Julian Edelman is joining the crew of former New England Patriots players defending Bill Belichick following his portrayal in “The Dynasty: New England Patriots,” taking a shot at Wes Welker in the process.
On the “Games with Names” podcast, Edelman claimed that Welker was “trying to make up stories” about Belichick. In the docuseries, Welker claimed that Belichick gave preferential treatment to Aaron Hernandez, saying the former Patriots coach would let the tight end's antics slide in practice.
Edelman denied that was the case, claiming that Belichick would “mother[expletive] Hernandez all the time” before saying it's clear that Welker “hates Bill.”
The docuseries also appeared to take a critical look at Belichick's coaching methods, putting his treatment of Tom Brady in the quarterback's final season with the team into the spotlight. As there was some commentary from players on how harsh Belichick could be, Edelman explained that he felt players mostly appreciated the former head coach.
“I honestly think if you’re in your 30s and you’ve played football, I don’t think you’ve ever liked your football coach. You loved him. But you didn’t like your football coach,” Edelman said. “Just like I didn’t like my parents when they made me do things that they knew was gonna make me a better person. I didn’t like doing it, we didn’t like doing it, work’s not easy, doing the little [expletive] for preparation, doing walkthroughs for walkthroughs for walkthroughs, I hated it.”
Matthew Slater also defends former Patriots coach Bill Belichick
Matthew Slater, who was a guest on Julian Edelman's podcast, concurred with the former Patriots receiver's statement, saying there were moments when the team likely didn't like Bill Belichick but that they “always loved and respected him.”
“There was no question about that,” Slater said. “We always knew that he was pushing us to be the best version of ourselves, like our parents would.”
Slater seemed to understand why Belichick's coaching approach was viewed in a critical lens in the docuseries, but he also wanted fans to think about the whole picture.
“It's tough because I feel like he's being portrayed in a certain light. And we're painting a picture, but we're only showing people part of the picture. With coach, it's very complex,” Slater added. “And there are things that were tough, and I'm sure we all feel like, ‘Hey, maybe we wish we had done things this way.' But let's make sure none of us forget the fact that the dynasty is not even being talked about without Bill Belichick. And the things that he did were with intentionality and purpose, and I think he got the best out of all of us.”
Edelman and Slater aren't the only two people who have taken issue with how Belichick was portrayed in the docuseries. Former Patriots safeties Rodney Harrison and Devin McCourty believed that they spotlighted the negative comments made about Belichick.
Meanwhile, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he wished the series focused more on the positive things during the team's run.
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