Patriots WR snapshot

The Patriots receivers are probably their biggest weakness this season. The loss of Stallworth is going to force them to run the ball more. They should try to package up some players and make a trade to get a deep threat receiver, maybe someone like Wayne Chrebet or Brad Smith.

There Biggest weakness? I think your forgetting that we have Randy Moss and Welker. You don't have to be an all pro receiver to get open with the attention those guys are going to draw.

RE: The Patriots receivers are probably their biggest weakness this season - Are you crazy? Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, Ben Watson, Kevin Faulk are all consistently effective, the first 2 and Faulk excessively so. You are worrying about the 4,5, and maybe 6th slot? Come on....this receiving corp is as talented as they come, and maybe the best in the league. Randy IS their deep threat, Welker keeps the LBs honest and opens up the whole backfield. Jackie, you need to do some rethinking.

Randy Moss and Wes Welker are the team's biggest weakness? You are joking, right? Last season, Moss was the best deep threat in the game, and Welker was the best slot guy. 210 catches between those two guys alone. Granted, Stalworth is good too, but this group is far too good as a whole to be any sort of weakness, even if Jackson gets injured again.

Wayne Chrebet? Seriously?

Wayne Chrebet a "deep threat receiver". You are joking?

The Pats have Moss, Welker and Gafney so receiver is still a strength and they can always fill the last opening, which is fourth receiver assuming Gaffney is third, with a veteran. Some decent ones are always available in the preseason when the cuts come. If the Pats find someone better than Gaffney- who is pretty good- or Jackson finally step up- then great.

I wouldn't necessarily say WR is their biggest weakness. I would say it more so with the offensive line, which could play a huge factor into whether or not Brady can get the ball out of the pocket in time.

With a blueprint of sorts now for how to attack the air game, I doubt Moss and Welker will have the kind of seasons they had last year. Should we expect the same, let alone another 16-0 regular season?

I doubt it. I would rather lose a couple games and win the last one than win every game and lose the last one.

Seriously? Their biggest weakness? Moss, Welker, Gaffney, a great receiving TE..and they will be forced to run it more? Wayne Chrebet - "deep threat" ..lol, do you even watch football?

Wow okay jackie - are you like michael J Fox and living back in the future? The patriots with out a doubt have the best wide receiving corp in the NFL. The impact of having Moss and Welker is unmatched by any team. Stallworth is very replacable. Although his yards after the catch were greatly appreciated. Stallsworth wasnt the reason the patriots did great last year. It was the combination of having Moss go deep and splitting the defense in half by having welker under. Patriots will use the same strategy as last year - Pass, Pass, Pass!!!

Jackie Ryan says what?

Isn't Randy Moss our deep threat receiver? With Watson/Faulk being more receiver-types than TE/RB-types, I'm not sold that NE will be forced to run that much more than last season. And how is our CB (Gay, Hobbs, Merriweather) and S (Harrison, Sanders, Andrews, Wilson, Ventrone, Mitchell) situations not our biggest weakness?

Wow. That comment is ridiculous. Randy Moss and Wes Welker will have close to duplicate performances of last year regardless of who are the 3rd and 4th receivers . Remember that we haven't seen the best of Ben Watson yet either.

Wayne Chrebet or Brad Smith? Wayne Chrebet is at best a slot receiver and Brad Smith is a poor mans Kordell Stewart...neither are deep threats. Also, how often are trades made in the NFL, especially within the division? You must be a Jets fan.

Jackie Ryan -- Given that your solution is to trade for a player that retired two years ago (Chrebet), I'm taking your comments with a grain of salt. That said...

I don't see how the receivers could possibly be the Pats' "biggest weakness." Yes, the loss of Stallworth hurts, but not as much as you might think. Despite playing 60% of the snaps, his production was much lower than many had expected (possibly/probably a result of Moss and Welker both putting in career years).

Jackson has the chance to be the deep threat that some envisioned Stallworth to be, but don't forget that Moss wasn't too shabby going deep last year, himself (at least, until he started to run out of gas late in the year). What the Pats need most is someone who can run intermediate routes to counterbalance Welker's short patterns and Moss's deep threat and post routes; it doesn't necessarily require a burner.

The Pats are far weaker at the secondary (currently a hodgepodge of newly-acquired veterans and mostly inexperienced young players) and linebacker (a year older and a year slower, without Colvin or Seau... and I wouldn't expect too much out of Mayo as a rookie, given the Pats' notoriously complicated schemes).

Finally, something tells me a trade with the Jets for Brad Smith is SLIGHTLY unlikely...

i completely disagree. Gaffney is without doubt a solid WR, not to mention Jackson can fill the role that Stallworth played. if anything is a weakness, it is the CB situation.

Really which team did you watch last year. Yes, Stallworth made some plays but he was replaced in production by Jabar Gaffney by seasons end. His big play threat will be missed but to say that it's their biggest weakness is taking his role way to far. There are other areas that have doubt. The secondary for one....maybe the age and unproven ability of the linebacking core. Plus you make it sound like running the ball more is a bad thing. Not only will it help with assault of blitz packages that brady will face. But with Morris coming back they should have one of the better running attacks in the AFC. Maroney showed what he could do rushing for 100 yards in 4 of his last 6 games. That along with the fact that this is the first time he is healthy and able to go through a full workout program. I am expecting 1300-1500 yards from him this year.

I totally agree. Plus they should deal Maroney and ride the Sammy Morris train. On another topic, does anyone else agree that they should serve latte's on the sideline instead of gatorade? It would give the guys more energy, therefore a better product on the field, and it would add some class to the NFL. And whats wrong with a little class? Nothing I say, nothing.

Jackie,

I hope you are kidding. Stallworth fell to the 4th receiver spot when Gaffney steped up.
I'm not sure what you mean by "trade to get a deep receiver threat" Last time I checked Randy Moss is a pretty good deep threat. You are aware that he caught 23 TD passes last year? Wayne Chrebet (slot receiver) Brad Smith (who?) are you serious? And I don't think that the absence of Stallworth is going to force them to run the ball.

If Randy Moss and Wes Welker perform this coming season anywhere close to how they did last year, questions at wide receiver will be the least of the patriots' concerns. Running game is a bigger question mark, I feel like they missed the absence of a bigger RB like Dillon or Morris. Hopefully Morris can return from his injury and fill that void. Although with a 16-0 regular season record, there's not much to question!

^^^What?? Are you joking? A WEAKNESS? They've got arguable the strongest receiving core the in game. We've got one the best #1 receivers in Moss, a phenomenal slot/ #2 option in Welker, and a very solid #3 in Gaffney, and a very athletic, fast #4 in Jackson......to call this part of the team a "weakness" is just ludicrous....If our team does have a "weakness" is in the secondary....but even there, we're still better than a lot of teams. We've got some unproven talent, but, like all other areas of the team, all of our players (especially the young "unproven" ones) have tremendous upside (Wheatley, Meriweather, Mayo, etc.)......I think this season we'll see our offense perform among the best in the league. It'll be hard to duplicate the inflated numbers that we produced last year, but, provided that we don't hit the injury bug, we should have another great year

jackie. are you serious?

the probably #1 receiver in the game, and probably the best 1-2 punch ever is a weakeness? how is moss not a deep threat? im confused. chad jackson, lets pray he doesn't get hurt could contribute pretty well as a deep threat also.

and even without him, we got moss and welker and jabar gaffney who is consistent as a 3rd wide.

i'm sorry, but i look to this group as a strength.

It would be nice to see some consistency from Chad Jackson. Last year there wasn't room for him on the field, but this year there should be ample opportunity.

I'm not too sure I can agree with the first comment posted. Is there any team in the league that has an obviously better group of receivers than the Pats? Yes Stallworth was good and it would be nice to have him again this year. That being said, Gaffney was more involved than Stallworth in the second half of the season and that means the top three guys are coming back on the top passing team in the league. Most teams would be thrilled with that situation.

The reality of a salary cap league is that there's always going to be roster turnover. If an offense goes out and sets a scoring record and the biggest offseason loss is the #3 or #4 receiver, I'm pretty sure they'll still look really good this year. (Kyle Brady's blocking might be missed more than Stallworth's receptions. Brady was like an extra offensive lineman, 46 catches is probably easier to replace)

On top of all that, the Pats attempted over 130 more passes than rushes last year (about 56.5% pass plays) so a little more balance to the offense wouldn't be terrible anyway.

Are you kidding me? Wayne Chrebet? LOL How much football have you seen in the last 2 years?

Umm Jackie Ryan - are you absolutely serious??? We have Randy Moss and Wes Welker...and you think losing Stallworth makes them have to run the ball more? That has to be the most foolish and uninformed comment i have ever read.

laughable.

Then (catching breath here - mid laughter) you want to package up players and get Wayne Chrebet? Woo! (knee slapping) You could package up some donuts and get Chrebet! or Geritol....

This is a put on, right?

Any "weakness" due to the loss of Stallworth will hopefuly be balanced by more emphasis on running the ball, if Morris and Maroney are healthy.

Jackie,

OMGWTFBBQ ARE YOU JOKING? THAT IS LAUGHABLE.

I AM SERIOUSLY SCOFFING RIGHT NOW.

Am I the only one who thinks that the first comment from Jackie Ryan was actually just sarcasm? He was JOKING, folks!

Boy you can spot a Jet fan a mile away.....nice work Jackie the jet fan.

I'm serious.

Like Chrebet during his past career, I think Jackie Ryan took too many shots to the head. The guy has been out of football since he got clocked in 2005, eventhough he didn't officially retire until 2006, and he's been suffering post concussion syndrome and regularly forgets where he is and what he's doing.

Hey Jackie, is there any truth to the rumor that the Pats solution at LB is to sign Ted Johnson? I hear he's available too

You people who all posted in response to Jackie just don't get it. When someone says something so absurd and then you see many many posts about it, wouldn't at some point you say to yourself, Wow, too many posts about this Jackie and not enough about the actual topic. You people get so sidetracked.

tremendousupside doesn't get sidetracked though!

How many teams in the league have a 1-2 punch like we do??? also do we all remember the success Brady had throwing to a guy named givens (no longer in the league) and Branch (no longer a factor in the league)

hell just sign up Jackie boy Ryan and Brady will make him look like an all pro

WITH THE LOSS OF ASANTE THEY DONT HAVE A "SHUT DOWN" CORNER, AND THE LINE BACKERS AND RODNEY ARE YET ANOTHER YEAR OLDER SO I WOULD GIVE THE WEAKEST LINK TO THE D. THEYLL BE FINE WITHOUT DANTE, HE PLAYED A LOT OF DOWNS BUT THEY CAN FIND SOMEONE WITH A SMALLER PAYCHECK TO BLOCK WHILE RANDY GOES DEEP, THEY HARDLY USED HIM TO HIS POTENTIAL, SO WITH THE ROLL HE WAS PLAYING, JAB OR SAM COULD FILL IN JUST FINE

JETS FANS OPINIONS ARE VIOD, THEY HAVE A LAPS IN JUDGMENT, THATS WHY THEY LIKE THE JETS

Come on Guys "Jackie" MacMullan Bob "Ryan"

Im sure this guy is not serious. It is funny how many people responded to it

Kelly Washington is good...needs more playing time. I see him playing WR4. I see Moss and Welker picking up where they left off last year. By the way, earth to Boston, that first guy was using sarcasm...C'mon bigcat, you're better than that.

The WR position is fine - as long as they can protect Brady, he'll get the ball to them. On offense, I'd be more worried about fielding a solid offensive line next season. On defense, an adequate secondary and more speed at the linebacker position should do the trick.

Yeah, Moss and Welker are overrated, and Jason Graf: I love your latte idea, but have you considered that Chrebet might be lactose intolerant. If you replace lattes with espresso, and Moss for Chrebet, I'm on board, all the punch without that bloated feeling.

I'm pulling for Chad Johnson. He has shown glimpses of brilliance in the few games in which he's been healthy enough to play. From what is reported, he has been using his down time to learn the finer points of the position from Moss and Welker. If he can stay healthy, imagine D coordinators planning for him at one side, Moss at the other stretching the field, Welker in the slot, Watson at TE, Marroney out of the backfield -- and TB picking 'em apart. And McDaniels is a year older and wiser. He's what, 19 now. Imagine how good he will be when he's old enough to shave. My biggest hope is that TB finds that love of the game he had during the '01 run. Last year seemed like misery to him.

Without Dante teams are going to be able to key in on Moss and Welker. No way they duplicate last years totals. With all the questions with the O-line, the pressure is really going to be on.

CJ Jones will make this team. I've seen him and trust me, he's on par with Washington and Jackson. He could be Jackie's deep threat if he stays healthy.

The chrebet comment shows that the poster has a sense of humor, and Does know football well enough to pull our strings! Good job!

Now Moss and Welker are a great tandem, and Gafney is a good 3rd or 4th receiver.

I'll tell you what....don't underrate the 4th or 5th receiver on a team. Sometimes they make the big catch....and sometimes the opponents don't cover those guys with anybody decent.

Again. don't underrate those "as yet unnamed" patriots receivers.

As far as Chad Jackson, well chad jackson equals tony simmons so far. In fact, tony simmons did alot more!

But we'll give chad a few more games to show us if he has anything. Just a few more games, though. Like 3 or 4 games.

Thank you post 34 for having a brain...

Bloggers, the dude who posted first is a joke; in the qb rundown he suggested bringing back michael bishop. Laugh and move on.

I just logged on and read the first comment posted by Jackie Ryan on July 16th at 12:36 pm. I am stunned. I have that Pete Caroll look on the sidelines when he coached the Pats... that incredulous job-dropping look. Pat recievers a weakness??? One of us must be really, really high.

Mark

Here are the facts:
1. Last year's receiving corps was one of the strongest in the league. Certainly an arguement can be made that they were the best group in the league last year.
2. Stallworth was used less and less late in the year because Jabbar Gaffney played so well and so saw more playing time. One could argue here that Gaffney outplayed Stallworth down the stretch.
3. Of the top 4 receivers the only one lost was Stallworth; the one whose use had become most reduced.
4. Chad Jackson has had one more year of learning and development. If he is going to become a player he is best prepared now.

Conclusion based on the facts: Losing Stallworth for a possibly improved Chad Jackson must be viewed as a loss. The depth is reduced. The quality remains; this is one of the best groups in the league.