dtbrks

I agree.. if the colts signed him, we would all be laughing at them for overspending on a slot wideout. That being said, we don't know the details of the contract and I can't conclude that the actual contract dollars are as high as being speculated.

PatsMyBoyz!

lol Exactly!
And the Pats have a pretty good track record imo,especially when it comes to the draft. Recall Doug Gabriel being a steal for only a 5th rounder,and how that turned out. They see something they want in this guy (probably the talent he has which should only be enhanced here, given our team and it's system,etc.
I also have no doubt that despite the FA frenzy,they already have a plan in place for using their picks in the draft.
JMO but I'll save my judgement for the entire body of work not just each individual move.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
"Let's just do our jobs and then move onto the next play"


MARQUISE HILL
1982-2007
RIP

PatsFan37

To make a long thread longer ...
Signing Welker is all about getting long-term consistency in the passing game. Not about breakaway threats or hitting the grand slam in the draft, or spending short money in FA to take a chance on a 1st round bust.

Just as musical chairs in QBs can kill a WR, musical chairs in WRs can hurt even the best QB. Welker is a proven mid-range talent who is young, hard-working, does anything you ask, and I hope will be signed for a number of years. He will give Tommy confidence that at least one WR will be in the right spot at the right time. On third down, he will move the chains.

To me, that's worth a second round pick in the rookie lottery.

midwestpatsfan

Another factor with this being a good signing is that the team has so few roster spots open and already have a lot of draft picks in this years draft with the potential for at least 2 or 3 more that cannot be traded. Losing a 2nd on a proven commodity that can play ST's and has great hands is more than you could ever hope for with a second rounder. WR was a need, some fans were hoping to draft one in the 1st or second. Wes Welker looks a whole lot more appealing than say someone who will put up number similar to chad jackson last year.

This is a no brainer, great pick at number 60.

BradyManny

As someone who voted no, I've since changed my mind.

The bottom line is, if you ask yourself "will this make the Patriots a better team in 2007 and beyond?", there is only one answer and that's a definitive yes.

As much as I, and others, love draft picks and the cheap, high-upside labor that comes with it, what we need now is a pretty sure bet, and Welker is that. With Caldwell-Welker-Gaffney-Jackson-Brown, we have a very deep and potentially dangerous group.

Patsfanin Philly

This is peripheral to the "Is he worth a 2nd rounder?" but relevant. Some have theorized that the Dolphins will make an offer ( 2nd round tender) to Randall Gay. If they do that while the offer sheet to Welker is still outstanding, my idea is to immediately refuse it. Why?
At that point, the Dolphins will have to give up a second round pick and their only second round pick is #40. If they have already refused to match Welker, they will have acquired a second round pick (#60) from the Patriots that they could have returned since they will then have two second round picks, their own at #40 and the one for Welker #60. The CBA just says ,A Second round pick". It makes no mention of whether it is the higher or lower. The only condition is that if a team doesn't have a pick in that round, they must acquire one at that level or higher. You could argue that they would have to give up the higher of the picks but since the language is vague, my feeling is that either pick would qualify and they could give the lower one. If you do it (refuse Gay) when they only have one pick, it's easy and you jump 20 spots in the second round....Are the Dolphins that dumb?? Stranger things have happened in the NFL.

PatsWickedPissah

That's close to how BB looks at it. The fantasy mentality by folks here saying they'd give a 3rd. Well the rules are that if you offer a player $X, it costs the enemy a 2nd to steal him away, not a 3rd so the point is beyond moot and they should remain mute. OK, I couldn't resist that.

BB/Pioli simply look at draft picks and cap money in one way, how can we get players that we need to make our team balanced enough to be a serious SB candidate. Whether player X has Value Y on someone else's draft board or team roster is irrelevent. Totally irrelevant. That's why you see BB trade up for guys he wants and pays 'above their draft value' according to draft experts. They too, just don't get it.

__________________
Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as "bad luck." RAH

signbabybrady

That is absolutely right WP. The cost is quite reasonable to get a player that will FROM DAY ONE, fill many needs on our team, We also weaken Miami in the process.

NO brainer.

__________________

PatsFanInVa

Just made my pick, but I'm afraid Keegs got to the kool-aid title first.

I can say with certainty I would have said "no," until we got to "look in the back of the book" and see the Pats' answer was "yes."

NE's FO has a long way to go before I trust my player evaluation better than the organization's. I live in the DC area so I see the opposite end of the player evaluation/team building scale all the time. You guys have no idea how we're blessed.

BTW, I have it on good authority that this is the year the Redskins go to the Super Bowl. Again.

PFnV

Real World

He's absolutely worth it. Remember, we're talking pick #60 here, it's right at the end of the 2nd round. Look at the Pats 2nd round picks, Adrian Klemm, Bethel Johnson, Chad Jackson, etc...they stink. Welker is a Patriots type player, a walk-on who earned a scholarship, an undrafted free agent, etc... He's the classic over achiever. Furthermore, he's a proven comodity that is young, 3 years in the league, and ready to contribute right away. He is a 25 year old Troy Brown. So basically, you have to ask yourself, would you trade the 60th pick and a contract for a 25 year old Troy Brown?

Hell yeah.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897