What am I missing on the whole Caldwell thing?

[MDD]

Merge this if it has been dealt with.

Drop #1 - Gaffney scores 2 plays later. Big Whoop.

Drop #2 - assuming he doesn't make the safety completely whiff, he wasn't getting in the end zone. So drop #2 maybe cost us 10 yards of field position.

I am sick and tired of the media creating paper villains. This guy did an outstanding job for us all year, and yet he's gonna be "Buckner-ized", and much like with Buckner, 5 years later we'll not remember the factual details and just assume he SINGLE-HANDEDLY and DEFINITELY cost us the whole darn thing.

 

[sbcpats70]

Merge this if it has been dealt with.

Drop #1 - Gaffney scores 2 plays later. Big Whoop.

Drop #2 - assuming he doesn't make the safety completely whiff, he wasn't getting in the end zone. So drop #2 maybe cost us 10 yards of field position.

I am sick and tired of the media creating paper villains. This guy did an outstanding job for us all year, and yet he's gonna be "Buckner-ized", and much like with Buckner, 5 years later we'll not remember the factual details and just assume he SINGLE-HANDEDLY and DEFINITELY cost us the whole darn thing.

http://bostondirtdogs.boston.com/Headline_Archives/BDD_RC_1.21.07_ML.jpg

Bahahahaha...I can't blame it on Reche, but this picture is pretty funny.

 

[artmis723]

Amen to the first post. I still contest we *may* not be here if it were not for that great catch he made in SD. I think he's done well all year.

Hahaha, that picture is awesome. Poor guy.

 

[PonyExpress]

This is baseball writer Buckley trying to create a scapegoat and an easy stroyline that he thinks will capture gullible fans. He believes Pats fans are like Red Sox fans, so he's falling back on his tried and true stock formula for catering to the "masses". We're not. Buckley with his nasty, surly resentment of football and condescending attempt to manipulate public opinion are the true villain in his article. Caldwell did the best he could and gave more than almost all of us expected. There were many factors in that lost the game, and Caldwell is not high on my list at all.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Stay the course brother, Reche will rise again!

 

[BelichickFan]

The issue with me is he's our top WR and he sh!t his pants in the big game.

 

[QuinielaBox]

We need a number 1 WR, period. Reche Caldwell is a good #3 possestion reciever.

 

[Dozer]

Drop #2 - assuming he doesn't make the safety completely whiff, he wasn't getting in the end zone. So drop #2 maybe cost us 10 yards of field position.

10 yards of field position in a game like that is HUGE!! that IS the main issue with both those drops.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Drop number 2 was huge. He had 1 man to beat and 7 to 10 yards to put a move on.

Drop number 1 was, I agree, irrelevant to the outcome of the game, but merely troubling.

That said, he's a good receiver. I don't mind a guy who plays with a chip on his shoulder and feels like he's got something to prove. The whole thing is being talked about not just because of the drops, but because he's got weird eyes.

 

[Rob0729]

Caldwell wasn't the only one who made mistakes, but he has been made the scapegoat. Plenty of other guys made bigger mistakes yet get a free pass. Troy Brown's PI was just as costly as either of Caldwell's dropped passes, but no one is calling out Troy. Heath Evans being the 12th man in the huddle was just as big and people aren't slamming him. TBC's roughing the passer was costly. The Pats playing pass on 3rd and 2 on the 3 yard line was much more costly than either of Caldwell's passes.

Caldwell deserves a portion of the blame for this loss. But people want the guy cut because of this game. People were saying that we don't need Branch after his and Gaffney's performance in the San Diego game (and yes, he stepped up big time in a very big game there). Now eventhough we have him signed for next to nothing people are calling for Belichick to can him. I just don't get it.

 

[Oswlek]

Reche's drop was no more of a factor as Brown's OPI call or NE not converting the 3rd and 4 or Wayne converting a 3rd and 10 at the end of the first half. From that standpoint his impact on the game is overrated.

However, it is reasonable to assume that NE could have scored a TD on the drive that he made the second drop. A TD there and NE is driving for the winning FG at the end. That in conjunction with Caldwell not making any other notable plays is why I think he was a contributor to the loss.

I an optimistic about him for next year, though. Now he has an entire offseason to refine his game rather than assimilate the offense.

 

[lutontown_fc]

Reche has massively outperformed expectations this year - saying that he '**** his pants' is totally untrue - Owens has games like that every 2 weeks dropping the easy passes.

On the 2nd pass, then tension must have been too much for him waiting all that time for Brady to see him - drops happen, he tried to run before he had the ball in his hands.

If it had happened at a less critical juncture then no-one would be focussing on it, likewise if that Colts fumble at the goalline had landed in Bruschi's hands (like it would have a few years ago).

Hats off to Caldwell for an outstanding effort this year.

NM

 

[Oswlek]

Caldwell wasn't the only one who made mistakes, but he has been made the scapegoat. Plenty of other guys made bigger mistakes yet get a free pass. Troy Brown's PI was just as costly as either of Caldwell's dropped passes, but no one is calling out Troy. Heath Evans being the 12th man in the huddle was just as big and people aren't slamming him. TBC's roughing the passer was costly. The Pats playing pass on 3rd and 2 on the 3 yard line was much more costly than either of Caldwell's passes.

Caldwell deserves a portion of the blame for this loss. But people want the guy cut because of this game. People were saying that we don't need Branch after his and Gaffney's performance in the San Diego game (and yes, he stepped up big time in a very big game there). Now eventhough we have him signed for next to nothing people are calling for Belichick to can him. I just don't get it.

Anyone who wants Caldwell cut should reexamine their understanding of the game.

 

[BelichickFan]

Reche has massively outperformed expectations this year

True.

saying that he '**** his pants' is totally untrue

False.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

Stay the course brother, Reche will rise again!

Yup, I know it, but this is specifically what Chargers fans (back before the troll season) told us would happen. They said he'd break our heart at some point... some very important, crucial point.

I'm not down on him, I want him back on the team, and the scapegoat routine is way too outta hand on him. I'm just sayin'...

 

[dhamz]

Caldwell's drop had very little impact on the outcome.

The first one didn't hurt at all. We scored a TD on the drive.

The second one hurt a little but it came on first down. We still had 2 more plays to get a first down and couldn't execute. We got a FG and went ahead. We then got the ball 2 more times in the game tied or with the lead and could only produce 1st down on those drives.

 

[Oswlek]

Caldwell's drop had very little impact on the outcome.

The first one didn't hurt at all. We scored a TD on the drive.

The second one hurt a little but it came on first down. We still had 2 more plays to get a first down and couldn't execute. We got a FG and went ahead. We then got the ball 2 more times in the game tied or with the lead and could only produce 1st down on those drives.

I agree with you that NE had ample opportunities to overcome the drop, but that doesn't diminish its impact. Just because things happen afterward does not mean the affect was any less.

For instance, even though more than 35 minutes of game time occured afterward, I look at the Brown OPI as a key play in that game. NE scores a TD there and it is lights out.

 

[Va_Pats_Fan]

Its interesting that we started the season talking about a dropped Caldwell pass...(The quick slant @ the goal line), and we also finish the season discusing another dropped pass.

Pressure can get to anyone. I think he'll be fine.

 

[Bella*chick]

Quick observation about Caldwell's first drop...it actually helped us because the Colts ended up losing a timeout challenging Gaffney's catch.

Just sayin'.

 

[dhamz]

I agree with you that NE had ample opportunities to overcome the drop, but that doesn't diminish its impact. Just because things happen afterward does not mean the affect was any less.

I think it had no more impact than probably 20 other plays in the game and substantially less than others. Jabbar Gaffney's illegal motion on the play before Caldwell's second drop was just as big a play but no one is talking about it.

You want to talk about 2 mistakes that cost us the game - it is Troy Brown running the wrong route on 3rd and 4 with under 3 left and Brady forcing it to him when Evans was wide open on the angle route over the middle. That play gets made - the Pats win.