2006 offense vs. 2013 offense right now: which is better?

[Ring 6]

Reche Caldwell 49 yard catch for Patriots against Chargers in 2006 AFC Playoff - YouTube

Make fun of Reche all you want, we need a WR that can make that type of downfield play in crunch time.

If you ignore the drop in the AFCCG that cost us the SB

 

[Brady6]

Wideouts:

2013: Edelman, Amendola, Dobson/KT
2006: Caldwell, Brown, Gabriel

RB's:

2013: Blount, Ridley, Vereen
2006: Dillon, Maroney, Faulk

TEs':

2013: Hoomanawanui, Mulligan
2006: Graham, Watson

QB:

2013: Brady now
2006: Brady then

Couldn't you make a strong argument that 2006's offense was better, except at the top WR position?

Personally I think the better comparison would be the 2010 offense:

2010
1. Brady
2. Welker
3. Branch
4. Gronkowski*
5. Hernandez*
6. Green-Ellis
7. Woodhead
8. Tate

2013
1. Brady
2. Edelman
3. Vereen
4. Ridley
5. Blount
6. Amendola
7. Dobson*
8. Thompkins*

Rookie*

The top 8 offensive player’s matchup favorably in my opinion. The NFL has changed way too in the past 5 years to find comfort in comparing an offense from 2006 to this year in my opinion.

 

[Kdo5]

Personally I think the better comparison would be the 2010 offense:

2010
1. Brady
2. Welker
3. Branch
4. Gronkowski*
5. Hernandez*
6. Green-Ellis
7. Woodhead
8. Tate

2013
1. Brady
2. Edelman
3. Vereen
4. Ridley
5. Blount
6. Amendola
7. Dobson*
8. Thompkins*

Rookie*

The top 8 offensive player’s matchup favorably in my opinion. The NFL has changed way too in the past 5 years to find comfort in comparing an offense from 2006 to this year in my opinion.

I disagree. Brady had a great statistical year, maybe the MVP but I don't recall. Welker/Gronk/Hernandez were all damn good and Branch had a fine season himself. Significantly better offense over the course of 2010.

 

[RIpats88]

I disagree. Brady had a great statistical year, maybe the MVP but I don't recall. Welker/Gronk/Hernandez were all damn good and Branch had a fine season himself. Significantly better offense over the course of 2010.

Gronk/Hernandez didnt have much better statistics their rookie years than Thompkins/Dobson have had...if I recall about 500 yards each..

 

[JoeSixPat]

It wasn't Caldwell's fault he was the best WR we had.

We can all agree on that.

I think the bottom line is that we now know how amazingly seriously flawed that offense was - and it (let's be clear - Brady) was nearly good enough to win the Super Bowl that season.

There's a lot of luck involved but do I think the Patriots, as they are currently constituted, could win 3 games in a row against the remaining field?

Yes. Absolutely. They're not the favorites to be sure, but they absolutely can.

 

[Deus Irae]

Gronk/Hernandez didnt have much better statistics their rookie years than Thompkins/Dobson have had...if I recall about 500 yards each..

Gronkandez: 87 receptions, 1109 yards, 16 TDs
Dobkins: 69 receptions, 975 yards, 8 TDs


Significant difference, and the issue of forcing the ball to the rookies was nowhere near as prevalent in 2010.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

Gronkandez: 87 receptions, 1109 yards, 16 TDs
Dobkins: 69 receptions, 975 yards, 8 TDs


Significant difference, and the issue of forcing the ball to the rookies was nowhere near as prevalent in 2010.

The rooks made up for Lloyd last year, Edelman cleaned up welkers production. Amendola did well under the circumstances, but it all comes back the TE's. We need Hooman to try and be a receiving threat on a consistent basis IMO.

 

[cstjohn17]

They both are pretty miserable, I give the edge to 2006 because Brady was in his prime and Koppen, Light, Neal, Faulk were proven veterans.

Dillion was done but he did have a good game against Indy in the playoffs until he decided to sit on the bench for the 2nd half.

 

[Kdo5]

Gronk/Hernandez didnt have much better statistics their rookie years than Thompkins/Dobson have had...if I recall about 500 yards each..

And a combined 16 TD. I'm sorry but I think it is grasping for straws to say that the 2013 offense was better than the 2010 offense throughout the course of the season. Sure the running game was better but it also lost 6 combined fumbles from its backs and some more from Brady. More turnovers as a whole. Brady had a tremendous regular season, in no small part due to better, more productive weapons who for the most part didn't make mistakes left and right. I think Brady had only 4 INTs in the regular season.

 

[coolguy]

If you ignore the drop in the AFCCG that cost us the SB

Wide eyes didn't cost them that game....Lack of a running game did.


Amendola and julian are better than any receiver on the 2006 patriots. I personally think amendola has been underused this season, but that's a different topic.

 

[Kdo5]

Wide eyes didn't cost them that game....Lack of a running game did.


Amendola and julian are better than any receiver on the 2006 patriots. I personally think amendola has been underused this season, but that's a different topic.

Agreed, we blew a 21-3 lead at the half. You can call Caldwell's drop a back breaker but it wasn't the reason we lost. We were choking away the game well before Caldwell dropped the ball. Something also has to be noted for a defense giving up 35 points in the second half of the biggest game of the year.

 

[Ring 6]

Wide eyes didn't cost them that game....Lack of a running game did.


Amendola and julian are better than any receiver on the 2006 patriots. I personally think amendola has been underused this season, but that's a different topic.

No one player or thing costs you a game but if he caught that easy pass we win.

 

[coolguy]

No one player or thing costs you a game but if he caught that easy pass we win.

The patriots only running for 93 yards and not managing the clock cost them that game.

 

[Ring 6]

The patriots only running for 93 yards and not managing the clock cost them that game.

If Reche Caldwell makes that catch they ran well enough and managed the clock well enough to win.
I'm not sure why you are dismissing a brutal drop that would have clinched the game because there were things they didn't do well.
Are you telling me only if they played a perfect game does dropping a pass that would have put it away matter?

 

[Ring 6]

The patriots only running for 93 yards and not managing the clock cost them that game.

By the way the RBs carried 20 times for 92 yards, which is not an inability to run

 

[brdmaverick]

Wow, what an interesting post.........

I was instinctively going to say 2013 by far but it really is closer than I thought upon further inspection.

Really causes you stop and think about how much our team has changed in a year. The tight ends is currently the one far and away advantage the 2006 team had. Who would have imagined us saying that year ago. After all, we've said repeatedly that the Gronk/Hernandez duo was probably what Belichick imagined the Graham/Watson combo to be.


Of course it's easy to overrate our current RBs after Blount's 189 yard showing, but the 06 crew were not exactly bums.

2013 still wins because it does not have Reche.

Oh man, what does it say for us if we are comparing this year's team to what many consider Brady's worst supporting cast?

 

[mosey threetupu]

I was in Indy in 2006 and the D Line ultimately cost the Pats that game IIRC. Gassed by the start of the 4th. Granted it was 90 and humid in the shade but both teams played in it.

That said I'd call the O's a wash. It really was whoever was open in 2006 got the ball. Still not there yet this year.

 

[diemer]

Sadly the outcome is likely to be the same. Peyton will knock the Pats out in the championship game again, as Tom throws another game ending INT.

 

[Deus Irae]

Sadly the outcome is likely to be the same. Peyton will knock the Pats out in the championship game again, as Tom throws another game ending INT.

How many different names are you trolling under?

 

[captain stone]

No one player or thing costs you a game but if he caught that easy pass we win.

Not true.

By the time Brady saw him, even if BugEyes catches the pass, the Clots DB had caught up
enough that a TD was unlikely...a first down, maybe.

And BTW, why was Brady under center on 1st/15? Had he been in the shotgun, he probably
sees Caldwell sooner, and then we can talk about a potential dropped TD pass. Then again,
had Brady thrown the pass sooner, then maybe BugEyes isn't in such a rush to run with it,
and he catches it cleanly as he walks into the EZ.