Caldwell or Gaffney - Who would you rather have?

[tombonneau]

This is an offshoot of the Caldwell thread. The final WR spot could very well come down to Caldwell vs. Gaffney. Let's assume it does, regardless of the scenario.

If you had the final say as the Pats final WR, Caldwell or Gaffney, who would you choose and why?

Again, we will disregard all other variables and have the choice a simple Caldwell vs. Gaffney.

 

[g-fresh]

How many threads have there already been about this?

 

[pats1]

Please refer to the Caldwell thread for my thoughts regarding the situation.

(In a nutshell, Caldwell. He is consistently solid throughout the season and into the playoffs. Gaffney has one great game the entire season. And you're telling me you'd rather have Gaffney?)

 

[tombonneau]

How many threads have there already been about this?

I don't know. I poke around the board a few times a day for news, but don't hae a logfile of every post.

("Working from home" today though, hence I'm a bit more active. )

 

[spacecrime]

If you had the final say as the Pats final WR, Caldwell or Gaffney, who would you choose and why?

If I had final say, I would have them compete in pre-season and choose the guy who did the best and gave us the best chance to win.

 

[Kontradiction]

Gaffney. He didn't have a great season stats-wise, but he really came on in the playoffs.

 

[Grizzafted]

Gaffney by far. No question. He's a gem.

 

[DaBruinz]

Gaffney by far. No question. He's a gem.

Really? Gaffney is a gem? Because of a couple of good games. Out of 11.

So, because Gaffney was finally able to put together a couple of good games, he's better than Caldwell?

Very interesting...

Amazing how little someone has to do to become a GEM...

 

[Seymour93]

Gaffney didn't have all TC, preseason, and the early part of the regular season to get used to the offense. And he wasn't thrown into the #1 WR role either. He stepped up big time in the playoffs, while Caldwell choked when it counted most.

 

[Grizzafted]

Yeah, I happen to think he's a real talent for the position he's supposed to be playing. He's a number 3 or 4 reciever, but he's got great hands and he runs very precise routes. I thought that it took him until the playoffs to get really familiar with the offense, but I'd certainly rather have him in the 4 spot right now over Kelly Washington or Chad Jackson.

When I said gem, I meant he's a guy who flew under the radar, not that he's some phenomenal talent. I would rather have him on the team than Caldwell.

 

[DaBruinz]

Yes, Gaffney was great against the Jets and the Chargers posting consecutive 100 yard games, but where was he against the Colts other than catching the 1 TD pass. He had 3 receptions for 37 yards. Caldwell was only slightly better at 4 for 46.

People rag on Caldwell for having a 12.5 YPC last year, but ignore that 225 of the yards were YAC. Gaffney had a whopping 11 catches in 11 regular season games, comes up with with 21 catches in the last 3 games, and people think he's all that. Caldwell still put up 16 catches during those games and was CLUTCH against the Chargers.

Should any 1 player be expected to be CLUTCH game in and game out? Stars aren't expected to be clutch 100% of the time. Why should a receiver who was brought in to be the #2 receiver be expected to be CLUTCH all the time.

 

[DaBruinz]

Gaffney didn't have all TC, preseason, and the early part of the regular season to get used to the offense. And he wasn't thrown into the #1 WR role either. He stepped up big time in the playoffs, while Caldwell choked when it counted most.

Great selective memory there, Seymour93.

Caldwell had already stepped up when it counted most against the Chargers. Why should he have stepped up again against the Colts? OH, why didn't BRADY step up against the Colts? Brady was the one who missed a wide open Heath Evans and, instead, threw the interception in trying to get the ball to Ben Watson. Yet I don't hear ANYONE complaining about THAT.

BTW, Gaffney basically disappeared against the Colts except for the TD reception. Other than that, he didn't do squat.

 

[Nordberg]

Most 2002 mock drafts had Gaffney going in the first round when he was drafted. Some as high as #12....For what ever reason, he fell to the Texans early in the second round. Despite starting his career with an expansion team, he still put up decent numbers.

 

[Seymour93]

Great selective memory there, Seymour93.

Caldwell had already stepped up when it counted most against the Chargers. Why should he have stepped up again against the Colts? OH, why didn't BRADY step up against the Colts? Brady was the one who missed a wide open Heath Evans and, instead, threw the interception in trying to get the ball to Ben Watson. Yet I don't hear ANYONE complaining about THAT.

BTW, Gaffney basically disappeared against the Colts except for the TD reception. Other than that, he didn't do squat.

Yeah let's blame Brady instead.

I'll take Gaffney's one superb TD grab over Caldwell's two drops. In the one playoff game Caldwell stepped up for, against SD, Gaffney still outperformed him...

Against SD...

Gaffney - 10 catches, 103 yards, 1 TD
Caldwell - 7 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD

 

[pats1]

I find the results of the poll so far - that twice as many people would rather have Gaffney - to be shocking.

Can someone please remind me what Gaffney did before the Jets game? You know, something to prove he wasn't just the flavor of the month?

 

[mavfan2390]

Gaffney, because he is stronger over the middle which is what we need with Moss and Stallworth stretching the outside.

 

[pats1]

Gaffney, because he is stronger over the middle which is what we need with Moss and Stallworth stretching the outside.

What are you basing this on?

I don't have the stats in front of me, but I bet more than half of Gaffney's catches were along the sidelines.

 

[pats1]

Yeah let's blame Brady instead.

I'll take Gaffney's one superb TD grab over Caldwell's two drops. In the one playoff game Caldwell stepped up for, against SD, Gaffney still outperformed him...

Against SD...

Gaffney - 10 catches, 103 yards, 1 TD
Caldwell - 7 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD

C'mon Seymour, you're just being damn foolish now.

"I'll take Gaffney's one superb TD grab over Caldwell's two drops?"

Thank God I don't have you making personnel decisions for my company. I can assure you the decision-makers in Foxborough don't base their decisions on a play or two in a single game. They base their decisions on consistency and long-term performance, of which Caldwell dominated Gaffney in 2006.

 

[upstater1]

Caldwell by far, if you ask me. Gaffney is one of the most unnatural wide receivers I've ever seen. He does possess some athletic ability in terms of agaility, but he's not fast, and he certainly can't adjust to a long ball. I don't know why they were sending a guy long who has very limited ability to track down and catch a ball. Caldwell can do that, and he excels at the short stuff. Yes, Caldwell dropped balls, but Gaffney dropped more. I think Gaffney will be out of the league after training camp.

Although, I have to say, the last point is a very good one about Moss/Stallworth, and needing someone other than Welker and Troy to go over the middle (not Caldwell, obviously). But hey, that's what Ben Watson and Dave Thomas are for.

 

[pats1]

Gaffney didn't have all TC, preseason, and the early part of the regular season to get used to the offense. And he wasn't thrown into the #1 WR role either. He stepped up big time in the playoffs, while Caldwell choked when it counted most.

Keegs?

Keegs?

Is that you Keegs?

You can drive a truck through your argument, Seymour. You're basically saying that Gaffney had some divine revelation in the days before the Jets game, when he suddenly was able to learn the offense and become comfortable in it? Bull****. He knew the offense marginally more on January 7 than he did on December 31.