Old Joey Galloway May Be Key to New England Offense

Much has been made about Tom Brady's apparent return to life this past week.

The media storm hit fever pitch with Brady showing up during the NCAA Lacrosse championships at Gillette stadium to throw a football around, addressing the Boston media for the first time, and giving his first in-depth interview with Peter King of SI.

Given that nearly 100 media members were credentialed for his first press conference in nearly a year, it's clear that all the focus is on him.

Where Brady goes this season, the Patriots (and media) will follow.

One of the claims he, Wes Welker, and Randy Moss have been making since returning to organized team activities is that this version of their offense has the chance to eclipse the output they had in their first year together, the record-setting 2007 season.

More than one writer has scoffed literally at the thought of them scoring another 550+ points, but if they are to have a chance, it will hinge on the abilities of more than just guys named Tom, Wes, and Randy.

Joey Galloway may be the forgotten man in this offense, with little talk about the veteran the Patriots signed this Spring.

The mere mentioning of his name around southern Massachusetts seems to produce, at best, an "Oh yeah, I forgot about him" response from most.

But with Jabar Gaffney following former offensive coordinator to Denver, Donte Stallworth and his Martian alter-ego Nicco (why has nobody ever profiled this guy?) now learning former defensive coordinator Eric Mangini's new system, and only a host of also-rans on the roster right now, Galloway's ability to produce as the third WR may be the key to this offense reaching the lofty heights of two years ago.

While Galloway is borderline-ancient by NFL standards at 37, a throwaway line in Peter King's recent column has the man still running 4.4 second 40-yard-dashes, so his speed is apparently still there.

He didn't have a great final year in Tampa Bay, injuring his foot and only playing in nine games (four starts), but he's been durable and very productive in his career, with over 10,000 receiving yards in 14 years.

He's always been a big play threat despite not really playing with many quality quarterbacks over the years, generally averaging between 16 and 19 yards per reception.

Clearly, Randy Moss is the big play threat in New England, but one of the main problems he's had to face the last two years is a lack of a complementary option downfield to keep safeties honest.

With Galloway, they have that now. If he's running 4.4 in the 40, as is reported, it will be all but impossible for any team to consistently double Moss downfield and, even if they do, they'll have to contend with Galloway.

It's certainly an interesting proposition and a typically cagey move by a New England front office that has been able to get production out of guys on the tail end of their careers.

If it works out, the Patriots will have a real shot of at least being as potent an offense as they were in 2007. It'll have to for New England because beyond Welker, Moss, and Galloway, there's little else in established talent on the roster.

Currently the depth chart is rounded out by Greg Lewis, Sam Aiken, and Matthew Slater.

Aiken is a solid special teams player but hasn't seen much action with the offense on the field in his single year in New England, ditto for Slater who also returns kicks.

Lewis has had a half-decent career so far, spending his six years in Philadelphia but only catching more than 40 balls one year. At just 28, though, he's physically still got a lot of years ahead of him.

At the very least, he'll be entertaining to read about. His Patriots.com profile says he likes internet dominoes and spades and sang the national anthem off-key at a Cubs game.

Well, you learn something every day.