Zolak & Bertrand: Did Julian Edelman take a shot at Bill Belichick?

On Friday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, we decided whether Julian Edelman took a shot at Bill Belichick with his recent comments on the "New Heights" podcast.

While Edelman was discussing his career and the importance of practice, he admitted that he'd still be playing if he didn't spend his entire career in New England.

“I swear if I didn’t play in New England I’d still be playing because we practiced so god damn hard,” Edelman said. “That’s honestly why I retired. I couldn’t practice. I was getting three reps a practice, and then I was getting into the pool because my knee — I was (expletive) up. And you build your confidence through practice. Practice repetition becomes game reality.”

Now, many Patriots fans would argue that Edelman would've never become the player he did without Tom Brady and his time to develop under the likes of Wes Welker. But it's fair to question whether he has some regrets when it comes to Belichick's practice regimen.

Beetle: Not necessarily critical, but it's critical of... I don't know... it doesn't really sound like he's mad about it.

Ted Johnson: The first thing he said was I'd still be playing if I didn't play for the Patriots.

Beetle: I'm not sure he would have had the career he had if he didn't play for the Patriots.

Ted Johnson: Oh, I agree.

Beetle: Who else would give him that time to develop and turn him into the player that he was.

Ted Johnson: What what I wanted to say, though, is he was drafted in 2009. The CBA was extended in 2011 and in 2011, that's when they changed all the working conditions where they had a unified working conditions where there were only 14 padded practices. So for me, I'm like really... so basically 9 of his 11 years, you know, there was no two-a-days. There was only less than once a week in the regular season.

Beetle: You know, you sound like you're doing that back in my day. You're doing it right now. You're doing the back in my day thing.

Ted Johnson: That's what I'm doing.

Ted Johnson: Football was a lot easier for him.

Beetle: You can admit this, though. There are teams right now that even conforming to the new rules which are much different from 20 years ago. But even with the new rules in place, there are teams that practice harder than others. Right?

Ted Johnson: I guess.

Beetle: Come on. Yes, Ted. Even within those constraints, there are teams that go harder than others. I think that's fair to say.

Ted Johnson: As long as everyone's hitting at the same rate, it's the pads that's the difference.

Beetle: You know, there are teams that are doing glorified walkthroughs every day.

Ted Johnson: You think?

Beetle: Yeah. I think there are those teams that exist out there and they're not good, but I do think that probably exists.

In the latest sign that football is right around the corner, EA Sports has spent this week revealing the full overall ratings for players around the league in the latest edition of the Madden football series, Madden 24. That, of course, includes the Patriots.

Some people get annoyed by Madden ratings, simply responding with "who cares what a video game thinks?" But for fans whose main sports media consumption is made up of hyper-local outlets (not that there's anything wrong with that), it can be a good chance to see what the national or league-wide view is of the local team, both on a player-by-player level and overall.

Right away, it stands out that no Patriots player ended up with an elite (90+) overall grade. That seems to line up with the projections that the Patriots will be on the outside looking in at the playoff picture this year.

READ MORE:

-- Revisiting the Patriots' offseason plan
-- How the Patriots missed out on DeAndre Hopkins
-- Mac Jones throwing the deep ball

Last year, the Patriots graded out as the 20th-best overall team in the NFL on Madden heading into the season. That proved to be a slight underestimation but not totally inaccurate, as they ended the season tied for 18th in terms of winning percentage.

So how do the Patriots grade out this year? Which players did Madden get right, and which did they get wrong? And who are really the top players on the team? Let's take a look at this year's ratings position-by-position.

Note: Not every player appears in the initial version of Madden, with rosters capped at 75 players. UDFAs and other late free agents are often not included at launch, with those that make the team added in a later roster update.

Mac Jones: 74
Bailey Zappe: 63
Malik Cunningham: 60
Trace McSorley: 56

Jones is tied with first-overall pick Bryce Young for the 23rd-best QB in the game. He's one point behind Daniel Jones and Matthew Stafford, and one ahead of Brock Purdy, C.J. Stroud, & Kenny Pickett. Still, the Madden developers don't seem to see much of a competition coming between him and Zappe.

Rhamondre Stevenson: 80
Ty Montgomery: 74
Pierre Strong: 69
J.J. Taylor: 68
Kevin Harris: 62

For the second year in a row, Madden is not high on Stevenson (he began last year as a 73 and finished as a 78). They have him out side the top 20 running backs in the game, rated the same as Devin Singletary, Elijah Mitchel, and Isaiah Pacheco, and one spot ahead of former Patriot Damien Harris.

JuJu Smith-Schuster: 82
DeVante Parker: 80
Kendrick Bourne: 78
Tyquan Thornton: 70
Demario Douglas: 67
Kayson Boutte: 66
Tre Nixon: 66
Matthew Slater: 66*

This feels about right for the Patriots' wide receiver group. Smith-Schuster, Parker, and Bourne are all proven NFL contributors, but not true top-of-the-depth-chart players at the position. Thornton has upside but is a relative unknown heading into his second NFL season, but he is tied as the sixth-fastest wide receiver in the game with a 96 speed. Slater is still included here, since Madden doesn't recognize specialists beyond kickers and punters.

For what it's worth, DeAndre Hopkins is a 93 overall and the seventh-ranked receiver in the game.

Not included: Ed Lee, Raleigh Webb

Hunter Henry: 81
Mike Gesicki: 81
Anthony Firkser: 67
Joe Cardona: 26

Madden sees the Patriots' new tight end duo as an even split. Yet both are ranked outside of the top 20 at the position league-wide. Perhaps a bit of an underrated, especially for Henry.

As for Joe Cardona, Madden still doesn't have 'long snapper' as its own position and includes them with the tight ends. No word on if that is changing any time soon.

Not included: Johnny Lumpkin, Matt Sokol, Scotty Washington

Mike Onwenu: 85
David Andrews: 83
Trent Brown: 83
Cole Strange: 76
Riley Reiff: 72
Sidy Sow: 68
Atonio Mafi: 67
Jake Andrews: 66
Chasen Hines: 64
Andrew Stueber: 63
Calvin Anderson: 63
Conor McDermott: 60
James Ferentz: 59

Onwenu got a solid bump from his Madden 23 rating, a year after he was arguably the Patriots' best offensive player. Strange improved as well - he had a 70 rating last year.

As for the tackles, Madden does a good job showing the lack of depth behind Trent Brown. Anderson is probably a bit underrated at a 63, but the general point comes through.

Not included: Kody Russey, Bill Murray

Deatrich Wise: 81
Lawrence Guy: 76
Christian Barmore: 75
Davon Godchaux: 75
Keion White: 69
Carl Davis: 67
Sam Roberts: 63
Daniel Ekuale: 62

This feels like a bit of a miss by Madden. Wise gets a nice ratings boost after a strong season in 2022, but the rest feels all out of order. While Barmore was hurt for a good portion of last season, he did make an impact more often than not when he was on the field. Meanwhile, Guy's overall improved from last year even after a down season.

White got a solid rating for a rookie second-round pick. His strength rating (88) is just outside of the 'elite' category (90+).

Not included: Justus Tavai, Jeremiah Pharms Jr.

Matthew Judon: 89
Ja'Whaun Bentley: 84
Josh Uche: 81
Jahlani Tavai: 77
Marte Mapu: 70
Mack Wilson: 69
Raekwon McMillan: 69
Anfernee Jennings: 68
Chris Board: 66
Ronnie Perkins: 64
Terez Hall: 63
DaMarcus Mitchell: 62

Judon is the highest-rated player on the Patriots, but still comes short of an elite grade at 89. Yet that is a two-point improvement from where he was at last year.

It doesn't seem that Madden is buying the hype on Uche from late last year when he had 11.5 sacks over this final 10 games. His 81 rating is in line with a rotational player.

Not included: Olakunle Fatukasi, Jourdan Heilig, Calvin Munson

Jonathan Jones: 83
Christian Gonzalez: 77
Marcus Jones: 75
Jack Jones: 74
Jalen Mills: 74
Myles Bryant: 71
Ameer Speed: 65
Shaun Wade: 65
Isaiah Bolden: 64

At a 77 overall, Gonzalez is one of the highest-rated rookies in the game. He also got elite ratings for most of his physical attributes such as speed, athleticism, and jumping.

While their overall ratings aren't as high, the Patriots' other two rookie corners got a nod from the Madden team as well. Both have a speed rating of 95, which places them in the top 10 at the position.

Not included: Rodney Randle, Quandre Mosley

Kyle Dugger: 86
Jabrill Peppers: 83
Adrian Phillips: 81
Cody Davis: 68
Joshuah Bledsoe: 65
Brad Hawkins: 63
Brenden Schooler: 62

Dugger is rated as the sixth-best strong safety in the game, which feels about right heading into the season. His rating should also grow as the season goes on - can he get into the 90 range? Madden also seems to be in line with Bill Belichick's (and my) optimism for Peppers in his second year in New England.

Nick Folk: 77
Chad Ryland: 72
Bryce Baringer: 72
Corliss Waitman: 69

Even with his job on the line in training camp, Folk is rated as the 13th-best kicker in Madden. Ryland is the second-best rookie kicker in the game behind Jake Moody, and Baringer is the best rookie punter.

Speed: Tyquan Thornton, 96
Acceleration: Marcus Jones, 95
Agility: Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Kendrick Bourne, 92
Strength: Mike Onwenu, Trent Brown, 91
Jump: Gonzalez, DeVante Parker, 95
Toughness: David Andrews, 97

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.