Welker and the Fans on Sunday

[Froob]

He should be cheered during intros. One of the all time great patriots. Shame he won't ever win a super bowl.

 

[Horace's Ivories]

boo him - then boo some more for good measure

 

[SalemPats]

Win or lose, you have to cheer WW. He laid it on the line here and played at a high level. I would love to see WW get a ring, with the Pats....

Agreed, he was awesome. More receptions the last 5 years than any other WR, his stats are amazing, but even more so his consistency and toughness. I also believe if he didn't tear his ACL before the playoffs that year we win the SB.

 

[Froob]

Agreed, he was awesome. More receptions the last 5 years than any other WR, his stats are amazing, but even more so his consistency and toughness. I also believe if he didn't tear his ACL before the playoffs that year we win the SB.

what makes you think that? 09 team wasn't nearly as good as 2010 or 11. Welker would have been the only one catching the ball as Moss was a non factor in the playoffs. Hell they might not have beaten the ravens. They'd have no chance vs the saints.

 

[Tunescribe]

After the Patriots refused to give him a long-term deal and franchised him then wouldn't acquiesce to his completely reasonable demands, he left. You can't blame him for not wanting to stay. You can argue that it's all a business or whatever, but it certainly hasn't helped the product on the field, either.

He was offered a very lucrative multi-year deal by the Patriots months before free agency that his agent turned down. He might've been asleep when his agent put him on a slow plane to Denver, but it's still Welker's fault. And between Amendola and Edelman, the "product on the field" hasn't dropped off all that much.

 

[SoCal Pmen]

Fans make more of a big deal about this than the players. It wouldn't surprise me if we hear that Wes, Tom and some of the other former teammates get together for lunch or dinner on Saturday. It also wouldn't surprise me to see Wes back in a Pats uniform in a few years especially if the Broncos don't win the SB and they decide not to resign him. Pats always like to bring back guys that know their system (Branch, Stallworth).

 

[Tunescribe]

Fans make more of a big deal about this than the players. It wouldn't surprise me if we hear that Wes, Tom and some of the other former teammates get together for lunch or dinner on Saturday. It also wouldn't surprise me to see Wes back in a Pats uniform in a few years especially if the Broncos don't win the SB and they decide not to resign him. Pats always like to bring back guys that know their system (Branch, Stallworth).

"In a few years," Welker's physical skills will be kaput.

 

[Ivan]

Stay Classy New England.......................................

 

[Ring 6]

I've been to about 8 games and I dont ever remember the opponents being announced individually, so the point is probably moot, unless you want to give the Broncos a standing ovation when they come out of the locker room.

 

[Tunescribe]

I've been to about 8 games and I dont ever remember the opponents being announced individually, so the point is probably moot, unless you want to give the Broncos a standing ovation when they come out of the locker room.

They will show Wikler individually on the big screen probably late during warmups and perhaps again later.

 

[SalemPats]

what makes you think that? 09 team wasn't nearly as good as 2010 or 11. Welker would have been the only one catching the ball as Moss was a non factor in the playoffs. Hell they might not have beaten the ravens. They'd have no chance vs the saints.

I liked that '09 team. Brady in November and December was fantastic (it took him a good month of regular season games after the ACL), the defense was healthy and the line was great in December, i thought we were rolling well. Also that year was a weird year for the AFC. The Jets got to the playoffs, but they sucked, we could have beaten them. The Ravens backed their way to the playoffs and in the game they beat us everything went their way in the 1st quarter with the fumble and weird int along with Rice's early long rushing td. The Bengals were not going to win and the Colts defense was brutal in the regular season (great in the playoffs). I though we peaked at the perfect time.

 

[AzorianPats]

Boo him....

He'll get his round of applause when his career's over and he enters the Patriots hall of fame. But on Sunday night boo his ass. He left to join our biggest rival for the super bowl, and at the end of the day, we booed Vinateri cuz he joined the Colts, and he at least showed up to play in the big games. Well the Broncos are the new Colts, so screw Welker!

 

[Franchise12]

I don't applaud anyone who wears dirty laundry.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

If I was at Pats game I'd applaud Welker during introductions, after your on ya own Wes.

 

[dannydyn]

I'll be at Gillette and he won't be getting a round of applause from me. Didn't appreciate his prima donna departure, and the fact he took a 'paycut' to play with the Denver and our #1 nemesis.

So no, as far as I'm concerned he can go screw himself, and in the process also drop a few balls.

When everything is said and done, he's only a wide receiver who played it here a for a few years. Not like god forbid, Brady's homecoming (ala Manning playing back in Indy 4 weeks ago).

 

[PATSNUTme]

boo him - then boo some more for good measure

Actually total silence would be the best way to go. Booing sounds like sour grapes. Applause sounds like your supporting a player intent of harming the Patriots. Total silence shows indifference to someone wearing a Bronco's uniform.

 

[Kontradiction]

Actually total silence would be the best way to go. Booing sounds like sour grapes. Applause sounds like your supporting a player intent of harming the Patriots. Total silence shows indifference to someone wearing a Bronco's uniform.

Gillette is usually capable of total silence.

 

[IllegalContact]

Taunting with profanity works for me

 

[Christiancat]

If I was at the game, I would not applaud or boo him. I wish Welker nothing, but the best. Unfortunately, he went to another team. He did not do anything really bad like commit a crime etc. With that being said I hope the a Pats beat the Broncos this Sunday.

 

[Ivan]

Welker was a superb, gritty player for us, even if he missed on a couple of plays.

He also did nothing wrong in leaving worse than trusting the flawed judgment of his agent.

So absolutely he should be greeted with major appreciation, should the opportunity arise.

Welker's agent was just doing his job, he has a legal responsibility to give his player the best advice possible and this case was unlike any before it it in that his client was still producing like one of the top 3 receivers in football but was being offered less than what his team had been paying Chad (16 catches) Ochocinco the year before that. And the truth is that even the vast majority of Welker critics on this board were saying that 3-27 was a fair deal for him if he would take that. No-one, other than possibly the owners recognized that the effect of the new labor agreement on player's over 30 was going to be as extreme as it ended up being, so what people are saying is that Welker's agent should have had advised him to take a fraction of what much lesser receivers were getting (Mike Wallace, Percy Harvin, Pierre Garcon, etc.. etc...) simply because he had turned 31 during his franchised year.


Now that are markers for slot receivers and slot receivers over 30 it will be easier for agents to determine their players value. I can't blame Welkers agent for looking for much much more than he got when his production was only rivaled by Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson in the 3 years prior to his free agency. And there had been no drop-off, which had their been teams could have pointed to as a reason for offering less, instead his value was soiely determined by his size and his age, and he wasn't 35-36, he was 31. And i honestly think Belichick would have bitten the bullet and matched Denver if he had realized that hernandez was going to jail for the rest of his life. I think they would have used Amendola outside more and kept Welker in the slot for a year or two before letting him walk.