No ones' talking about Branch..... (1 Viewer)

[fatmnkypants]

Branch is clearly ahead of Ocho as the #2 Wr in NE, and is putting up great numbers.. Clearly, Brady trusts him in clutch situations.

Any thoughts on Branch going forward? Seems to me that a 1000 yd season is in the works.. solid #2WR?

 

[Zeff]

It's just a hard situation to talk about up there. Despite the record-setting numbers, nothing is normal. All the wideouts are possession guys. All the red zone targets are tight ends. The running back corps is a Swiss army knife. The only "superstar" skill player apart from Brady is a bench warmer. It's just...odd. Effective, but odd.

Branch is looking like a slam dunk play in PPR at this point. Beyond that, who the heck knows?

Looks like you can pencil in every healthy target for 5-10 receptions and divvy up the 3 or so TD's to go around.

The only two things that make me less than 100% gung ho are these...

1. With what appears to be a legendarily productive TE duo in the making, it's hard to imagine Branch with more than 5-6 TD's. But if that isn't such a big deal in your scoring system, then I don't see why he can't be a legit week-to-week producer.

2. If Ocho actually DOES, at some point, start to eat into somebody's time, it's hard to imagine it being anybody's but Branch's.

 

[David Yudkin]

Between 2010, 2011, and the playoff game in the middle, Branch has posted: 68 catches, 987 receiving yards, and 6 TD in 14 games. And that included a few games where he was dinged up in the early going.

I am unsure why people wrote him off even BEFORE he came back to the Pats. I see nothing to suggest that Branch will start losing a lot of production, even if Ocho Cinco starts to get some addition playing time.

I think a bigger issue for all NE receivers is if/when the Pats start focusing on the running game over the no huddle and air assault, then everyone's numbers should start to slip some.

 

[fatmnkypants]

Between 2010, 2011, and the playoff game in the middle, Branch has posted: 68 catches, 987 receiving yards, and 6 TD in 14 games. And that included a few games where he was dinged up in the early going.I am unsure why people wrote him off even BEFORE he came back to the Pats. I see nothing to suggest that Branch will start losing a lot of production, even if Ocho Cinco starts to get some addition playing time.I think a bigger issue for all NE receivers is if/when the Pats start focusing on the running game over the no huddle and air assault, then everyone's numbers should start to slip some.

yeah, I find it curious that I keep reading == Ocho won't really start making a dent and take over Branch's role until after the bye once Ocho gets a hang of the offense... To me that's alot of assumptions because 1. who's to say Ocho is better than Branch... if Branch is outplaying him why push Branch aside? 2. if Ocho hasn't figured it out now, who's to say he ever will?I just wonder how consistent Branch will be? Like you said- Belicheck switches up focus at will-

 

[Otis]

I don't even see Branch as WR2 in NE. He and Welker and 1 and 1a. They've got exactly the same number of catches, and Welker has just 19 more receiving yards through two games. The only difference is in TDs.

While Branch was never a huge TD guy, he'll get his. At this point, he's the only WR in the top 25 without a single TD. And yet he's still WR20. Those will come. As long as he's one of the main targets of Brady and reliably gets reception numbers, he'll be legit.

Huge value here, and pretty well overlooked by many.

 

[drfeelgood]

I am unsure why people wrote him off even BEFORE he came back to the Pats.

It probably has something to do with the fact he didn't have a good career in Seattle.

 

[David Yudkin]

I am unsure why people wrote him off even BEFORE he came back to the Pats.

It probably has something to do with the fact he didn't have a good career in Seattle.

It still seems like people are more concerned with how he did in SEA than how he's done since he came back to NE.In PPR leagues, he ranked WR13 last year (when he played in NE) and is WR15 this year so far. Considering he was a waiver wire pickup and a mid round draft pick this year, he has been $$$ fantasy wise.He is a risk of getting banged up, so that should temper enthusiasm slightly. But he is a good guy to have on your roster, no doubt.

 

[drfeelgood]

I am unsure why people wrote him off even BEFORE he came back to the Pats.

It probably has something to do with the fact he didn't have a good career in Seattle.

It still seems like people are more concerned with how he did in SEA than how he's done since he came back to NE.In PPR leagues, he ranked WR13 last year (when he played in NE) and is WR15 this year so far. Considering he was a waiver wire pickup and a mid round draft pick this year, he has been $$$ fantasy wise.He is a risk of getting banged up, so that should temper enthusiasm slightly. But he is a good guy to have on your roster, no doubt.

I don't think it seems people are more concerned with how Branch did in Seattle then how he's done since his return to NE. I don't hear anyone talk about his Seattle days. I think people at the beginning of this season were concerned about how many opportunities Branch would get in that offense with all the talent, especially when they added Chad. Didn't Chad even cost more in the subscriber contest? Now that it appears Branch will get plenty of opportunity, he will be scooped up more on the ww.

 

[Multiple Scores]

I don't talk about guys like Branch, Moss, Fred Jackson.

I just draft them and reap the rewards.

 

[Zeff]

Between 2010, 2011, and the playoff game in the middle, Branch has posted: 68 catches, 987 receiving yards, and 6 TD in 14 games. And that included a few games where he was dinged up in the early going.

I am unsure why people wrote him off even BEFORE he came back to the Pats. I see nothing to suggest that Branch will start losing a lot of production, even if Ocho Cinco starts to get some addition playing time.

I think a bigger issue for all NE receivers is if/when the Pats start focusing on the running game over the no huddle and air assault, then everyone's numbers should start to slip some.

Common sense.Brady's currently on pace for something like 8000/56. Unless you believe those are reasonable projections, everybody's receiving numbers are going to contract in a big way. If and when they do, AND if you add in the potential for another target to feed, the numbers can't help but fall significantly.

Branch's current rate of production is something like 120/1600. If the Pats regress to even somewhere around NFL record passing numbers, we're still talking about a move down to the 75/1000 range over the course of the year, which I would call "losing a lot of production." There's not a lot of reason to assume Welker's numbers are going to contract so much, because 120 receptions would put him more or less on historically accurate pace. So the dropoff has the potential to be even greater for Branch. Especially if more mouths to feed get added.

 

[karmarooster]

I'm high on branch and starting him in about 4 leagues where I have him because the defense CAN'T focus on him. Even with Hernandez out now, the defense has to worry about trying to pressure Brady, bumping Welker at the line and trying to get some over/under coverage on him, doing the same to Gronk, and oh yeah the occasional running play. Branch always gets lost in the shuffle, and the defense will never rotate double coverage his way because Brady will eat up single coverage on Welker and Gronk all day.

Branch is on his way to a quiet 80-100 reception, 1000-1200 yard season. A solid WR3 with WR2 upside in PPR. If he's still on your WW by some miracle, I would grab him. I don't see Ocho taking away his targets if both players are healthy... Ocho hasn't figured out the offense, and Branch is completely fluent. There isn't a noticeable talent difference at this stage of Ocho's career anyways.