The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots were two of the premier teams in the NFL in the mid-2010’s. While they played less in the playoffs than you’d think they would’ve, they hooked up for plenty of meaningful regular season games in that time.

This week, former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman spoke about playing those Steelers teams. And, what he said was not kind to Mike Tomlin.

Edelman spent 11 seasons in New England as one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets, tallying 6,822 yards on 620 catches and 36 touchdowns in the regular season. But, he’s most known for his fantastic playoff performances. In 19 playoff games, he had 1,442 yards on 118 catches and was named MVP of Super Bowl LIII.

A master of finding the soft spots in zone defense, Julian Edelman had a great feel for getting open. According to him, it was pretty easy against Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“You knew exactly what they were doing every time, and they still do what they do. They still do the same — —- —- that when I was playing. I’m like, “we still have linebackers covering the three slot?” Ever time I played the Steelers I had at least nine catches.”

Edelman isn’t exactly telling the truth regarding his success against Pittsburgh. In six games, he had 34 catches against them. That being said, if you eliminate his first two games against the Steelers, he finished with 33 catches, which is just over eight per game in his final four against them. Needless to say, he knew how to carve them up.

Mike Tomlin is returning for yet another season in charge of the Steelers, his 19th in charge. But, he may want to update the pass defense principles.