Great Feature on Wes Welker by Jeff Howe

[Ian]

Just read it. Good stuff:

Wes Welker Has Spent Football Life Proving Doubters Wrong, From College Coaches to NFL Executives - New England Patriots - NESN.com

 

[Bella*chick]

I love that quote from Schottenheimer, the first thing that pops into his mind when he thinks of Welker. "I'm not very smart."

 

[Uncle Rico]

Great stuff. Also just came across this photo (I think a link from Rapoport) showing Welker's size relative to the rest of the offense.

Nobody tougher though. And, yeah, he is pretty good without Moss.

 

[PatriotFan77]

Yep when Welker came in everything at that time trended to the 6'3"+ WRs thanks to Randy. Can we get this guy a ring please Pats?

 

[patchick]

Great stuff. Also just came across this photo (I think a link from Rapoport) showing Welker's size relative to the rest of the offense.

Beautiful! Though standing between Solder and Gronkowski is hardly fair...even Ocho looks like a twig in that company.

 

[PatsFanNM]

The other thing great about that photo is seeing Brady, who is 6'4", dwarfed by Solder. If Vollmer were there it would look similar.

Hard to imagine a guy that small making such a big difference. I don't think he could do the things he does if he weren't so small.

 

[PatriotFan77]

Man, looking at Solder and Gronk just makes me think "Just run behind those two all game"

BEAST.

 

[sieglo]

The Pale Pilgrim!

 

[mgcolby]

Hopefully this week we here Welker signed for 4 years 38-42 mil with 15-20 guaranteed and not let this linger into the offseason.

 

[ay-yo]

Gotta love Wes. He's been consistently awesome since day 1. Few talk about it but I believe he is a HOF'er. Currently at 650 career receptions and 7,226 career yards I believe he'll get to the 1,000 receptions and 10,000 bench marks. That puts him in some pretty elite company (8 have 1,000 catches and 36 have 10,000 yards).

Here's a quote from Jerry Garcia, talking about the Dead, that perfectly describes Welker:

"You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do."

 

[strngplyr]

That article reminded me of someone else on the team.

The knocks on this player were as follows:

-Lacks great physical stature and strength
-Lacks mobility and the ability to avoid the rush
-Does not throw a very tight spiral
-System type play who can get exposed if forced to ad-lib

What they all missed out on was what drives somebody. Heart.

While much of this applies to another position, the thing they all missed out on was the same. Brady was passed over 198 times and that still drives him to this day. Welker was passed over 224+ times and then cut and traded.

These two players have the same stories leading up to their NFL days and what I love about it apart from the 'feel good' aspect is that these are two players you know will never quit on the team under any circumstance, and when you know your two best players will never quit, you will always be in good shape.

"It's not really a chip on my shoulder, it's just that feeling that, man, maybe nobody wants you. When I watch myself play at times I still don't think I'm very good. 'Man, you're still not very fast, you know, you got a decent arm, you made some pretty bad reads on that day.' That's what gets me up and motivates me. I always wanna feel like I'm the best quarterback on this team. I want to earn it every single day." - Tom Brady - 2010

 

[ewg_gestalt]

When all of the other teams are looking for the next "Player X," it's a pretty good sign that Player X has the skills to be a future HOFer.

With GRONK, he's only in his second year, and you can already imagine the other thirty-one front offices in the NFL beating themselves up over letting him go.

With Welker, he's raised the profile of the slot receiver from a routine play into a critical element of the offense. Even though he's criticized for not being able to break a long play, the fact that every team that faces him has to have a plan in place created more or less specifically for him—or else watch him go for 100 yards or more and kill your team with first down after first down—says volumes about the kind of talent he has. How anyone can be the most prolific pass catcher per season in NFL history (only catcher with three 110-catch seasons, let alone four!) and not be a strong candidate for HOF boggles the mind.

 

[Uncle Rico]

When all of the other teams are looking for the next "Player X," it's a pretty good sign that Player X has the skills to be a future HOFer.

With GRONK, he's only in his second year, and you can already imagine the other thirty-one front offices in the NFL beating themselves up over letting him go.

With Welker, he's raised the profile of the slot receiver from a routine play into a critical element of the offense. Even though he's criticized for not being able to break a long play, the fact that every team that faces him has to have a plan in place created more or less specifically for him—or else watch him go for 100 yards or more and kill your team with first down after first down—says volumes about the kind of talent he has. How anyone can be the most prolific pass catcher per season in NFL history (only catcher with three 110-catch seasons, let alone four!) and not be a strong candidate for HOF boggles the mind.

Bill Belichick, the "defensive genius," has essentially revolutionized two offensive positions over a period of five years: slot receiver, and tight end.

 

[Stilla]

Gotta sign Wes for the long haul.

Waters admits he gets calls from some of his "buds" in the NFL inquiring about the "Patriots mystique" and, of course, the head coach.

What does he tell them?

"I tell them the truth, that this is a place every player should experience," said Waters. "I tell people a lot is expected of you here. You had better have the right attitude and put in the work or you won't last."

This attitude pores out of Wes. Without Wes, Water's comments lose some of its meaning. Without Wes, the locker room will never be the same.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Stilla

Bit off subject, but every time I see your name my brain hears "Steeler."

 

[ewg_gestalt]

Bill Belichick, the "defensive genius," has essentially revolutionized two offensive positions over a period of five years: slot receiver, and tight end.

It's hardly a secret that Belichick has coveted a Bavaro 2.0 for years, and finally got one with GRONK. However, it's not clear to me how much of the slot receiver is Belichick's "original intent," and how much of it is a result of getting Welker to be said slot receiver. We know that they wanted Wes Welker because he was a constant pain in the neck when he was playing for the Dolphins—but the question is whether it was fulfilling a plan, or if they just found the best way to exploit his natural talents.

 

[nabwong]

That's the beauty of this team. We have players with heart!

Brady, Welker, Slater, Woodhead, BJGE, Arrington, Fletcher, Connolly, Edelman, Ninkovich, Love, Deadrick, Anderson and many past castoffs like Vrabel.