WELKER: " I let the team down "

[fair catch fryar]

Yes he did let the team down, but in no way should Welker be made the scape goat for the loss. There were a lot of little mistakes and breakdowns that added up to this one.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

You didn't catch a ball that you usually catch. Most mortal human beings don't make that catch, but Wes Welker usually does.

It's why we all want you back as long as you are realistic about what the Pats will pay a 31 year old receiver. I suspect you lost some (not a lot, but enough to make a difference around the edges) leverage in those negotiations at that moment, though.

You shoulda caught it, Wes. Can you imagine the "Pay the SB hero" threads you'd be seeing out here this morning if you had?

 

[PatsSweFan]

Nicks made about 5-6 catches yesterday that was tougher than that ...Wes knows what he should have done but game not lost on that play....And I still believe if now Branch shares brain with Tom on the football field that he certainly should have stopped his route on 3rd down and that was the biggest mistake

 

[navydaze]

A little OT, but you're a new poster and I have to decide whether to take your posts seriously or just blow by them with a passing glance.

Why do you have to use the word "midget?" You actually use it twice.

I'm 6'4" (though I'm sure you're taller, otherwise I might think you're a...well, you know...), so this isn't a result of any insecurity I might have in that regard, but I find that posters who feel they have to denigrate someone in addition to making what might be legitimate comments on a player or game usually don't have that much to say and are masking a lack of understanding of the game and its finer points with insults.

Otherwise you might think I'm a what? Go ahead and say it. I don't know why you are taking this post personally. I just stated a fact. Wes Welker is a 30+ year old midget possession receiver, who, yeah, makes spectacular catches in the regular season but dropped a VERY big catch in the most important game of his life! In a game that was supposed to be a revenge game! Anytime someone says "that one play didn't cost us the game" they are just in denial. There are such things as game turning plays. And that drop turned the game in the Giants favor. AND YOU KNOW IT.

 

[PittPatriot]

Did he look afraid when he completed 20-23 passes? did he look afraid when he set a super bowl record for consecutive completions?
Look at his stats before and after the Tuck hit, we're going to find out hes going in for shoulder surgery shortly, he had a bad wing and the Tuck hit made it worse, hell, they had Hoyer warming up on the sidelines.
These games come down to a play or two and they made em, we didnt, a healthy Gronk or a Healthy Brady down the stretch and we win.
Theres plenty of blame to go around, trying to pin it on one guy/play is silly.
BTW, where was Brees/Rogers yesterday? They didnt make plays when they should have or they would have been there instead of manning.

Brady looked shaky under the slightest pressure before and after the hit. His preparation and on field reading of defenses make him phenomenal. In my view, it makes up for his inability to make tougher throws and his lack of accuracy on longer throws. I am not saying I'd rather have Rodgers or Brees because I think Tom is better for this team…and his overall W-L cannot be argued with. In typically Peyton Manning style, he feasted on a ridiculously easy regular season but did not play well against above average or good teams.
This is getting off topic but I think he needs to make a better throw to Welker. There are no excuses for that. Nobody gets better protection or more YAC than TB does. This is YET ANOTHER GAME - dating all the way back to the 2006 AFCCG that we could not get a 1st down late in the game when we needed it most. The last time we did in a tight game was when LoMo ran wild on SD in 2007.

 

[Banjo]

I forgive Welker. If not for him we wouldn't have made to this game, plain and simple. In a way I hope this play inspires him to work harder and be better than he already is.

 

[Dagg]

Not his fault that we lost, but yes he should have caught it.

A coach once said to me if you can touch it - you can catch it. Any WR worth his salt knows that statement and lives by it, so Im sure he will beat himself up about it.

 

[4thDown&GoingForIt]

You can't teach clutch.

Welker just doesn't have it.

 

[Fball]

It's not like the pass hit him on the #'s.

Welker normally catches that, but people are just holding him to a higher standard, that he set himself. It's the kind of play that can go either way for a receiver.

I don't think the moment was too big for him or anything. He has made pressure catches his whole career. It was just one that got away.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Well, he's not wrong. However you guys felt about Asante after SB42, the consistent thing would be to feel the same way about Welker now.

Not even close. Asante was a loner with a different kind of attitude about the chip on his shoulder who failed to elevate his own game when those around him struggled. Couldn't have traded him for a bag of balls back in 2005. He lost his job to Ellis Hobbs in camp in 2006 before EHIII fractured a bone in his wrist. Asante made no bones about his loyalties being to Asante Samuel, Inc. Was on a flight to Hawaii before the tears were dry in the locker room after his miserable performance in 42. Never took accountability for his many gaffs, and still doesn't as his Eagles fans and teamates now realize. I remember him pimping and selling himself at that Pro Bowl and wanting to punch him right through the TV.

 

[sambam94]

I've seen Welker drop that pass before...leaping and turning to catch

 

[Leemo]

He should have caught it and hes right he did let us down. That said I still hope we sort him out a new deal as hes our best WR by a long distance. One mistake can be forgotten imo, we wouldn't have even reached the superbowl without welker this season. He is almost as important as Gronk is...

 

[MoLewisrocks]

You can't teach clutch.

Welker just doesn't have it.

LOL Welker generally has it in spades. Which is why that drop was so devastating. For everyone.

And it can be developed, just ask Kevin Faulk or Troy Brown because they salvaged careers based largely on the will to.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Brady looked shaky under the slightest pressure before and after the hit. His preparation and on field reading of defenses make him phenomenal. In my view, it makes up for his inability to make tougher throws and his lack of accuracy on longer throws. I am not saying I'd rather have Rodgers or Brees because I think Tom is better for this team…and his overall W-L cannot be argued with. In typically Peyton Manning style, he feasted on a ridiculously easy regular season but did not play well against above average or good teams.
This is getting off topic but I think he needs to make a better throw to Welker. There are no excuses for that. Nobody gets better protection or more YAC than TB does. This is YET ANOTHER GAME - dating all the way back to the 2006 AFCCG that we could not get a 1st down late in the game when we needed it most. The last time we did in a tight game was when LoMo ran wild on SD in 2007.

Another crock of hooey. He didn't get consistent protection or hardly any YAC last night. And that is due to our inability to spread good committed defenses horizontally or vertically let alone when his best weapon in that regard is sorely limited. Our receivers don't play well against the better defenses because we lack the overall speed to get open routinely when defenses flood the middle. The TE's are almost always closely covered and have used their size against mismatches to make plays in close coverage. Wes is more quick then fast and creates little openings through great effort. Branch is largely toast against all but blown coverage. Ocho was worthless and if he was open he was either in the wrong place at the wrong time or he failed to catch the damn ball. We don't have the kind of back that can move the chains through sheer bull strength or the runblocking to compensate for a couple of solid effort guys who can't and a couple of rookies who can't be trusted not to make costly mistakes.

 

[stcjones]

I am appalled and saddened by all the vicious stuff that has been said and written by so called Patriot fans. Yes...he did drop the biggest pass of his career. I disagree that it was a bad pass by Brady. It hit welk in the hands and he had his feet touching the ground....it was not thrown over his head like many are trying to say...he just didn't make the catch. BUT, HOW MANY CLUTCH CATCHES HAS THIS GUY MADE FOR US? HOW MANY TIMES HAS THE DAMNED GAME BEEN ON THE LINE AND WELK CAME THRU? This Guy has been invaluable here and is a true Patriot. Does whatever is asked of him and is one of the GREATEST. WR ALL TIME IN PATS HISTORY....and now everyone wants to sh't on the Guy and tear him up ....deplorable. NOT this fan.....I love ya Wes....cya next year!

Wes Welker: 'I let the team down' - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

i hate to see welker getting beat up over that one. It was a bad pass from Brady.

Welker was WIDE OPEN yet Brady tried throwing to the back shoulder. Welker then had to readjust his whole body and was off balance due to the bad throw. There was no need for that. It isn't like Welker dropped an easy pass.

Even if he had caught it, there's no guarantee he would've held onto it as he was falling to the ground.

 

[mgteich]

I agree. This was crunch time, and the best QB-WR combo in the nfl came up empty.

Looking at the pass I feel worse because he catches that kind of pass ALL the time.

I feel for him, I really do, but I can't help but think "Good, you SHOULD be beating yourself up."

 

[SyN65]

It's already been broken down and it was determined it was a good pass. Even if it was a "bad pass" Welker makes that catch any other time. It him right in the hands. He's right, he blew it, let the team down, etc.

Time to move on though. Hope he gets resigned cause he's a helluva player.

 

[MP-Logick]

Why do we lose to the Giants?

Because in crunch time, Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham all catch that pass.

And Brady's the one who gets flak for it, and Eli the praise. That kills me.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

There really isn't much discussion............ If the ball hits you in the hands and you are one of the most sure handed receivers in the league........ You catch it.

He didn't. It probably cost us the game.

Sucks that it was Welker..... but this one is on him. It's up to Brady to put the ball in a catchable spot (he did - therefore not a bad pass). It's up to the receiver to make the catch.

 

[SyN65]

Why do we lose to the Giants?

Because in crunch time, Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham all catch that pass.

And Brady's the one who gets flak for it, and Eli the praise. That kills me.

Pretty much. In crunch time our bend but don't break defense breaks and a Giants receiver makes a play.

Tyree in the SB
Ballard in the game earlier this season
And now Manningham in this SB

All losses and all were lost in the final minutes because our D breaks down and one of their players makes a play.