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PHILADELPHIA -- A college quarterback, Julian Edelman absorbed his fair share of hits from opposing blitzers. On Sunday, he got a chance to flip the script.

Edelman, in an increasing role as nickel corner, came free on a blitz in the second half of Sunday's 38-20 triumph. Edelman didn't get the sack, but he put a textbook shoulder into the midsection of Philadelphia's Vince Young as he delivered, leaving the quarterback a bit slow to get up while the pass fell incomplete.

Edelman smiled while recounting the play.

"With the new rules and stuff, I didn’t want to get a penalty or anything," he said. "So I just kinda tried to hit him in the right zone."

In limited snaps, Edelman finished with three tackles, including two solo. Whenever he's on the field he seems to have a knack for being around the ball and is proving he's no liability on defense, also making a nice open field tackle on LeSean McCoy in the third quarter.

"Every play you get a little more experience," he said. "I wouldn’t say I’m totally comfortable out there, but I’m starting to learn a little bit."

He still played a handful of offensive snaps and served on special teams. Does he have a preference on a role?

"Whether it’s defense, offense, or special teams, I just like being on the field," he said.

His teammates and coaches are taking notice of his talents on that side of the ball.

"I like to call him 'Slash,' because he's a versatile player, he can do so much," safety James Ihedigbo said, repurposing Kordell Stewart's nickname. "Having him there, and his ability as a receiver to know routes and to cover [them] is great. I'm glad to have him."

Said Patriots coach Bill Belichick: "Julian's worked hard... he's had to keep up with what's going on on offense and also the kicking game. But he's worked hard, spent a lot of extra time with [defensive backs coach] Josh [Boyer] and kinda splitting time between meetings -- between offense and defense and, of course, he does all the special teams stuff, too. He's worked hard and he's really been a huge help for us. We've been in a couple tight spots here and we were in it again today and we went strolling back outside at the end of the game. He's worked hard and he's really helped us."

Could we see the Patriots dial up more blitzes for Edelman down the road?

"You’ll have to talk to Coach [Belichick] on that," said Edelman. "We’ll see."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Patriots utility man Julian Edelman busted open Monday night's 34-3 triumph over the Chiefs with a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the third quarter. It was Edelman's second career punt return for a touchdown -- he set a franchise record with a 94-yard return in the 2010 regular-season finale against the Dolphins -- making him just the fourth player in team history to return multiple punts for scores (former jack-of-all-trades Troy Brown holds the team record with three; Irving Fryar and Michael Haynes had two apiece).

But how exactly did he do it on Monday night? Let's put his big return under the microscope. Hop HERE to watch the video on NFL.com for context.

Ironically, the play starts with a different sort of breakdown -- Kansas City gunner Jalil Brown gets around New England corner Antwaun Molden and has a free run at Edelman as he catches the ball at his own 28. We'll let Molden explain from there.

"What happened was I lost contain and inside leverage," he admitted. "I saw Jalil, he squeezed too tight and Julian made a good read. He came back outside and busted it out. I turned around to get another block for him, and he cut it back and he saw daylight. It was good a play [by Edelman], a good read and a good run."

With Edelman causing Brown to miss, Molden made a nice hard block on Reshard Langford to allow Edelman to get outside the hash marks. Matthew Slater and Niko Koutouvides chipped in a couple blocks to allow Edelman to turn the corner. From there it's two final key blocks: Ross Ventrone clears a lane by holding up Kansas City's Jeremy Horne while Jermaine Cunningham gets just enough of Cameron Sheffield to allow Edelman to burst into the clear.

Said Edelman: "We held the gunners and our internal guys did a good job blocking their players. As a punt returner, you have to make someone miss and then get back to your return side so we executed the play really well.”

The punt return put the Patriots up 24-3 early in the third quarter -- their second score in little more than a minute -- and broke open what had been a close game through the intermission.

One last note courtesy of the Patriots: Edelman now boasts the highest punt return average in Patriots history, having returned 44 punts for 603 yards (13.7 yards per return). And it's not even close...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Patriots running back Kevin Faulk had his own off-the-field troubles with the law a few years back and can relate to what wide receiver Julian Edelman is going through after being arrested for indecent assault and battery earlier this week.

Faulk, who was cited for marijuana possession in his native Louisiana in February of 2008, suggested Edelman's troubles are in the rear-view mirror as far as the team is concerned.

"It's over with now," said Faulk. "We're focused on the Giants. It happens. But the worst thing happened, now it's over. Keep letting everybody else talk about it and don't worry about it. You got a game to play on Sunday. I was actually in that situation in the offseaosn a few years ago. It's one of those things where you forget about it. It happened already, so you move on."

While being peppered on the subject earlier in the day, Patriots coach Bill Belichick suggested he had talked with Edelman and that all internal discipline would be handled behind the scenes. Faulk noted it was no longer an issue in the Patriots' locker room.

"We talk about it; It’s hard for you not to hear about it because the media’s talking about it," said Faulk. "But at the same time, it’s not being talked about in here. The thing being talked about right now is the Giants."

After he was asked if he might take a younger player like Edelman aside and give him a little pep talk, Faulk admitted he would be happy to dispense advice, but again suggested it was in the past.

"At the same time, you talk to Coach [Belichick], you talk to Mr. [Robert] Kraft, and they discuss everything. Now it's a dead issue for anybody else on the team," said Faulk. "Now it's for him to talk about and his attorney to talk about, that's it."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Patriots coach Bill Belichick was quizzed at the start of Wednesday's press conference about the arrest of wide receiver Julian Edelman, but didn't add much on the situation despite rapid-fire queries. Here's a sampling of the back-and-forth:

Q: Any comment on Edelman's arrest and what his future with the team is?
BB: "I don’t have any comment. I think his representatives made their comment on it, I don’t have anything to add to it."

Q: Considering Rob Gronkowski posed for pictures with a porn star and now another player was out late at a club getting arrested, is there a discipline issue on this team?
BB: "I don't have anything to add to that."

Q: Nothing at all?
BB: "That’s right."

Q: Did you have a conversation with Edelman?
BB: "Yeah, of course."

Q: What was said in that conversation?
BB: "I don’t have any comment on it. Those conversations are private, between myself and the player, like all the other ones we have."

Q: You must be disappointed in Edelman.
BB: "Right now we’re getting ready for the Giants. That’s what our football team is here for, to get ready for the Giants. Big game on Sunday."

Q: Will Edelman play in that game
BB: "We’ll play the best players we can for the game, like we always do. It won’t be any different this week than any other week."

Q: How do Patriots respond to off-the-field issues?
BB: "I think you look at each situation individually and make a decision based on all the information you have is -- whatever that is. And everyone is different obviously."

Q: Will there be any internal sanctions for Edelman?
BB: "We never publicly announce internal team discipline. We wouldn’t change that policy."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When veteran running back Fred Taylor showed up on the Patriots’ injury report Wednesday, it was notable because it came the day after the team traded Laurence Maroney. Taylor had limited participation on Wednesday with a toe injury.

But the injury does not seem to be serious. On Thursday, Taylor fully participated in the team’s full-pads practice. There were no other changes to the Patriots’ injury report. For the second straight day, receiver Julian Edelman (foot) was limited.

On the Jets' side, the big news was that cornerback Darrelle Revis was limited with a tight hamstring.

Passing along a few of the more interesting quotes from the Patriots' postgame locker room.

Offensive lineman Stephen Neal on whether he will play next season:

“I’m not sure. I’m not sure how my body is going to feel. I’m not sure if I’ll keep playing, keep getting in them car accidents each week. I don’t know. We’ll have to find out, talk to the family, see what options are available.”

Running back Fred Taylor on the season ending:

“You have to give them all the credit. They came out and played an outstanding game. But I guess we picked the wrong day because there is no tomorrow as far as games are concerned. We just have to come in tomorrow, say our goodbyes until the offseason program cranks back up and see what we can do going forward.”

Defensive back James Sanders on a 'frustrating game':

“All we did was we kept fighting. They scored maybe 21 points in five minutes. Once you get in a situation like that, it’s tough to recover and all we could do was keep fighting. It seemed like the harder we fought, the bigger hole we dug ourselves. It was a very frustrating game for us today. Of course we were disappointed, but we weren’t lacking confidence. We were just telling ourselves keep fighting one play at a time, and until the end we thought we still had a chance to get back in the game. It just didn’t happen like that.”

Receiver Julian Edelman on Tom Brady's message to the team during the game:

“Tom Brady told us not to quit. That’s what we tried not to do and we didn’t do that.”

Doug Martin was Julian Edelman’s head coach at Kent State, back when the Patriots’ receiver played quarterback. As someone who knows Edelman’s skills on the football field better than almost anyone, he was interviewed on ESPN’s First Take on Thursday as Edelman’s Patriots prepared to take on the Ravens in a first-round playoff game. Edelman is expected to play a large role for New England with Wes Welker sidelined.

Below are some of his comments ...

“He’s one of the most competitive young men I’ve ever been around. The three best players I’ve coached were David Garrard with Jacksonville, Josh Cribbs with the Browns, and Julian Edelman. All three had that competitive edge, but Julian took that to a different level. He plays with a chip on his shoulder."

****

“Julian’s message [to his Kent State teammates upon his arrival] was clear: He was going to be the starting quarterback. He made that clear to everyone on the football team and he did that. I’ve never seen a player change the mentality of a whole football team like he did ours."

****

“It’s not a cockiness with him, but it’s a confidence. It’s an expectation, it’s a standard of performance. It doesn’t matter if you’re in practice, you’re in winter conditioning or you’re in a game, you’re going to get the same effort from Julian Edelman every time out.”

****

"He’s got a great mind for the game first of all. He really understands how to play the game. He understands how defenses work. I think that’s what’s helped him really transition to the wide receiver position so fast. Athletically he’s got great ability to make people miss. He’s really a lot stronger than what he looks like. His running ability is second to none."

****

“I felt like he’d be able to [make the transition to wide receiver] all along. His last four games of his senior year [at Kent State] we put him back to return punts and do some things to highlight him for the pro scouts so they could see him do those things. It was obvious he wasn’t going to be a quarterback [in the NFL].”

****

“I think the three guys that had the biggest impact on him were Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Tom Brady. What really impacted Julian is these guys don’t just do it by talent. These guys are outworking people and that really fit into his mold. I think they’ve really helped him transition to wide receiver a lot faster. I think the’ve helped him learn the pro game, which obviously is more complex than what he had in college. Those guys have made a huge impact on him."

****

“He’s always going to keep trying to get better, he’s never going to be satisfied. The great thing about him he’s one of those kids he could have 10 catches for 200 yards, but he’s not going to be happy unless you win the game.”

****

“The bigger the stage, the bigger the game, the better he’s going to play. He really embraces that role. He embraces being in the moment. ... I’ve never seen anyone that loves to play the game more than this young man.”

ESPN analyst and former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi talked about what the injury to Wes Welker means for the Patriots and what the team will be missing with Julian Edelman in his place.

“This is a huge loss for the Patriots offense,” Bruschi said. “This offense is better with Wes Welker and Tom Brady is a better quarterback with Wes Welker. It’s his uncanny ability to run option routes, to read zone coverage, to read man coverage.”

And Bruschi on Edelman, the rookie receiver who figures to fill in for Welker:

“In comes Julian Edelman, a rookie receiver that used to play quarterback at Kent State,” Bruschi said. “People like this guy but he’s no Wes Welker. Let’s make no mistake, he isn’t as quick as Wes. He isn’t as smart as Wes. And the countless hours that Tom Brady and Wes Welker have spent on the practice field to develop that continuity that you see on game day, that’s what Edelman and Brady don’t have.

“It will be interesting to see how [offensive signal caller] Bill O’Brien ... adjusts and targets other receivers.”

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady spoke this morning for the first time about receiver Wes Welker’s knee injury, telling Boston sports radio station WEEI the offense was going to have to “evolve a little bit” without the team’s leading receiver.

Here is a sampling from the interview:

On moving on without Welker:

“You can’t replace him there’s no doubt about that. There’s nobody that can substitute in for Wes and think that they’re going to be Wes. He is everything you ask for. He is just an incredible player and leader. It think as football goes it’s kind of the way it works unfortunately. And we’ve got to move on and we’ve got to go out there and play and everyone I think in different areas has to pick it up. I have to play better, Julian [Edelman] has to play better, Randy [Moss] has to play better, the offensive line, running backs, tight ends, we all have to do more. I think that’s the commitment we have to make to one another.”

On being able to move past the injury and focusing on the playoffs:

“In the short term we’ve got to get over [Welker’s injury] real quick. We should be over it now. And you realize we played a game without him yesterday and that’s the way it’s going to be.”

On how the Patriots can try to use Welker being out as an advantage:

“We’re going to evolve a little bit as an offense now. It was a very Wes Welker oriented offense. Maybe part of the advantage is Baltimore doesn’t really know what they’re going to see from us now. We’re going to have shift focus and they’re really not sure where that focus is going to go. In some ways that’s an advantage for us. There’s a lot of things we’ve done with Wes that we don’t do with anybody else. We're going to find other areas to exploit and use the talents of Julian and Sam [Aiken] and Randy and Chris Baker and Kevin [Faulk] and Laurence [Maroney] and Fred [Taylor] and Sammy [Morris], ands all those other really great players we have on offense to be able to move the ball.”

On Welker’s recovery as a learning process:

“Nobody loves Wes more than me. Going through a knee injury last year was a hard thing for me but in ways it was a good thing for me. It taught me a lot and I think for Wes it’s going to do the same thing. He’s as hard a worker as anyone I’ve been around and he’s everything you ask for.”

On the fickle nature of injuries:

“Football is a very unforgiving game. You never know when that play is going to come. How many times has Wes made that cut over the course of his career? And sure enough it’s just his one time where the foot doesn’t land right.”

On his belief in Welker:

“You never bet against a guy like Wes. His heart and his commitment to what it takes is stronger than just about anyone else’s. We talked a little bit. He’s going to fight through it.”

Comparing Welker’s knee injury to his own at the start of the 2008 season:

“Everyone goes through it a little bit differently, everyone’s got different knees. Him being a receiver is a little bit different than it was for me. I can afford to wear the knee brace the whole time in the game and I’m sure he’s not going to want to do that. Which is OK ... for Wes it’s just about going through the process. He’s as hard a worker on anyone on our team, anyone I’ve ever seen. He’s going to work just as hard through this as he would through the regular offseason program. He’ll be back at some point better than ever. I know that.”

On reports he is playing with broken ribs and finger:

Jokingly: “What’s the injury report say?”

“I’m feeling really good. Everyone breaks bones over the course of the year. I’m feeling pretty good. It’s the best I’ve felt in a while.”

On Edelman, Welker’s likely replacement:

“He has a different skill set than Wes. There are things that you do differently with Julian and things that you do differently with Wes. ... You’re not going to be able to make him into Wes Welker. You’re just going to have to allow him to do the things that he does well.”

On preparing for the Ravens:

“We’ve got to have a great week of practice. It’s a pretty tough team to prepare for, they’re a pretty exotic blitz team. They have a good offense, good defense, good special teams. they’re going to challenge us in a lot of different ways.”

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Some quick-hit thoughts from the Patriots’ inactive players:

1. Quarterback Tom Brady, who was questionable with right shoulder/right finger/rib injuries, is active as expected.

2. Rookie offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer (head) and rookie receiver Julian Edelman (forearm) are active after both did not play in the last two games.

3. Veteran cornerback Shawn Springs, who did not play in the team’s last four games, is active.

4. With interior sub rusher Myron Pryor (chest) out, the Patriots have Titus Adams replacing him on the 45-man game-day roster. With Ron Brace also inactive, the team has Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Jarvis Green, Mike Wright and Adams atop the defensive line depth chart.

5. With special teams captain Sam Aiken inactive, Edelman projects as the No. 3 receiver. Aiken’s special teams duties will likely be split up, with safety Pat Chung one player to watch in some of those key roles.

6. On the offensive line, the Patriots have a different group -- position-wise -- than they have had all season. With Stephen Neal (ankle) and Rich Ohrnberger inactive, the Patriots don’t have a “pure” interior backup. Instead, they have two tackles as backups. In the event that a starting guard or center is injured, the Patriots would likely have to make multiple changes. Nick Kaczur is one option at guard in the event of an emergency.

7. Running back Fred Taylor, who warmed up for about an hour before the game, was deemed not ready for action. It appeared that he was a game-time decision as he continues his recovery from right ankle surgery.

The Patriots designating rookie Julian Edelman as their third quarterback Monday night has raised some questions as to what exactly that means. Here are the key points:

1) A third quarterback is a 46th player on the 45-man gameday roster. The rule is designed to help teams not be caught short at the game's most important position in the event of multiple injuries.

2) The third quarterback can enter the game at any time, but if he enters before the fourth quarter, the first and second quarterbacks are eliminated from the game.

3) Edelman is not restricted to playing quarterback if he enters the game. This may be a case where Edelman's forearm injury is serious enough that he can't play for an extended period, but could contribute a play or two in crunch time.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass., -- The Patriots are practicing inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon and rookie left tackle Sebastian Vollmer was not present for the start of the session, casting doubt on his availability for Monday's game in New Orleans.

Vollmer sustained a head injury in last Sunday's win over the Jets, although he returned to action in that game.

Vollmer, who did not practice Friday, has started the team's last five games.

If Vollmer does not play Monday, veteran Matt Light would likely slide back in at left tackle. Light has been out since injuring his right knee in the second half of the team's loss in Denver Oct. 11, but appears close to a return. Swing tackle Mark LeVoir is another possibility.

Veteran running back Fred Taylor (ankle) was the other player not spotted at the start of practice, while rookie receiver Julian Edelman (forearm) returned after missing Friday's session.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass., -- There was mixed news regarding injured Patriots offensive linemen Friday, as starting right guard Stephen Neal (head) was participating at the start of practice while rookie left tackle Sebastian Vollmer (head) was not present.

Furthermore, starting right tackle Nick Kaczur, who played through what appeared to be an ankle injury in Sunday's win over the Jets, looked like he was battling through pain.

Although nothing is set in stone, Mark LeVoir worked at right tackle, while Matt Light was at left tackle.

With a noisy environment expected Monday night, the Patriots' offensive line will be tested while working with a silent snap count. The unit's makeup figures to be an important pre-game storyline.

Neal did not play last Sunday against the Jets, while Vollmer was injured during the game but returned to action.

Rookie receiver Julian Edelman (forearm), running back Fred Taylor (ankle) and Vollmer (head) were the three players not spotted at the start of practice, which was held inside the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse.

A look at snaps played by Patriots offensive skill-position players in the team’s 31-14 win over the Jets:

WR Randy Moss – 76 of 83 snaps
WR Wes Welker – 64 of 83
TE Chris Baker – 57 of 83
TE Benjamin Watson – 56 of 83
RB Kevin Faulk – 39 of 83
RB Laurence Maroney – 37 of 83
WR Julian Edelman – 28 of 83
WR Isaiah Stanback – 23 of 83
RB/FB BenJarvus Green-Ellis – 20 of 83
FB Dan Connolly – 5 of 83
WR Matthew Slater – 5 of 83
TE Mark LeVoir – 3 of 83

(snaps include an offensive holding penalty, defensive holding penalty, offensive pass interference penalty and two delay of game penalties)

ANALYSIS: The 83 snaps tied a season-high for a game (vs. Falcons) and reflected the decisive time of possession advantage the Patriots had (39:54-20:06). … Maroney’s 37 snaps were a season-high. His 23 carries were the third highest total of his career (including playoffs) as his hard running – and the fact he seemed to be get stronger later in the game -- was a big part of the win. … Edelman’s playtime spiked from last week (5 snaps vs. Colts) as he was part of three- and four-receiver sets. … One of the interesting parts of the game was how Connolly started at right guard then moved to fullback on the start of the second series of the game before returning to guard. … Green-Ellis lined up as a lead-blocking fullback, running back, and in the shotgun in a two-back set. … Slater was the lone receiver in a power set with two tight ends and lead-blocking fullback.

FOXBOROUGH – Sights and sounds Friday from Gillette Stadium:

Jarvis Green on his return to practice. Defensive end Jarvis Green was hurrying out of the locker room to get a haircut, but stopped briefly to discuss his return to practice for the first time since undergoing knee surgery over the team’s bye week. “That was no dog and pony show,” he said, hopeful that he will be able to suit up Sunday. In addition to Green, outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain expressed similar optimism on his potential availability after suiting up for parts of practice Friday.

Moss hears Revis chatter. Veteran receiver Randy Moss responded to Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, telling Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald: “I don’t feed into talking and all that crazy stuff. I’m a 12-year vet. So that stuff don’t bother me. My biggest thing is, when you talk like that, you better back it up. So, we’ll see. We’ll see what goes down."

Best practice squad in 10 years. Asked a question about the team’s practice squad by Andy Hart of Patriots Football Weekly, coach Bill Belichick took the opportunity to praise his personnel men, Nick Caserio (director of player personnel), Jason Licht (director of pro personnel) and Jon Robinson (director of college scouting). He called the practice squad probably the best group he’s had in his 10-year tenure as coach. He also pointed out rookie free agent Brian Hoyer, late-round draft picks like Julian Edelman, and free agent Rob Ninkovich as examples of how the personnel staff has done a good job finding players this year.

Maroney compares running backs to “Voltron” cartoon. Drawing a large media crowd at his locker, running back Laurence Maroney talked about the team’s running back corps returning to full health. He compared the situation to Voltron, the cartoon character in which five pieces connect together to form one large robot. Sammy Morris went through a full week of practice for the first time since injuring his knee Oct. 18, and Fred Taylor is apparently making progress in his recovery from ankle surgery on Oct. 8.