Joe Judge tells an epic story of Julian Edelman’s response amid criticism of The Patriot Way

Julian Edelman was fully bought-in on The Patriot Way.

The New England Patriots have come under fire in recent years for their serious, no-nonsense, workmanlike approach. Whether it’s Cassius Marsh, a player who unhappily played in New England, or an Eagles offensive lineman who never played for the Patriots, there have been plenty of critics among NFL players. Their argument is simple: New England doesn’t have fun.

Marsh brought up his dislike for Bill Belichick’s way of doing things yet again in an interview this week. Marsh, who was a Patriot in 2017, suggested the Patriots “treat their players like crap.” Marsh is on his seventh team in his second season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Anytime a player comes out against Belichick’s methods, it opens the door for people to show their support for the coach. That’s exactly what New York Giants coach Joe Judge, who was the Patriots’ special teams coordinator, did. He told a story that showed how much Julian Edelman enjoyed The Patriot Way.

“When we came out of that whole deal in 2017 where it was like … ‘It’s not fun, it’s this, it’s that’ … there was a white grease board on the wall (at Gillette Stadium), and it was blank,” Judge told hosts Sean McVay and Peter Schrager, as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston.

“He walked in and wrote in the middle of the board, ‘Winning is fun.’ And it was something everyone read as they walked in every day.

“… He kind of spread the message to the entire team of, ‘Hey guys, you want to have fun? Winning is fun. We do everything we can to win here.’”

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