Caldwell won't block

[Mark Morse]

I am very disappointed in Caldwell's umwillingness to block downfield for other receivers and runners. He completely backed off a play in which Watson caught a pass and got mauled by thre or fiur defenders. I saw the play of replay and Caldwell slowed down when he saw that Watson caught the ball and then turned away ane let Watson take all those hits.

Never mind that he is not a very good WR.

 

[BradyManny]

Huh? From what I've seen, Caldwell appears to be a strong blocker. I don't remember this play, I guess I'll have to take your word from it, but I'd think it's an abberation from his play thus far.

 

[Julius]

I saw that play and thought the same thing. Thats one area where David Givens has him beat by a mile. In his defense he may have been concerned about blocking his man too early and getting a interferance penalty. Thats a timing issue so I'll cut him some slack for now.

 

[cstjohn17]

I am very disappointed in Caldwell's umwillingness to block downfield for other receivers and runners. He completely backed off a play in which Watson caught a pass and got mauled by thre or fiur defenders. I saw the play of replay and Caldwell slowed down when he saw that Watson caught the ball and then turned away ane let Watson take all those hits.

Never mind that he is not a very good WR.

I saw that play too, it looked like a lack of awareness. Maybe he was not in position and did not want to take a illegal blocking penalty.

Watson's blocking was more of a concern to me, a WR not blocking downfield is one thing but a TE getting beat and leaving a DE untouched to the QB is another. IMO Watson is one deminsional, he ran a great route and made a nice play and the 3 and 10 in the 4th quarter but one at least two plays a DE blew right past him. His pass blocking needs to improve dramatically before he is mentioend as a top tier TE.

 

[PonyExpress]

The problem with Caldwell is he's a space cadet. On the 1st play of the season he could have recovered Brady's fumble but just STOPPED. There is a mental disconnect there that has nothing to do with toughness (see: Kaesveharn hit).

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

You may need to base your opinion on more than one play. I haven't re-watched games to that level of detail, but Box o Rocks seems to like his blocking last I heard.

 

[LloydBraun]

If that potential TD throw from Brady was a lil better and if Caldwell catches that tough deep comeback throw late in the game, we are not having this conversation.

Caldwell, as well as the other WR's, are developing. This was a good test today vs. a tough d-line and a very good secondary.

I am optimistic about what I saw. I see definite room for improvement, but this is a step in the right direction.

 

[JackBauer]

Caldwell is not nearly as bad of a blocker as you make it sound. About average, I'd say.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

The problem with Caldwell is he's a space cadet. He almost never plays to the whistle. On the 1st play of the season he could have recovered Brady's fumble but just STOPPED. There is a mental disconnect there that has nothing to do with toughness (see: Kaesveharn hit).

Caldwell does seem to be slightly slow in the mental department compared to other NFL players. Not dumb, but a little slower in situational awareness. A lot of NFL players really have lightning fast reflexes, and Caldwell does not, as far as I can tell.

Wason also seems a little slow at the LOS in his blocking. And he is a smart dude, but maybe not the quickest in reaction ability.

 

[pats1]

Caldwell is the best blocking WR on the team.

 

[BradyManny]

Caldwell does seem to be slightly slow in the mental department compared to other NFL players. Not dumb, but a little slower in situational awareness. A lot of NFL players really have lightning fast reflexes, and Caldwell does not, as far as I can tell.

It's the bug eyes. It makes him look a little not-so-with-it. But, aside from the first play of the season and the bug eyes, I don't see much evidence that he's slow upstairs.

 

[pats1]

Patriots All-Access, Week 5:

Lynch: "Did you gasp when Reche Caldwell got hit? Wasn't that just frightening?"

BB: "Mike, that was one of the most vicious hits I've seen in my entire career. I was really concerned about him. By the time I got out there, he had already started to come-to, and on the sideline, he was ready to go back in. What a competitive, courageous player he is. I haven't seen too many hits like that, and I haven't seen anybody come back from anything close to that as quickly as he did. Boy, he was ready to go. He really wanted to get back in there. He caught the ball, and blocked, and he's got some real toughness."

 

[pats1]

Caldwell does seem to be slightly slow in the mental department compared to other NFL players. Not dumb, but a little slower in situational awareness. A lot of NFL players really have lightning fast reflexes, and Caldwell does not, as far as I can tell.

Wason also seems a little slow at the LOS in his blocking. And he is a smart dude, but maybe not the quickest in reaction ability.

And WHAT are you basing that on?!?

Give EXAMPLES!

Until then, it's a completely BASELESS statement.

The problem with Caldwell is he's a space cadet. He almost never plays to the whistle. On the 1st play of the season he could have recovered Brady's fumble but just STOPPED. There is a mental disconnect there that has nothing to do with toughness (see: Kaesveharn hit).

Again, this is based off a SINGLE play, and one that the ENTIRE offense didn't execute on, mind you.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

And WHAT are you basing that on?!?

Give EXAMPLES!

Until then, it's a completely BASELESS statement.



Again, this is based off a SINGLE play, and one that the ENTIRE offense didn't execute, mind you.

Based on watching him play football like the rest of us, including the guys in the media, TOUGH GUY!

I don't question his blocking ability or his toughness, in case you missed that. I've seen him look lost out there in several games at different times.

 

[pats1]

Based on watching him play football like the rest of us, including the guys in the media, TOUGH GUY!

Right, and the "guys in the media" (outside of Reiss) certainly have tons of credibility around here. We all were sickened when they tried to make up stuff with Brady's body language and mental standing.

I can take people criticizing a guy's performance statistically, but what I can't stand are those who try to judge a player's "toughness" or "mental competency."

This is also why I get pissed off when some call Patrick Pass "soft" and not worthy of being on the team because of his fumble last year. Or Chad Jackson being out most of camp this year with his injury.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Sorry Mark, he is an excellent blocker who takes on LBs successfully - including Jason Taylor.

EDIT: Sorry, I got distracted - I did see the play in question and did ask myself if Reche should have thrown himself into that pile. We see RBs get stopped and OLs drive into the pile to try and move it a little further forward or even knock a tackler off long enough for the RB to break loose. The question I need to ask the folks here, is it reasonable to expect a WR or other skill player (TEs excepted) to do the same? In this case, Reche was several yards off to the side, his blocking angle seems unlikely to have been of any benefit - but I'm not sure I want a skill player flying into that pile-up.

 

[R_T26]

Blocking aside, i havnt been impressed by caldwell at all. He doesnt get open often, dropped some catchable balls today, and please no screens to him, it looks like he's running in place.

 

[shmessy]

I'll take Box o' Rock's analysis over just about anyone's on this site.

IMHO, nuf 'ced re: Reche Caldwell's blocking.

 

[pats1]

Keep in mind if Caldwell is blocking the RCB and the play goes left, then it's actually playside because I convert all of Box's positionings for standardization in the "archives."

...

3rd and 8 NE 3

Result: Run, Dillon, up the middle, 10 yds.
Caldwell marked the RCB and kept him out of the play

1st and 10 NE 23

Result: Run, Maroney, stretch play left, 7 yds.
Caldwell blocks the RCB well ahead of the run

1st and 10 NE 48

Result: Run, Maroney, up the middle, 8 yds.
Caldwell blocks the RCB

2nd and 2 Buf 44

Result: Run, Maroney, left tackle, 0 yds.
Caldwell blocks the RCB

1st and Goal Was 10

Result: Run, Dillon, up the middle, 3 yds.
Caldwell blocks the RCB

1st and 5 Was 5

Result: Run, Maroney, left guard, 5 yds., TOUCHDOWN.
Caldwell blocks the LCB

1st and 10 Ari 17

Result: Run, Dillon, up the middle, 0 yds.
Caldwell cuts down the SS on the edge, but the SS gets up and takes down Dillon

Analysis: Dillon started in the backfield, but whichever way he turned, he couldn’t find a way out of it. The first obstruction would be right in front of him – Russ Hochstein getting bull rushed backward off the snap. He tried to cut left, but Graham couldn’t keep the SLB away. Finally, he circled back behind Hochstein and tried going up the gut, but didn’t get far. The SS, who Caldwell cut down a good 2 seconds earlier, had enough time to get back on his feet and still bring down Dillon in the backfield.

1st and 10 Atl 34

Result: Run, Dillon, up the middle, 4 yds.
Caldwell keeps Milloy on the edge

2nd and 6 Atl 30

Result: Run, Dillon, left tackle, 3 yds.
PENALTY on NE-S.Neal, Clipping, 15 yards, enforced at ATL 27.
Caldwell gets a downfield block on the CB Hall ahead of the run

1st and 10 Atl 15

Result: Run, Dillon, up the middle, 8 yds.
Analysis: Great downfield blocks on the trap play, including those on the CBs by Caldwell and Kight. Dillon showed good burst.

 

[Alk]

The only block that Caldwell could have thrown on that play was into the defenders back. I'm sure there would be alot more people pissed if he had been a real idiot and got flagged for a block in the back and killed that drive.