WR offseason decision

Deus Irae said:

Why make the loss worse by compounding it with stupid offseason moves like getting rid of Welker?

Re-sign Welker
Sign Lloyd
Draft a receiver in rounds 1 or 2, either a burner or a Branch replacement
Bring Branch back with the understanding that he might be a backup
Keep Edelman as the team's Swiss army knife
Bring in others to compete with for the 5th/6th spot(s)


Also, get Hernandez in front of a Juggs gun every day.

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The stupidity anger hour has subsided. We do need a bigger WR that can make a play like Manningham did.

crowell33 said:

Completely agree. If a younger Brady can't win the big game in the last 8 years, a 35 year old Brady won't have a better chance.

Time to spend some money and draft picks and make this a defensive team. Having 2 picks in the first round, 2 picks in the second round, and 2 picks in the third round last year, and coming up with 1 complete game from Ras IR Dowling is not gonna cut it.

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Brady had the game won. Welker dropped the ball. You should have watched the game.

With Welker, I think it all depends on how much money he wants. With what Hernandez and Gronk give us, I don't know how much sense it makes to pay him at an elite level, but if he's willing to leave a bit of money on the table, then all the better. Pats still need an outside threat; Ocho didn't work out this year, going to have to try to find another one this offseason.

BelichickFan said:

Let Ocho go, sign Lloyd, keep Branch as a backup and we're good.

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Why keep Branch? He was another one who had a key drop. And I'm not talking about the one that Phillips tipped. I'm talking about the one right after Welker's drop. Not only that, but Branch basically disappeared the 2nd half of the season and was a non-factor.

a lot of people here hate Moss...but we NEED another big tall and fast WR like Moss...miss that guy

patsinthesnow said:

Welker won't be cheap, so its not just an overreaction to the drop. Should the pats drop 7+ mil a year on a 31 year old slot WR, or spend 2 mil a year more on a stud?

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Welker is more than just a slot receiver. Helps to actually watch the games.

DaBruinz said:

Why keep Branch? He was another one who had a key drop. And I'm not talking about the one that Phillips tipped. I'm talking about the one right after Welker's drop. Not only that, but Branch basically disappeared the 2nd half of the season and was a non-factor.

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As a backup. Lloyd and Welker starters with Gronk and Hernandez. But Branch would be a good backup. Injuries happen unfortunately.

Deus Irae said:

Draft a receiver in rounds 1 or 2, either a burner or a Branch replacement

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No thanks! Draft a wide receiver in the first or second round only to be cut two years later. Forget about it!

The New England Patriots defense needs to be seriously upgraded:

3-4 Outside Linebacker (Courtney Upshaw for example)
3-4 Defensive End (Fletcher Cox for example)
Free Safety (Dashon Goldson in unrestricted free agency for example)
Free Safety (Ihedigbo is not the answer even as a backup)
Nickle Cornerback (Edelman can solely focus on offense and special teams)

patsfan-1982 said:

they could not run the football vs a 4 man front and we are talking about WR's ?

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They ran the ball fine except for ONE play.

The pats need an outside guy. Too many times we have one guy go down and then the entire offense starts to look subhuman.

The WR depth is poor.

But still, Brady had branch open and threw behind him a couple times.....if he throws strikes, different outcome.

BelichickFan said:

As a backup. Lloyd and Welker starters with Gronk and Hernandez. But Branch would be a good backup. Injuries happen unfortunately.

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Sorry, but Branch isn't a good back-up and would be a waste of Money. If the Pats bring in Floyd, then they need to add 2 youngsters via the draft and they should be ok.

It has to piss you guys off to a degree thinking if Brady had Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, and Manningham on guys like Molden.....

Let's just add a legit outside WR this offseason.

DaBruinz said:

Sorry, but Branch isn't a good back-up and would be a waste of Money. If the Pats bring in Floyd, then they need to add 2 youngsters via the draft and they should be ok.

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My preference would be Welker, Lloyd, Branch, draftee 1, draftee 2. And keep Edelman as a utility guy. I want someone who Brady trusts as a backup. But not if Branch prices himself out of what a backup is worth.

ATippett56 said:

No thanks! Draft a wide receiver in the first or second round only to be cut two years later. Forget about it!

The New England Patriots defense needs to be seriously upgraded:

3-4 Outside Linebacker (Courtney Upshaw for example)
3-4 Defensive End (Fletcher Cox for example)
Free Safety (Dashon Goldson in unrestricted free agency for example)
Free Safety (Ihedigbo is not the answer even as a backup)
Nickle Cornerback (Edelman can solely focus on offense and special teams)

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Team needs:

WR
WR
DE/OLB
DE/OLB
CB
S

Every one of those is a "must have", for one reason or another. If you can find two quality WRs in free agency, PLUS re-sign Welker, without killing the WR budget, go for it. If you can't, and recent history seems to be running against the idea, then you draft a receiver in round 1 or 2.

IllegalContact said:

The WR depth is poor.

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But .... but .... but ............

What about all the Chad Ochostinko threads this year?

Deus Irae said:

Team needs:

WR
WR
DE/OLB
DE/OLB
CB
S

Every one of those is a "must have", for one reason or another. If you can find two quality WRs in free agency, PLUS re-sign Welker, without killing the WR budget, go for it. If you can't, and recent history seems to be running against the idea, then you draft a receiver in round 1 or 2.

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Wide receiver - Wes Welker
Wide receiver - Brandon Lloyd
Wide receiver - Julian Edelman
Wide receiver - Tiquan Underwood
Wide receiver - Undrafted free agent (refer to NY Giants Victor Cruz for example)

The New England Patriots wasted a 2012 fifth round draft pick on Chad Ochostinko, one less draft pick for a wide receiver.

The New England Patriots need to run the football alot more than 19 times in playoff games, especially against middle of the pack rush defenses.

Deion Branch has lost 16 steps. There is no reason for him to be on this roster. Hopefully they sign an NFL Rhodes scholar that can pick up this offense in an offseason.

ATippett56 said:

Wide receiver - Wes Welker
Wide receiver - Brandon Lloyd
Wide receiver - Julian Edelman
Wide receiver - Tiquan Underwood
Wide receiver - Undrafted free agent (refer to NY Giants Victor Cruz for example)

The New England Patriots wasted a 2012 fifth round draft pick on Chad Ochostinko, one less draft pick for a wide receiver.

The New England Patriots need to run the football alot more than 19 times in playoff games, especially against middle of the pack rush defenses.

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Underwood is camp fodder, nothing more, if he's even that. The team needs a middle-deep receiver (Lloyd), A slot guy (Welker), a Backup to the slot guy (Edelman), a Branch replacement (WR draftee), a backup/successor to Lloyd (WR draftee) and competition for the last slot (Branch/Johnson/others)

- 2nd all time receptions as a Patriot
- 3rd in all time recieving yards as a Patriot
- 80+ catches in all 5 seasons as a Patriot
- 100+ catches in 4 of those 5 seasons
- More catches than anyone else since 2007 and top 5 yardage

Yes - we should cut Wes Welker

The guy's hurtin because he doesn't make the vital catch. I make no bones about it - that catch was vital and he had his hands on it. What we shouldn't forget though is that he is a critical part of our system and without his work we don't get to a SB.

- NB

PASS RUSH PLEASE!!!

Defense wins games like tonight. Fancy WRs don't ( See 07 )

Opportunistic Defense, ball control smart football on offense.

Tonight, Gronk looked like he was running in Mud, and the entire offense had spurts but overall no rythm.

Offense is too easy to derail. Defense's are very hard to stop. Defenses can lost 3 starters and still play top level defense. Offense losses 1 player, and everyting can start to unravel.