WR is a big need next offseason... [merged]

[DaBruinz]

The Patriots don't have a number three wide receiver. As for Gaffney, the Patriots could have extended his contract prior to free agency as was the case this year with Tully Banta-Cain.

No, they couldn't have. The Pats didn't have the Cap Space to do that last year. Also, how do you know Gaffney wanted to stay and be the 3rd wheel behind Moss and Welker?

 

[Jangles]

No, they couldn't have. The Pats didn't have the Cap Space to do that last year. Also, how do you know Gaffney wanted to stay and be the 3rd wheel behind Moss and Welker?

How do you know he didn't?

 

[Kontradiction]

No, they couldn't have. The Pats didn't have the Cap Space to do that last year. Also, how do you know Gaffney wanted to stay and be the 3rd wheel behind Moss and Welker?

There was an SI.com story on Gaffney last year about how he loved being a Patriot and wanted to be a Patriot for the rest of his career. That was shortly before he went to Denver.

 

[DaBruinz]

I've been reading through this, and I have one thing to say:

Our ST is not even that good.......

Yes, actually, it is. I suggest you take yourself over to NFL.COM and familiarize yourself with it because I put up a post last night about how the Pats actually were very good in most STs aspects. Only Kick coverage were they in the bottom 10 in the league.

 

[SoCal Pmen]

Gaffney is extremely overrated on this forum. The guy is a worker, but people make him out to be Jerry Rice on here. Gaffney was a loss, yes, but he was not as huge of a loss as a lot of people (you included) make him out to be.

bingo. how many td's did the guy have this year and dont give me that crap about orton being the qb because brandon marshall had some good numbers

 

[The_Riddler]

There was an SI.com story on Gaffney last year about how he loved being a Patriot and wanted to be a Patriot for the rest of his career. That was shortly before he went to Denver.

I remember it.

The bottom line is that Gaff wanted to stay in this offense. BB didn't want to pay him EOS...............

 

[DaBruinz]

There was an SI.com story on Gaffney last year about how he loved being a Patriot and wanted to be a Patriot for the rest of his career. That was shortly before he went to Denver.

Yes, and shortly before Branch decided to hold out, there was an article in ESPNEWS saying how he was a man of his word, that he wanted to get a deal done with the Pats and how he wouldn't hold out.

Doesn't change the fact that we don't know what happened. Doesn't change the fact that McDaniels could have enticed him to Denver or that McDaniels asked BB not to offer a deal to Gaffney so McDaniels could bring him to Denver.

 

[DaBruinz]

How do you know he didn't?

I don't.. But I'm not the one comparing him to Special Teamers on the Pats or making dumb arse claims either. I am the one offering up LEGITIMATE options as to why Gaffney left and reminding people that there is more that goes on than we know about...

 

[DaBruinz]

owned

+1948493493749378

Jangles - Geddie didn't own me. In fact, his "argument" was pretty poor. If you think otherwise, then it just shows the mentality you possess.

 

[Kontradiction]

Yes, and shortly before Branch decided to hold out, there was an article in ESPNEWS saying how he was a man of his word, that he wanted to get a deal done with the Pats and how he wouldn't hold out.

Doesn't change the fact that we don't know what happened. Doesn't change the fact that McDaniels could have enticed him to Denver or that McDaniels asked BB not to offer a deal to Gaffney so McDaniels could bring him to Denver.

Yeah, either that or the Pats didn't feel like he was worth the extra money. We'll never know what happened behind the scenes. You just asked for a shred of proof that Gaffney wanted to remain with the team and I gave you it. Whether he was a man of his word or not can't be proven by the average fan.

 

[DaBruinz]

bingo. how many td's did the guy have this year and dont give me that crap about orton being the qb because brandon marshall had some good numbers

Prior to today's game, Gaffney had 2 TDs, 40 receptions and 519 yards.

 

[upstater1]

Clay Matthews = Darius Butler, Brandon Tate, Julian Edelman and 2nd rounder from Jax in 2010.

Matthews is great but we need to wait to see whether the trade will work out for the Patriots.

If Butler becomes a Pro Bowler, Tate our #2 WR with 60-70 catches a year, Edelman our slot guy ala Welker, and the 2nd rounder becomes a decent LB, it will be a home run.

 

[upstater1]

Too many people are making a big deal about the Kaczur and Sanders contracts. Those are short deals with small signing bonuses. Those guys could be cut tomorrow without the blink of an eye. Their deals are not significant since they are mostly salary.

 

[skinnydog]

Even with Welker the Pats did not have enough receivers to run the kind of 5 wideout formation they want to run. Welker is the games best slot receiver, but they really don't even have a respectable wideout to put on the opposite side from Moss. Stallworth was a perfect compliment to Moss. With a legit deep threat to keep the safeties honest, Moss is unstoppable. Think about it, the Pats could not come up with a single respectable deep threat to compliment Moss.

 

[DaBruinz]

I've been reading through this, and I have one thing to say:

Our ST is not even that good.......

Prior to Today's game, in a thread in the draft forum, someone mentioned this and asked that the Pats stop drafting special teamers because teams like the Steelers and Ravens didn't draft them..

Here is the info i put together from NFL.COM

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...440-my-10-draft-wish-stop-drafting-sters.html


Going to NFL.com, here is what I found about the Pats Special Teams.

1) Kick Offs - The Pats rank 6th in the league with 85 kick offs. They rank 4th in the league at 67.7 Yards per kick off. They are 8th in the league in Touch Backs. Now, they are 8th worst in returns allowed at 24.1 YPR. However, they've allowed NO Kick Returns for TDs. The Steelers are 15th in the league with 74 kick offs with an average of just 60 (59.96) yards per kick-off. They have the fewest TBs with 2 (not a good thing). They've given up 68 returns for an average of 25.1 YPR and 4 KRs for TDs. The Ravens are 9th in the league with 80 kick offs. The Ravens are 19th in the league with 64.2 yards per kick, and are 31st in the league in TBs. The Ravens are 5th in the league in Kick Return Yards allowed at 20.5

2) Punts - They have the 3rd fewest punts in the league with 53. They've had 7 punts OOBs and 6 punts downed. They've had 16 punts inside the 20 (30%) and 16 punts that resulted in fair catches. They've had 19 of 53 punts returned ( 35.8%) for 149 yards (7.84 YPR). They've also not allowed a punt return for TD. The Ravens have punted 68 times and the Steelers have punted 70 times. The Ravens have had 7 punts go OOBs and 9 punts downed. The Steelers have had 2 punts downed and 15 go OOB. The Ravens have had 25 Punts go inside the 20 (29.4%) while the Steelers have had 25 (35.7%). The Ravens have had 36 returns (52.9%) for 280 yards ( 7.78 YPR) and the Steelers have had 32 returns (45.7%) for 322 yards (10 YPR).

3) Kick Returns - The Patriots have had the 3rd FEWEST Kick returns in the league at 48. They've gotten 1072 kick return yards for an average of 22.3 YPR (16th in the league) . The long has been 52 yards. They've had 34 returns of 20+ yards.. They've not had a kick return for a TD. It should be noted that, due to injuries and shuffling on the return unit, the Pats have used 7 different returners. Only Maroney and Edelman have more than 10 returns.. The Ravens are 2nd in kick returns (25.6 YPR) and the Steelers are 11th (23.8). The difference? Both teams have only 1 Returner with more than 30 returns. The next closest returner has less than 10.

4) Punt Returns - The Pats are tied for 9th in the league with 38 punt returns and 18 Fair Catches . They have 432 Punt Return Yards, good for an 11.4 YPR average and 5th best in the league. The Steelers have had 34 Punt returns ( good for 16th) and the Ravens have had 37 (good for 12th). The Steelers are 20th with 7.3 YPR and the Ravens are 23rd with 6.9 YPR.

My conclusion is this. People really don't know how good or bad the special teams really are and they really need to look it up before making their statements on them.

The Pats clearly need improvement in the kick return coverage area. Allowing 24.1 yards per return isn't good. Luckily for the Pats, Gost averages 67.7 YPK. The Pats need to improve in kick returns, but I think that is more with the blocking that is being done by players.. Or I should say, the lack of blocking. I find it weird that on almost every return, opponents have 5 to 7 guys who make it through the Pats front 7, yet the Pats can only get 2 or 3 through..

 

[Warren94]

we'll see what happens next week vs ravens.. should be a very physical game...

 

[Warren94]

Clay Matthews = Darius Butler, Brandon Tate, Julian Edelman and 2nd rounder from Jax in 2010.

Matthews is great but we need to wait to see whether the trade will work out for the Patriots.

If Butler becomes a Pro Bowler, Tate our #2 WR with 60-70 catches a year, Edelman our slot guy ala Welker, and the 2nd rounder becomes a decent LB, it will be a home run.

Tate is not going to be a #2 wr in this league especially with two bum knees.. we need DE/OLB to secure the edge and rush the passer.

 

[zipster9]

WR is a need for 2010 season, but, not a high priority.

Pass Rusher & OLB/ILB are needs. If you cannot pressure the QB, you cannot be an elite team.

 

[DaBruinz]

Tate is not going to be a #2 wr in this league especially with two bum knees.. we need DE/OLB to secure the edge and rush the passer.

Since when does Tate have "two bum knees"?

You do realize that he was IRed because the knee he was recovering from was still giving him problems.. It wasn't a NEW injury.

 

[JMarr]

Jabar Gaffney today ..... 14 receptions, 213 yards
Sam Aiken season ..... 20 receptions, 326 yards

PATHETIC!

I saw the Denver game today, and yes, we should have just paid the man, plain and simple.

He was the perfect compliment to Moss and Welker. An intermediate route/possession receiver who could stretch the field and take heat off of Moss.

You saw it beginning late in 2007, then again in 2008, only then maybe you didn't trust it because it was Cassell throwing to them. Sometimes you just don't mess with a good thing.

I'd give Josh a second rounder to get him back.