Free agency 2007’s biggest loser is…

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, March 20, 2007  |  Comments( 7 )

New England Patriots
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Whoa, it's been fun, it's been great, it's been a whirlwind of activity: The NFL's own version of March Madness has been the maddest free agency period in recent memory. In just over two weeks -- Has it really only been since the 2nd? -- most teams have made moves, and several have acquired starters.

Thanks to a fortuitous happenstance of last year's collective bargaining agreement, nearly every franchise went into March with money to spend. (And since the one organization unanimously believed to have a budget over the cap limit is the Washington Snyders, essentially every team can be treated as having cash to burn.) One estimate placed the San Francisco 49ers' cap space at $42.1 million, nearly half of a team's entire budget of $85.5 million in 2005.

The result was the ability for a lot of underpaid, underplayed and/or disgruntled players to get overpaid, overplayed and, um, gruntled with new teams.

For the football head, the subsequent player movement has essentially required scorecards, electronics powered by supermegaplatinum Intel inside™, and easy access to Bob Costas.

And the wheeling and dealing of the dissatisfied, the hefty of paycheck, those yearning to breathe free is yet to be over -- Hark, I hear Jeff Garcia dialing Charles Grant on the mobile: "Oh, Charles, Florida is fabulous! You'll love it here!"

This free agency season seems to be, as Mr. Snyder put it when the agreement between owners and the players that was put into place, a true "win-win" situation. The players are happy at the healthy paychecks and bonuses being doled out, the fans are happy to be rid of their squad's megalomaniac headcase, the owners and GMs are happy to be talking trades like fantasy footballers but with, like, real dudes.

Not everyone can win, however. That would be un-American.

And the loser of this year's spending free-for-all is, ironically, the guy who was among the chief beneficiaries in 2006: Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Reche Caldwell of the New England Patriots!

Following the 2005 season, Caldwell was left for dead by the San Diego Chargers after four years of little playing time, buried low on the depth chart. The guy who had never caught more than 28 passes in a season was found by Bill Belichick, polished up a bit, and installed as a top dog.

Caldwell ultimately went on lead the Patriots' higgledly-piggledly corps in overall receptions, receiving yardage and TD receptions. In terms of the media, ol' bug eyes became the poster boy for Belichick's plug-'em-in-and-play-'em system: a third-stringer whose talent could be exploited well enough to produce a nearly all-star year.

Imagine Caldwell's surprise on three March occasions as he opened his sports page to discover that the Pats had signed Donte' Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Kelley Washington. Imagine his realization that once again, he'll be looking up from the bottom of the depth chart, starting from a No. 4 or even No. 5 spot, depending on how highly esteemed Jabar Gaffney makes himself in camp.

(Do you suppose the ping-pong ball eyes popped cleanly out of his skull?)

Of course, Caldwell will get little sympathy from the New England area. Lest we forget -- though Patriots fans only wish they could, whereas Patriots detractors have no desire to ever lose one iota of the memory -- go back to the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game.

With about 8:40 left and the score 28-28, the Patriots line up. Incredibly, Caldwell, lined up on the right side, is left utterly uncovered by the Indy D. The New England sideline screams as one voice to get the ball to Caldwell. Tom Brady hurries the snap, tosses Reche an easy one and ... the Patriots' top receiver looks like a bargain-basement end as he channels Jackie Smith. The drive stalls, the Pats settle for a field goal, never seriously contend again, the Indianapolis Colts get the last laugh, and the twin myths of the continued New England dynasty and the Almighty System are shattered.

And so, Caldwell did Robert Kraft, the Patriots organization and its fan base a huge favor while doing himself a tremendous disservice. The razor man opens his wallet; the Stallworths of the world soak in the bucks, adulation, and excitement of playing for a title; and with one drop, Caldwell may have worked his way out of a job. Well, at least he gets this award.

Watching the NFL wheelin' and dealin' all year 'round at RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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CommentsComments: 7  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Evan		10:43 AM
03/20/2007
You can't blame that loss on Caldwell, lest you forget the Pats did blow a 21 point halftime lead. And who says a No. 4 reciever...
No.2
Mike W		11:02 AM
03/20/2007
The last time I looked there were 3 main parts to a team, defense, offense and special teams. I did not know that Caldwell played...
No.3
fr8ttrain		12:10 PM
03/20/2007
I wouldn't assume that Welker and Washington will displace Caldwell. Neither has done all that much in the past, and are...
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