Thread over.The offense wouldn't be better off, but the team as a whole could be if they were able to then focus the cap room they would save on Welker into the defensive side of the ball.
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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.Thread over.The offense wouldn't be better off, but the team as a whole could be if they were able to then focus the cap room they would save on Welker into the defensive side of the ball.
Patsfans.com would be better without that "article." I am still waiting for it to demonstrate how losing a guy who is on a HOF track makes them better. Hopefully the follow up, PATS DEFENSE BETTER WITHOUT WILFORK, will be better.
Welker puts up great regular season numbers which are great, but 8 yard out cuts are not going to get the job done in the playoffs. What I saw out of others teams this year in the playoffs was explosion plays or chunk plays.
Falcons, 49ers, and Ravens all have big fast wr's and the ball was pushed down the field with 20+ gains. Pats have no one besides Gronk who can get down field and present a big target.
The offense wouldn't be better off, but the team as a whole could be if they were able to then focus the cap room they would save on Welker into the defensive side of the ball.
They would have to...
The Patriots have been a top offense for the last decade, so its not going to change because of 1 player. Production would go down from Welker's position, but the offense as a whole could still perform at a high level if they found a replacement for him and made up for his production with a few receivers, like Edelman and Hernandez.
They have not been a top offense for the last decade, just for the last 6 seasons which just happend to coincide with Welker landing here.
I wouldn't pay him more than $8 million a year, even though he deserves more than that. Paying Calvin Johnson money on a WR better get you a Calvin Johnson and that isn't what Welker is. Hes the best slot receiver in the game and fits well into this offense, but if you plugged someone else in there, they could get 80-90 receptions in his place. Yes, that is a dropoff in production, but the drop off doesn't go from 110+ catches to 0 catches...
Calvin Johnson makes $16M per year. $8M is half of that for similar production. And Wes would be happy with $8 as long as it was for more than 2 years and as long as it didn't really mean $6...
The defense needs a "shut down" corner badly. When Talib went out with that injury, Boldin had a field day against the D, making plays all over the field and outjumping and outfighting DBs for the ball. Guys like Talib can reduce the number of times that happens and really free up the defense from a scheme perspective.
Talib is not a shutdown corner. He's just better (when healthy and on the field) than what we've had for the last 4-5 years with the exception of McCourty's rookie season. Shutdown corners are few and far between nowadays. Revis is as close as it gets these days and he wants Calvin Johnson money, too. All we need is an above average secondary and an above average pass rush. We don't need nor can anyone afford an elite player commanding a top 5 contract at every position. Welker is elite yet he's not remotely asking them for elite money.
It kills me to say it and it will kill me to see it happen, but because of what Welker will demand in FA makes him a player that they can no longer afford to keep on the roster. Just remember what happened to the Colts with Marvin Harrison, he was around Welker's age when he wanted his final big payday, and he ended up costing them big time on their salary cap as he aged to 34 or 35 years old and retired... They were hurting bad from that contract, because his production fell off as he aged and didn't match what he was making per year.
Happened before he got here, too. And you could say the same about Gronknandez I guess...It's happened quite a bit in recent years. A Welker-centric offense = playoff fail
Happened before he got here, too. And you could say the same about Gronknandez I guess...
Patsfans.com would be better without that "article." I am still waiting for it to demonstrate how losing a guy who is on a HOF track makes them better. Hopefully the follow up, PATS DEFENSE BETTER WITHOUT WILFORK, will be better.
We are not even close to that limited. And Arrington isn't under contract either.
There's this thing called a draft. . . .
I think it is hard to deny that the Patriots offense has failed big time when up against good defenses. Is that because of the reliance of Welker or is it because Gronk has been hurt? I do not know, but I do know that when teams make an effort, they can limit Welker, especially in the redzone and the Patriots do not have an answer.
Expecting the Patriots offense to score 30 points a game in the playoffs to win a SB is a bad idea.
In my opinion the issue is that we simply don't have the running game/defense that can carry the team when Brady can't.
Did you actually read the article? It's saying what I've been saying for months now. Our top 3 of all time offense that missed significant time from both Gronkowski and Hernandez does not need a big investment. Even without Welker it'll take a hit, but still be a top 5 offense. Brady has made far worse look passable in the past and we have Hernandez/Gronkowski locked in as our franchise players. It's time to act like they are.
If Wilfork was asking for 30 million a season, yes, we would be better off without Wilfork. Player talent and building in a team isn't built in a vacuum/Madden. You have to take things in context.
It was a minor exaggeration, but the point was that we simply do not have the resources to pay everyone.
I'd be extremely surprised if a day one starter CB fell to us this year.
Yes, I read it and it was every bit as stupid as I maintained it was in my earlier post. The author claimed the Patriots could be better without Welker and then repeated every idiotic argument that relies on hope that player who haven't produced much will do so, and that players who don't stay healthy will stay healthy. In no way does it make the argument that they will actually be better, but instead suggests they may be able to weather the loss, and when you are entering the last seasons of Brady's career hoping that you can weather getting significantly worse offensively is an idiotic approach to winning championships.
The Patriots absolutely have the resources to offer Welker a 4/32/ 20 guaranteed deal, and that would almost certainly get it done, and that's without getting restructures done, which they will almost certainly do this offseason. And it is more than ironic that the same people claiming they can't afford Welker want to turn around and hand a big contract to a CB that couldn't stay healthy for a quarter of the season and who is one strike from a year long suspension, so their argument fails on it's face.
The offense is not "Welker centric" it is Brady centric, and Welker was brought here to give Brady immediate relief from blitzes and has ended up being the best receiver in the league since he came, and anyone who wants to debate that better come with the numbers to prove otherwise. The Patriots would be able to survive without Welker, just as they can survive without any player other than Brady, but they won't be better, and if the goal of the offseason is to get worse than they will achieve that goal early in free agency if Welker signs elsewhere. They could turn around and try to offset that loss but it will cost them dearly by using high draft picks or big money for free agents that could have been used to improve the team without the loss of it's 2nd best player.
Welker is Tom Brady's 3rd down security blanket. He can always be counted on to get open on third down to keep the drive going. His replacement
won't come with this guarantee.
Re-sign Welker at 4-32-20 guaranteed
Unless you're looking at junk years this is too much, IMO.
Unless you're looking at junk years this is too much, IMO.