JoeSixPat said:
Really? I must have missed that. All I saw through the third quarter was a few incompletions and at least one dropped pass. I also saw Brady going off on him once for not running his route right.
There was a pass interference call that I remember on third down - you're not counting that as a reception, are you?
You're probably right but it wouldn't surprise me if Caldwell's big plays came against the third stringers as that seems to be when he really shines. Against the 1st stringers - not so good.
The first was, as you mention, the PI call on a Pass from Brady 1st-11:18. Caldwell and Brady appeared to be on exactly the same page as the pass was right to Caldwell who had turned back to get the pass. The defender was behind Caldwell and couldn't get to the ball except by going thru Caldwell for the PI. Obviously, we would have much rather Caldwell had had a chance to make the catch so we could get a data point on whether he can be depended on to make catches. But because his route was apparently spot on and he had the DB beaten, I give him credit for the 17 yard pick up and first down. Drive ended in a FG.
The second was, as you surmise, in the 4th from Cassel - 4th-10:00. I would count this as a very good catch since he was tightly covered by the DB but had beaten him to the outside. Cassel's pass got him right in stride but he did have to go up a little bit and reach for the ball, so it took a little bit extra to make a nice catch. He was also hit hard immediately and held on with no problem. It was a 15 yard pick up so not a dink-dunk pass. So even though it was 4th quarter and from Cassel, I would rate it as a very respectable catch. So that's one tiny data point as we try to figure out what he can contribute. By the way, it was 3rd and 5 from the Pat's 25 so not only did it keep the drive going but it was a critical play to keep from having to punt from deep in their own territory. Drive ended in a TD.
He had another catch from Cassel on a 3rd and 8 where he got 10 yards for a 1st down conversion. It was also a very respectable catch. Caldwell apparently ran a good stop pattern 2 yards beyond the 1st down marker. Cassel's throw was a little high - perhaps to get it over a DLman. Caldwell had to jump for the ball but I would think it was a pretty good technique because by jumping the ball came right into his hands at the numbers which would give him the best chance of a reception. As you can expect from a stop pattern, the DB hit him hard just as one foot touched back on the ground and he held on OK. Even with that 1st down at the Pat's 45, the drive ended with a Mills catch and fumble. So one more tiny data point.
He had a catch from Brady at 3rd-12:05 which was a one step drop and quick out to Caldwell just turning in place to get the ball. Brady threw it high and Caldwell had to jump and still had to take it just above his head. He came down turning his body in the air to be facing down field and immediately launched from his back foot. I thought it was a pretty decent WR technique for that kind of play. He only got 3 yards because the DB closed fast. Caldwell tried to straight-arm the DB and get some more yardage but that didn't get him anything extra. His quickness got the three yards and I think it was good to see him challenge the DB - on a play like that, any gain is strictly YAC. The drive ended in a punt.
The dropped pass you mention was a pretty bad one - 2nd-0:41. He and Brady were exactly in sync on the pattern about 10 yards downfield. The pass was a little high so he had to go up and even so the ball was still up around his head, but it looked like he just had hard hands and deflected the ball down. He was hit but not before he had already lost the ball. It was not a 'gimme', but I think you would expect a Branch to make the catch at least 9 times out of 10.
It seemed like he was in sync on routes with both Brady and Cassel except for the one you make a good observation on - 2nd-10:23. It appeared that Brady expected him to be 5 yards closer to the sideline than he was. It would be nice to know if he didn't run a canned pattern correctly or if he didn't make an adjustment to coverage like Brady would have expected. I'm sure from your posts that you are very aware of how complex the route options and adjustments are in the Pats scheme. We'll have to see if Caldwell can handle it. If he can't, Brady isn't going to be throwing toward him very much, even if he makes the roster.
Cheers
