Bedard: Marriage between Welker and NE looks strong

[MoLewisrocks]

Greg had long felt that they were headed for divorce. He says the 2012 season as it unfolded may have saved the team from itself. I hope he's right.

I also think what Greg's sources had to say about the game plan for AZ is as close as you will come to backing up what Gasper said. They were angling to move on until no one else they were sky high on could effectively answer the bell.

Sometimes things happen for a reason. Maybe 2012 was that way for Welker and the Patriots. Because right now, it’s a lovefest between both sides.

While everyone else got hurt and missed games, Welker was there.

“To be able to go out there and do it week after week against all the different coverages, all the different matchups that we see and all that, it’s a real credit to Wes’s ability but also his toughness and his durability because he’s taken a lot of hits out there,” coach Bill Belichick said.

As for the drops that bother some here to no end...

Welker was fourth in the league with 166 targets. Of the top-10 targeted receivers, only Welker called the middle of the field his offense. Calvin Johnson (14 drops), Brandon Marshall (13), Steve Johnson (11), Demaryius Thomas (11), Reggie Wayne (10), A.J. Green (10), Larry Fitzgerald (five), and Roddy White (four) are boundary receivers. They have much less to worry about, and Brady said that explains the greatness of Welker.


“He’s fearless. I think that’s No. 1,” Brady said. “To run across the middle of the field full speed while looking at the quarterback . . . you know, just think about that. There are 240-, 250-pound guys in there that are looking to take his head off, and he’s just fearless. That’s a very rare gift. It’s hard to comprehend a lot of the time. There are a lot of things going on there in the middle of the field on a down-by-down basis and what he’s able to do with his body, I think that’s what I admire most.”

You get the feeling now that Welker remaining with the Patriots beyond this season could happen. If anyone — inside or outside the organization — was guilty of pegging Welker as too old, just a slot receiver, a product of the system, not a good enough run blocker, or whatever other box you can think of, Welker seemed to bust through all of those. Not that Welker would boast of proving his doubters wrong.

“I played with a lot of great players, whether that was Kevin Faulk or Randy Moss or Rodney Harrison, but Wes has been truly the greatest teammate you could possibly have,” Brady said. “His commitment to the team, his selflessness . . . When Wes clears out on a route, he clears out the route better than anybody I’ve ever seen. He knows he’s not getting the ball, but he almost takes as much pride in that as he does on the 6-yard option route to get open. That’s everything you need to know about Wes, you know? That’s the best part about him. Whatever you need me to do, that’s what he’s going to do. He does it every day in practice, and I feel that’s what has always set him apart.”

Marriage between Wes Welker and New England Patriots looks strong - Patriots - Boston.com

 

[Deus Irae]

Welker was going to back up the unheralded Edelman and only see the field with regularity in three-receiver sets. The Patriots’ preferred “12” personnel package would feature running back Stevan Ridley, tight ends Gronkowski and Hernandez, and Brandon Lloyd and Edelman at receiver. No one but Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels knows the reason why.

The above, especially the bolded portion, needs to be PM'd by Ian to every member of this site.

 

[Gwedd]

There has to be a way to keep him in New England. He's just so much a part of this team and this offense. I know that there are other options and other really great players, but Wes is in a class of his own.

 

[naF staP]

The Welker and drops argument baffles me to no end. It's a whole lot of people not knowing what they are talking about. Why don't we instead worry and talk about Hernandez drops, because he is getting worse, not better.

Welker catches 68% of his targets! Last year he caught 71% of his targets. Down a little this year compared to last year but still he catches a much higher percentage of his targets then any other top 10 receiver in the league. And don't say it's because he has Brady throwing to him and don't say it's because he is a slot receiver and catches short passes because those arguments wont stand up!. If you don't trust me, try me!

 

[Fencer]

When you look at the offensive plays BB picks for his taped talks, often they feature Welker dashing across the field to deliver a very effective block.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

The Welker and drops argument baffles me to no end. It's a whole lot of people not knowing what they are talking about. Why don't we instead worry and talk about Hernandez drops, because he is getting worse, not better.

Welker catches 68% of his targets! Last year he caught 71% of his targets. Down a little this year compared to last year but still he catches a much higher percentage of his targets then any other top 10 receiver in the league. And don't say it's because he has Brady throwing to him and don't say it's because he is a slot receiver and catches short passes because those arguments wont stand up!. If you don't trust me, try me!

An argument that connects WW's production and the words 'not enough' is laughable.
The only thing I would add to this is signing WW is not as simple as the Patriots are better off with him on the team. It's just not that simple. In the Noll-Walsh era it was much more simple (meant as a shot at a certain smarmy b!+ch "writer"). In the salary cap era, with the Patriots philosophy that is a winning one, there must be a target value for a player and position. Once you go above the target value then you are accepting that an another area will have to have decreased target values.
Let me be clear, I want WW on the Patriots....very much so. Seeing him leave will be a blow. I hope his and the Patriots numbers are close enough to be doable. But the point is that the din of "just sign him" lacks an examination of the deeper issues involved.

 

[DarrylS]

When I hear about Edelman will replace Welker makes me wonder if BB will want a "fragile" receiver rather than a durable receiver.Welker is one of those guys who are not only incredibly tough, reliable, but also has incredible synchrocity with #12.

I see them keeping him, he has a place here and perhaps they will be able to negotiate a contract...

What it comes down to is length?? Would you do three years?? I would, and lure him with respectable amount of guaranteed money.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

When I hear about Edelman will replace Welker makes me wonder if BB will want a "fragile" receiver rather than a durable receiver.Welker is one of those guys who are not only incredibly tough, reliable, but also has incredible synchrocity with #12.

I see them keeping him, he has a place here and perhaps they will be able to negotiate a contract...

What it comes down to is length?? Would you do three years?? I would, and lure him with respectable amount of guaranteed money.

Well said. Gotta love Edelman and the level of things he now brings to the table. Receiver, return man, the occasional hand off, making it happen on coverage teams. But durability makes his actual value ??. It will also be interesting to see what it costs to keep JE.

I hope the Patriots, if they can't come to terms on length, use the guaranteed money option to make themselves and WW feel good about the final numbers. Ideally both WW and JE are Patriots next year.....

 

[randomk1]

When I hear about Edelman will replace Welker makes me wonder if BB will want a "fragile" receiver rather than a durable receiver.Welker is one of those guys who are not only incredibly tough, reliable, but also has incredible synchrocity with #12.

I see them keeping him, he has a place here and perhaps they will be able to negotiate a contract...

What it comes down to is length?? Would you do three years?? I would, and lure him with respectable amount of guaranteed money.

I think 3 would be perfect.

Watching it from Welker's standpoint sometimes i really have a hard time figuring out what their thought process is. They earn ****loads of cash. More than you can spend if you aren't a complete ****** about it. In NE he has a shot at cementing a great career. Somewhere else for maybe 1 or 2 extra mill per year that might not be the case.
He was dealt a great hand when NE picked him up and as a guy that has never been given anything in his career he should recognize it.

 

[ausbacker]

Feel good stories about the Patriots before a playoff match? WTF is going on?

 

[mayoclinic]

Feel good stories about the Patriots before a playoff match? WTF is going on?

We're DOOOMED!!!

 

[BSR]

The above, especially the bolded portion, needs to be PM'd by Ian to every member of this site.

You missed the part about BB and McDaniels being the only ones that knew why. It could very well been an experimentation. A building process that would have eventually lead to a more diversified offense. I still think that is the case and am still worried about those same problems that led them to that thinking in the first place. Their passing game outside the numbers is just not where it should be. We all saw last night what happens if your QB can't throw to the outside (although in PMs case it was a lack of arm strength and not receivers).

 

[upstater1]

I still don't buy the argument. These writers get fed lines from people with certain motives. And though what Brady may have said at halftime is more believable, it's just Belichick bringing along players at a certain speed for when he needs them, and Edelman played a huge part this year in at least one game.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Shoooooooooooooooot I'll wear an ivory dress with a satin ribbon sash and toss flowers if it meant a Welker extension

 

[mayoclinic]

I think 3 would be perfect.

Watching it from Welker's standpoint sometimes i really have a hard time figuring out what their thought process is. They earn ****loads of cash. More than you can spend if you aren't a complete ****** about it. In NE he has a shot at cementing a great career. Somewhere else for maybe 1 or 2 extra mill per year that might not be the case.
He was dealt a great hand when NE picked him up and as a guy that has never been given anything in his career he should recognize it.

3 years, $24M, $16M guaranteed. Seems about right to me.

 

[DocHoliday]

I don't blame BB and JMcD for trying to see if they truly needed Welker. It's just due diligence and the question has been answered.

It's a credit to WW that he's essentially created a new standard of play at the slot position. I saw Brandon Stokely pulling Welker moves yesterday, routes Stokely certainly wasnt running pre-07

 

[Deus Irae]

You missed the part about BB and McDaniels being the only ones that knew why. It could very well been an experimentation. A building process that would have eventually lead to a more diversified offense.

The point is that they were scaling back Welker's role in the offense. You can argue why until the cows come home. The "Why" is irrelevant to the fact that there are still people here who insist that the scaling back wasn't happening even though McDaniels acknowledged it.

I still think that is the case and am still worried about those same problems that led them to that thinking in the first place. Their passing game outside the numbers is just not where it should be. We all saw last night what happens if your QB can't throw to the outside (although in PMs case it was a lack of arm strength and not receivers).

You're either not watching the games, or you're just prepping for a game thread, because this is a ridiculous notion of yours.

 

[Ivan]

An argument that connects WW's production and the words 'not enough' is laughable.
The only thing I would add to this is signing WW is not as simple as the Patriots are better off with him on the team. It's just not that simple. In the Noll-Walsh era it was much more simple (meant as a shot at a certain smarmy b!+ch "writer"). In the salary cap era, with the Patriots philosophy that is a winning one, there must be a target value for a player and position. Once you go above the target value then you are accepting that an another area will have to have decreased target values.
Let me be clear, I want WW on the Patriots....very much so. Seeing him leave will be a blow. I hope his and the Patriots numbers are close enough to be doable. But the point is that the din of "just sign him" lacks an examination of the deeper issues involved.

Those arguing they should sign Welker to a fair market deal have steadfastly been talking about 3-30/4-40 as the higher ends of a deal, and I haven't seen anyone go over 60 million, which is half of what CJ and Fitzgerald received, so no one is saying to give him a blank check. And the idea of letting him go over 4-40 is ridiculous because they cannot come anywhere close to replacing him for that money.

If the Patriots fail to re-sign him and he receives 4-40 with Denver or Houston etc... then it will be the biggest mistake in team history, and a serious setback to winning more Lombardi's before Brady hangs them up. It literally amazes me that perople are more concerned with saving a few million against the cap over re-signing a player heading to the HOF and winning championships before Brady and Belichick are done.

The fact that Brady has now gone on record and called him the greatest teammate he has ever had pretty much says it all.

 

[Ring 6]

Quote:

Welker was going to back up the unheralded Edelman and only see the field with regularity in three-receiver sets. The Patriots’ preferred “12†personnel package would feature running back Stevan Ridley, tight ends Gronkowski and Hernandez, and Brandon Lloyd and Edelman at receiver. No one but Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels knows the reason why.

The above, especially the bolded portion, needs to be PM'd by Ian to every member of this site.

A nice misinformation campaign



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[Rob0729]

The point is that they were scaling back Welker's role in the offense. You can argue why until the cows come home. The "Why" is irrelevant to the fact that there are still people here who insist that the scaling back wasn't happening even though McDaniels acknowledged it.




You're either not watching the games, or you're just prepping for a game thread, because this is a ridiculous notion of yours.

We know Welker was scaled back for one and a half games. We don't know why or if it would have continued much long than it did if Herbandez got hurt or not. All that stuff is based on pure speculations and no facts to support it.