Topic: A recent article on Troy Brown

[MuTrackster]

Stats don't tell story
By Kevin Mannix
Milford News
Sunday, March 13, 2005

The numbers tell the story of why Tim Dwight is the newest Patriot and why Troy Brown's days in New England are probably over. Nothing is definite and the Pats could bring Brown back and have him compete for a roster spot next season. But right now, Dwight is in and Brown is out.
 
     Here's why: After a series of re-negotiations, Brown was scheduled to make $5 million this year - $2.5 million in a roster bonus and another $2.5 million in base salary. He wasn't going to get that, not coming off the season he had.
 
     People were caught up in the fact that Brown worked as a defensive back as well as a receiver and a punt returner. It was a great story. Who better to be a two-way player than Troy Brown, the ultimate football player?
 
     But NFL players are paid on production and Troy didn't produce as he had in the past. He had three interceptions and 17 tackles on defense. He also finished the regular season with only 17 receptions. The team ran 1,078 offensive plays. Troy Brown was on the field for only 223 of them, 21 percent.
 
     By the end of the season he was the fourth wide receiver and fifth defensive back. Nobody in those spots on the depth chart is going to be paid $5 million the next season.
 
     But this is Troy Brown we're talking about here. He's always been to the offense what Tedy Bruschi has been to the defense, epitomizing the spirit of being a Patriot for most of his 12 years on the team. He came here as an eighth-round draft pick in 1993 and for much of that time - particularly recently when the team became a champion - Brown made the big plays in big moments of big games. He had that key reception against the Giants to guarantee the Pats home field in the 1996 playoffs. He had the critical catch in the 2001 victory over the Jets that made the playoff run possible. He returned a punt for a touchdown in Pittsburgh in the 2001 playoffs and and recovered a blocked field goal in the same game. He made that big reception at the end of the Super Bowl victory over the Rams.
 
     He also had countless 8-yard receptions on third-and-7, finding holes in coverages and then picking up the extra yardage.
 
     Bottom line: You can't measure Troy Brown's contributions on numbers alone. You have to look at when he made those plays and what they meant to the team to fully appreciate his value.
 
     He may not be a $5 million player. He is, however, the Patriots player. Somehow the team should have found a way to bring him back this year. Business is business but Troy Brown is Troy Brown.
 
     But since Brown's deal, like 99 percent of the contracts in the NFL, isn't guaranteed, the Pats were within their rights to pull that $5 million off the table.
 
     The right thing to do would have been to replace it with a deal Brown could have accepted. It's certainly not like he's a hard-liner when it comes to negotiations. Just the opposite, in fact. He frequently played for bargain basement prices and always gave the team top shelf performances in return. His reward: His release.