WELKER: " I let the team down "

[Elijah T.]

It was a tough catch...And it wouldn't be as big a deal if I hadn't seen Welker make that catch a few times this season.

He usually corrals it into his body and falls straight back, for some reason he tried to maintain balance and trap it with his hands instead of falling back.

We've seen him make the over shoulder seam catch away from his frame just like that before-- falling straight back. He didn't this time.

But I don't blame Wes for the loss...Not at all...Way too many missed opportunities with fumbles and untimely penalties to pin it on one dropped ball.

 

[patsderoer]

I'm surprised that some of the people posting in this thread, whose opinions I normally respect, are so utterly clueless on this one.

1. What part of he could have/should have made the catch, but Brady threw it on the wrong shoulder and made it a tough as hell catch do you guys not understand. Sure Welker is going to say he should have made it, but for a 5-9 guy that it a circus catch.

2. Welker is maning up and showing EXACTLY WHY he should be a Patriot next year and beyond, and all you guys can do is use that against him--to prove that somehow that was really the single play (if there is one) that lost us the game. Absolutely pathetic. I would expect this kind of idiocy out of Jets fans but not here.

This. Blame goes for me 90% on Brady for that "drop". Welker did what he was supposed to do, got the separation, got wide open, Brady throws a ****ty lob on the wrong shoulder, forcing Welker to jump as high as he could, with his back towards the ground, and to rotate his body, to make an incredible difficult catch. Basically Brady could not had made it more difficult for Welker without completely overthrowing him.

If you watch Welker's highlights this season, if Brady makes just an average pass like he did all season to Welker, no doubt Welker catches the ball in his stride, takes it home and wins the game.

And lets remember how Brady very similarly overthrew a wide open Gronkowski vs Ravens. If Gronkowski on that play jumped as high as he could, with his back towards the ground, on his wrong shoulder, and made contact with both hands with the ball but still dropped, would that mean that Gronkowski should be blamed for the "drop"?

 

[jcdavey]

i just heard what giselle said about welker not catching the ball

wow!

gonna be interesting next time wes goes over to use tom's bathroom....damn

 

[ausbacker]

Sure, IF Welker caught the ball, it may be different. BUT, there were OTHER plays that would have turned the tide:

- Cruz fumbled the ball, Patriots recoverd the ball. BUT, Patriots had
12 (bonehead mistake) on the field. Negates the turnover.

- 3rd-11, Eli threw an incomplete pass deep on Patriots-side. Negated
because Ninkovich was offside.

IMO - Giants WRs can go veritical as well as middle. Our WRs (less than 6')
cannot go vertical.

Bend not break. Well, the yards given up hurt us..

The Ninkovich penalty was a massive play for both sides. What would have given the Patriots the ball back with favorable field position turned into a 3rd down completion. It was a massive play in the game, one which appeared difficult to overcome.

The thing that hurt the most about the game was that the Patriots mistakes cost them a championship.

 

[sambam94]

he "caught" the top half of the ball, and when trying to pull it in it immediately lost control. It was a catch he makes over 90% of the time IMO. Both his hands were too close to the top of the ball to control it.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

i just heard what giselle said about welker not catching the ball

wow!

gonna be interesting next time wes goes over to use tom's bathroom....damn

She was basically talking to the stalkerazzi. I ain't holding it against her.

 

[Elijah T.]

This. Blame goes for me 90% on Brady for that "drop". Welker did what he was supposed to do, got the separation, got wide open, Brady throws a ****ty lob on the wrong shoulder, forcing Welker to jump as high as he could, with his back towards the ground, and to rotate his body, to make an incredible difficult catch. Basically Brady could not had made it more difficult for Welker without completely overthrowing him.

If you watch Welker's highlights this season, if Brady makes just an average pass like he did all season to Welker, no doubt Welker catches the ball in his stride, takes it home and wins the game.

And lets remember how Brady very similarly overthrew a wide open Gronkowski vs Ravens. If Gronkowski on that play jumped as high as he could, with his back towards the ground, on his wrong shoulder, and made contact with both hands with the ball but still dropped, would that mean that Gronkowski should be blamed for the "drop"?

Valid point. But the issue is that Welker has made the same catch a number of times. When it's away from him high and outside he bats it slightly into his forearms/body and then drops straight back.

It was a split second decision, he chose to attempt a hands catch and balance himself.

 

[jcdavey]

She was basically talking to the stalkerazzi. I ain't holding it against her.

very harsh comments though

 

[patsfan13]

This. Blame goes for me 90% on Brady for that "drop". Welker did what he was supposed to do, got the separation, got wide open, Brady throws a ****ty lob on the wrong shoulder, forcing Welker to jump as high as he could, with his back towards the ground, and to rotate his body, to make an incredible difficult catch. Basically Brady could not had made it more difficult for Welker without completely overthrowing him.

If you watch Welker's highlights this season, if Brady makes just an average pass like he did all season to Welker, no doubt Welker catches the ball in his stride, takes it home and wins the game.

And lets remember how Brady very similarly overthrew a wide open Gronkowski vs Ravens. If Gronkowski on that play jumped as high as he could, with his back towards the ground, on his wrong shoulder, and made contact with both hands with the ball but still dropped, would that mean that Gronkowski should be blamed for the "drop"?

Brady was injured when he was hit by Uminyoura, his accuracy was way off after the injury. Try throwing accurately and avoid hits form 300lb guys when you have a separated shoulder and let us know how it goes.

That said it was a tough catch, one we have gotten used to Welker making, that is the nature of sports you never know how it will turn out.

 

[RoughingthePasser]

Wes's timing is off. He plants and jumps too soon-it looks awkward.

 

[karran_s]

Brady was injured when he was hit by Uminyoura, his accuracy was way off after the injury. Try throwing accurately and avoid hits form 300lb guys when you have a separated shoulder and let us know how it goes.

That said it was a tough catch, one we have gotten used to Welker making, that is the nature of sports you never know how it will turn out.

Absolutely.. not sure if any of these guys have tried to throw a football with your left shoulder injured. The muscles are connected and although you use your right arm to throw, the action will produce incredible pain (which can be numbed) but your timing / coordination will be slightly off. Given that, it is remarkable that Brady still threw where the ball landed.

Also, watch the series before he gets that hit from Justin Tuck. He was great in that series.

This is football - at the SB level, a play here, a play there will cost you the game. The margin for error is ridiculously small and you do need a few breaks too along the way. The Giants got those breaks - we didn't.

All in all, a great season - although we came up short in the end

 

[eom]

I'll never understand this obsession of trying to figure out who to point the finger at.

it's welker's fault, right?
so, that 12 men penalty didn't make any difference?
the safety made no difference?
allowing the manningham catch made no difference?
etc etc

this whole exercise of trying to figure out who to blame is ******ed.
how is it a team sport when you win, but when you lose we have to find one guy to lynch?

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I'll never understand this obsession of trying to figure out who to point the finger at.

it's welker's fault, right?
so, that 12 men penalty didn't make any difference?
the safety made no difference?
allowing the manningham catch made no difference?
etc etc

this whole exercise of trying to figure out who to blame is ******ed.
how is it a team sport when you win, but when you lose we have to find one guy to lynch?

Everything you say is true, but it all has a flip side.

Belichick says it best when he constantly makes the remark that "big games come down to who makes a play when it has to be made."

Sure the catch was a tough one for Welker, but it's one he's made often. Manningham's catch (securing a ball slightly off target and too close to the OB line while getting both feet down in bounds) was tough as well, but he made it.

While all the other stuff you mention was important, those two plays can be seen as the difference in the game.

 

[eom]

Everything you say is true, but it all has a flip side.

Belichick says it best when he constantly makes the remark that "big games come down to who makes a play when it has to be made."

Sure the catch was a tough one for Welker, but it's one he's made often. Manningham's catch (securing a ball slightly off target and too close to the OB line while getting both feet down in bounds) was tough as well, but he made it.

While all the other stuff you mention was important, those two plays can be seen as the difference in the game.

so can a dozen other plays.
why's this one magic?

 

[PatsFanSince74]

very harsh comments though

It's important how TB handles it over the next few days and weeks.

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

Welker isnt to blame. Not the best throw, but still, Welker normally comes down with it. Either way, there's plenty of blame to go around on that offense.

So, if he's feeling quilty, maybe nows the time to negotiate a new deal with a hometown discount

 

[4thDown&GoingForIt]

so can a dozen other plays.
why's this one magic?

Because the 4th quarter is when games are won or lost.

 

[eom]

Because the 4th quarter is when games are won or lost.

the other 3 quarters don't count?

 

[West Philly Patriot]

the other 3 quarters don't count?

If the game was only 3 quarters long than we would've won. We had the lead in the 4th so when you lose a game like that the 4th quarter should justifiably be highly scrutinized.

 

[eom]

If the game was only 3 quarters long than we would've won. We had the lead in the 4th so when you lose a game like that the 4th quarter should justifiably be highly scrutinized.

if the game was only 3 quarters long and those 3 quarters were the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, we would've won, too.