A.J. Edds Named Practice Player of the Week After Cluing in Patriots on Dolphins

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Sep 14, 2011

FOXBORO, Mass. — Linebacker A.J. Edds didn't get much playing time Monday night during his Patriots debut, but he did make an impact in his first week in New England.

Edds was awarded the black jersey Wednesday as one of the Patriots' practice players of the week, which is a respected honor in the locker room. It's not a bad way to start out in New England after getting claimed off waivers from the Dolphins, who used a fourth-round pick on the Iowa product in 2010.

"It was kind of an easy week to be the practice player of the week coming from what I've been doing the last year and a half," Edds said. "It was good to get up here. It was obviously a quick week last week."

Edds tried to give the Patriots as much insight as possible on the Dolphins, though he wasn't able to unlock Miami's greatest secrets. Because the final game plan wasn't in place until after his release, Edds just tried to clue in his new team on some of the Dolphins' tendencies, techniques and mental whereabouts.

Then again, he didn't want to overstate that aspect, noting that he couldn't pass along any information that wasn't already evident on film. And some Patriots even asked him questions that he didn't know how to answer.

"It wasn't like I was bringing any earth-shattering knowledge with me," Edds said. "I wouldn't say that me coming the week of did anything to sway [the outcome] one way or the other."

The Dolphins had high aspirations for Edds in 2010, but he tore his ACL in training camp and couldn't ever get it going. With the injury and the lockout, Edds noted that he basically spent a year without stepping on a football field, so he understood why things might not have worked out with the Dolphins. Still, he said it was "surprising" to learn of his release.

On a similar notes, Edds maintained there aren't any lingering effects from the knee injury, and he's hoping to contribute on the game field as much as the practice field.

"I feel great, I do," Edds said. "I feel like I'm playing with speed, and strength and everything as well as I did before. The first week or so of camp, I was kind of still knocking the rust off physically because I hadn't tested it football-wise since the surgery, not having the offseason. But I'm feeling good now, no lingering side effects, nothing out of the ordinary. I feel like I've made a recovery, and just continue to stay on top of it and not let any little things pop up on me."

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