Top five catches by Patriots players in 2006 - but which one was the best?
Patriots.com has a poll on the best catch by a Patriots player last year. You can watch the catches here (after the Wes Welker interview), then vote here. I think it’s a really close call. I rank tight-end David Thomas’s catch ever so slightly ahead of runningback Kevin Faulk’s, with the difference being that Thomas made his catch over the middle - an unpleasant place to make catches - while Faulk made his on the outside. Jabar Gaffney’s was the third best. Gaffney displayed substantial skills and awareness by staying inbounds throughout the play and then making a leaping catch in the back of the endzone without any lateral movement whatsoever. Had he had the least bit of backwards momentum his catch would probably not have been ruled complete. It was a tremendous catch. Reche Caldwell’s 62-yard catch and run for a touchdown was the longest pass play the Patriots last year. Tightend Ben Watson’s 40 yard grab was impressive and deserves its spot among the top five catches.
