Deion Branch (AP)

The fellas at Pro Football Focus do a great job putting together stats that take you inside the game, and so their latest work should be no surprise. They looked at drop rate for pass catchers for the 2011 season, and found that Patriots’ wide receiver Deion Branch was one of the best in the league when it came to holding on to the ball.

Among all receivers with at least 35 “catchable” balls thrown in their direction, Branch only dropped two passes. (He had 53 catchable balls thrown his way, and had 51 receptions.) Seattle’s Golden Tate had a perfect drop rate, going 35 for 35, while Branch’s 51 of 53 landed him ninth on the list at 3.77. (Former Patriots Jabar Gaffney was seventh overall with only two drops on 69 chances, to finish 2.9.)

On the other end of the spectrum, while others had more drops, no one had a worst percentage than Tampa Bay’s Arrelious Benn, who had eight drops on 38 catchable balls for a drop rate of 21.05 percent.

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