Kontra, I understand some of your points, but I think TO can have the effect that you think he can. I exaggerated a little by calling him another Joey Galloway b/c he's obviously more refined as a WR than Galloway. Yes Romo was hurt, but even when Romo returned, TO was still having issues separating and complaining about not getting the ball (like the explosion on the sideline during the Steelers loss). Romo only missed 3 or 4 games too, so it's not like he was out for like 8 weeks.
What VJC said is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Doesn't that sound very similar to what happened with Galloway? That's more of where I was bringing in the Galloway comparison. Galloway dropped some catchable balls, couldn't get on the same page as Brady, and Brady got pretty pissed at him, which all resulted in him being de-activated and released during the season. This one-year fill the gap deal left us with a noose around our neck in terms of WR depth. Sam Aiken? Isiah Stanback? Rookie off knee surgery Brandon Tate? QB-conversion project Edelman? We were extremely lucky to have Edelman contribute the way he did. We thought Galloway could be a one year stop gap, and once he busted, we were in some trouble. When Welker went down, we were basically doomed.
That's why I'm opposed to a TO who is not only pretty damn old at 36, but has had a litany of problems in the locker room everywhere he's gone, and is a one year stop gap option at best. David Patten is obviously not the answer. I'm more interested in a longer-term investment. A guy in the 2nd round of the draft, an UFA/RFA who is still pretty young. I'd even rather have Deion Branch who has experience in our system and is still a good amount younger than TO. If you sign TO as that stop gap and address the other needs you are talking about in the draft, you're just putting a band-aid on the problem instead of trying to fix it. What happens if TO's attitude or inability to separate or inability to get the Pats offense down results in him being shown the door? Now you have Moss who is a year older, no Welker for the first half of the season with no guarantees he will ever be the same player, Edelman a very solid slot guy, and Tate who has had two knee injuries in consecutive years and hasn't proven much. It's too much of a risk that I'm not willing to take.
