"What people remember you by is what you do in your last game, and that was the last game that I played," said Caldwell, who is entering his sixth NFL season. "Good or bad, that's what they're going to remember you by. That was a big game. That game could have gotten us to the Super Bowl."
Caldwell, 28, is as eager as anyone for the start of training camp tomorrow. He is ready to prove he's not some sort of gridiron answer to Bill Buckner, and to fight for a job in the Patriots' crowded receiving corps.
By the time Caldwell dropped those passes the Patriots had blown an 18-point lead, and he wasn't on defense when Joseph Addai cruised into the end zone for the winning touchdown. Still, Caldwell cringes, too, when he looks at the game film.
"I could see if they were tough catches, but they were so easy, both of them I was wide open," Caldwell said. "I could see if I had a guy all over me, but when you're wide open and don't make the play, that hurts the most. It hurt the team and what we could have done, and if I make those plays we'd have probably been in the Super Bowl."
It's fair to wonder if Caldwell's performance in the AFC Championship game played a part in the team's decision to load up on wideouts during the offseason, signing Donte' Stallworth and Kelley Washington, and trading for Randy Moss and Wes Welker.
"I don't even worry about that," Caldwell said. "I've just got to go out and play to the best of my ability. There are a lot of good players, Moss, Stallworth, Washington, Welker. It's going to be interesting, everybody works hard and everybody brings something to the game. We're all different receivers. We all have different roles."
But the Patriots don't have room for everybody's role. Most expect Caldwell to go from No. 1 receiver to roster fodder. He is unfazed.
