Keegs; I love Welker. He is definitely one of my favorite players now.
But he needs to keep his mouth shut on this. How many rings does Welker have?
Wait until you win a Super Bowl before saying that crap.
Agreed. Welker doesn't really know how the shoes feel after winning a couple championships. At the same time, Samuel hasn't been on a team that wasn't expected to compete for a title every year. Asante might have some regrets in the days between paychecks.
BrianPat; I think Welker could have dropped the last two words, but I also think he's saying he expects to wearing a ring or two as a Patriot. Also, after last year, he's earned the right to say what he wants, ring or no ring, he's was one of the reasons the Patriots had the year they did.
The comments by Welker are much more candid than what we generally hear from Patriot players and staff, but there is no doubt that most fans haven't thought the exact words that Wes let come out his mouth. IMO, I think Wes earned some serious respect last season and may be a leader in the lockroom a la Bruschi, Harrison, et al. As a leader, he might want to keep his mouth shut on issues; no matter how bad they sting your chances of winning in 2009.
Signbabybrady; IMO the only people who shuold be mad about the comment are those who play for and those who follow the Eagles. Because what the comments says is you don't have a chance to win a ring there.
And if an Eagle fan were to mouth off about the situation, I would tell them to look at where the Pats have been over the last 6-7 years and compare it to where the Eagles have been. No doubt the Eagles have been a competitive team, but they weren't 18-1 last season. Instead, they were probably trying to figure out what to do with McNabb and Kolb. If it were the Cowboys, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
PatriotsfaninPA; I also think the Eagles have as good a shot as any team in the NFC to get to the Super Bowl and have enough talent to win it all in 2008 (If McNabb can handle the pressure)
Tough division for the Eagles. Every team in their division made the playoffs but them last year and the Cowboys look just as strong, if not stronger. Asante isn't even the missing link to winning a championship because they had talent at the corner position. Jared Allen to the Vikings was a bigger move and will lead to more wins for the Vikings than Asante in the secondary with Lito and Sheldon.
GoWhalers; If your team is composed of older veteran players, they're more likely to appreciate the rare opportunity to be able to compete for a championship (pro) but are not as athletically gifted and more likely to retire once they get one (con, see Strahan, Michael). A team is at risk of losing its veteran leadership after winning just one championship, but maybe that leadership is replaceable.
Solid post. Over the years, I think Pats players have thought winning championships was easy or maybe they just didn't care for it as much as the money. As Pats fans, we have seen guys like Ted Washington, Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, Deion Branch, David Patten, A-Vin, David Givens, Daniel Graham, Damien Woody and a number of coaches leave this team because of their talent out the team's success.
At the same time, the Pats have gotten very talented veterans like Seau, Dillon, Moss, Harrison, and have been able to manipulate the draft by trading first round picks to move up the board in following years.
Don't blame him for taking the money, but I would feel better if (1) he was still on the Pats (dropped INT or not) and (2) if the NFL was less a business and more a sport where championships held better value long term.
