Getting elite wide receivers: Why did BB wait?

[Tunescribe]

Randy Moss's postgame quote from a couple weeks ago has stuck with me (paraphrasing): "Peyton Manning has his wide receivers. There's no reason Tom Brady can't have his own." My question is, why did it take BB so long to emphasize that position so the Patriots could take full advantage of Brady's ability?

The answer could be: (A). there has been a fundamental change in BB's offensive philosophy or, (B). the opportunity never presented itself in the right players being available at the right time.

Neither answer really satisfies me, although I'm leaning heavily toward (B), because BB has tried to bring in free agent wide receivers in the past, some of whom got here and didn't pan out, and some of whom chose to go elsewhere. There's also the ongoing Chad Jackson saga. Still, you've got to wonder what might have been if Brady had better weapons at his disposal throughout his career, especially last season. Was this a gross oversight by BB that finally has been rectified?

 

[richpats]

After the AFC title game he knew the days of getting by with good-to-mediocre receivers were over. The league has changed. Look at our 5 losses last year - we struggled severely passing the ball in the clutch. I figure Belichick was tired of watching teams like Miami and Denver make Brady look like a mediocre QB when all he needed was a go-to-guy. "Enter the Moss"

 

[Pat_Nasty]

Can you think of any FA wide receivers that you wish the Pats had pulled the trigger on?

Antwan Randle El for 7 years, $31 mil, and $10 mil in bonuses? No thanks.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Randy Moss's postgame quote from a couple weeks ago has stuck with me (paraphrasing): "Peyton Manning has his wide receivers. There's no reason Tom Brady can't have his own." My question is, why did it take BB so long to emphasize that position so the Patriots could take full advantage of Brady's ability?

The answer could be: (A). there has been a fundamental change in BB's offensive philosophy or, (B). the opportunity never presented itself in the right players being available at the right time.

Neither answer really satisfies me, although I'm leaning heavily toward (B), because BB has tried to bring in free agent wide receivers in the past, some of whom got here and didn't pan out, and some of whom chose to go elsewhere. There's also the ongoing Chad Jackson saga. Still, you've got to wonder what might have been if Brady had better weapons at his disposal throughout his career, especially last season. Was this a gross oversight by BB that finally has been rectified?

Well it's a combination I'd say - by now we can all see what having top tier WRs means to a team... last season we saw what having lower tier WRs meant in terms of CBs stacking the line and pressuring Brady, etc...

For the most part we've been in between - with decent WRs - and have 3 SB rings to show for it. Keeping in mind we've won nothing yet this season, and there is indeed some luck involved in winning a SB, while those SB seasons were harder fought than this one is appearing, its clear one DOESN'T need Randy Moss caliber WRs to win a Super Bowl.

Heck - we were ONE additional first down from going to the SB last season even with a poor class of WRs - and I think we're all confident of how we'd have done against the Bears.

But in reality BB DID try to get a top tier WR, going after Derrick Mason in his prime, coming after him as the highest bidder - only to be shunned because his wife wanted to go elsewhere.

Who knows who else we went after and missed out on... and while one additional good WR last year might have resulted in another SB ring, no one is going to second guess the team for passing on Givens, or in the way the Branch situation panned out.

So there's no aversion to top tier WRs in BB's playbook - but nor is he going to overpay for mediocre talent, and indeed, he knows he can still win without them... though its clearly much easier to win going this route.

I do think that neither BB nor Pioli nor Brady himself really knew just how effective and dominating Brady would be with a Moss/Stallworth/Welker combo... yeah, everyone knew it would be good - but not too many people could have predicted THIS level of success either!

 

[makoute]

The stars were just aligned for the Pats to sign Moss. They're paying Randy Moss, what they would probably be paying Deion Branch had he stayed here. That's not a bargain you get very often.

 

[Oswlek]

Randy Moss's postgame quote from a couple weeks ago has stuck with me (paraphrasing): "Peyton Manning has his wide receivers. There's no reason Tom Brady can't have his own." My question is, why did it take BB so long to emphasize that position so the Patriots could take full advantage of Brady's ability?

The answer could be: (A). there has been a fundamental change in BB's offensive philosophy or, (B). the opportunity never presented itself in the right players being available at the right time.

Neither answer really satisfies me, although I'm leaning heavily toward (B), because BB has tried to bring in free agent wide receivers in the past, some of whom got here and didn't pan out, and some of whom chose to go elsewhere. There's also the ongoing Chad Jackson saga. Still, you've got to wonder what might have been if Brady had better weapons at his disposal throughout his career, especially last season. Was this a gross oversight by BB that finally has been rectified?

I think that it is B) with a WR of Moss' caliber. He really is one of the greatest arbitrage situations in the history of investing.

But NE has been looking to upgrade its roster for some time. They went high to get Jackson (much to some people's chagrin, it was still an attempt) they were trying to get Mark Clayton from Baltimore (as a draft pick trade, not post draft) and gave a generous offer to Mason.

Just as this year's team was able to take advantage of favorable conditions last year's team was snakebit by the opposite. It is what it is.

 

[maverick4]

We tried to get Dyson a few years ago remember?

Belichick wanted to become pass happy after 2004 based on the new rules, but didn't want to splurge either.

 

[Nordy]

Derrick Mason probably wishes he hadn't listened to his wife. What an idiot.

 

[Pat_Nasty]

After the AFC title game he knew the days of getting by with good-to-mediocre receivers were over. The league has changed. Look at our 5 losses last year - we struggled severely passing the ball in the clutch. I figure Belichick was tired of watching teams like Miami and Denver make Brady look like a mediocre QB when all he needed was a go-to-guy. "Enter the Moss"

You're acting like Belichick thought that going into the '06 season with Reche Caldwell as our #1 receiver was a good idea. When personnel decisions were being made, we were looking for a replacement for David Givens.

Branch's hold-out and subsequent trade changed the landscape entirely. People around here might not want to admit it, but Branch is a very good receiver. Not Moss good, of course, but still, a good, solid #1 WR. So the very premise that Belichick ever didn't want good receivers on our team is flawed.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Derrick Mason probably wishes he hadn't listened to his wife. What an idiot.

Yeah unfortunately the wife holds the key to the nookie. So there you have it.

I think the Pats did not want to overpay Branch (smart move), they went after Mason (turned down), and they've been cap restrained a bit.

But once they had the cap space this year they went after Stallworth, Welker, AT, Morris and Moss. This is one of the best offseasons in recent Pats history. And the cap bump coupled with not having tied up big dollars to Branch and Givens really helped make it possible.

 

[tombonneau]

Can you think of any FA wide receivers that you wish the Pats had pulled the trigger on?

Antwan Randle El for 7 years, $31 mil, and $10 mil in bonuses? No thanks.

It was public knowledge Moss was on the block a year ago and I wanted him. Of course, Stallworth was available around the same time.

Javon Walker was available for trade (though his healthy is now a concern).

Plaxico Burress could have been obtained.

TJ Housh was a FA (or RFA?) a year or two ago, I wanted him.

They could have made a strong push for Wayne rather than letting the Colts lock him back up. Pretty sure he was a full on FA, though not positive.

Obviously to your point there have not been a ton of top tier FA WRs, but the fact is that a fair share of top flight WRs have been available via trade or RFA and the Pats could have gone after any.

The only one they made overtures toward was Mason, who I don't even consider top tier.

 

[Oswlek]

It was public knowledge Moss was on the block a year ago and I wanted him. Of course, Stallworth was available around the same time. - Stallworth is a lot better now than he was at the beginning of last year, but yes, this is one I'm sure NE would have liked to redo. I don't recall Moss being willing to reup his contract, nor would Davis have let him go for such a low price last year.

Javon Walker was available for trade (though his healthy is now a concern). - His health was even more of a concern then.

Plaxico Burress could have been obtained. - No way. He was far too immature then. Frankly, this is the first season that he has been worth what NY gave him.

TJ Housh was a FA (or RFA?) a year or two ago, I wanted him. - Never had a chance.

They could have made a strong push for Wayne rather than letting the Colts lock him back up. Pretty sure he was a full on FA, though not positive. - Never had a chance

Obviously to your point there have not been a ton of top tier FA WRs, but the fact is that a fair share of top flight WRs have been available via trade or RFA and the Pats could have gone after any.

The only one they made overtures toward was Mason, who I don't even consider top tier. - Mason was very good. You would most definitely have thought differently had NE landed him.

Really, the only one who was a legitimate option was Stallworth.

 

[sebman2112]

Randy Moss's postgame quote from a couple weeks ago has stuck with me (paraphrasing): "Peyton Manning has his wide receivers. There's no reason Tom Brady can't have his own." My question is, why did it take BB so long to emphasize that position so the Patriots could take full advantage of Brady's ability?

The answer could be: (A). there has been a fundamental change in BB's offensive philosophy or, (B). the opportunity never presented itself in the right players being available at the right time.

Neither answer really satisfies me, although I'm leaning heavily toward (B), because BB has tried to bring in free agent wide receivers in the past, some of whom got here and didn't pan out, and some of whom chose to go elsewhere. There's also the ongoing Chad Jackson saga. Still, you've got to wonder what might have been if Brady had better weapons at his disposal throughout his career, especially last season. Was this a gross oversight by BB that finally has been rectified?

You have to realize the Patriots originally thought Deion Branch was going to be a member of that 2006 Patriots squad, and it would have been nice if they brought in better receiving options for Brady but they did at least try.

NE was interested in trading for Stallworth but the Saints wanted a 3rd/4th and one of the Patriots backup LB's (I believe it was Banta-Cain) NE thought that was to rich, especially since Stallworth might have split after 2006. It would have been nice to have him last year, though.

They brought in Doug Gabriel who some believed a young developing WR. It turned out Gabriel had an attitude so he found the door.

NE drafts Chad Jackson who some thought was the best WR in the 2006 draft (I still believe he could be) but he goes down with injuries missing most of training camp, and then struggled to get on the field and be effective throughout the 2006 season.

As you mentioned they brought in Donald Hayes who was supposed to be a good WR, and he did nothing. NE also tried to bring in Derrick Mason but he chose the Ravens. They also brought in David Terrell hoping he and Brady would recapture that magic they shared at Michigan....

So, it's been a combination of things. Really, I think the FO has tried to bring in good receiving options in the past but they didn't make it their main priority. This year after dropping that game to the Colts it was obvious Brady needed better weapons so they made it a priority. This time going after Stallworth (and sealing the deal), pulling Welker away from the Dolphins, and gaining Randy Moss from the Raiders for only a 4th round pick.

The other thing to think about is if Randy was available for a 4th round pick in 2006 do you think NE would have pulled the trigger? I sure do, but he wasn't available for a 4th rounder last year which is one of the key differences between the two offseasons.

 

[Truck]

Moss & Stallworth came as one year bargains. I don't believe this case ever came up before.

Welker also came as 'good value' that doesn't appear every year.

 

[Water Boy]

Branch's hold-out and subsequent trade changed the landscape entirely. People around here might not want to admit it, but Branch is a very good receiver. Not Moss good, of course, but still, a good, solid #1 WR.

I'd say he's a good, solid piece of #2.

 

[FreakGoDeep]

i think the pats were going after javon walker last year but he ended up in Denver.

We drafted Chad jackson and the Branch situation didn't go like how the samuel situation went this year.
So it was just a series of things that screwed up the recieving corps.

 

[sebman2112]

Really, the only one who was a legitimate option was Stallworth.

Yup, and he forgets the Patriots were interested in Walker, but Denver wouldn't let him leave to meet with the Pats. I don't know why I forgot to mention their interest in Walker before.....brain fart I guess

 

[richpats]

You're acting like Belichick thought that going into the '06 season with Reche Caldwell as our #1 receiver was a good idea. When personnel decisions were being made, we were looking for a replacement for David Givens.

Branch's hold-out and subsequent trade changed the landscape entirely. People around here might not want to admit it, but Branch is a very good receiver. Not Moss good, of course, but still, a good, solid #1 WR. So the very premise that Belichick ever didn't want good receivers on our team is flawed.

I'm not disagreeing with you there but I guarantee if we had survived the AFC title game and brought home #4, we'd still have Reche Caldwell on the roster and not made such a push for our new receivers. I guarantee our talent level would have gone down like in other offseasons after a Lombardi. I mean, we could of had Donte and Randy last year before the trade deadline.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Moss & Stallworth came as one year bargains. I don't believe this case ever came up before.

The bolded part says it all. The Patriots didn't go out and get elite WRs. The elite WRs went out and got the Patriots. Moss wanted to play here and took a paycut to do so. Stallworth wanted to play here and accepted a contract that allowed the Pats to get him for one year cheap.

Welker also came as 'good value' that doesn't appear every year.

I liked Welker based on watching him against the Pats and a few times in other Dolphins games. He reminded me a lot of Troy Brown. When the Pats got him for a 2nd and 7th round pick, I thought it was a good trade for both sides. Now having seen Welker in action in conjunction with Moss and Stallworth, it looks like the Pats clearly won this deal.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Oswlek]

I'm not disagreeing with you there but I guarantee if we had survived the AFC title game and brought home #4, we'd still have Reche Caldwell on the roster and not made such a push for our new receivers. I guarantee our talent level would have gone down like in other offseasons after a Lombardi. I mean, we could of had Donte and Randy last year before the trade deadline.

I don't get this line of thought. First, when has BB shown that he is hesitant to upgrade the roster of the right opportunity come along?

Second, neither Randy or Donte were available at the same price. With Moss, it wasn't even close, as Davis was asking for a 1st rounder. With Donte, NE would have had to give up a 4th and another player. This year they got him for peanuts.

Nothing that NE has done is against what they typically do. They just had more money to spend and had more players that they were willing to spend it on.