I actually like Gaffney, and would like to have him back, if anything for some continuity in the offense.
I thought Stallworth was the more talented receiver, and wondered why he wasn't on the field more, but if the rumors about his not fully understanding the offense/routes NE employs are true, then I can fully understand the playing time NE gave him down the stretch. I do question that rumor though, since the Eagles and other people from the NFL have said his ability to pick up a new playbook was outstanding, and he spent a large portion of his early time in NE studying his playbook. Also, Route running is supposed to be one of Stallworth's strengths, and he's a quick twitch athlete with very good agility. I also thought that Stallworth got open more often than some of us might realize, since Welker or Moss were also open on the same play, and Brady almost developed some type of favoritism with Moss toward the end of the season (tried going to him when he was covered a few different times even though Stallworth was wide open). It would be hard not to favor a WR of Randy's ability though.
One of the things I've come to believe is that it was more of Randy Moss taking snaps away from Stallworth, then Gaffney taking them away. Stallworth is more similar to Randy in terms of playing style, and receiver type, then he is to Gaffney. I think the Patriots had two field stretchers with speed, and they wanted to keep Moss on the field almost all the time (he played a ridiculous amount of snaps), while they also wanted to have an edge possession receiver (Gaffney) on the field for portions of the game. This is why I was actually really hoping they would bring Stallworth back as security against Moss leaving. Because, I thought he would perform better in the offense if given another year to adjust, and more snaps to show what he could do.
My personal opinion is that Gaffney's a decent 2/3a WR, and fits in well if there are better receivers to take coverage away from him, and he shouldn't be expected to stretch the field for you. Obviously, it would be nice if the Patriots could retain both Randy Moss and Gaffney, but I see Gaffney as less important if they can simply retain Moss. Part of the reason for that thinking is I believe Chad Jackson can still develop into a very good WR, and I think he has some possession WR ability (he played out of the slot his final year at Florida, catching 88 passes), to go along with his field stretching ability. I also think NE could sign someone like Marty Booker to replace Gaffney, and it doesn't seem like Booker would cost very much, but who knows with this market.
I'm just curious, but realistically what do you think is a reasonable price for Gaffney?
