Spreading the ball around is what you do if you don't have better options. I'm saying that, had the Patriots a better option than Deion Branch, they wouldn't spread it around, as they didn't in the years before age caught up with Troy Brown. Spreading it around is what happens when you lack quality. -X-
That was because they had no one else around him. It's no coincidence that they drafted Branch, Daniel Graham and David Givens after that 2001 season.
They would have to explain it to Deion Branch. They gave him permission to seek a trade. He found a team (the Jets), that team agreed to a contract with him, and that team appears to be willing to give up quite a bit in trade to get the rights to him. The Pats cant just ignore that, and then hope to keep Deion and have him actually play for them this year. In other words, the Pats cant afford to come out of this looking like they were just jerking Deion around, because basically, their bluff has been called... they allowed him to look for a trade because they thought nobody would pay him what he wanted. Turns out a bunch of teams are. So they cant turn around and say, ok thats interesting, but guess what, were not going to trade you, and were still not going to pay you what you want.
mostly, yes...but in this case, i really believe that they had a lot of quality options....giving everyone their touches makes them a better "team" and it helps keep the d off balance
yes, and that was what i was getting at....the patriots simply had a lot of quality weapons on the outside and at te for the last few years
While not quite to the extent that the Pats have had, the Jets had something similiar for most of this decade. They didn't have the TEs that NE has, but Curtis, Richie Anderson and Sowell had some huge catch numbers.
He's definitely a cut below elite level receiver (even with the super bowl MVP) but I'd take him on the team. Deion Branch makes us playoff contenders THIS YEAR, and gives us quite a formidable WR groups. Coles/Branch/Cotchery/McCariens/Dwight
While I like Branch - he does not impact our playoff chances this year that much. Now a DT of his caliber maybe. I am glad we are exploring this option - but when push comes to shove I don't think the terms contract-wise or in terms of what we'd be required to give up makes sense. It would also take away opportunities from Cotchery. This year is a good opportunity to evaluate what he can bring to the table long term.
Discostu-Nice post I agree with you on Branch, when healthy he is a dynamic WR who is better than any one we have and I believe coupled with Coles would be a nice tandem and we also could run 3 and 4 sets with Smith that would be very dangerous. This would also make next years draft a lot more focused. It's very tough to get really good WR out of the first two rounds. This would allow us to focus on D and RB going forward. Branch may not be Johnson or Smith but he's a major upgrade and he can operate in either the WCO, spread or and be equally effective in the downfield passing game. He is also a player that comes up big in big spots and big games. We don't have to many players on our team that you can say that about right now.
