PaulinMyrBch said:
Brady had 1000 more passing yards and nearly 90 more completions than Cam in 13. Lafell is a guy that has been a solid performer in an offense that isn't focused on pass first. I think we've got a reasonable expectation of some upside to his numbers. But my guess, based on the fact that he's been playing the slot despite his height, is that the Pats like what they see on tape, realize he's been utilized in an odd way, and feel he translates to a much better player in our system.
I think this is more or less accurate. I alluded to it in an earlier post when LaFell was in for a visit, but the Panthers didn't really use him properly last season. He was more of a big play guy in 2012-13, averaging over 16 yards a catch between those two seasons. For whatever reason, they decided to use him mostly as a slot receiver last season and gave his old role to Ted Ginn. I'll tell you right now the Pats aren't going to be putting him in the slot 60+% of the time. That he can play in the slot is nice, and I'm sure they'll put him there at times to give defenses a different look and maybe use him on some gadget plays (the Panthers ran him on a few end-around/reverses and even had him attempt a pass once), but he's a guy you want to put on the outside and try to get chunks of yards with. You can get away with a below average catch rate if you're averaging 15+ yards a catch. That he was willing to play essentially out of position for "the good of the team" (which is dubious, but whatever; he did what was asked) was probably something the Pats liked about him.
If LaFell is catching 60+ balls for the Pats, then something bad probably happened to one of the other receiving targets. But he's a guy who can be reasonably expected to catch somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-50 balls and do some damage with them, assuming he can learn the offense and get on the same page as Brady.
Frankly, I'd rather LaFell than Steve Smith, whom many here seemed pissed about missing out on. Smith is a PITA, which was fine when he was putting up Pro Bowl numbers. But as soon as it became obvious his skills were declining, the Panthers wasted no time jettisoning him. His, shall we say, loquaciousness on the sideline, in the locker room, and to the media wouldn't have played well with the Pats. Brady would've wanted to kill him by week 6. If Welker felt stifled by the Patriots Way
TM I can't even imagine what Smith would've been like. It would've been Ochocinco all over again, only uglier.