I am sure plenty of you will disagree, but regarding Reche Caldwell...

[RPMCanes]

This 'Cane alumni will never applaud a Gator, especially one who cost us a 4th ring.

 

[tombonneau]

I have no problem with Reche. I don't think his drop cost us a trip to the Super Bowl, either, even if it was bad.

Which drop?

 

[godef]

...I think that ol' Gator deserves a HUGE round of applause when he comes back on Sunday.

The kid bailed us out and gave us a decent, servicable receiver when the cupboard was bare!

Caldwell and another Gator, Jabar Gaffney, took us about as far as we could last season on pure heart and moxie.

Now that we live in the age of the power trio of Moss, Stallworth & Welker, we might forget just how important Reche was to us last year!

Standing O from Florida for ya, there, Reche...chomp, chomp!

ADPF

I can't agree with this. OK, he tried hard, and advanced the furthest of all the newcomers. But that was all relative; he was who he was.

On one hand, Brady now has his best receiving core ever, and is putting up sick numbers. OTOH, apparently good receivers have left the Patriots and have been become all but lost in obscurity... Givens, Patten... who else? Even Deion has been steady if not particularly great for Seattle.

Does anyone remember comparing the merits of imcoming Caldwell and outgoing Givens prior to the 2006 season? That was like arguing whether the Lions and the Cardinals are a better team. Caldwell dropped some critical passes. Givens sometimes misread defenses and ran bad routes. They were both flawed receivers.

Which leads me to one conclusion: a receiver has to be a real stiff NOT to succeed with Tom Brady. Reche was only important to the Pats insomuch that he was merely a credible receiver filling a void.

 

[Fixit]

Sometimes I don't understand guys on here

Adam Vinatieri who is the guy who won 2 super bowls for us with crucial kicks time after time is booed and insulted because he left for bigger money to the enemy yet Reche who was responsible for messing up a play that could have had us headed to a super bowl should be applauded?

Crazy to me!

Vinatieri's persona non grata because he stated that he wasn't going to stay in New England, period. No negotiations whatsoever...and he went to their biggest rivals, to boot (pun intended).

Caldwell busted his ass and came up short. No one feels as bad as he does about his drops. However, we wouldn't even be talking about this if Troy Brown doesn't get flagged for offensive PI in the first half or runs the correct route near the end of the game. Should we boo him?

 

[mgcolby]

why would you cheer someone who cost us another trip to the superbowl?

Because without him we wouldn't have had a chance at the SB? And it is a pretty narrow minded view to take if you think his drop IS the reason we didn't go to the SB. That belongs on the Defense, regardless of the injuries/backup situation. Oh and don't forget to credit those pesky Colts either, they played pretty well.

 

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

why would you cheer someone who cost us another trip to the superbowl?

Yeah, I figured you'd go that route...

My little PatsFans.com "Agent Provacateur"...

Been there, done that...

 

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

Every person that I watched the AFC Championship game with last year...DISAGREES WITH YOU.

Yup, that's the good old "What have you done for me lately" attitude!

Forget a whole season's worth of work. Judge the man on one game. One play, actually!

Fabulous! Bravo!

 

[tombonneau]

Yup, that's the good old "What have you done for me lately" attitude!

Forget a whole season's worth of work. Judge the man on one game. One play, actually!

Fabulous! Bravo!

Two plays.

Oh, and Belichick & Pioli agreed with us.

 

[JoeSixPat]

why would you cheer someone who cost us another trip to the superbowl?

Because they wouldn't have been in even that position without him...

Besides, there's plenty of places to lay blame when you realize that we were one offensive play or one defensive play away from the Super Bowl.

Most fans realize that it'd be wrong to make Caldwell the scapegoat for last year's failings. I was pretty tough on the guy - but more so on McDaniels for his overall offensive scheme (or lack thereof) and even I'm willing to give the guy credit for exceeding expections, recognizing that balls DO get dropped... sometimes when they hurt the most.

No excuses - but it is part of the game.

 

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

Two plays.

Oh, and Belichick & Pioli agreed with us.

Well, let's see how the crowd feels on Sunday.

Talk to you Monday.

 

[tombonneau]

Well, let's see how the crowd feels on Sunday.

Talk to you Monday.

What do you mean by that? He's not going to be introduced. In fact, he'll probably be inactive.

Even if we was introduced, probably only half the crowd would even know who he was.

 

[Kevin The Pat]

Agreed.........right up until the dropped 1st down pass against indy

I was thinking the same. Yeah, I know what's in my sig

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Caldwell had a rough AFCCG, but let's not forget his key performance vs. San Diego the week prior...

- TD catch.
- Recovery of McCree's fumble.
- 49yd catch on 3rd-and-10 that set up GW FG.

He deserves some applause. An overwhelming ovation? Probably not, but some recognition nonetheless.

Regards,
Chris

 

[ATippett56]

...I think that ol' Gator deserves a HUGE round of applause when he comes back on Sunday.

The kid bailed us out and gave us a decent, servicable receiver when the cupboard was bare!

Caldwell and another Gator, Jabar Gaffney, took us about as far as we could last season on pure heart and moxie.

Now that we live in the age of the power trio of Moss, Stallworth & Welker, we might forget just how important Reche was to us last year!

Standing O from Florida for ya, there, Reche...chomp, chomp!

ADPF

Caldwell was no Willie McGinest!

 

[spacecrime]

Every person that I watched the AFC Championship game with last year...DISAGREES WITH YOU.

Only people who only watched the AFCCG, and didn't see how we got there.

I suppose you still boo Brady every game for tossing that pick in Denver the year before, and are still calling for him to be cut?

People who cannot understand that one play does not define a year always amaze me. Simply put, we would not be in the CHampionship game without Caldwell.

Also, I think the defense may have had a little to do with giving up a 21-3 lead.

I hope Reche gets cheered for what he did for us.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Oh goddammit give some love to the glandular freak. I love the guy, bug eyes, incredibly significant drops, and all. He went past his previous production, and probably we got out of him more than any other team will in the future. He did everything he could, and then that little more that BB got out of him.

Yeah, in the end, it wasn't enough, and that's the bitterness of competition.

And yanno what? When the other team scores 38, that one drop didn't lose you jack.

I say give that thyroidal monstrosity a HUGE round of applause when he comes out!

PFnV

 

[Seymour93]

Fans in Foxboro probably won't get the chance to either cheer or boo Caldwell. He hasn't caught a ball all year and has only played in one game so far.

 

[BingoBrown]

Sure, but the Colts won that game shoving the ball down Bruschi's mouth.

Anyone vilifying HIM?

The D lost that game, not the O.

Agreed! to quote Green "We knew who they were and we let
them off the hook and somebody crowned their ass because of it".

 

[Hoodie]

Appreciating Reche's contribution would be a "classy" thing to do and as well all know, the Patriots and their fans are not "classy."

 

[shmessy]

Sometimes I don't understand guys on here

Adam Vinatieri who is the guy who won 2 super bowls for us with crucial kicks time after time is booed and insulted because he left for bigger money to the enemy yet Reche who was responsible for messing up a play that could have had us headed to a super bowl should be applauded?

Crazy to me!

So boo Bruschi. He cost us that game WAY more than Caldwell did.

But most people just follow the ball.