Edelman entered that season—fresh off his breakout 105-catch campaign in 2013—unbearably ringless. It had been a decade since the Patriots’ last Super Bowl victory, and Edelman, then a sixth-year receiver, was sick of hearing about the Troy Brown–Tedy Bruschi–Willie McGinest glory days. They had won titles, shaped a dynasty, deserved all the accolades, but that generation of Patriots was gone. A championship for Edelman’s Patriots would mean his team would “finally start [a generation of] our own.”
That winter, he remembers the team’s crisp preparation for the Super Bowl in Arizona; he liked what he witnessed on a heavily guarded practice field. The Patriots fine-tuned with urgency, everyone fast, everyone serious. The offense executed with end-of-the-year precision. There was one outlier, a specific play the defense was struggling to cover. One of the Seahawks’ offensive tendencies was to utilize a Twin WR Stack in the red zone. The Patriots wanted Butler to slide inside fellow cornerback Brandon Browner on that play, covering the wideout who was slanting. But against New England’s practice-squad offense, Butler could not get there; he was getting smoked, every time. At one point, Edelman thought, Oh, f---. I hope they don’t run this play.
