Mohamed Sanu Promises Some Fun Once He Gets Feet Wet In Patriots Offense
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Mohamed Sanu got his feet wet -- among other things -- in the Patriots offense during his rainy New England debut on Sunday. The veteran receiver is promising bigger things once he gets fully acclimated to Tom Brady's offense.
Sanu caught two of the five passes that Brady sent his way in New England's 27-13 win over the Browns on Sunday, and while there is plenty of work to do, his debut was a good building block. He played his first game in a Patriots uniform just five days after being acquired from the Atlanta Falcons for a second-round pick, but it's clear that Brady already trusts the eight-year veteran.
That much was evident late in the second quarter, when Brady fired a missile at Sanu on a fourth-and-4 play at the Cleveland 23. Sanu held on as he absorbed a crushing hit by Cleveland defensive back Jermaine Whitehead, moving the chains for New England. (The Browns actually challenged the play, even after they were gifted a stoppage by officials who "were not in position" as the Patriots ran a quick snap. Being the Browns, they lost the obvious challenge.)
"It felt great," Sanu said of making his first catch as a Patriot. "Tom put it on the money and I had to catch it in self defense."
His only other reception of the game was a little easier to haul in, a 19-yard hookup with Brady on a nice route over the middle in the fourth quarter. Sanu played 37 snaps, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss, spending the bulk of his time on the field in the slot.
Sanu admitted that he has a lot to still learn, and that he made plenty of mistakes during his Patriots debut. His relationship with Brady on the field is still a work in progress, but he promises that it will get better with time.
"Once I get my feet wet a little more, then we'll have some fun," he said with a giant smirk.
His quarterback agrees.
"He worked really hard this week to really get up to speed and to play as much as he did. I think it's just going to be more and more confidence as he keeps going," Brady said after the victory. "He made a huge catch for us on fourth down, had a good crosser that he made a nice catch on, so keep just trying to find ways to get him the ball."
Sanu was in awe while watching Brady go to work with Julian Edelman, who finished with eight receptions for 78 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
"I can't wait to be on that page, because that was a sight to see," Sanu said of the Brady-Edelman connection. "It's going to be like that soon."
The more Sanu integrates himself with the New England offense, the more potent that side of the ball will become. It's hard to imagine an 8-0 team getting better, but Sanu could help the offense catch up to New England's historic defense this season.
And that will just lead to more rousing postgame victory speeches by special teams captain Matthew Slater, which Sanu is very much looking forward to in the coming weeks and months.
"Slate gave probably the best postgame speech I'd ever heard in my life. That was unbelievable. I was ready to go play another whole game," Sanu joked. "Everyone was like, 'he does this after every game,' and I was just like ... wow. It was incredible."
