Tunescribe

Randy Moss's postgame quote from a couple weeks ago has stuck with me (paraphrasing): "Peyton Manning has his wide receivers. There's no reason Tom Brady can't have his own." My question is, why did it take BB so long to emphasize that position so the Patriots could take full advantage of Brady's ability?

The answer could be: (A). there has been a fundamental change in BB's offensive philosophy or, (B). the opportunity never presented itself in the right players being available at the right time.

Neither answer really satisfies me, although I'm leaning heavily toward (B), because BB has tried to bring in free agent wide receivers in the past, some of whom got here and didn't pan out, and some of whom chose to go elsewhere. There's also the ongoing Chad Jackson saga. Still, you've got to wonder what might have been if Brady had better weapons at his disposal throughout his career, especially last season. Was this a gross oversight by BB that finally has been rectified?

richpats

After the AFC title game he knew the days of getting by with good-to-mediocre receivers were over. The league has changed. Look at our 5 losses last year - we struggled severely passing the ball in the clutch. I figure Belichick was tired of watching teams like Miami and Denver make Brady look like a mediocre QB when all he needed was a go-to-guy. "Enter the Moss"

Pat_Nasty

Can you think of any FA wide receivers that you wish the Pats had pulled the trigger on?

Antwan Randle El for 7 years, $31 mil, and $10 mil in bonuses? No thanks.

JoeSixPat

Well it's a combination I'd say - by now we can all see what having top tier WRs means to a team... last season we saw what having lower tier WRs meant in terms of CBs stacking the line and pressuring Brady, etc...

For the most part we've been in between - with decent WRs - and have 3 SB rings to show for it. Keeping in mind we've won nothing yet this season, and there is indeed some luck involved in winning a SB, while those SB seasons were harder fought than this one is appearing, its clear one DOESN'T need Randy Moss caliber WRs to win a Super Bowl.

Heck - we were ONE additional first down from going to the SB last season even with a poor class of WRs - and I think we're all confident of how we'd have done against the Bears.

But in reality BB DID try to get a top tier WR, going after Derrick Mason in his prime, coming after him as the highest bidder - only to be shunned because his wife wanted to go elsewhere.

Who knows who else we went after and missed out on... and while one additional good WR last year might have resulted in another SB ring, no one is going to second guess the team for passing on Givens, or in the way the Branch situation panned out.

So there's no aversion to top tier WRs in BB's playbook - but nor is he going to overpay for mediocre talent, and indeed, he knows he can still win without them... though its clearly much easier to win going this route.

I do think that neither BB nor Pioli nor Brady himself really knew just how effective and dominating Brady would be with a Moss/Stallworth/Welker combo... yeah, everyone knew it would be good - but not too many people could have predicted THIS level of success either!

makoute

The stars were just aligned for the Pats to sign Moss. They're paying Randy Moss, what they would probably be paying Deion Branch had he stayed here. That's not a bargain you get very often.

Oswlek

I think that it is B) with a WR of Moss' caliber. He really is one of the greatest arbitrage situations in the history of investing.

But NE has been looking to upgrade its roster for some time. They went high to get Jackson (much to some people's chagrin, it was still an attempt) they were trying to get Mark Clayton from Baltimore (as a draft pick trade, not post draft) and gave a generous offer to Mason.

Just as this year's team was able to take advantage of favorable conditions last year's team was snakebit by the opposite. It is what it is.

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"They have one objective," said Washington cornerback Shawn Springs. "They whoop people's [backsides]. If you understand that, it answers all your questions. They might not lose [this year]."

maverick4

We tried to get Dyson a few years ago remember?

Belichick wanted to become pass happy after 2004 based on the new rules, but didn't want to splurge either.

Nordy

Derrick Mason probably wishes he hadn't listened to his wife. What an idiot.

Pat_Nasty

You're acting like Belichick thought that going into the '06 season with Reche Caldwell as our #1 receiver was a good idea. When personnel decisions were being made, we were looking for a replacement for David Givens.

Branch's hold-out and subsequent trade changed the landscape entirely. People around here might not want to admit it, but Branch is a very good receiver. Not Moss good, of course, but still, a good, solid #1 WR. So the very premise that Belichick ever didn't want good receivers on our team is flawed.

VJCPatriot

Yeah unfortunately the wife holds the key to the nookie. So there you have it.

I think the Pats did not want to overpay Branch (smart move), they went after Mason (turned down), and they've been cap restrained a bit.

But once they had the cap space this year they went after Stallworth, Welker, AT, Morris and Moss. This is one of the best offseasons in recent Pats history. And the cap bump coupled with not having tied up big dollars to Branch and Givens really helped make it possible.

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