"Ocho" wasn't poor this season at all.
IMHO, he was brought in to work outside the numbers along with Branch, primarily because, in 2010, Branch was the only guy who could work the sideline routes consistently well (short and intermediate, as well as - occasionally - deep). Welker worked the edges every so often, but Ahern and Gronk really hadn't yet developed any consistency on those routes. That wasn't enough against the Jets in the playoff game because they were able to keep Branch in check, AND (as few defenses could) flood the middle of the field with able defenders while simultaneously getting decent push from 3-4 rushers.
Sure, it took a while in the beginning for "Ocho" to "learn the system/synch-up with Brady. Not at all unexpected (or shouldn't have been). Of the three dozen or so WRs that BB has acquired during his tenure with the Pats, only 9 produced more yardage in their first year with the Pats than Ocho did (Gaffney produced about half as much). By the time Ocho "caught on" (which was much earlier, IMHO, than most folks seem to think), his role - working the edges and occasionally deep (his targets, caught or not, actually averaged several yards deeper than anyone else on the team) - and the unparalleled success of the Welker/Gronk/Ahern attack over the middle both conspired against him. His role in the passing attack, gradually diminished in importance as did Branch's role, eventually.
Both guys were still getting open often enough outside the numbers, but the ball just wasn't going there very often (as it wasn't to Woody when he got open for dump-offs in the flat). And, why would it? There were three guys out there all creating mismatches in coverage and all catching better than 70% of whatever came their way.
But both Branch and Ocho got in some pretty good blocks when they weren't being targeted that helped Welker, Gronk and Ahern accumulate YAC. They totaled 1907 YAC - just the three of them - out of 5295 total passing yards, and all three were in the TOP 9 in the NFL in YAC. For perspective, the Saints had three guys in the top 17 in YAC (totaled some 300 fewer yds) and two of them were RBs. The Chargers were the only other team with more than one pass catcher in the top 20 in YAC.
That said, I'm not at all sure that what transpired with the passing attack and the offensive scheme this season - in terms of play-design, personnel/play-package sets, Brady's read progressions and cheking out of (or into) running plays - has any bearing whatsoever on what we'll see in 2012. It depends on where BB, Brady and Josh want to take it (and, to some extent, of their projections for the development of Ridley and Vereen WRT catching out of the backfield as well as running). It could very well turn out that the 2012 scheme will include a greater emphasis on running and/or short-intermediate sideline routes. If the latter, the Pats could do much worse than Branch and Ocho for that job, though Reggie Wayne might fit well as a replacement for one or the other of them and might be slightly more of a deep threat.
However, these guys ARE all older and without any long term upside. Branch turns 33 in July; Ocho turned 34 in early January, Wayne will turn 35 by mid-season 2012. Even Brandon Lloyd will turn 31 in July (actually just two months later than Welker). I can't imagine that the Pats brain trust would pass on any reasonable opportunity to at least try to add some youth with development potential on draft day - someone to understudy the masters of the outside game while they can still play at all.
So, anyway, in terms of pass-catchers next season, I think we'll see:
Welker
Gronk/Hernandez
at least one, maybe two veteran sideline guys (Branch, Ocho, a "new" UFA), possibly pirating some targets from the three above
at least one rookie draftee (perhaps the bigger guy many have been lobbying for) with an outside possibility of a guy promoted from the PS
Woody/Ridley/Vereen possibly seeing more play in the passing attack
Edelman (nominally, since he's really a utility player more than a WR)
That would make 5-6 guys as "real WRs" (plus Edelman and Slater, laughably, still officially listed at WR), plus two TEs, with Hernandez possibly continuing in his H-back role, thus making him also the #4/#5 RB.
