The consensus complaint is that the squad lacked leadership. Others say defense and depth did them in. Joey Galloway thinks it had to do with his former role: the third receiver.
Galloway didn't pan out to be the veteran role player the Pats were hoping for, which upset both the fans and franchise. Apparently, the feeling was mutual.
"It just wasn't a good fit," Galloway said on ESPN Radio's Scott Van Pelt Show. "I had a different idea of what I was going there to do. I thought that I was going there to be the third receiver. I thought I was going there to help them stretch the field to go vertical, and once I got there, that just wasn't the case. The third receiver in New England doesn't play a large role in much of the offense, and that's in practice, that's on game day."
Judging by the stats, Galloway seems to be spot on despite his brief stint in New England. In just three games, he caught seven passes for 67 yards and failed to find paydirt before being released in mid-October. But he wasn't the only wideout being ignored.
Sam Aiken slid in as Brady's third target for the majority of the season but ended with just 20 receptions in 16 games. Rookie Julian Edelman ended with 37 catches for 359 yards and is likely to take over as the third receiver next season, assuming Wes Welker bounces bounce back from his season-ending knee injury.
Welker, the NFL's leader in receptions, and Randy Moss combined for 206 grabs, which translates to 53 percent of the teams' 390 receptions this season. Ben Watson, a tight end, finished with 29 grabs for 404 yards, the third-most on the squad. Running backs Kevin Faulk (37 grabs) and Sammy Morris (19 catches) also played a role in the passing attack.
Despite this balanced attack, no defined third receiver emerged. According to Galloway, none were expected or given the chance to.
"There is no page for the third receiver," he added. "We would go a week through practice. There would be one, maybe two balls thrown to the third guy. It just wasn't a good fit for what I thought I was going there to do."
