165 receptions from 2005 ... GONE

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Deion- 78
Givens- 59
Dwight-19
Davis- 9


Anyone think we could replace all those..??? Looks like a heavy dose of Dillion Maroney ,and Watson...

 

[Ring 6]

Deion- 78
Givens- 59
Dwight-19
Davis- 9


Anyone think we could replace all those..??? Looks like a heavy dose of Dillion Maroney ,and Watson...

well, first Branch is not exactly gone yet. Secondly the guy who threw all of those passes is still here, and thats a hell of a lot more important than who caught them.

Brady is going to complete 60+% of his passes no matter who is catching them. We will run the same plays, with the same routes, there will just be someone else catching the ball when Brady delivers it on time and accurately.
We will be just fine, and no we won't abandon the passing game for 3 yards and a cloud of dust, just because the guys who are going to catch those 165 passes are different than the ones who did last year.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

I realise that Brady is still here, but where is the deep threat??? I dont think we will see it till the Denver game.. The underneath route will be covered heavily and Brady will not be able to go deep...Brady is great, but he will be hamstrung... And Deion is all but gone...

 

[smg93]

I realise that Brady is still here, but where is the deep threat??? I dont think we will see it till the Denver game.. The underneath route will be covered heavily and Brady will not be able to go deep...Brady is great, but he will be hamstrung... And Deion is all but gone...

Please, no more talk about "hamstrungs" Our deep threat will be availabe soon in Chad Jackson. (I'm hoping sooner rather than later)

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Does he know what 'deep is" , since he does not know the playbook, according to Tommose.. I know its a long season, but its time to start to be concerned..

 

[Ring 6]

I realise that Brady is still here, but where is the deep threat??? I dont think we will see it till the Denver game.. The underneath route will be covered heavily and Brady will not be able to go deep...Brady is great, but he will be hamstrung... And Deion is all but gone...

Who was the deep threat last year?
Why cant Brady go deep? There is no special talent required to run a deep route. You design a play, see coverage that leaves the deep route open, and the WR runs a deep route.
You sound as if we are replacing Ben Johnson with Raymond Burr.
Anyone we put on the field at WR is capable of running deep routes. If defenses leave that open Brady will burn them. Whether that is Branch, Childress, Caldwell, Jackson, Brown, Watson, or whoever, there is very little change in our ability to get the ball down the field, and according to Brady he is better at the deep ball after correcting mechanics.

By the way, do you know how many 'deep balls' we completed last year, or that any team typically completes? One every other game is a lot.

And by the way, teams cannot just cover underneath and leave the deep pass wide open, because any NFL caliber WR will destroy that coverage.
Hint: Defenses defend QBs not WRs.

 

[SamBam39]

Who was the deep threat last year?
Why cant Brady go deep? There is no special talent required to run a deep route. You design a play, see coverage that leaves the deep route open, and the WR runs a deep route.
You sound as if we are replacing Ben Johnson with Raymond Burr.
Anyone we put on the field at WR is capable of running deep routes. If defenses leave that open Brady will burn them. Whether that is Branch, Childress, Caldwell, Jackson, Brown, Watson, or whoever, there is very little change in our ability to get the ball down the field, and according to Brady he is better at the deep ball after correcting mechanics.

By the way, do you know how many 'deep balls' we completed last year, or that any team typically completes? One every other game is a lot.

And by the way, teams cannot just cover underneath and leave the deep pass wide open, because any NFL caliber WR will destroy that coverage.
Hint: Defenses defend QBs not WRs.

andy - to be fair you are over simplifying things abit. saying it doesn't matter at all who our receivers are is a little delusional. losing branch and givens without finding at least a similiar level of ability will hurt. right now, it's not clear how we could possible do that. brady or no brady, this is important how this gets resolved.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Who was the deep threat last year?
Why cant Brady go deep? There is no special talent required to run a deep route. You design a play, see coverage that leaves the deep route open, and the WR runs a deep route.
You sound as if we are replacing Ben Johnson with Raymond Burr.
Anyone we put on the field at WR is capable of running deep routes. If defenses leave that open Brady will burn them. Whether that is Branch, Childress, Caldwell, Jackson, Brown, Watson, or whoever, there is very little change in our ability to get the ball down the field, and according to Brady he is better at the deep ball after correcting mechanics.

By the way, do you know how many 'deep balls' we completed last year, or that any team typically completes? One every other game is a lot.

And by the way, teams cannot just cover underneath and leave the deep pass wide open, because any NFL caliber WR will destroy that coverage.
Hint: Defenses defend QBs not WRs.

Ok see the San Diego game , when Deion Branch was double teamed.. Now you will say we have a better running game, here will be the 8 box defense, and let Brady find the open guy...

 

[DarrylS]

Who was the deep threat last year?
Why cant Brady go deep? There is no special talent required to run a deep route. You design a play, see coverage that leaves the deep route open, and the WR runs a deep route.
You sound as if we are replacing Ben Johnson with Raymond Burr.
Anyone we put on the field at WR is capable of running deep routes. If defenses leave that open Brady will burn them. Whether that is Branch, Childress, Caldwell, Jackson, Brown, Watson, or whoever, there is very little change in our ability to get the ball down the field, and according to Brady he is better at the deep ball after correcting mechanics.

By the way, do you know how many 'deep balls' we completed last year, or that any team typically completes? One every other game is a lot.

And by the way, teams cannot just cover underneath and leave the deep pass wide open, because any NFL caliber WR will destroy that coverage.
Hint: Defenses defend QBs not WRs.

I agree the sky is not falling, I think this years offense will look a lot different than last years, with the addition of Maroney our running game will be different. With the development of Watson, a true freak, our TE game will be different. Our O-line will be more mature, and probably stronger. Overall, I like Branch and what he brings to the table, however this team is known for developing strategies and adjustments from loss... the most important thing is to resolve it quickly it is becoming a distraction.

 

[zoostation]

The Patriots (and Brady) understand what D Branch brings to the table. Both sides will come together before the Buffalo game.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Deion- 78
Givens- 59
Dwight-19
Davis- 9


Anyone think we could replace all those..??? Looks like a heavy dose of Dillion Maroney ,and Watson...

Well, if you'll remember, Brady led the NFL in yards last year . . . largely because, for a good portion of the season, there was no running game to speak of. Having a healthy running game should remove a LOT of the burden on Brady, no matter what happens with Deion.

 

[Jimke]

If we lose Branch along with all the others, it will definitely

affect our passing game. Anyone who thinks otherwise is having

pipe dreams. This is the worst screw up ever during the BB/Pioli

era. The Pats lose David Givens because they don't want to pay

him too much and set the bar too high for future negotiations with

Deon Branch. Now the Branch situation has become an impossible one

because they let him test the market. To hell with the good value theory.

 

[holyredeemer]

If we lose Branch along with all the others, it will definitely

affect our passing game. Anyone who thinks otherwise is having

pipe dreams. This is the worst screw up ever during the BB/Pioli

era. The Pats lose David Givens because they don't want to pay

him too much and set the bar too high for future negotiations with

Deon Branch. Now the Branch situation has become an impossible one

because they let him test the market. To hell with the good value theory.

Look, to me, its as simple as this. Branch just doesnt want to be in NE. Thats fine with me, I mean honestly, lets not make him into a receiver that he's not. No need to sacrifice our cap space for a guy that can never play a full season anyway. Branch is an above avg. receiver/good receiver. If he gets jammed at the line, he's screwed. He cant compete for the jump ball, and only avgs. about 12 yds a catch. Remember from 2000-2002 when T. Brown was catching over 80 balls a year? He even actually cracked over a 1,000 yds rec. around that time. Far better production than what Branch has given us, but everybody seems to be in a panic. BB will find someone to throw in there, and someone else will step it up big time. Thats the way it has always worked. Let Branch go, if he doesnt want to be here, than **** em. I am not saying our offense will be better without him, but merely saying that someone else will fill the void as much as it needs to be, and the offense will still get it done, it'll just be different.
Also, anyone who says that by not having branch we lose our deep threat is REALLY drinking the kool-aid. When was the last time this team actually had a deep threat??? Branch isnt one of them.

 

[Patjew]

The Patriots (and Brady) understand what D Branch brings to the table. Both sides will come together before the Buffalo game.

A truer optimist there has never been. Hope you're right, but I just don't see what we can base this on.