Receivers other than Welker and Moss

[Fencer]

Edelman -- not exactly Welker
Aiken -- not exactly Gaffney and not exactly healthy
Watson -- makes some clutch plays but not many routine receptions
Faulk -- not as great this year as in other seasons
Morris -- not exactly Patrick Pass
Maroney -- not exactly Faulk, but rising fast

Fair?

 

[Jimke]

Edelman -- not exactly Welker
Aiken -- not exactly Gaffney and not exactly healthy
Watson -- makes some clutch plays but not many routine receptions
Faulk -- not as great this year as in other seasons
Morris -- not exactly Patrick Pass
Maroney -- not exactly Faulk, but rising fast

Fair?

Not so hot.

 

[bigcountry75]

I think that we need to take a chance on someone on the second day of the draft that could be that guy....We just need a good smart route runner and brady (hopefully 100% next season) will put the ball where it needs to be.....I was really impressed with Hakeem Nicks last night ( I know he was a higher pick) but he looked very good......I just don't think the answer is on our roster.....I like edelman for the other slot in 4 wide sets but I would like a guy like 6'2 or taller on the other outside spot...

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

I think that we need to take a chance on someone on the second day of the draft that could be that guy

Maybe they already did. We don't really know what they have in Tate yet. Though i think they still need one more WR, even if Tate pans out.

 

[RayClay]

Edelman -- not exactly Welker
Aiken -- not exactly Gaffney and not exactly healthy
Watson -- makes some clutch plays but not many routine receptions
Faulk -- not as great this year as in other seasons
Morris -- not exactly Patrick Pass
Maroney -- not exactly Faulk, but rising fast

Fair?

I think Faulk is fine. Aiken is not at all Gaffney, an underappreciated versatile receiver. Aiken works hard, but he is a stiff, slow runner. good #5 possession guy.

Watson has looked good and had his head in the game lately. Our best option to use more in the short term. Will we ever see that incredible athletic ability revealed on the field? There's always hope.

Edelman's intriguing. Welker spark with a QB's brain. Of course he's green as hell, but he doesn't show it.

Maroney and Morris are ham n eggers as receivers. Less than Pass, it's true. Mo does have potential simply because he's so good once he gets into open field.

I'm intrigued by Stanback. he moves well and has that QB brain. Could lightning strike twice?

 

[satz]

You are down on faulk because he is himself and down on maroney because he is not faulk.....


Aiken is good and i think gaffney came in on week 7 and did not get effective till the playoff run., Aiken was in the offence by week 8 so i will give him a few weeks before saying anything.He was not in training or passing camp working with brady.

Watson has caught when thrown at him .He split outside but he is not fast enough to get away from a CB so he needs to work inside creating a matchup issue.

 

[upstater1]

I just redid the draft for the Patriots by jumping into my time machine.

It was amazing. I traded back and then up in the first round, and I sent a bounty of picks from the Green Bay trade to Washington so I selected Brian Orakpo. Wow, what a pick. I also took Rey Maualuga with the Cassel pick, and then Jairus Byrd at #40. Besides sticking with SeaBass, Edelman, Pryor, Ingram, etc., I was also able to snare Mike Wallace, Johnny Knox and Austin Collie at WR.

When I got back to December 2009, I was not stunned to see that the 13-0 Patriots are playing so well while the Colts are sub .500. In the end, I say Austin Collie is the NFL's MVP, but then people laugh at me because he doesn't even have as many receptions and TDs as Welker. Only I know how truly important Mr. Collie is.

 

[The Dynasty]

Our WRs other than Welker, only had 1 catch yesterday and that was the fumble by Moss.

Granted Aiken didnt play but this shows our lack of depth at the WR position. Edelman is going to be a good #4 WR and can be used to mix things up a little bit to keep defenses off balance, like when he got under center for a play a few weeks ago. Stanback isnt really a WR, hes just playing it because we have no choice. Although we havent seen Tate play yet, I still think we need to go out in free agency and grab a #3 receiver. Tate could be our #3 next year, but we still need to go out and get someone.

 

[bigfandan]

I just redid the draft for the Patriots by jumping into my time machine.
... I also took Rey Maualuga with the Cassel pick, and then Jairus Byrd at #40. Besides sticking with SeaBass, Edelman, Pryor, Ingram, etc., I was also able to snare Mike Wallace, Johnny Knox and Austin Collie at WR.

When I got back to December 2009, I was not stunned to see that the 13-0 Patriots are playing so well while the Colts are sub .500.

Only in your dreams.... solved both LB and WR issues in one draft. At the time I said at least draft Maualugua or Mathews/Cushing when you had two shots at each. As brilliant as drafting SeaBass was, missing on one of these impact LBs (6 times) was the backbreaker for our defense. Yet Bill passed on all of them, and we are playing Wood, Seau, and Ninkovich instead of these guys.

 

[upstater1]

The main point is that, you go into a draft and no one has a clue about who the stellar wideouts are going to be. If people knew Collie, Knox and Wallace were going to be this good, they would be taken before the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds.

 

[bigfandan]

Our WRs other than Welker, only had 1 catch yesterday and that was the fumble by Moss.

Granted Aiken didnt play but this shows our lack of depth at the WR position. Edelman is going to be a good #4 WR and can be used to mix things up a little bit to keep defenses off balance, like when he got under center for a play a few weeks ago. Stanback isnt really a WR, hes just playing it because we have no choice. Although we havent seen Tate play yet, I still think we need to go out in free agency and grab a #3 receiver. Tate could be our #3 next year, but we still need to go out and get someone.

Moss is slowing also; so we could have an issue with #1 receiver also.

 

[The Dynasty]

Moss is slowing also; so we could have an issue with #1 receiver also.

I wouldnt go that far, atleast for next year. Maybe in 2011.

 

[bigfandan]

I wouldnt go that far, atleast for next year. Maybe in 2011.

In that case the best way to address it is get a potential #1 in 2010. It usually takes a year to develop a #1 receiver anyway. I am factoring in Brady's prime playing window also.

 

[BradyManny]

Edelman -- not exactly Welker
Aiken -- not exactly Gaffney and not exactly healthy
Watson -- makes some clutch plays but not many routine receptions
Faulk -- not as great this year as in other seasons
Morris -- not exactly Patrick Pass
Maroney -- not exactly Faulk, but rising fast

Fair?

As I said recently, the depth of this wide receiving group is just not great. While the early 2000s lacked stars at the position, some of the units were really deep. Branch, Givens, Brown, Patten and even Bethel contributed. In some sense, maybe 4 above average wide receivers is as good as 2 amazing ones. Of course, I'd rather just put 2 amazing receivers with 2 above average ones like in 2007.

 

[Kontradiction]

Maybe they already did. We don't really know what they have in Tate yet. Though i think they still need one more WR, even if Tate pans out.

IMO, we have a pretty good one in Tate. He showed the ability to get behind defenses when he was in. It was just that Brady couldn't hit him. If he works on his route running and perfects his knowledge of the offense, he should be a more than reliable starter. Still, Moss probably isn't going to be around after this season, so we should still look for a receiver in the later rounds.

EDIT: Let me also take a minute to gloat about the fact that I wanted the team to invest a later round pick in Mario Manningham a couple of years ago as a #3 receiver (we were just coming off of the 2007 campaign) and immediately got blasted for daring to mention that we invest anything in the offense and ignore the defense with just one pick. I was reminded that the offense was "just fine for the forseeable future" and that Manningham smoked a little weed in college (none of those guys on our team, by golly!) and had a low Wonderlic score. Manningham, in his second year, has 48 receptions for 691 yards and 4 TD's in the Giants system right now. He has only been supplanted in the starting line-up because of what Hakeem Nicks has shown over the course of the season. IMO, he would have looked good in our system as well if we were willing to work with him.

 

[The Dynasty]

In that case the best way to address it is get a potential #1 in 2010. It usually takes a year to develop a #1 receiver anyway. I am factoring in Brady's prime playing window also.

I see what your saying, but we cant really use one of our top picks on a WR. We have needs that are much more important right now especially on the defensive side of the ball.

 

[Synovia]

As I said recently, the depth of this wide receiving group is just not great. While the early 2000s lacked stars at the position, some of the units were really deep. Branch, Givens, Brown, Patten and even Bethel contributed. In some sense, maybe 4 above average wide receivers is as good as 2 amazing ones. Of course, I'd rather just put 2 amazing receivers with 2 above average ones like in 2007.

Bethel contributed? Bethel wouldn't have even made this team. Edelman, Stanbeck, and Aiken are all better, right now, than Bethel ever was.

 

[bigfandan]

The main point is that, you go into a draft and no one has a clue about who the stellar wideouts are going to be. If people knew Collie, Knox and Wallace were going to be this good, they would be taken before the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds.

Bill has an apparent aversion to drafting LB in first 2 rounds; that ended up costing us this year when you have a board full of truely impactfull LBs and decided to pass to late 3rd round, after other teams made the run on LBs. No one expect us to be perfect in the draft. Just some retrospect and looking back at missed opportunities, particular given the team's biggest needs unaddressed.

 

[MaxVonDoom]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edelman -- not exactly Welker: not exactly healthy
Aiken -- not exactly Gaffney and not exactly healthy:Gaffney? Who cares
Watson -- makes some clutch plays but not many routine receptions:his last year i hope
Faulk -- not as great this year as in other seasons: faulks fine
Morris -- not exactly Patrick Pass: Pass? Adalius on Offense
Maroney -- not exactly Faulk, but rising fast: not impressed

Fair?--silly
__________________

 

[FinNasty23]

Edelman -- not exactly Welker
Aiken -- not exactly Gaffney and not exactly healthy
Watson -- makes some clutch plays but not many routine receptions
Faulk -- not as great this year as in other seasons
Morris -- not exactly Patrick Pass
Maroney -- not exactly Faulk, but rising fast

Fair?

FAIR?!?!?! Do you see the receivers on the Fins?!? And you are complaining about having a HoFer and the best slot WR in the game?

GTFO of here with that nonsense. You have one of the better receiving corps in the league...