Thought this was a pretty cool article... I put a couple of passages, but the whole thing is worth a read, IMO anyway. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-england...amendola-and-julian-edelman-met-the-godfather Amendola and teammate Julian Edelman came to see the man they call "The Godfather" of all slots, longtime New York Jets great Wayne Chrebet. Now 42 and having last played in 2005, Chrebet couldn't have been more flattered... "I had a friend there who didn't play football and he was in awe that there was so much detail to something so simple as running a 10-yard route. It was interesting to hear their perspective on it, and how they work with Brady on that, and how they get in sync." Chrebet was first introduced to Amendola in 2015 by chance. He was at an event, met one of Amendola's close friends and that's how the connection was first made; a brief phone call ensued. What Chrebet learned during that call was that Amendola had long admired him, hanging his poster on a wall in his home as a teenager. It's the same way Chrebet once viewed Seattle Seahawks great Steve Largent (1976-1989)... One common thread they quickly discovered is the influence of former Jets and Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. Chrebet thrived in his system with the Jets from 1997 to 1999, while the Patriots' offense still features many of the same concepts from the Weis years (2000-04). Patriots Hall of Famer Troy Brown and Wes Welker could have fit right in at their dinner table as slot machines. Also, Chrebet was a fan of Chicago Bears receiver Tom Waddle (1989-1994), in part because he seldom (if ever) wore gloves and often absorbed bone-crunching hits across the middle. Chrebet said he once wrote the following quote from Waddle on his shirt and wore it under his jersey: "Other players are more physically blessed than I am. But if I have an advantage over them, it's that I don't mind taking the hits. And if getting hit is a God-given talent, I guess I have it."
Cool story, I feel bad for Chrebet though. I have a friend that met him and worked an event with him and said he seems very very off, obviously in part to the concussions. The slot receivers today, only 11 years after Chrebet's career ended, have it much easier in terms of avoiding concussions than he did.
It's been evident for a while. He announced a draft pick a while back and looked lost. I can't remember the year, '13?, and the pick tho. It looked bad. The DB's really gunned for him towards the end of his career and he took a beating
It actually makes me think if no Wayne Chrebet and Charlie Weiss than no Edelman, Amendola, or Welker in Pats uniforms... dam you Wayne I kid of course, Chrebet is one of my favorite Jets ever and I still proudly wear his jersey but it's sad to see what has happened to him. It's kind of funny but you never think that there are actually guys in the NFL who as kids wanted to be Chrebet just like I'm sure Tom Waddle never thought guys who came after him would model their game after him.
