In defense of Reche

[Patriot_in_NY]

My point is that the drops were not physical mistakes, they were mental mistakes and he simply choked because of the playoff pressure. How can you trust a guy like that? I say bring him back to training camp, but don't pencil him into the lineup. Maybe he can be a No. 3 guy; I like Gaffney as a No. 2 possesion receiver. We need a speedy stud at No. 1.

I'd agree with that. Looking at the "big picture" of the whole season, we squeezed him into a spot that he was NOT prepared for (#1) and perhaps that because of unreasonable expectation, his gaffs last night put a little bit of extra sting into last obvious WR deficiencies.

I'd say that, certainly in my case, because he seemed to step up into that role, towards the end of the year. That caused me (and I bet alot of you guys) to actually begin to say "hey, we actually got some decent receivers, perhaps we'll be okay their after all"

As I sit back now and go over it, what we saw last night was that despite the gains that these guys made all year (learning the system, stepping up on a few key plays, ect....), there is NO HIDING the fact that were playing that position all year with #3 or #4 guys (with Gaffney possibly with #2 potential). The Deion saga of early on could not be painted over. Don't get me wrong, I put 75% (minimum) of that on Deion himself, but I think we all wanted to hope we got out of that situation without cost. It was an illusion.

When it mattered most, TB was not comfortable with Reche (at least) and he reverted to that panic "TE first" mode that made him force that last ball into coverage (he had Heath Evans underneath). To get to the SB requires us to gunsling last nights game with the Colts. To do that we needed TB to be TB of course, but we also needed to give him some bullets. Asking him to do it with #3 or passibly #2's is asking ALOT.

That's my take anyway. Not saying it's right, it's just me trying to make sense out of it all.

Bottom line, Reche gets a pass from me. It's not his fault our WR situation was so F'ed up from the getgo this year, starting with "dollar sign" Deion's antics.

 

[PatsFanInEaglesLand]

Reche's drops were inexcusable and I would not be surprised if they ultimately cost him his job. They clearly were a case of playoff jitters. You simply can't drop easy catches like that when everything is on the line.

Like how bad he played in the SD game, oh wait

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

I'd agree with that. Looking at the "big picture" of the whole season, we squeezed him into a spot that he was NOT prepared for (#1) and perhaps that because of unreasonable expectation, his gaffs last night put a little bit of extra sting into last obvious WR deficiencies.

I'd say that, certainly in my case, because he seemed to step up into that role, towards the end of the year. That caused me (and I bet alot of you guys) to actually begin to say "hey, we actually got some decent receivers, perhaps we'll be okay their after all"

As I sit back now and go over it, what we saw last night was that despite the gains that these guys made all year (learning the system, stepping up on a few key plays, ect....), there is NO HIDING the fact that were playing that position all year with #3 or #4 guys (with Gaffney possibly with #2 potential). The Deion saga of early on could not be painted over. Don't get me wrong, I put 75% (minimum) of that on Deion himself, but I think we all wanted to hope we got out of that situation without cost. It was an illusion.

When it mattered most, TB was not comfortable with Reche (at least) and he reverted to that panic "TE first" mode that made him force that last ball into coverage (he had Heath Evans underneath). To get to the SB requires us to gunsling last nights game with the Colts. To do that we needed TB to be TB of course, but we also needed to give him some bullets. Asking him to do it with #3 or passibly #2's is asking ALOT.

That's my take anyway. Not saying it's right, it's just me trying to make sense out of it all.

Bottom line, Reche gets a pass from me. It's not his fault our WR situation was so F'ed up from the getgo this year, starting with "dollar sign" Deion's antics.

I might add that despite all that........ In general, I am VERY pleased with the way Reche, Jabbar, and Troy did this year. I would liked to have seen something more (anything actually) out of Chad.

These guys were asked to come in and step into roles that were WAAAAAAY beyond what thier skill and past experience had prepared them for....... and for the most part, they did pretty good with it towards the end.

In fact, expecting us to get as far as we did with the WR tools we had was possibly a little unrealistic. And damn if we did not almost do it.

I look forward to watching those guys again next year, just not as numbers 1, 2 and 3. They will do good things for us, but only if we ask them to do it within their skill level.

 

[PaulNEPats]

Jabar and Caldwell would make good #2 and 3 receivers, but can we all agree we need a go-to guy next year?

 

[Rob0729]

My take on Caldwell is bad game, great season. He was a low price find for the Pats. He isn't a #1 WR, but he can be a solid #2 or #3. You get an above average WR to be our #1 WR and the WR corp of that guy, Caldwell, and Gaffney could rival Branch, Givens, and Patten of 2003 and 2004.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

Through no fault of his own Reche was thrust into a position of being something he simply isn't, namely a starting NFL WR who is a serious enough threat that he demands double team attention from opposing defenses. In such a capacity he failed, miserably and so too did his team.

Reche did produce numbers but those numbers are skewed because he got them by default. He simply was the only man for the WR job and was fortunate enough to have a hall of fame QB around to get him the ball.

Hopefully next year this Patriot team management doesn't blow it again and can figure out a way to secure a bonafide starting caliber WR, or two, so that Brady's immense passing skills and talents aren't wasted as they were this year.

 

[Patriot Artist]

My take on Caldwell is bad game, great season.

Yes. I'm not going to fault him for dropping two passes. The "off with the head" mentality would lead us to a team with no players left. Everyone makes mistakes, if you can't correct them then over the course of next season we'll see where he fits.

I admired his spirit and humility.

 

[Fanfrom1960]

Yes. I'm not going to fault him for dropping two passes. The "off with the head" mentality would lead us to a team with no players left. Everyone makes mistakes, if you can't correct them then over the course of next season we'll see where he fits.

I admired his spirit and humility.

Brady hit him in a bad place...right in the hands. Too bad, he had a nice season. Now what do the Pats do with him?

 

[Crowpointer]

He has to practice watching the ball all the way in with his eyes.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Brady hit him in a bad place...right in the hands. Too bad, he had a nice season. Now what do the Pats do with him?

Yeah Brady could have been a touch more aware as well and taken a 2 step drop {instead of 5} and hit him right away like he should have. He could have scored.

That's the problem with the blame game, it goes round and round.

 

[Fixit]

I like all the "He dropped two balls, so he can no longer be trusted" talk. It should be noted that Brady went back to Caldwell in the end zone right after his second drop. It looks like Brady still had confidence in him.

If not for a horrid non-call, people would be talking about how Reche came back strong from his two drops and came up big in the clutch.

I, for one, hope he's a big part of the passing game next year.

 

[Johnny Mac]

Does anyone have a video of his second drop? I hear a lot of people saying it was a sure TD, but I remember two defenders moving over before Brady noticed him. It looked to me like he would have got about 5 yards.

 

[Fixit]

Does anyone have a video of his second drop? I hear a lot of people saying it was a sure TD, but I remember two defenders moving over before Brady noticed him. It looked to me like he would have got about 5 yards.

I think if he ran to the endzone for the pass he would have scored. As it happened, he would have at least gotten some positive yards.

 

[wdkantro2]

I am as big a Brady fan as anybody, but no one has mentioned the fact that it took Golden Boy about an hour to figure out that no one was anywhere near Caldwell. By the time he snapped it and threw the ball, Reche had to look to see if defenders were coming and he took his eye off it.

This team wouldn't be where it was if it weren't for him. He had (I think) just two drops all year, which is pretty damn impressive. A lot of you are just looking for someone to blame for such a bitter loss.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

I think if he ran to the endzone for the pass he would have scored. As it happened, he would have at least gotten some positive yards.

I am as big a Brady fan as anybody, but no one has mentioned the fact that it took Golden Boy about an hour to figure out that no one was anywhere near Caldwell. By the time he snapped it and threw the ball, Reche had to look to see if defenders were coming and he took his eye off it.

This team wouldn't be where it was if it weren't for him. He had (I think) just two drops all year, which is pretty damn impressive. A lot of you are just looking for someone to blame for such a bitter loss.

Actually, I'm with wdkan... on this one. I TiVo'ed serveral times, TB should have noticed an OBVIOUS defensive blunder and quicksnaped it. A quick 2 step drop and toss to Reche and assuming he caught it, he would have danced to the endzone.

It's clear that Indy, catches the mistake presnap, and they immediatly adjust on angle to intercept him downfield. Brady long drop gave them time to do just that. Can't say for sure, but Reche drop came from him accounting for those defenders visually (admittedly a dumb mistake). I beleive he'd have caught it had TB diagnosed the play quicker and got it to him quicker.

I put the the blame on that play to both of them..... That said, he should have caught the ball for positive yardage.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Jabar and Caldwell would make good #2 and 3 receivers, but can we all agree we need a go-to guy next year?

Nope ! Not me. The WR rebuild is done,wiuth the exception of finding Troy's replacemnt. Now we wait for the development of CJ and the refienment of the others.

 

[Fixit]

That TD catch that Gaffney made was unbelievable. The way he tiptoed the endline, kept his heels off the ground, made the catch, and definitely would have gotten his second foot down...awesome. The Pats can turn him into something pretty good.

 

[Johnny Mac]

Caught a brief replay of the second drop on PTI. Would still like a video, but a defender was clearly coming up on him. Unless he makes a nice move (certainly possible) all he cost them was a couple of yards.

 

[artmis723]

why is everyone so quick to crucify players when they make mistakes?

and pardon my ignorance on asking this question- i'm here to learn more about football- but do players really get cut when they drop the ball, or fumble often, or just "can't get it done"?

 

[Patriot Artist]

He made it further in the playoffs than any Charger. He helped defeat the Chargers. Point taken, but recall that the Steelers cut Vrabel.