New England WR Depth chart....

[slimshim]

The Huddle lists David Givens as #1 on the depth chart in front of Deion Branch who's listed at 2.

 

Is this the case? What can be expected from Givens this year??

 

Slim

[charty]

This is a good article from the Boston Herald about the WR situation.

It will be interesting to see who is kept and who is cut.

Terrell hasn't helped himself, and Dwight has.

 

Which end is up: Pats receivers stay in roster battle

By Michael Felger

Sunday, August 28, 2005 - Updated: 11:46 AM EST

 

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Does David Terrell get it? Can P.K. Sam step up? Will Andre Davis fit in? What does Troy Brown have left? Can Deion Branch take the pounding? Can Tim Dwight stay healthy? Will Bethel Johnson snap out of it?

 

     How can the Patriots have so many receivers and still have so many questions?

 

     Unfortunately, that's the reality as the Pats wind down to the regular-season opener Sept. 8 against Oakland. For the most part, the above questions have yet to be answered. For now, here's what we know:

 

      Branch isn't hurt. Just the opposite. He's been one of the best players at training camp. The reigning Super Bowl MVP looks stronger than he ever has in his chest and arms, and his quickness remains top-end. If he's dropped a ball at practice, no one has seen it.

 

     The diminutive Branch has missed 11 games over his three-year career, and the Pats apparently aren't interested in subjecting their No. 1 receiver to needless pounding. Neither Belichick nor Branch will admit it, but there's no other conclusion to reach. It's possible that Branch won't play a down in the preseason, but he'll be ready to line up opposite No. 2 David Givens against the Raiders.

 

     Givens, by the way, has had a healthy and productive camp. He'll also be ready for the opener. And while Brown is clearly no longer at his 2000-2002 peak, he can still be a valuable guy in the possession game, especially over the middle. He has to stay.

 

      Terrell isn't exactly carrying himself like a man who understands his tenuous position. The former No. 8 overall pick (Chicago, 2001) saw his first action against the Packers but did nothing to distinguish himself against second- and third-stringers. He didn't have a catch and dropped a deep ball after running himself out of bounds. Oddly, Terrell was pleased afterward.

 

     ``(The roster competition) doesn't affect me,'' Terrell said. ``I'm going to go out and whatever my job is to do, that's what I'm going to do. And I'm going to have fun doing it, too. I had a lot of fun today being my first game back, first game of the preseason. I enjoyed it. I was excited.''

 

     Terrell's leg ``tightened up'' early in camp and he missed the first two games. Either Terrell isn't back to 100 percent, or the way he moves now (slowly) is a bad sign. The acquisition of the speedy Davis could be another bad omen.

 

     ``It's one of those things where I went down and coach had to do what he had to do,'' Terrell said. ``It doesn't really concern me who we bring in, who we let go. As long as I go out and continue to do before I got hurt. Like I said, it's my first preseason game and I think I played well. . . . Any time you have an injury and you can't go out there and compete, you can't go out and showcase yourself.

 

     ``But stuff happens, and there's nothing I can do about it.''

 

     Davis, meanwhile, has drawn rave reviews for his intelligence. But he had no catches Friday and certainly didn't look in the flow of the offense.

 

      Sam made a few plays against the Packers and at least took a step in the right direction. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Sam is as big as Terrell and much quicker, although he's had trouble staying on the field. Time will tell whether he can build on the performance.

 

      Considered No. 7 on the depth chart when camp started, Dwight had another solid effort against the Pack (two catches, 23 yards; two punt returns, 21 yards).

 

     Johnson is still on the physically unable to perform list, which would preserve a roster spot for at least the first six weeks of the season, so there's room for a veteran returner.

 

So to answer your original question, Givens should have a strong year, but with the way the Pats spread the ball around to WR's and TEs, I would say the Huddle's prediction of 880 yds and 4 TDs is about right. Although he could end up with 3 or 4 more TDs.

Edited August 30, 2005 by charty

[Chavez]

I agree with charty - NE's multiple offense seems to end up with 3 or 4 WRs in the 40-60 catch range, with varying degrees of yardage and tds - but I wouldn't project any of them over 1000 yds or in the area of 10 tds.

 

Best to be avoided, IMO.