FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Julian Edelmans college coach saw him make some amazing plays while he was at school.So he wasnt shocked when the wide receiver unleashed a 51-yard touchdown pass for the Patriots.When youre only going to throw one pass in an entire game and you make it a perfect strike, Doug Martin said, thats big.Edelmans junior college offensive co-ordinator also was watching on television last Saturday when Edelman hit Danny Amendola with the tying throw late in the third quarter of New Englands 35-31 divisional playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens.I texted him after the game, Bret Pollack said. I said, it reminded me of the old days and he said it kind of felt the same way.Those days go back to Edelmans time at Woodside High School in California where he carried the Wildcats to a 13-0 record as a senior.On Sunday night, hell play in the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts (13-5) after leading the Patriots (13-4) with 92 receptions in the regular season and adding eight against Baltimore.Thats quite a journey for an undersized athlete who had to go to the College of San Mateo for one year to attract scholarship offers, received just two from four-year colleges after that and wasnt drafted until the final round in 2009.Pollack, since promoted to head coach at San Mateo, remembers Edelman as driven, hard-working and extremely elusive.Hes very tenacious. Hes unrelenting, Pollack said. If somebody tells him he cant do something, all his energy goes into doing it just to say, I told you so. During Edelmans season at San Mateo, Martin, the coach at Kent State at the time, told him hed have a chance to compete for the quarterback job at the Ohio school.Edelman jumped at it.He has a really healthy chip on his shoulder, said Martin, now head coach at New Mexico State. Its not like it consumes him, but it drives him. And I dont think in 30 years of coaching Ive ever had a player thats been more appreciative than Julian of the opportunity we gave him.He texted me after Saturdays game and said, Coach, I just want to thank you for everything to give me the opportunity to be where I am today.Edelman got his NFL opportunity when the Patriots drafted him in the seventh round, the 232nd out of 256 players picked.Playing behind Wes Welker, he caught just 69 passes as he battled injuries in his first four seasons. While waiting his turn at wide receiver, Edelman returned three punts for touchdowns — one each in 2010, 2011 and 2012 — showing elusiveness developed in spread offences at San Mateo and Kent State.He made plays for us where you just shook your head and said, Wow, Pollack said.After the 2012 season, Welker left for Denver and Edelman became a free agent before signing a one-year contract with New England.His 105-catch season in 2013 earned him a four-year deal.Everyone starts at a certain place, but you earn what you get in the NFL. The competition is tough, quarterback Tom Brady said. So a guy like Julian, for example, who has fought every single day of his life to get to this point — talk about something that strengthened him over time — obviously his experience as a younger athlete did.He fought every day since he got here and he doesnt stop now.Edelman says hes self-motivated, but also got a push from his father while preparing for the NFL combine.Id be done training and hed be like, Did you outwork those guys? Edelman said, and I was like, Dad, I was running by myself. He goes, Im not talking about those guys. Im talking about the three kids that are still in high school that are going to be trying to take your job in three, four years, five years.I always try to think about (that) kind of stuff.In three years at Kent State, Edelman threw for 30 touchdowns and ran for 22.His coach, Martin, took over in 2004 for Dean Pees. Hes the Ravens co-ordinator whose defence gave up Edelmans touchdown pass.And this Sunday night, the Patriots will face the Kent State quarterback who preceded Edelman, Colts kickoff and punt returner Josh Cribbs.Ive never been around a more competitive person than Julian, Martin said. Its not even close.Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater sees that all the time. Theyve been roommates for four years and have adjacent lockers at Gillette Stadium.Its somewhat of an odd couple — the religious Slater and the fun-loving Edelman — but both work extremely hard at football.He was raised by some great folks that really instilled him (with a) work ethic and understood that nothing was going to be given to you in this life, Slater said. And hes embraced that.Coach Bill Belichick demands maximum effort and, he says, no one works harder than Edelman.So even though the Patriots had never used Edelmans pass play this season, they kept practicing it until they found just the right moment. And Martin, at home in New Mexico, watched with pride.I told him I was glad to see he could still throw a little bit, he said with a laugh. Hes just really excited to be where he is.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Air Max 2018 Discount .NYCFC confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that this week Lampard signed a contract to start in July — midway through the new teams first season in MLS. Air Max 2018 Outlet . Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. http://www.cheapairmaxsaleonline.com/.The Hamilton Tiger-Cat defensive back always has the required receipt. But he also walks around with a tangle of metal screws, rods and plates after breaking his neck in 2006 playing high school football in Louisiana. Wholesale Air Max 2018 . Jovanovski, the 2012 champ seeded fifth, will meet surprise Japanese qualifier Misa Eguchi on Friday. Eguchi, ranked 183rd, qualified for her first WTA main draw this week, then beat No. Cheap Air Max 2018 China .C. -- Clemson celebrated a senior class Saturday that brought the program back as a national contender.Last Thursday night, we saw the rejuvenation of the previously dormant Ottawa Rough Riders transitioned into the Ottawa Redblacks and, in the most simple of terms, it felt good . I put little value in trying to make accurate evaluations by watching exhibition games, so this first regular season game spoke to the truth and reality of how good this football organization could be and how the future may unfold. My biggest observation is they looked confident and organized. To go on the road and put up 21 points says that, but even as the game progressed the Redblacks did not look or act like an expansion team . The first quarter was awesome, but the next three quarters were not so awesome and thats to be expected. For Ottawa to really compete for 18 games, the young guys , about 20 on the present roster, have to play with maturity and as much polish as the old guys do. And the old guys have to remain young, athletically and enthusiastically, throughout the season. I saw that in bursts in different points of the game. Nolan MacMillan, #66 out of the University of Iowa and the Redblacks first-ever draft pick played like he had veteran experience in his first CFL game . As a right tackle, you never know what you have until the pads go on and Ottawa has a right tackle to depend on for years to follow - a young guy playing like an older one. Henry Burris still has it. He moves well when he has to, displays confident energy and can make all the throws at 39, especially the deep wide side ou,t which is always open. For an old guy, and he is, Henry looked like a young guy last Thursday night. For the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, their 36-28 over Ottawa on Thursday was a more impressive victory than their Week 1 win over Toronto, 45-21 . In that game, up 24-0, the pressure is much less then against Ottawa being down 14-0 at one point and 21-7 at another . Drew Willy basically won the game by putting a five-play drive together with five minutes to play in the fourth and by connecting with Aaron Kelly to extend the lead. I am mildly surprised how calm and together Mike OShea looks on the sidelines. Maybe I shouldnt be given preparation reputation, but he looks like his ability to separate emotion from analytical thought is a natural quality. Punt returner Desmond Washington is a talent that I didnt notice until he scored a return TD. Now, I see it. In BC, the most important person in the entire organization is the offensive line coach Dan Dorazio. Somehow, he has to get the best out of a group of five players up front that has two first-year starters on the left side and a second-year starter at centre. Dorazio has been coaching for over 40 years and 12 straight with BC . He is not only one of the best in CFL football, but one of the best in North America . His value to the organization is at an all-time high as BC is not going to win unless Kevin Glen gets quality time in the pocket. Youth in the secondary is a concern, as is youth in quarterback protection . For me, it is the Lions biggest challenge to master over thee next 16 games.dddddddddddd With Montreal, it is offensive coordinator Ryan Dinwiddie. Somehow, the Alouettes have to develop an explosive downfield passing game and he has to get that from Troy Smith . The seven-to-12-yard passes I saw over and over are not going to take Montreal to the Grey Cup come November 30th. They need "chunk" plays of 20 yards or more. I am a big fan of Smith, a guy who is bright, articulate and a winner and who played much better this week, but you sure notice the absence of Anthony Calvillo and his downfield throwing ability. The present combination of new offensive coordinator and new quarterback have to find that skill and develop it ASAP. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have one of the oddest quarterback dilemmas I have seen, maybe ever . All three - Zach Collaros, Dan LeFevour and Jeremiah Masoli - did some spectacular things in the 24-28 loss at Edmonton, but also the complete opposite at any given point during their personal playing time. This is a tough evaluation on who really is the best quarterback and, depending on Collaross back health, who is the best among the three. Each has a different set of strengths and weaknesses and each can be special one play and anything but special the next. The Ticats are good, but not great and optimism is there that, as September turns to October, as a team they can be great. If I were an Edmonton Eskimos season-ticket holder, I should be sensibly satisfied with the first two weeks. Two wins, yes, but the players are responding to the head coach and playing hard . I was was really impressed with Marcus Howard on one side and Odell Willis on the other as edge pass rushers . Any team that has to play catch-up fourth-quarter football will have urgency issues as one from one side and the other from the other side will create an urgency overload with any quarterback trying to pass play after play. Edmonton looks really good after two games. Finally, trying to figure out the Argonauts 48-15 win over the Roughriders is like trying to figure out the human brain . All your conclusions are speculation based on observation . How the Argos can look so bad one week and so good the next, I really dont know. And maybe even more so, how Saskatchewan can look completely dominant one week and borderline apathetic the next week is also like the human brain - a mystery . I am an immense believer that the most important preparation is that the player must perform the morning of the game and make the conscious effort to get yourself emotionally ready to play. This will increase your personal focus and determination to individually play not good football, but exceptional football . The Argos did it and had it, the Riders didnt and did not . What an amazing difference from one week to the next. Good for Calgary, as there will be not complacency in their Saturday game at Toronto. Tough for BC, as there is no way the Riders will not respond on the same night in the second game. This all makes for interesting football as Week 3 begins. ' ' '