Time For Some Mea Culpas - New England Patriots Forums

mb6592 · 03-11-2007, 12:23 PM

Now that the team has spoken and the true experts have weighed in on whether or not a major upgrade to the wr position was needed, time for mea culpas from those of you that dissed anyone who suggested a major upgrade to the wr position was in order. Please take this opportunity to acknowledge your shortcomings here. Many of you have scoffed at our lack of understanding of the Patriots (the Patriot offense is predicated on spreading the ball around so anyone will do, Gaffney and Caldwell are more than adequate, the shortcomings of the offense had nothing to do with our receivers, the receiver position is overrated...). Only full apologies will be accepted - no half apologies. I'm talking to you Maverick4 "receiver is not an area of need for this team...I think wr can be among the most hyped up positions in football.." and Oswlek "we don't need...a guy who is absolutely better than Caldwell and Gaffney.." and DaBruinz "the Pats don't need more talent on offense to have a better offense..." and PatsFanVa and Kdo5 and others. All apologies will be accepted without reservations.

Captain Cliche · 03-11-2007, 01:04 PM

Let me be the first. I was wrong. Receiver is NOT a plug and play position.

***Box_O_Rocks*** · 03-11-2007, 01:10 PM

No question, Welker was a major upgrade, but that begs the question - define "major" upgrade? I ask because the Pats have been investing in relatively low cost WRs since they signed Reche a year ago (in the search for finding a castoff who could blossom working with Tommy). In terms of money spent, it still doesn't seem as if the WR portion of the Salary Cap has gotten out of hand. Let's face it, Welker is the only WR signing in the past year who was sought for his "production", the rest are Free Agents who didn't rate too highly on pundit & team shopping lists (ESPN's ranking of Stallworth as Top 10 notwithstanding).

***DarrylS*** · 03-11-2007, 01:12 PM

I thought our receiving corps were adequate and did not see the necessity of a major upgrade.. well I was wrong, BB was right, these guys will be good. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa...

Brady to Brown · 03-11-2007, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Box_O_Rocks

No question, Welker was a major upgrade, but that begs the question - define "major" upgrade? I ask because the Pats have been investing in relatively low cost WRs since they signed Reche a year ago (in the search for finding a castoff who could blossom working with Tommy). In terms of money spent, it still doesn't seem as if the WR portion of the Salary Cap has gotten out of hand. Let's face it, Welker is the only WR signing in the past year who was sought for his "production", the rest are Free Agents who didn't rate too highly on pundit & team shopping lists (ESPN's ranking of Stallworth as Top 10 notwithstanding).

lol, well played. I don't understand how fans did not think this was a priority for Belichick. He tried to sign Mason when Branch and Givens were on the team. Never mind the fact that Brady was clearly not happy last year.

JoeSixPat · 03-11-2007, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb6592

Now that the team has spoken and the true experts have weighed in on whether or not a major upgrade to the wr position was needed, time for mea culpas from those of you that dissed anyone who suggested a major upgrade to the wr position was in order.

Thanks so much for raising this issue. All through last pre-season I was pointing to the lack of a deep threat as a major concern even with Branch on the roster, and then suggested that a deep threat in the draft and pre-season trade was in order (as I cautioned people not to expect much from a rookie in Year 1)

Later, even though I recognized that as of mid-season there weren't exactly a ton of options to improve, just pointing out how it limited our offense and shortned the field wasn't welcomed around here.

I definately felt that some questioned my "Patriotism" for suggesting that the team had a major flaw that needed to be addressed. I'm not expecting anyone to come back and tell me I was right now - its just good enough for me to know that I was on the same page with BB & SP

The bottom line is that as of today, barring injury, we have the strongest WR corps Brady has ever had, including a strong deep threat, the posession receiver of the future, two very good short down specialists (I have said I was wrong about Caldwell - he's proved his value - but he remains a shorter yardage option - not a deep field threat) all of whom will ensure improved numbers from our TEs & RBs, and less pressure on Brady.

BradyisGod · 03-11-2007, 01:45 PM

Disagree.

The roster has changed since the 2006 season already. The 2006 season saw a pretty strong running game with Dillon, Faulk and Maroney, and could stand to survive without grade A receivers. We've lost a piece of that with the Dillon departure. While they may pick up another RB through the draft or something, I think this is just an attempt at trying another way to "skin the cat".

A blown coverage and a 12 man penalty kept the Pats from the SuperBowl. Neither of those had anything to do with the receivers.

Lastly, to echo other's points, lets see what kind of upgrade this is before we call it "major".

shirtsleeve · 03-11-2007, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb6592

Now that the team has spoken and the true experts have weighed in on whether or not a major upgrade to the wr position was needed, time for mea culpas from those of us that suggested a major upgrade to the wr position was in order. Please take this opportunity to acknowledge my shortcomings here. Many of you have scoffed at our lack of understanding of the Patriots (the Patriot offense is predicated on spreading the ball around so any capable route running WR will do, Gaffney and Caldwell are more than adequate, the shortcomings of the offense had nothing to do with our receivers, the receiver position is overrated...). Only full apologies will be offered - no half apologies. I'm apologizing to you Maverick4 "receiver is not an area of need for this team...I think wr can be among the most hyped up positions in football.." and Oswlek "we don't need...a guy who is absolutely better than Caldwell and Gaffney.." and DaBruinz "the Pats don't need more talent on offense to have a better offense..." and PatsFanVa and Kdo5 and others. All apologies will be offered without reservations.

I fixed it for you.
Believe me, I did you a favor.
But for grins, come back and read this stuff in a couple of years.

VJCPatriot · 03-11-2007, 02:25 PM

I agree with J6P and the original poster. My eyes were opened after the AFC Championship game. Once you get into the postseason, sometimes just muddling along with middling talent receivers that can't stretch the field is NOT enough to get the job done. I am so happy that I won't have to count on Caldwell as the Pats #1 wide receiver on the depth chart next season. I think Brady is happy too. Although he is too classy to ever directly diss his own receivers I can assure you that these signings put his mind a TON at ease and he will be looking forward to working with his new weapons on offense. Remember, anything that make's Tom Brady's job easier gives the Pats a BETTER chance to win. And that alone justifies the calls I was making to upgrade the wide receivers after the end of the playoffs last season.

I expect the Patriots offense to be greatly improved next year. I can't know for sure that these moves guarantee another superbowl win obviously because I can't see the future. But on paper, this team has become stronger than ever. Bravo to the Pats front office for addressing a huge area of need, an area of need that many Pats posters ignored and denigrated because of their blinding lust for linebackers.

I never disagreed that linebacker was a need, I merely did not agree with the position that the wide receiver position was not also in need of a major upgrade. I don't expect any of those guys to post their mea culpas, I'll just be satisfied knowing that the actions of the Pats front office this offseason spoke louder than any words about the Patriots most pressing team NEEDS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeSixPat

Thanks so much for raising this issue. All through last pre-season I was pointing to the lack of a deep threat as a major concern even with Branch on the roster, and then suggested that a deep threat in the draft and pre-season trade was in order (as I cautioned people not to expect much from a rookie in Year 1)

Later, even though I recognized that as of mid-season there weren't exactly a ton of options to improve, just pointing out how it limited our offense and shortned the field wasn't welcomed around here.

I definately felt that some questioned my "Patriotism" for suggesting that the team had a major flaw that needed to be addressed. I'm not expecting anyone to come back and tell me I was right now - its just good enough for me to know that I was on the same page with BB & SP

The bottom line is that as of today, barring injury, we have the strongest WR corps Brady has ever had, including a strong deep threat, the posession receiver of the future, two very good short down specialists (I have said I was wrong about Caldwell - he's proved his value - but he remains a shorter yardage option - not a deep field threat) all of whom will ensure improved numbers from our TEs & RBs, and less pressure on Brady.

Boston Boxer · 03-11-2007, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb6592

Now that the team has spoken and the true experts have weighed in on whether or not a major upgrade to the wr position was needed, time for mea culpas from those of you that dissed anyone who suggested a major upgrade to the wr position was in order. Please take this opportunity to acknowledge your shortcomings here. Many of you have scoffed at our lack of understanding of the Patriots (the Patriot offense is predicated on spreading the ball around so anyone will do, Gaffney and Caldwell are more than adequate, the shortcomings of the offense had nothing to do with our receivers, the receiver position is overrated...). Only full apologies will be accepted - no half apologies. I'm talking to you Maverick4 "receiver is not an area of need for this team...I think wr can be among the most hyped up positions in football.." and Oswlek "we don't need...a guy who is absolutely better than Caldwell and Gaffney.." and DaBruinz "the Pats don't need more talent on offense to have a better offense..." and PatsFanVa and Kdo5 and others. All apologies will be accepted without reservations.

i applaud your post...it takes balls for someone with 27 posts to call other posters out on the carpet.