PatsFaninAZ

Haven't seen this discussed yet; my apologies if it has been.

Caldwell made a huge mistake on the Patriot's final drive by stepping out of bounds on the first play. It was great to have the yardage there, but the reality is that 40 seconds is way more valuable there than the yardage. The Bears would have needed to use their second time out there or let 40 seconds go off the clock, which means that one more first down at that point would have effectively ended the game. In fact, if Reche just sits down, slides or takes a knee after the catch, Dillon probably is never even in position to make that fumble.

Anyway, he made it up for big time a few plays later with a good grab. Still, he's a five year vet. Over the past few years, the Patriots have won a lot of games with heads up plays. I notice that he didn't make the same mistake twice, and I guess that's the most you can ask for. Bottom line, though, is that with the parity in the NFL, that is exactly the kind of stuff during the regular season that often is overlooked but, it turns out, is the difference between winning and losing -- between making the playoffs and not or between getting a bye or home field advantage and not.

Otherwise, great game. Brady's drive was simply a championship drive and the reason this guy is great. The team had every reason to collapse after those penalties or the turnovers, but the hung in there and made the plays when they needed to against a great team.

What did people think of Lovey Smith's decision to go for three points with 4 minutes to play? I thought it was exactly the right call. It was a close call, but I think when you look at all the scenarios that could have played out, it was the decision at that time that gave his team the best chance to win the game, even though at first blush going for it on 4th down is the play that more coaches probably would have gone with. I think he and the Bears are going to be a force to be reckoned with over the next few years. The one weird thing about the play, though, was that if he was going to go for 3 points, he should have the field goal team ready to go before the play in case they didn't make it. The came a second away from taking a delay penalty on the kick, and lost many valuable seconds of the game clock getting the FG team on the field.

Brady'sButtBoy

Given the events that followed, specifically, Dillon's fumble, Caldwell's blunder of stepping out of bounds could have been very costly. Moving the length of the field for a touchdown with only a minute left and no TO's is very difficult, doing it with nearly two minutes left is much more likely. The Bears had plenty of time, Grossman just made a poor play and Samuel made a good one to save our bacon.

You're quite right about Caldwell's error being uncharacteristic of recent Patriot teams which seemed to most often do the little things right. The out of bounds play and Caldwell's fumbling of the ball he just recovered from Watson (he should have simply laid down and been happy to keep the ball) both showed either poor football instincts or a nervous player unable to focus. Neither option is very encouraging.

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ironwasp

I had all sorts of conflicting emotions going through my head while he was doing that; the first was, "take the hit, stay in bounds" but also "hang on to the damned ball". When he finally got out of bounds I think I was actually sort of relieved.

I couldn't be happier with the way this guy is working out. He's made a real contribution to our team this year, and seems to be improving with each week.

(FWIW I though Lovie made the right decision to kick the field goal).

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TeamPats

The kid I was watching the game with suggested this same thing about Reche falling down on the ball. I had to disagree with him, I could not imagine a better bounce or player for that ball to end up at. The Patriots often speak of recovering fumbles as prime times to make significant yardage gains and even practice laterals much like the Pats/Steelers game in 2001. I know it was unfortunate Caldwell fumbled it but I do not believe he was at fault for trying to run with it.

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In front of his team after a 28-10 loss to the Packers in 2002, Belichick said: "We have a lot of smart guys in this room, but on the football field we play like a bunch of f------- morons. If you are one of the players flinching at the harshness of these words, you might as well begin packing. There is no way you are going to last as a New England Patriot."

sieglo

I can't fault Caldwell for trying to get some YAC on that tipped ball from Watson he pulled in. That is what receivers are trained to do. It's good to be aggressive. Hopefully BB won't bench him for the next three games a la Gabriel.

As for running out of bounds, it wasn't a heads up move by Reche. Oh well.

I think Caldwell overall is working out great. So far this year he's been somewhere between a Branch and a Givens in skill I think.

RayClay

The way balls were popping out yesterday, I felt the same way. He needs to learn from Marvin Harrison how to go into the fetal position while looking like you were hit.

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5 Rings for Brady!!

I had one poster here jump all over me for suggesting that Caldwell is not the quickest thinking guy that ever played the game of football. However, I stand by my opinion.

Some players just 'get it' and have intangibles, like knowing when to stay in bounds and lie down, and other players can't quite think that fast on a football field. I know which category Caldwell falls into, even if other posters at this board don't. He failed the situational awareness test. This is not about something like physically holding onto the ball, this is about a 5 year veteran mentally being aware of what is going on in the last minutes of a tight game.

He is a solid, hardworking #2 at best. That's why we have a Tight End who will likely have better stats after the season. Caldwell is not a #1. Never will be.

In any system with talent on offense, he is a solid #3. We don't have that luxury.

I like Caldwell and I am not the least bit down on him. But I can recognize his relative talent and intangibles compared to other WRs in the league, and he is what he is. I've got no problems with him being on the team, but it is wrong to think that he is going to be our best or smartest player in the long run.

RayClay

Whether it was smart or not, I don't think he didn't realize what he did. He had two defenders looking like they were going to pull the "stand him up and rip" on him.

I'll never know, but it seemed to me he looked at them and intentionally chose ball security over the clock. Guess you'd have to ask him.

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JoeSixPat

It's amazing how often I see this happen in a crucial game clock management situation... Reche is not the first on the Patriots to do this season even (I think Dillon made a similar mistake) and I see it often in other games...

Just amazing it happens as often as it does and probably shows how easy it is for players to forget what's happening in the game....

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5 Rings for Brady!!

Wrong. Sit on your ass and the play ends.