The Patriots' Praise For James Develin Is Warranted
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- You can already hear it now, blaring over the Boston airwaves for four hours this afternoon, "Wouldja please, with the fakakta fullback talk? Can we stop with the FULLBACK talk? Do fullback talk on your own time."
Understandably, fullbacks aren't often considered significant football players. That's pretty much the definition of the job; doing the dirty work that nobody else wants to do, receiving little or no statistical credit, all while being beloved by teammates and coaches.
You do that job long enough, and people take notice. James Develin has certainly earned that attention over the past five years.
That's why, when news broke of the 31-year-old being placed on injured reserve, Patriots players and coaches were not short for words when it came to praising the work of Develin.
"Never had a better teammate in 12 years of football," longtime Patriots captain Matthew Slater said Monday. "He is the best teammate I've ever been around, bar none. He's a tremendous human being, but he's always been about putting this team first. He's always been about sacrificing for the greater good. When you talk about everything that this organization hopes to stand for, nobody embodies it better than James."
On Tuesday, head coach Bill Belichick spoke to reporters via conference call. Belichick's coached thousands of players in his 40-plus years in the NFL, so his words of praise for Develin certainly carry a little extra weight.
"First of all, I think we're fortunate to have one James Develin on our team," Belichick said when asked about the task of replacing Develin. "He works extremely hard, he's a versatile player that does things for us offensively and in the kicking game, very dependable and has a lot of experience in our system. So we're lucky to have him. To have two of him and to be able to replace him with another James Develin, it's just unrealistic."
Belichick added: "There's no one person that can do what he does."
All of that praise is right in line with everything that Belichick had to say about Develin last winter, when he was preparing to play in Super Bowl LIII.
"I think James epitomizes what hard work, diligence, physical and mental toughness, determination -- how all of that can result in success and a very successful career. He's done that," Belichick said in Atlanta. "I think he has as much respect as anyone in the locker room," Belichick said. "He doesn't say a lot, but he works as hard as anybody, and is a very team-oriented guy who always does what's best for the team. On a team, that's all you can ask for from a teammate. And he always does that. That's why he's so respected, and I'd say admired. He's a great example for not just young players, but I'd say every player and person in the locker room — player and coach. He has a great attitude, works hard, does whatever he can to help the team. That's really what it's about."
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has had the benefit of coaching Develin since the fullback's arrival in Foxboro six years ago. Like his head coach, McDaniels spoke with great appreciation for the regular, reliable work provided by Develin over that time.
"Yeah James is a special guy," McDaniels said. "He certainly played a very viable role in our offense, and he certainly had a lot to do with our success when he's on the field. He's certainly been recognized for that -- deservedly so. He provides a toughness and a leadership and a physicality that we love around here, and he's a great person, a great worker, great attitude, always a positive contributor to our performance offensively. So yeah, you're not going to just plug in somebody and replace that."
The Patriots' season will now continue without Develin, as the coaching staff will do what's possible to try to generate Develin's normal contributions from a few players. Belichick being Belichick, he of course had a German fullback stashed on the roster for this exact scenario. And while Jakob Johnson only got onto the field for the final two snaps of Sunday's victory, this size, power and work ethic should help to at least somewhat offset the loss of Develin.
Still, there's no doubt that in a position that can often be taken for granted or overlooked, Develin has managed to garner quite a bit of attention for his steady, reliable and powerful contributions to three Super Bowl wins and a half-decade of consistent success.
