Troy Brown, Part II?
Not just yet, but wide receiver Julian Edelman's appearance in New England's defensive lineup Sunday against the Jets was a delightful stroll down memory lane for Patriots fans.
Edelman entered the game late in the fourth quarter as an emergency defensive back and even racked up a tackle in New England's commanding 37-16 win.
"(Edelmen's) a smart kid," Patriots coach Bill Belichicktold the Boston Herald on Monday. "He's worked in there before. He would know enough to be able to do whatever it is we have."
Disparaging comments about New England's shoddy pass defense aside, the move was pure Belichick. After all, we've seen all this before during Brown's hyper-versatile 15-year Pats career.
During the team's 2004 Super Bowl run, Brown -- like Edelman -- was sent onto the field as a last-resort defensive back. He performed well down the stretch and -- instead of becoming a footnote in a box score -- ended up tied for second on the team with three picks that season.
But don't count on Edelman to become a mainstay just yet.
"He has to be able to play what we're running," Belichick said. "We're not probably looking to run every single call in the book at that point. We're going with two or three calls there at the end of the game because of the situation. He'll know enough. He does know enough."
Looks like old Hoodie's back at it again, folks.
