AMENDOLA RISES WITH THE STAKES
Patriots receiver rides clutch in the playoffs
When Danny Amendola arrived on the scene in 2013, Patriots fans didn’t exactly warm to him right away. At the time, they were going through Wes Welker withdrawal.
With the popular Welker not being resigned by the team, fans weren’t ready to embrace Amendola, a former Rams receiver who was signed to a lucrative contract as a free agent. After a rocky injuryplagued start, many were convinced he was going to be a bust.
Five years later, it’s hard to find a more valuable Patriots player.
Amendola is known as Mr. Clutch, or, Danny “Playoff” Amendola, as Rob Gronkowski referred to him following last Saturday’s divisional round win over the Titans. That’s because, by hauling in 11 passes for 112 yards, Amendola was merely continuing his pattern of delivering in the biggest games.
“Even in practice, he just makes plays,” Gronkowski said Wednesday, following practice in preparation for today’s AFC Championship Game. “That’s what’s neat. He’s something special, and something we appreciate. He always comes through in the clutch to help the team out.”
The track record speaks for itself. Look no further than his performance in the Patriots’ previous postseason game, Super Bowl LI. Amendola made a key touchdown catch in the historic 25-point comeback, and the even more critical catch for a game-tying two-point conversion. During the game-winning drive in overtime, Tom Brady also went to him for a third-down conversion.
Amendola takes pride in being
guy for Brady. He enjoys the moniker and works hard to be able to deliver in those situations.
On Monday, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels referred to Amendola as “one of the all-time great teammates.”
It was a great compliment, a fitting one. Amendola will do whatever is needed. He takes pay cuts every year so he can continue to be a part of a team he loves. He’ll accept playing fewer snaps so he can physically survive the season. He’ll head out to Montana or wherever Brady happens to be in the offseason to spend extra time working on timing and routes. And, he’ll do the grunt work of returning punts because he has the surest set of hands on the team, and the keen ability to make the first guy miss.
“I’ve learned a lot of lessons along the way,” Amendola said Wednesday. “I obviously wanted to catch 100-plus balls a year just like Wes did, just like Julian (Edelman) has, just like a bunch of great slot receivers here have done. With that said, I’ve learned a lot of lessons in terms of being a good teammate, and doing whatever role the coaches asked me to do, and just being ready for that.”
This season’s role? With Edelman’s year-ending ACL tear in the preseason, Brady needed someone to help fill the void. That someone was Amendola, who turned in one of his best seasons, catching 61 balls for 659 yards.
And now in the playoffs he’s primed to step it up even more. Against the Titans, he was Brady’s clear go-to guy. That’s what his game-high 11 catches and 50 offensive snaps meant.
He might be called on even more against the Jaguars today, especially with Brady dealing with a hand injury, and needing his most trusted targets to get open quickly. Jacksonville’s Cover-3 defense, which is similar to what Seattle played in Super Bowl XLIX, should allow him to make his mark on the underneath routes.
“He plays hard on every single snap and will do anything for the team to help us win . ... I don’t know that I could give a greater compliment to a player than that, and he always plays big in the big games,” McDaniels said on a conference call last week. “So, he’s a guy that you trust, that you want in the game, that you can count on and you know you’re always going to get his best effort. Like a lot of our guys, he can take himself to another level and try to do a little bit more than maybe what’s done in the past, and he does a great job of preparing hard to be able to do that. It’s a testament to him, how much he cares about his teammates and our team in general and (I) love having the guy. It’s a privilege to coach people like him.”
Amendola doesn’t want to reflect on his highlight reel of clutch moments, which are many. He hasn’t put much thought into what he’s meant to the Patriots, and how far he’s come after a rough start.
“I like to stay in the moment. It was great when all that stuff happened. But it’s behind me,” he said when asked about his ability to deliver in the clutch. “I’m just looking forward to the next opportunity that we have to play and give it all we’ve got to win.”
Amendola doesn’t know what the future will bring. His contract is up. He’s 32 years old. He just knows he’d love to stick around if the Pats will have him.
“One day at a time, one game at a time,” Amendola said, spouting a familiar refrain. “We’ll see.”
Gronkowski would love to have him around indefinitely.
“I was happy when he got here. He’s always working hard, but he’s pretty silly, too. I make him silly,” Gronk said with a laugh. “But he’s a great teammate, a great guy to have in the locker room. He competes every single day, and whenever his number is called, he just makes the play. Every single time.”
That’s Danny “Playoff” Amendola. The Patriots Mr. Clutch.
Kraft: Stability the key
Today marks the 24th anniversary of Patriots owner Robert
Kraft’s purchase of the franchise. Today’s AFC title game marks the 25th home playoff game since then, with the team going 21-3 in that span. It’s quite an accomplishment given the Patriots had just one home playoff game in their first 34 seasons.
Last year, we spoke with Kraft on the anniversary date and he talked about continuity being a key to the team’s successful run.
“The only time I’m interested in change is when I feel there’s an opportunity to make things better. We don’t break things down, unless we feel we have something better to put in its place,” he said. “I think creating a sense of continuity wherever you can, and having people who think the same way, and having the same values — integrity, character, loyalty — is very important to me. And building a team where we can go through tough times together, that’s sort of the moniker that’s most important to me.”
In terms of continuity, he’s had his coach and quarterback in place for nearly two decades. It appears Bill Belichick will continue on, despite an ESPN report suggesting he might bolt, but both offensive coordinator McDaniels (Indianapolis) and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia (Detroit) are likely moving on to head coaching gigs.
Another interesting Kraft nugget from the notebook: In September when I sat down with him and asked about the Jimmy Garoppolo decision going forward, this is what he said: “In the end, this is a decision for coach Belichick to make. He’s done pretty well making these decisions. So I’ll let him speak to that issue.”
Hogan: OC not Josh-ing
Wide receiver Chris Hogan had some interesting things to say about McDaniels in answering questions from an Indianapolis Star writer who was in town to get some background on the Colts’ expected next coach.
Hogan said the players always had confidence with the game plans McDaniels provided. Andrew Luck probably won’t mind hearing that.
“We’re always confident going into games that we have something good,” Hogan said, alluding to the game plan. “That goes back to all the work (McDaniels and the staff) put in.”
Romo hands it to Hoodie
During a conference call last week, CBS analyst Tony Romo was asked why the Patriots are able to improve consistently as the season progresses. He naturally pointed to Belichick. Romo’s admiration of the Hoodie is obvious.
“The reason that they improve better than other teams consistently every year is there is more data,” Romo said. “As the season goes on, Bill Belichick has more tape on you. He really is a very uniquely special coach. If there is a Mount Rushmore, there should be one statue up there. He is so gifted. His ability to take that information that he deems important and then give it to his staff and they give it to their players, it is just rare.
“Once he gets all that tape, it’s very hard to beat them, and then defensively they know your tendencies. That’s why he is going to make (quarterback) Blake Bortles and Jacksonville play left-handed. You almost have to know that going into the game and it is your ability to adjust. It is your ability to evolve and almost adjust yourself your game. If you can do that, you have a chance. The other way is if someone hits Tom Brady 14 times in the game. Those are the two ways you have a chance against them.”
Home, sweat home?
The NFC title game pits the top-seeded Eagles against the Vikings, who are still standing thanks to Stefon Diggs’ miracle touchdown in the final seconds against the Saints last Sunday. Should the Vikings advance, they would be the first team to play the Super Bowl at their home stadium. How much of an advantage might that be?
“I think there is certainly a comfort level to being at home, but the challenge you have is the multitude of people you have coming in to where your home is, your house is,” CBS analyst Bill Cowher said on a conference call. “I think a lot of times it is easier to isolate yourself when you are not at home. I think the challenge would be when the weekend comes to find a place to focus on the game. I think a lot of time the challenge you have as the home team in championship games are the family members, the people coming in and reading all week about how great you are in the hometown papers. I think the biggest challenge will be to keep normality . ... But that would be a nice problem for (Minnesota coach) Mike Zimmer to have to deal with.”
Foxboro flavor in Texas
Bill O’Brien’s staff continues to have a Patriots flavor to it, as the Texans hired longtime special teams coach Brad Seely to replace Larry Izzo. Seely, 61, coached special teams with the Pats for nine years (1999-2008) under Belichick. He coached with O’Brien for two of those seasons (2007-08).
Seely was with the Raiders the last three seasons.
A new role for Faulk
Finally, congratulations to Patriots Hall of Famer Kevin Faulk, who is expected to be named director of player development at Louisiana State, his alma mater.