we suck and can’t win” post-game declaration to CBS.

Who on God’s green earth is doubting him? Nobody with a brain. So shut up, Tom, right?

Nope. After eight AFC titles, five Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl MVPs and 14 Pro Bowls, he is still disrespected and not by the media or fans, but by the opposition.

Andy Reid, the Kansas City Chiefs coach and head saboteur, told the world on Sunday afternoon in the AFC title game exactly how he feels about TB12 and it cost the Chiefs dearly.

Reid’s team was at the end of a pathetic first half, in which his team was outgained 161-42 at the time. The Pats had the ball, 3rd-and-4 after two rushes and were running out the clock.

They were looking to run 40 more seconds off the clock, run a play and punt … content to take a 7-0 lead to the locker room.

But here’s where Reid flaunted his lack of respect for Brady. He called a time out with 1:13 left.

It was the ultimate slap in the face. Beat us, Tom, Reid said through his stupidity.

And Brady obliged, moving the chains on third with a five-yard flip to James White and ultimately scoring seven more on a 29-yard laser to Philip Dorsett.

Reid couldn’t be satisfied with a seven-point hole, getting the ball first in the second half.

He’s stupid, sure. But putting the football on Brady’s hands?

If I’m a Chiefs fan, I’m livid.

And here in New England, I bow to Brady and plead for forgiveness.

People like Andy Reid, respected guys in the game, still doubt your greatness. It’s sad they do. Why else would he have put the ball back in your hands like an imbecile?

You were right, Tom. I was wrong. But it was out of total reverence and belief in you. I just couldn’t believe there was a doubter left. Idiot Andy proved me wrong.

I’m sorry.

The second Patriot apology goes out to TB12’s sidekick, that piece of scrap iron named Julian Edelman.

This one is inspired by my son, who focuses on the conversation Edelman and I had way back in Phoenix before Super Bowl 49 against the Seahawks and wonders from where the perceived hate emanates.

Honestly, in covering the team full time from 2001-2016, Edelman was on a short list of Pats whom with I just never clicked.

Maybe it was an East Coast/West Coast thing. Perhaps there was some underlying tone from me. After all, he was the one replacing one of my top-five favorite all-time Pats, Wes Welker.

But on this Wednesday morning of Super Bowl week, my intentions were pure. I was looking to do a story on the amazing strides Edelman had made as a receiver, most notably his hands.

You remember this kid when he broke into the league. For a year, maybe two, he bobble everything thrown his way.

But Edelman is such a warrior. The work he put in during the offseason with Brady is legendary. And by the 2014 season, he had some of the best hands in the game.

So I asked Edelman about that at the media session. And he snapped back and snipped at the idea as being preposterous.

I never forgot it. He dissed me like Reid dissed Brady.

Because of that, I never gave Edelman his due, not just as a player but as a person.

And for that, I am truly sorry.

Talk of him being a Hall of Famer has surfaced after Sunday’s amazingly clutch seven-catch performance. It is absolutely deserved.

This kid has absolute guts. Did anyone catch the wicked headshot he took on the Daniel Sorenson interception from Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens?

In a word, brutal. But Edelman got up and he delivered the real knockout blow with a couple of ghastly third-and-long completions.

Sure, Edelman has a chip on his shoulder. He’s cocky. And I should have liked that. I missed it.

Off the field, Edelman does a ton for kids in hospitals, special needs children, those who are like him, true fighters. Only they’re children fighting for their lives.

He doesn’t flaunt it in the media. He does it quietly.

How do I describe Edelman now?

He’s a special, special player with amazing drive and a will to be the best that is probably in the top 5,000 of all time in any walk of like on this planet, who quietly behind the scenes does incredible things for the sick and the underprivileged.

So go for it, Julian. Be a champion again. And accept one man’s bad judgment as a mistake.

We all make them. Right, Andy?

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