As a life-long Patriots fan, I'm amused reading this thread with everyone prognosticating but the truth of the matter is and will continue to be; it is all circumstansial. The Patriots are a team who plays week to week schemes based on their matchups. If one week they believe it a situation allows them to pound the ball with Heath Evans and Laurence Maroney getting 40 carries between them, that's what they'll do. And it will be boring to watch and it will probably be in a rainy game in Foxboro vs. someone like Chicago. The whole Moss situation and attention plays well into the Pats hands. One week Moss will have 3 targets and one reception for 28 yards. The next week he will have 4 receptions for 65 yards. The next week he will have 2 receptions for 90 yards and a TD. I think he will be used as a distraction and a decoy while they continue to unload the ball to Jabar Gaffney, Wes Welker, and Ben Watson. Oh look, its Kevin Faulk. Oh look, it's Kevin Faulk again. Oh, look Maroney for 5 yards. A quick out to Caldwell. They Move the chains again. Oh, a quick off tackle from Heath Evans. Oh, now you roll the Free Safety over and guess what, it's Moss on a deep ball for 31 yards. Then Moss sits for 13 straight plays and Stallworth gets looks deep while the continue to expose the underbelly. These guys are all interchangeable parts for various attacks. There is no WR1, WR2, etc.
This is the best post in the thread. Read it. Read it again if you already read it.It gets worse for Moss's projections from here if he has indeed sharply declined physically (which honestly I think he has) and/or gets injured again.
I agree that the Patriots would do this. If Moss was a one dimensional deep threat, I would be arguing the exact same thing. And in fact, I think this is a pretty good description of how Stallworth's year will play out - I have him down for a pretty unspectacular year. The thing is, Moss is the one guy on this offense who can get deep, go over the middle, jump for balls in the end zone, and pretty much run every route on the field. The best analogy I can give is this: The Patriots love guys who can play more than one position. There was a time when Kevin Faulk was lining up as a wide receiver when they went five wide because that was the best option they had. We all know that Troy Brown played defensive back, Seymour has played fullback, and Vrabel has a couple big Superbowl TDs as a tight end. We also know that the Patriots like guys with positional flexibility like Adalius Thomas and Brandon Meriweather and Mike Vrabel. Similarly, Moss is a more complete receiver than anything the Pats have had in a while. Givens used to be their best end zone target, but he wasn't big enough to muscle it. He could do the fade route, but that's about it. Fauria was a good short yardage tight end for a year or two, but that's not really Watson's game. Brown and Branch are quick, good route runners, with good hands, but they don't really have the deep speed. Kind of like Welker. Patten had decent speed, but it was hardly world class, and he was average or below at everything else. Stallworth is better than Patten, but he gets nicked up a lot, and he hasn't been on the field much yet. Faulk is quick, but not very fast, and he is getting older. Caldwell isn't the most reliable receiver. Moss, on the other hand, can run good routes. He's faster than anyone on the team except maybe Stallworth. He accelerates better than anyone except maybe Stallworth. He can catch the underneath stuff. He can catch the sideline pass. He can jump for the ball. And he is one of the best goal line wide receivers in the league. The Pats love him for the exact reason that the above post ignores - they believe they can use him on any kind of route, in any kind of situation. That's why he will be the #1.
