to those who watched the superbowl........how can you not want to add some WRs after watching that final drive.
god I want Lloyd on this team
What makes you think that Belichick does not want to address/upgrade a position of need, Aurakilla?
What I saw on that final drive was our most important weapon hobbled to the point where he was completely ineffective. What I saw on that final drive were 2 dropped passes right in the hands of Hernandez and Branch. What I saw on that final drive was a bullsh!t 10 second run-off penalty by the Giants on purpose, taking the clock down from :19 seconds, all the way to :09 seconds. What I saw on that final drive was a Brady pass that was pretty close to being caught off of Gronkowski's hands. And remember, if it hadn't been for the early safety, there's a good shot that Gostkowski may get an attempt at a winning/tying FG off, since it would have only been a 2 or 3 pt game. (NYG would have not gone for 2 pt conversion at the end)
Yes, I get what you're saying. They need someone to open up the underneath routes and make more plays outside the numbers than Branch did. But there's only so many balls to go around. Welker, Gronkowski, and Hernandez are always going to be our top 3 targets while here and healthy. I think that there are several ways that we can upgrade the position (that was one of the most potent in the NFL in many yrs):
1. There will be plenty of cuts coming down from teams who want to shave off cap space. There will certainly be some quality players in there. There is even a likelihood of someone like Gaffney becoming available, amongst many others.
2. A high pick in the draft. Speedy, young, and a big target. Choose your favorite weapon in this case. They will come cheap, hungry, and ready to learn.
3. An entire offseason, mini's and a full TC from Chad Johnson. We all know that he still has talent, that is undisputed. What he did not have was a firm grasp of the playbook. There is a possibility that
Johnson can improve enough to take up 30 catches.
4. (And maybe most importantly) Shane Vereen and the re-emergence of the RB catching some screens and flat passes. He was brought here for a reason, and to think that he too, cannot catch about 25-30 passes throughout the yr is short sighted. Look back to the 2006 and 2007 years when we used this more, particularly under Josh McDaniels.
5. If none of these are deemed as good enough from the HC and front office when the summer rolls around, there is always, always, always the possibility of a trade. We may even see one on or before draft day. Remember that we acquired BOTH Welker and Moss via trade in the 2007 off season.
A little production from Vereen alone + another 10-15 catches from Johnson and we're already talking about another 40-50 more catches.
I want a downfield threat too dude, believe me...we all do. But just remember, there's always multiple options at doing things. It's not always just a one trick fix like many of the fans think. With some different variables in the play calling, and possibly a better defense, we can easily shave off a loss or two and make the same kind of deep run.
Belichick does everything for a reason. He reads all the articles, he knows about the chatter. There's a method to the madness.
As Pats fans, draft day and the FA signings are pretty boring and uneventful for us. The rest of the NFL takes the glory with those days. But come December, we're always right there looking at a playoff berth. You'll get an improvement at WR over Deion Branch next yr, at least in some ways--maybe not in the stats, but in the ability to stretch the field more. You may not get Lloyd, and you may not get the WR in the way that you 'want' to, but you'll see some kind of change and addition.
