"I had to let them know who I was," said a beaming Gaffney in the locker room after the team had clinched its fourth trip to the Super Bowl in seven years. "I had to introduce myself."
You would think a player who is in the midst of his sixth season in the league would not need to present his credentials, yet Gaffney's road to the Super Bowl has been a circuitous one, beginning with four relatively unfulfilling years with the Houston Texans and a brief stay in Philadelphia in which he never played a down, before he finally got a chance in New England, where the early returns last season were also somewhat tepid.
Gaffney represents a unique distinction that would have sent Dickens scrambling for his inkwell: He was a card-carrying member of the dubious Patriots receiving corps last year that endured the worst of times, as well as the current elite group, which has enjoyed the very best of times.
"It's fine, because we're here now," Gaffney said. "We took a lot of flak last year for what the receivers did or didn't do. Well, I'm still here, making plays."
While New England has gotten into the habit of finding its way to the championship game, this will be the first trip for Gaffney, who joined the team last season as a free agent and assumed his place among the collection of maligned Tom Brady receivers.
When disgruntled Deion Branch, Brady's favorite target, was shipped off to Seattle on Sept. 11, 2006, for a first-round pick, Brady was left to improvise with Reche Caldwell, Doug Gabriel, 35-year-old Troy Brown, and cameos from Chad Jackson. The group not only lacked glamour, it came up short in consistent production as well.
Gaffney joined the fray on Oct. 9 but had no major immediate impact. The receivers scuffled along, in underwhelming fashion. Brady publicly supported his teammates, yet the cry for an upgraded stable of weapons persisted. Gabriel was released on Dec. 11, allowing Gaffney a chance to earn extra snaps.
He came to life in the postseason, snagging 8 passes for 104 yards in a 37-16 first-round win over the New York Jets, then submitted a career performance in a comeback win over the Chargers with 10 catches for 103 yards.
