CheeseMonkeys

I was thinking what could have been if Deion stayed here in NE. We all know how things went with him in Seattle and he didn't play as great as some probably expected him to. Now he comes back to NE and is playing as good as he ever has.

If he stayed here to begin with, how would things be different? Would he have become a multiple Pro Bowl reciever? Would Tom Brady and the Patriots have had the same kind of success in 2007? Moss or Welker probably wouldn't have been here so I don't think Tom would have thrown 50 TD passes. I do think we may have won a Superbowl though. Obviously anything could have happened and it is hard to speculate but I'm just wondering what others think. I'm glad that he's back though.

Steve:Section 102

I think his departure and return is part of the evolution of this team. The '07 team with Moss was a bunch of bullies that ran up scores and beat on teams throughout the NFL. That team would have been the crowning acheivement of BB and TFB, as well as the entire organizition. It was karma that they lost. They has lost thier way. This year's team, and the return of Branch, are a return to the 'pure faith' of the Patriot Way. Brady still has that huge chip on his shoulder and will pummell other teams, witness the pass to Brach when they could have taken a knee. I think that the team, Brady, and BB had to go thru a period of growth w/o Branch. Now, the prodigal son has returned, and so has the return to the Patriot Way.

Geez I need to save that for a blog post!

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

aluminum seats

I think a lot of this is way overstated. The 2007 offense was absolutely brilliant--this year's edition will/would be accused of "bullying" soon enough if they keep playing at this high level.

Obviously by this season Moss wasn't a useful member of the Pats. But there's no reason to disparage that great team in order to praise this one.

__________________
"So I'm going to throw myself against the wall...
'Cause I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all."

Razor's Edge

Hard to say really, if Dion stayed here, maybe we don't get Welker or Moss, but I think we would have had similar success either way. On a similar note,
You got to remember that the 2007 team was out to prove a point, this following the whole stupid overblown Spygate fiasco, it is my opinion that the Patriots were on a mission to destroy everyone to get the point accross that they ARE a team to be Reckoned with, spygate be damned! It was a different type of offense than we had seen up till that point, but we utilized the receivers for what they were, Randy was always a deep threat and they used him for that reason, and it worked. But now, this offense is more in line with our championship seasons I think. Smart plays to just keep moving those chains and scoring. It's fun ain't it?

CheeseMonkeys

I think if we kept Branch, he would've had the same success Wes Welker had and gotten it in a similar way. I think he would've easily become a top WR in the league as Welker had become. We still could have gotten Moss or maybe drafted a deep threat WR.

IllegalContact

if we had branch, we would have never lost the AFCC for the 2006 season

Palm Beach Pats Fan

^^^ this...

unless Peyton's home-cooking officiating went to even more ridiculous levels than it already did.

Then we would have faced the task of overcoming Rex Grossman and the Bears, certainly among the top 2-3 on any list of worst Super Bowl teams ever.

__________________
It is what it is, so just go out there and do your job!

MassPats38

Tough to tell. He was with the Pats in 2005 and had a good season and a good game in the loss to Denver in the playoffs, but he didn't individually change that outcome.

He also may have done just enough on offense to make the Welker and Moss moves unnecessary. The Dillon/Maroney pair was functional in 2005. The defense was aging, so he would not have changed that decline either. As Brady throws to him more frequently than Seattle did, given his injury history he may well not even be in the NFL now.

As far as 2006, the Colts defended him well in the playoffs (3 receptions total in 2003 and 2004 playoff games), so the odds of him showing up big in that game is pretty small. Somebody else had to step up on that play. And running the "what if's", maybe the Chargers give him a little more respect and he is not in a position to catch the pass Caldwell caught to get the Pats to that game.

Disco Volante

How is that different than the last two weeks? If the Patriots could blowout teams and "run up the score" every week they would and there's nothing wrong with that.

__________________

CheeseMonkeys

Maroney was drafted in 2006.