fgssand

Originally Posted by The_Riddler
It's kind of interesting in that we really have two of the same interior slot players in Welker and Edelman. Prior to getting hurt, Edelman and Brady were really starting to get a feel for one another and to be honest I think the more they play together, the better that chemistry would become, I could see it matching the Welker chemistry given time.

Dewayne Bowe is that deep threat that we simply still do not have. He's that other "Go To" guy outside the hashes that we still don't seem to have. Bowe hasn't had a real QB throwing to him since he's gotten in this league. Can you imagine what he would do with Brady. He's young, Welker isn't at this point. To me, I put those heavy cap dollars into the younger player who fits a glaring need.

Edelmen at his paultry salary could easily slip into the slot role held by Welker and play that role pretty effectively.

Bowe/Edelman vs Welker/player X going forward, I'll take option one.
Stop with this nonsense.


We agree 100%.........what he said is rediculous.

There is nothing wrong with having edelman develop all the chemistry in the world as the two were starting to do - BUT - Welker must remain right where he is, no matter what the cost.

Worst case, franchise Welker and then you can have Bowe, Lloyd, Edelman, whomever you want as long as Welker remains, PERIOD.

__________________
Season ticket holder since 1971, first in section 209 and now in 134.

LOVE New England sports....10 years SEVEN championships!!!

MoLewisrocks

Correct. No prohibition against talking. But Welker didn't want to discuss contract in season, including in 2009. While it's mostly the team and agent doing the talking, things get said that can become distracting and to his credit he wanted his focus to be on playing and winning. It's something they should applaud. They seldom do deals with other than role players once the season starts. They did a ways back with Koppen, but they likely had the parameters of that deal worked out early on and delayed just to have the opportunity to manipulate the cap (had to use NLTBE incentive clauses back in the day to roll excess cap forward, now just a letter of intent suffices).

It will be interesting to see if this season has proved to them that they need this guy going forward enough to risk a longer deal than they'd like. Or if they feel they've suffered through the worst where the young TE's are concerned and they don't anticipate them both being lost for long stretches going forward. And on a lesser level if they have given up on the Edleman can replace anyone theory. Don't get me wrong, if he could stay on the field Edelman is a nice depth piece. Kind of like Woodhead who has proven he can and should be extended. It takes a village to remain this consistently competitive in the NFL.

If guys are asking for stupid money I'm all for moving on. Just don't believe that was ever the case with Welker. They were quick to jump at the chance to tie up the young TE's at better than tag rates for years to come before they really had a chance to evaluate them for durability and consistency. The trade off with Welker is he's older but they know who he is and what to expect from him because he's way over produced relative to his contracts throughout his career. It's always a risk reward calculation but Welker has never let them down unless someone inside Gillette is as silly as some fans here to be holding one missed catch against him. If so they should hold others as accountable.

zipster9

Yes. Fans blaming Welker for that 1 play where he tried to catch a difficult throw in SB, is just plain stupid. There were many plays in the SB that could've made a difference, yet fans choose to ignore.

It was not like Welker caught it and dropped it. Sigh. Some fans are just plain ignorant.

PP2

It's a token of appreciation that has more benefits than just Welker. It shows that this organization cares about its players which has long term benefits in terms of showing players/potential agents that they will invest. The Patriots used to play hard-ball and that got them nowhere. They've invested long term in Wilfork, Mankins, Brady and the dividends are paying off handsomely.

eagle eye

I don't see any good reason why they would not sign WW. He just keeps performing to an elite level so there is no reason to be looking down the line and expecting his production to drop.

__________________
Fun fight game, no expertise needed and free with no catches

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.

Reckedtrek

I don't want Dwayne Bowe!

Every time Brady overthrows him, someone in the room will say "Hey, Brady just through the football... somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe!" ...and I'll have to kill the sonofabish!

In all seriousness, I usually agree with BB general philosophy of not getting sentimental when it comes to future contracts. I also get that WW could drop off at any point quickly and deeply, but I think a 3 year deal at 8-9/per is a worthy risk. Even if WW is the same ol' Wes in 2013, slightly worse in 2014, and half the receiver he was by 2015, you're still getting the best option for Brady in his final years. The D is close to being very good again, maybe even great in a year or two. The running game is solid now. EVERYTHING is just about in place for playoff winning performances.

Keeping Wes where he belongs is the final piece. I don't say it often, but BB should lock him up. And Wes *should* realize what he has here, not only in this team but for future radio, TV, endorsements, etc...

"There comes a time when you have to ask yourself, How much is enough?" - Tom Brady

__________________
Full Tilt, Full Time! Thanks Tedy!!


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



... I use heavy strings, tune low, play hard and floor it. Floor it, That's technical talk. ~ Stevie Ray Vaughan
.

BananaRepublican

That sounds like the blueprint for what they did after, not before Hernandez' injury. This leads me to wonder what they think about the central role of the offense for 2013.

Does anybody think "they learned their lesson" from what happened this year? Why do I doubt that? I think that Bill has been trying to engineer a TE-Centric offense for decades and is the source of this whole "dump Wes" movement. Wes plays the same part of the field that his TEs play, so his money is better spent on getting a good outside receiver(s), right? He's got four TEs on the team that can all play. How many slot receivers? There is no depth there so that tells us what? Bill doesn't value the position as much as TE, and they all play the same part of the field.

So if I were to guess I'd say Bill wants that Wes money to buy a reliable outside threat. I'm not saying Donald Driver would be the answer, but a younger version of Driver along with Lloyd and Edleman would certainly give some depth and some options in another part of the field for Tom.

And BTW this is not me expressing my wishes. I wish for Wes to be here. I am just looking at what I THINK the boss wants.

Double TE

I think he'll be here. Seems to have the same grit and quickness he had in 07 and he definitely has savvy. Actually the offense as constituted is most excellent. Why change it? Especially deadly when Edelman is there.

__________________
If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?

Bman12

I believe after this season, they will sign him.

Ivan

This argument has been made and debunked by the actual results on the field for several years. Hernandez plays all over and Gronk operates from a traditional TE spot, Welker opens up everyone, the stupidest thing they could ever do is allow him to walk. If Belichick actually believed he needed an outside reciever and Welker wasn't needed with Hernandez and Gronk signed he would have paid reggie wayne or another WR lasst offseason instead of tagging Welker