Nice article, Ian, I'm surprised no-one else has commented. Plenty of reaction to the trade on other threads but this is the first article/thread with any analysis of what it means other than replacing Moss.
Sad as it was to watch Moss depart, I think this is the best option for the Patriots going forward. The thought of V.Jackson trade was very unappealing (high trade cost, high salary cap hit, low contribution at just over half a season without injuries, and one strike from being suspended for a year).
I agree that we should not expect Deion to be back as #1 or to even play at the same speed and level of production as he did before. But he is a playmaker and he does command attention from the opposing defense. Even in the past he needed Givens, Grahmbo and Watson to be effective. Now he has Welker, Hernandez and Gronk - AND Crumpler, Edelman and Tate. Maybe the running game is not quite at the same level as Dillon but BJGE/Morris/healthyTaylor is not bad. So if we are returning to TB throwing to the open receiver this a nice array of weapons which will make it much harder to scheme against.
If Branch can accept the musketeer role (one for all and all for Tom) and make everyone else productive then that 4th round pick is well worth it).
I can only think that Tom is delighted as this is an offense he knows and thrives in (even if it does take Branch 3 or 4 weeks to get up to speed). I cant wait for the return game with the Jets as he should be well integrated into the offense by then.
