FOXBORO -- On a day when everyone connected with the Patriots was defending wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (click here, here and here for more), here are five thoughts on the wide receiver and his place in the New England offense after six games:

Three is the magic number: Through six games, he’s fifth on the team with nine receptions and 136 receiving yards, and has yet to score a touchdown this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Ochocinco has played 152 of New England’s 449 snaps this season, good for 34 percent of the action. Those numbers compare unfavorably to the last two No. 3 receivers in the New England offense: Last season, while Randy Moss was shuffled out and Deion Branch into the lineup, Brandon Tate was consistently lined up as the No. 3 receiver, playing 552 of a possible 1,131 snaps (49 percent) and ending up with 24 catches. In 2009 -- without Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, who would eat into catches for wide receivers when they would arrive in 2010 -- it was Julian Edelman, who finished with 37 catches.

Still, the Patriots suggest that Ochocinco has been involved as a meaningful contributor, both on game day and especially during the week.

“We’re happy with what Chad’s done for us,” Patriots personnel director Nick Caserio said. “He’s probably one of our best practice players. He goes out there, he works hard, practices hard, he’s out there on the field, he competes, he has made plays when he has had the opportunity. We’re six games in with a long season and we’re happy that Chad’s on the team.”

A matter of need: Critics will point to his $5.5 million deal and ask why there isn’t more production, but in a passing game that includes targets like Hernandez and Gronkowski, how much production do you really need out of your No. 3 receiver? The two young tight ends now make up a sizable portion of the New England passing game -- since the start of the 2010 season, Brady has completed 484 regular-season passes, with the two young tight ends accounting for 143 of those receptions, or 30 percent. With Wes Welker also taking 137 regular-season catches (another 28 percent), that doesn’t leave a lot of chances in the passing game for anyone else. And with the Patriots running a pure game-plan offense, that means Ochocinco will have days like he did on Sunday.

“He didn’t get a lot of opportunities [Sunday] -- I think that’s the reality of that game,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “There were a lot of other guys that were in there. Aaron was in there a lot, [Rob Gronkowski] was in there a lot, obviously, Wes and Deion [Branch] have been out there. That was just primarily the way it turned out yesterday. How it turns out when we play Pittsburgh, I have no idea. It will probably be pretty different there, too. Every single person that’s on the team is expected to contribute.”

Depth charge: The Ochocinco experiment has to work, at least this season, because it’s not like this offense has any real depth at wide receiver beyond Wes Welker and Deion Branch. Youngster Taylor Price clearly isn’t ready (he’s played in 24 snaps in almost a year and a half in the NFL), while Matthew Slater remains an emergency option at best. Meanwhile, Edelman has struggled with health issues since the start of the 2010 season, and when he has been healthy, he’s been utilized more as a return man instead of a receiver. Assuming the Patriots do not make a deal before Tuesday’s trade deadline (and frankly, there’s no receiver who might be available who could have any sort of impact on the New England passing game this year anyway), the Patriots remain thin at wide receiver. (They’re admittedly top-heavy with Welker, but thin nonetheless.) At this point, Ochocinco is an expensive insurance policy for the Patriots’ passing game.

The curse of Jabar Gaffney: In the post-2004 era, the Patriots have struggled to find a consistent third option at wide receiver. The only No. 3 receiver who has consistently had success in the New England passing game was Gaffney, who managed to catch 85 passes in three seasons (2006 through 2008) with the Patriots despite the fact that he was unquestionably the third receiver behind Randy Moss and Wes Welker. (Donte Stallworth was the exception to the rule with 46 catches in 2007, his only season in New England.)

Good timing: All this being said, this shapes up as the start of a critical stretch for Ochocinco. It will be interesting to see what he does with the bye week. Given a gift, he now has the extra time to try and fix whatever problems he has with the offense, and if he elects to stay in the area and continue to try and build on what he’s been able to accomplish thus far, that will certainly go a long way with his teammates (as well as his critics).

“Look, he’s working hard at it,” Brady said. “We’re all working hard at it. I’d say there’s definitely a lot of improvement that we’ve made and that we’re going to continue to make. I have a lot of trust and confidence in [Chad]. I don’t lack for that at all.”