Letting Givens and Branch go - See they told you it would be no problem!!!

[zoostation]

I'm sorry folks, but it's the truth. Trading Branch away cost us a Super Bowl. I believe that in my heart of hearts and with 95% certainty.

Not sure if Branch makes the catch Caldwell did against SD to ice the game. F Branch...he'll never sniff another championship again.

 

[upstater1]

It may be your truth, but I think it was obvious the defense was the problem.

Maybe if the offense was able to do anything in the second half, anything at all, we would have won.

Look, do NOT give the offense credit for 34 points.

I seem to remember an Interception return for a pick 6 and a kickoff return inside the opponent's twenty. That's 14 points!!!

Our offense struggled mightily, and our defense was out there for huge portions of the last 40 minutes because our offense could not sustain a drive. Anyone who thinks Branch would not have made a difference in the AFCCG is really blinded by their love of this team and their can-do-no-wrong attitude.

 

[zoostation]

I seem to remember an Interception return for a pick 6 and a kickoff return inside the opponent's twenty. That's 14 points!!!

Check your math. That's only 7 points. Unless you're assuming a red-zone TD is a sure thing in the AFCCG

 

[Bella*chick]

Maybe if the offense was able to do anything in the second half, anything at all, we would have won.

Look, do NOT give the offense credit for 34 points.

I seem to remember an Interception return for a pick 6 and a kickoff return inside the opponent's twenty. That's 14 points!!!

Our offense struggled mightily, and our defense was out there for huge portions of the last 40 minutes because our offense could not sustain a drive. Anyone who thinks Branch would not have made a difference in the AFCCG is really blinded by their love of this team and their can-do-no-wrong attitude.

I really can't believe you honestly think Deion Branch would have made the difference. Neither he nor Givens was able to be the difference maker the year before. Now all of the sudden, Deion is the key?

How about if our running game had been able to do to the Colts WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO the offense may have been able to stay out there longer? Or how about Heath Evans knowing how to count to 12? The WR situation was a SMALL part of the issue.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

The way the AFCCG played out, you can pick one of any dozen things that cost us the championship. And you'd probably be right with every one of them. That game was in the balance, and one play would have won it and probably won the SB, so you can always pick any one thing and say "that cost us the championship." It's no different from losing by 2 points in a big basketball game.

For me, the thing I'll always focus on is the too many men penalty. I think it cost us a championship. And, much as I don't really like to blame injuries, if I had to pick something near the top of the list, it would be Rodney's injury, given the way the second half played out.

Heck, I think if we'd LOST the coin flip we probably would have won the AFCCG. So sure, you can throw Branch in there as a possible thing that cost us the game, but it's a long list.

 

[RayClay]

95% of Patriots backers were appauled by the loss of Givens and Branch last year,What happened with that? Well.......
We almost came within a first down of making it back to the SB and likely winning it over the NFC chump Bears,coming close with 2 scrap heap receivers that no one outside of the locker room thought would be able to carry the load that far.

Now BB and FO have the last laugh,We saved HUGE money by letting both receivers go,One had a sub-par year,The other injured and may never be the same for what I hear as Givens injury was a severe one and questions are running rampant throughout Tennessee as to whether he will ever be close to what he was up here...Looks like suckers in Tennessee and Seattle right now...BB and the FO look as if they could sell swampland in NJ to anyone right now and get away with it!.

The money that was freed up gave us the opportunity to sign Adalius and proceed with possible more goodies in FA land,Definately the draft is loaded with wideout talent so the loss of Deion and Givens looks like a steal for us right now.....No way we would have signed a all-pro LB like Adalius for this much money if it was tied up in 2 WR guys that wanted to be overpaid.

All of a sudden the talk of BB losing his touch as a HC are getting quieter by the day.....We probably won't hear a peep from anyone,at least thru the summer questioning his madness,when in fact its genius once again.

All Belichick needs to do now is run for President in 2008 as a second job,Seems smarter than those goofs who are vying right now as candidates,At least he thinks BEFORE the upcoming year approaches and plans ahead to avoid negative situations,more than I can say about any politician as of late.

That's not true.

 

[RayClay]

If one of Givens or Branch had stayed and stayed healthy, the Pats would probably have won the Super Bowl.

That doesn't mean it was a bad decision to let them go based on available information and options at the time, but this kind of crowing is excessive in the other direction.

Only if they played linebacker or safety.

 

[DaBruinz]

I'm sorry folks, but it's the truth. Trading Branch away cost us a Super Bowl. I believe that in my heart of hearts and with 95% certainty.

You can believe that all you want, but it wouldn't be reality. You can't sit there and KNOW what would have happened across an entire season with Branch on this team. Maybe things would have been different. Maybe not. But, what I can tell you is that Branch being here wouldn't have necessarily helped the defense stay off the field or have helped the defense keep the Colts from scoring.

 

[upstater1]

I really can't believe you honestly think Deion Branch would have made the difference. Neither he nor Givens was able to be the difference maker the year before. Now all of the sudden, Deion is the key?

Simple reasoning. The guy is a much better WR than Reche Caldwell, and he and Brady had a good rapport. Our offense struggled last year with the addition of Maroney, and with a healthy OL in tact. Compare it to our offense of the previous year. I'm fairly certain our offense looked worse because of our struggles at WR.

You're picking one bad game by Branch and equating him with Caldwell based on one bad game.

 

[bradtor]

I really can't believe you honestly think Deion Branch would have made the difference. Neither he nor Givens was able to be the difference maker the year before. Now all of the sudden, Deion is the key?

How about if our running game had been able to do to the Colts WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO the offense may have been able to stay out there longer? Or how about Heath Evans knowing how to count to 12? The WR situation was a SMALL part of the issue.

I don't the argument should be about whether the Pats would have won that game against Indianapolis if they'd had Deion Branch on the field. He wasn't there, and hypothetical scenarios can't be tested.

What's incontrovertible, however, is that the Patriots need to upgrade at wide receiver. There were too many occasions during the regular season and the playoffs when New England gave up coverage sacks because the receivers couldn't get separation. If they stand pat, it will be worse next season, with Troy Brown another year older and Chad Jackson creating more questions than answers.

This is a weakness for the Pats, and they have to address it.

 

[upstater1]

You can believe that all you want, but it wouldn't be reality. You can't sit there and KNOW what would have happened across an entire season with Branch on this team. Maybe things would have been different. Maybe not. But, what I can tell you is that Branch being here wouldn't have necessarily helped the defense stay off the field or have helped the defense keep the Colts from scoring.

That's why I wrote 95% certainty. I wasn't aware that God posted on the Patriots board either.

 

[upstater1]

Check your math. That's only 7 points. Unless you're assuming a red-zone TD is a sure thing in the AFCCG

A kickoff return inside the opponent's twenty. not a sure thing, but if you can't score a TD there, you're pissed. That's just football 101. you have to capitalize when your defense and special teams puts you in position to score.

Regardless, the offense did not score 34 points for us.

 

[Bella*chick]

You can believe that all you want, but it wouldn't be reality. You can't sit there and KNOW what would have happened across an entire season with Branch on this team. Maybe things would have been different. Maybe not. But, what I can tell you is that Branch being here wouldn't have necessarily helped the defense stay off the field or have helped the defense keep the Colts from scoring.

Yes. You can say the defense was tired, out too long, whatever....by the END of the game, but after a strong first half by our guys, the defense basically let the Colts score every time they touched the ball STARTING IN THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD QUARTER. They were injured, depleted, pulling no-names out to play and they couldn't stop the Colts. The jig was up by that point.

Incredibly, though, we still had a chance to win it. But a stupid penalty ended a crucial drive. And that was all she wrote.

 

[DaBruinz]

Maybe if the offense was able to do anything in the second half, anything at all, we would have won.

Look, do NOT give the offense credit for 34 points.

I seem to remember an Interception return for a pick 6 and a kickoff return inside the opponent's twenty. That's 14 points!!!

Our offense struggled mightily, and our defense was out there for huge portions of the last 40 minutes because our offense could not sustain a drive. Anyone who thinks Branch would not have made a difference in the AFCCG is really blinded by their love of this team and their can-do-no-wrong attitude.

While the offense couldn't sustain a drive, the DEFENSE couldn't get Manning and Company off the field either.

Anyone who thinks that they can see an alternate timeline and know that everything in the season would have played out the exactly the same up until the AFCCG is delusional and has no understanding of reality.

Sorry, but with Branch on the team for the entire season, there is no telling what would have happened. The Pats could have ended up out of the play-offs. They could have ended up with home field advantage. Branch could have gotten injured and missed the entire season. You just can't know. Its IMPOSSIBLE for you to know.

 

[DaBruinz]

That's why I wrote 95% certainty. I wasn't aware that God posted on the Patriots board either.

\

You can't even say it with 95% certainty because there is no way you could know what the season would have been like.

All you can say is that you think the game would have been different, but there is really no way for you to support your theory since there is no guarantee that the entire season would have played out the way it did had Branch been on the team.

 

[Bella*chick]

Simple reasoning. The guy is a much better WR than Reche Caldwell, and he and Brady had a good rapport. Our offense struggled last year with the addition of Maroney, and with a healthy OL in tact. Compare it to our offense of the previous year. I'm fairly certain our offense looked worse because of our struggles at WR.

You're picking one bad game by Branch and equating him with Caldwell based on one bad game.

Actually, the year before I recall our running game was not very good, due to injury to Corey Dillon. So the onus fell on Brady and the passing game. Brady had an awesome year, not sure what Branch's stats were and I don't care either...because the bottom line is we finished 10-6 and didn't even make the Championship game.

So, I'm not saying Caldwell is better than Branch based on ONE game. I don't think he is better than Branch at all. Too many factors are involved. But I definitely don't think lack of Deion is the reason we lost to the Colts.