Branch vs Caldwell's 2006 Stats .. Wow !

[MooseKnuckles]

Branch in 2006
REC YDS TD
53 725 4

Caldwell in 2006
REC YDS TD
61 760 4

Caldwell did play in 2 more games than Branch, but Rache only put up 10/118/0 in his first 5 games.

Hey .. I'm just sayin

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Reche got to play with Tom Brady and be his #1 if he chose to step up. Branch played with Hasselback and Wallace and an injured Hasselback along side 2 established WR's and a WR picked up in the offseason who had a whole camp with the team.

Just sayin... and like BB says it's not what you do in some other system, it's what you do in this system.

That said, after a rough couple of games in which he was nearly MIA, Reche had a nice day today.

 

[PATRIOTS-80]

An interesting comparison is that of Reche vs. Givens. I believe BB/SP adequately replaced Given's production.

Reche..............Givens
61 catches........59 catches
760 yards.........738 yards
4 TDs...............2 TD
12.5 yard avg...12.5 yard avg

Here a petition to extend Reche Caldwell's contract!

 

[Kasmir]

Final stats not collated, but Caldwell also had more first downs, more receptions over 20 yards, and more receptions over 40 yards than Givens had last year.

And the consensus around the league is that Brady has had an off year. If Brady returns to 2003/4 form and we pair Caldwell with another decent receiver or two, his total production might or might not be up, but he surely would be even more productive on a per play basis.

He will likely never be as productive as Branch was here, but Caldwell is a solid #2 and could be a great #3.

The problem this year's WR game has been (a) loss of Branch, (b) disruption from simultaneously losing Givens, (c) Brady's mysterious problems. Not Reche Caldwell.

Caldwell has been by far the best WR free agent we've brought in here in the 7 Belichick years, with the arguable exception of David Patten.

Ignore the stats say if you must. You have to be blinded by your anger at the front office not to have seen this with your own eyes.

The skeptics will now say wait for the playoffs, but with all the abuse heaped on Caldwell this year, it's about time he got his props for what he's already contributed. If Chad Jackson had exactly the same year as Caldwell has had he'd be lionized.

 

[old 55]

I have to give Caldwell a great deal of credit because he looked like crap in preseason.

He obviously has worked hard and has contributed well throughout the year with the exception of a couple of no show games. But the same can be said of the entire team since we have seen some very uncharacteristic performances this year.

Lets hope CJ is working hard to get better too. A veteran WR might be nice in the offseason too. Maybe one with some height too.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

I'm thrilled with Caldwell. But I wouldn't read too much into Branch's numbers. He played 2 less games. If Branch had chosen to return to the Pats he would have solid numbers.

 

[rabthepat]

Don't forget Branch's $6,000,000+ per year contract. Reche only makes 10% of that.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Caldwell was ok, he might have been even better if Branch was here.. We have to still get another WR next yr ..

 

[Fixit]

Caldwell was ok, he might have been even better if Branch was here.. We have to still get another WR next yr ..

"Okay?" Man, you're a tough grader. Caldwell exceeded everyone's expectations. Not just his numbers, which are very respectable, but his effort, which I saw from the beginning of the season. Coming back to balls, taking hits, blocking...I've become a fan of his, especially since he shut his eyelids a little more.

 

[shmessy]

For the Patriots, Caldwell was the player that most stepped up and exceeded expectations this year. I can't think of one other player who exceeded expectations as much as he did.

Caldwell was brought in a Givens' substitute (not Branch's) this year and nobody (I admit I didn't) believed he was a decent sub for Givens.

In his first season with Brady he matched Givens' production in his best of four seasons with Brady. And he did it at 10% of Givens' cost this year.

On top of that, he took the most hellacious hit I've ever seen a WR take in the NFL.......and he came right back up and didn't lose his nerve.

Thanks for a great year Reche!

 

[Digger44]

Final stats not collated, but Caldwell also had more first downs, more receptions over 20 yards, and more receptions over 40 yards than Givens had last year.

And the consensus around the league is that Brady has had an off year. If Brady returns to 2003/4 form and we pair Caldwell with another decent receiver or two, his total production might or might not be up, but he surely would be even more productive on a per play basis.

He will likely never be as productive as Branch was here, but Caldwell is a solid #2 and could be a great #3.

The problem this year's WR game has been (a) loss of Branch, (b) disruption from simultaneously losing Givens, (c) Brady's mysterious problems. Not Reche Caldwell.

I guess I just cannot understand where you are coming from. Reche deserves major props for coming this far, however I don't know where you are getting that the league consensus is that Brady is having an off year. In fact, it is just the opposite. The consensus was that he should not have been snubbed for the ProBowl. The majority of media outlets, espn, foxsports, nesn, si, cbs sportsline, all talk about our poor WRs. The offensive problems are no mystery. Just listen to what the major media is saying and not silly Boston sports radio. For most of the season the WRs have not picked up the timing or the routes. Brady throws to a particular spot and expects the WR to be there. For much of the season they have not been there. Reche has come around to the new system and is doing very well.

The comparrison of Reche to Dieon is ridiculous. You need to look past the stats and get a grip on the actual situations.

 

[Scott37]

IMO Brady didn't have the deep threat this year, hence lower yards per attempt, yards, and less plays of over 20+ yards than in '05. This team needs to have a deep threat - a burner who will keep defenses honest and open up the middle for the tight ends. This will also help the running game. The numbers:

2005 #1 & #2
Branch 78 - 998 - 5 TD
Givens 59 - 738 - 2 TD

2006 #1 & #2
Caldwell 61 - 760 - 4 TD
Watson 49 - 643 - 3 TD


Brady att comp perc yds ypa td int 20+ 40+ rate
2005 530 334 63.0 4110 7.75 26 14 59 9 92.3
2006 516 319 61.8 3529 6.84 24 12 46 8 87.9

 

[Kasmir]

I guess I just cannot understand where you are coming from. Reche deserves major props for coming this far, however I don't know where you are getting that the league consensus is that Brady is having an off year. In fact, it is just the opposite. The consensus was that he should not have been snubbed for the ProBowl. The majority of media outlets, espn, foxsports, nesn, si, cbs sportsline, all talk about our poor WRs. The offensive problems are no mystery. Just listen to what the major media is saying and not silly Boston sports radio. For most of the season the WRs have not picked up the timing or the routes. Brady throws to a particular spot and expects the WR to be there. For much of the season they have not been there. Reche has come around to the new system and is doing very well.

The comparrison of Reche to Dieon is ridiculous. You need to look past the stats and get a grip on the actual situations.

Read more carefully. I've consistently compared Caldwell to Givens, never to Branch.

I don't live in the Boston area; I suspect it's you that needs to get some outside perspective. Read some non-Boston media; pay attention to non-Boston fans. Ponder why it is that players and coaches didn't vote for Brady this year. Look at your own sig line. Use your own eyes. Brady is off this year. His accuracy isn't what it was 2 years ago. Sure his WR's aren't a great group, but he's sometimes missing them when they are wide open. He's not hitting them in stride as much as he did in the past. He's not quite himself. Still very good, but not Brady great.

To be clear: I believe the bulk of the fall off in the passing game productivity is because we lost Branch and didn't replace him. It would be convenient to stop there, but it also appears that Brady's contribution is down a bit this year as well, as evidenced by slightly reduced accuracy.

I'm not the only one on this board who who feels that way.

I've actually not posted any statistical analysis about Brady's year. Nor will I. I only came to the defense of Caldwell when what I saw on the field didn't support the scathing attacks on him in this forum. When I looked, stats supported what I observed, so I posted them. I wrote a while ago that Caldwell looked like a decent replacement for Givens. Period. That irritated some here who wanted to blame the front office for all the problems the passing game has had this year.

But perhaps you believe that Brady can do no wrong? That he can never have a down year, only up years? That he gets full credit for all success, but is immune from any criticism? If so, I'm certainly not going to argue with you.

I think Brady's great, but he's only human. It looks to me that he's not having a great year by his standards. Some of the responsibility is his. Sorry if you find that thought offensive.

 

[MooseKnuckles]

What is Brady going to do with a deep threat ? It’s not like he has a good deep ball. All the talk about how he was making that improvement a #1 priority in the off season, was just that... talk. I'm sure there will be many on this board who suggest that it's not Brady's fault { it never is ; ) } and that he has NO deep threats. Gaffney, CJ and Caldwell all have speed .. Brady hit a few in yesterday's game, but that is the worst part of his game. BB and Co. would rather have a possession WR and play to his strengths.

 

[Scott37]

I'm talking about the kind of breakaway speed off the line that allows Brady to hit a receiver in stride and get big YAC numbers. It seems to me that we haven't seen that type of play this year - am i wrong?

 

[MooseKnuckles]

Read more carefully. I've consistently compared Caldwell to Givens, never to Branch.

I don't live in the Boston area; I suspect it's you that needs to get some outside perspective. Read some non-Boston media; pay attention to non-Boston fans. Ponder why it is that players and coaches didn't vote for Brady this year. Look at your own sig line. Use your own eyes. Brady is off this year. His accuracy isn't what it was 2 years ago. Sure his WR's aren't a great group, but he's sometimes missing them when they are wide open. He's not hitting them in stride as much as he did in the past. He's not quite himself. Still very good, but not Brady great.

To be clear: I believe the bulk of the fall off in the passing game productivity is because we lost Branch and didn't replace him. It would be convenient to stop there, but it also appears that Brady's contribution is down a bit this year as well, as evidenced by slightly reduced accuracy.

I'm not the only one on this board who who feels that way.

I've actually not posted any statistical analysis about Brady's year. Nor will I. I only came to the defense of Caldwell when what I saw on the field didn't support the scathing attacks on him in this forum. When I looked, stats supported what I observed, so I posted them. I wrote a while ago that Caldwell looked like a decent replacement for Givens. Period. That irritated some here who wanted to blame the front office for all the problems the passing game has had this year.

But perhaps you believe that Brady can do no wrong? That he can never have a down year, only up years? That he gets full credit for all success, but is immune from any criticism? If so, I'm certainly not going to argue with you.

I think Brady's great, but he's only human. It looks to me that he's not having a great year by his standards. Some of the responsibility is his. Sorry if you find that thought offensive.

Right on !! .. Brady is the best thing that happend to Pats football. However, he has become "Ditka - like" by many.

Patsfans Board goon #1: Now, gentlemen, let me ask you this: What if the Pats had 11 mini Brady's for the game vs the Jets and they were all 14 inches tall. Now, what would you predict the score to be?

Patsfans Board goon #2 : Against Da Jets?

Patsfans Board goon #1: Yes, give me a handicap.

Patsfans Board goon #2 : Pats 20, Jets 13. And that would finally be a good game.

Patsfans Board goon #3: Yeah, it would be a good game. Mini Brady's 20, Jets 13.

Miss those SNL skits ..

 

[Fixit]

"Tom Brady vs. a hurricane."

"Brady!"

"Ah, but the hurricane is named Tom Brady..."

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

I've actually not posted any statistical analysis about Brady's year.
I will, see below

But perhaps you believe that Brady can do no wrong? That he can never have a down year, only up years? That he gets full credit for all success, but is immune from any criticism? If so, I'm certainly not going to argue with you.

I think Brady's great, but he's only human. It looks to me that he's not having a great year by his standards. Some of the responsibility is his. Sorry if you find that thought offensive.

att comp % yds TD INT Rating
Brady 2006 516 319 61.8 3529 24 12 87.9
Brady career average 510.7 316 61.9 3594 24.5 13 88.4
I divided the career totals by 6. Granted he didn't play all 16 games in
2001 (14+games) but it was close enough.
While it may have appeared that he was overthrowing receivers or was not as accurate, his numbers for 2006 pretty much mirror his career. Maybe we've gotten spoiled over the last six years, but considering that this is probaly his least talented receiving corps, it's pretty impressive by TB standards. For many of the low throws, I can think of a few drops on the WR's part...
Just my $0.02,

 

[Kasmir]

I'm talking about the kind of breakaway speed off the line that allows Brady to hit a receiver in stride and get big YAC numbers. It seems to me that we haven't seen that type of play this year - am i wrong?

What Branch was great at was acceleration out of his cuts to get temporary separation, and Brady has traditionally been great at getting the ball to him at exactly the right place at the right time. As Montana did, Brady creates a lot of YAC with his accuracy in leading the receiver in stride.

While I think Branch is much better at getting separation than any wide receiver we've had here since Terry Glenn, he's no burner, and I don't think he'll ever have as good years with Hasselbeck as he had with Brady. He needs a super accurate QB to showcase his skills.

No question misses Branch's superior quickness, but we've all seen Brady missing a surprising number of throws this year. His game relies on timing and pinpoint accuracy. He lost the timing when Branch and Givens left, some of it back with Caldwell, but his accuracy still seems a little off.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Read more carefully. I've consistently compared Caldwell to Givens, never to Branch.

And you choose to compare him to 2005 Givens which was not his best or one of this teams best seasons but whatever works... And the adage that statistics are just a tool is even more evident in football than what I believe is your forte, baseball. Context is everything in this game where 11 guys have to perform in unison consistently, in this case within a very specific system, for stats to amount to much of anything. At the end of the season, when BB reviews these players performances, he does it on a game by game basis and evaluates not just what they did, but asseses what they did in relation to what they were supposed to do and how that effected the overall unit and team performance as a whole. Which is one reason Gabriel is no longer with us.

I don't live in the Boston area; I suspect it's you that needs to get some outside perspective. Read some non-Boston media; pay attention to non-Boston fans. Ponder why it is that players and coaches didn't vote for Brady this year. Look at your own sig line. Use your own eyes. Brady is off this year. His accuracy isn't what it was 2 years ago. Sure his WR's aren't a great group, but he's sometimes missing them when they are wide open. He's not hitting them in stride as much as he did in the past. He's not quite himself. Still very good, but not Brady great.

The outside perspective on this team has consistently been overly simplistic and off the mark. The just don't get it factor - because we aren't sexy enough and don't put up eye popping albeit empty absent the context stats that catch the limited attention of the national media on offense or defense. They have been divided this year between those who predicted Brady could not possibly perform with no significant WR and those who parroted the his favorite receiver is the open one theme, until they realized none of these guys was getting open with any consistency. Same goes for players whose voting record where the pro bowl is concerned is acknowledged to be a half-assed effort bassed as much on recent media spin as anything. And our local media obsessing on body language did him a huge disservice, as they often do in an attempt to dispel any appearance of homerism. Brady un-nerves them all on many levels, and in no small part because of his team first and cap friendly aw-shucks approach to a me-centric game where quantifiable talent is supposed to be valued over the intangibles that result in a 6th rounder showing them all up. Brady is navigating a season where 80% of his WR corps turned over, mostly on the fly, in a precision and timing based, read and react offense. Behind a line whose performances in pass protection alone have been inconsistent to say the least and abyssmal against speed rushers. (Did you hear the broadcast nitwits yesterday touting that units performance in the Brady era...

He fronts an offense with not a single player who even sniffs a pro bowl nod through five playoff seasons in 6 years winning 3 championships. And you believe it's suddenly some deficiency in him that precludes routinely hitting guys who have struggled all season to be open let alone where they were supposed to be in stride? LOL

To be clear: I believe the bulk of the fall off in the passing game productivity is because we lost Branch and didn't replace him. It would be convenient to stop there, but it also appears that Brady's contribution is down a bit this year as well, as evidenced by slightly reduced accuracy.

I'm not the only one on this board who who feels that way.

Or it could be unfamiliarity with a revolving corps of JAG WR's, but as you say that explanation may just be too simple or convenient for some of our deep thinkers to grasp. And we all know the significance of the feelings of internet board posters in effectively analyzing player performace.

I've actually not posted any statistical analysis about Brady's year. Nor will I. I only came to the defense of Caldwell when what I saw on the field didn't support the scathing attacks on him in this forum. When I looked, stats supported what I observed, so I posted them. I wrote a while ago that Caldwell looked like a decent replacement for Givens. Period. That irritated some here who wanted to blame the front office for all the problems the passing game has had this year.

But perhaps you believe that Brady can do no wrong? That he can never have a down year, only up years? That he gets full credit for all success, but is immune from any criticism? If so, I'm certainly not going to argue with you.

I think Brady's great, but he's only human. It looks to me that he's not having a great year by his standards. Some of the responsibility is his. Sorry if you find that thought offensive.

Caldwell played well yesterday, really stepped up. But he was seriously MIA for the two preceding games. He's been up and down, but hopefully yesterday he finally turned a corner. We'll know soon enough if he performs as well consistently in the playoffs as Given always did, although if not I fully expect some here to point the finger at Brady even though the stats when taken in context including the entire performance circumstances will belie that.

Carson Palmer made the pro bowl although his team didn't make the playoffs. What part his December swoon (56% completion rate, 77 passer rating, 6TD to 5 INTS + 5 fumbles) played in that collapse is debatable I guess given his pro bowl weaponry vs. a dysfunctional organization. He's a better pure passer than Brady, as is Manning and as was Marino over Montana. But the selection isn't for pro bowl passer, it's pro bowl QB. Brady down the stretch with his top TE and defacto #1 receiver and rookie RB sidelined for much of the month competed 66%, compiled a 90 passer rating, 4TD/1 Int/3 fumbles and his team won 12 games under duress in a tougher division in the same conference. Yet he didn't make the cut for the beauty contest. Go figure. I guess it's a combination of not matching up well enough against flash (vs. Manning and Palmer) and too much boring, plodding consistency (vs. Rivers and Palmer). It's that consistency that leads BB to periodically remind us there is no other QB he would rather have leading this team.

Take away a couple of perenial pro bowl weapons from any of those 2006 Pro Bowl QB's and I guarantee you their passer rating plummets to something south of what Brady has consistently maintained without ever having any. Which is also why he already has 3 rings and they and their teams despite impressive offensive production statistics and gaudy passer ratings don't have any.


Passing
Year Team G GS Att Comp Pct Yds YPA Lg TD Int Tkld 20+ 40+ Rate

2001 NE15 14 413 264 63.9 2843 6.88 91 18 12 41/216 32 6 86.5
2002 NE 16 16 601 373 62.1 3764 6.26 49 28 14 31/190 37 3 85.7
2003 NE 16 16 527 317 60.2 3620 6.87 82 23 12 32/219 44 8 85.9
2004 NE 16 16 474 288 60.8 3692 7.79 50 28 14 26/162 52 10 92.6
2005 NE 16 16 530 334 63.0 4110 7.75 71 26 14 26/188 59 9 92.3
2006 NE 16 16 516 319 61.8 3529 6.84 62 24 12 26/175 46 8 87.9

TOTAL 96 94 3064 1896 61.9 21564 7.04 91 147 78 182/1150 270 44 88.4

Third best completion percentage of his career, behind the glory years of a back to back SB Champion WR corps anchored by Branch and Givens (2003 and 2004). Slightly below his 2005 performance with them in a pass first by necessity (because we had no running game to speak of) offense, although his TD to INT ratio was off in '05 by his preferred 2 to 1 standards. Brady's never been about flash and awe, rather substance and consistency including particularly in the face of adversity. Nobody's perfect, which is why Belichick will take the guy who delivers most with the least most consistently.