Welker:Toward the end in NE, BB got on him in a way he never had before

[Bruins29]

We will miss him.

More than anyone else who has played here?

I miss winning superbowls.

 

[goheels22002]

More than anyone else who has played here?

I miss winning superbowls.

I can name 100 guys we've missed less than we will Welker. How about Ochocinco? Do you think you'll miss his 15 catches as much as Wes' 118?

Welker will have a productive season in Denver this year, barring injury. Answer this: do you think any current receiver on the Patriots will have as many receptions as Wes Welker will have for the Broncos in 2013?

I don't.

 

[Bruins29]

I can name 100 guys we've missed less than we will Welker. How about Ochocinco? Do you think you'll miss his 15 catches as much as Wes' 118?

Welker will have a productive season in Denver this year, barring injury. Answer this: do you think any current receiver on the Patriots will have as many receptions as Wes Welker will have for the Broncos in 2013?

I don't.

Do I give s ***** about stats? We all know who stats are for. WW is a great player and....so was Dan Marino.

I miss winning superbowls.

 

[Joker]

I miss winning superbowls.

got addicting there for a few seasons..didn't it?

I just hope we don't miss getting the chance to make the Super Bowl in the coming years..

 

[supafly]

Answer this: do you think any current receiver on the Patriots will have as many receptions as Wes Welker will have for the Broncos in 2013?

I don't.

I think that anything is possible, but that you'd be right the majority of the time.

One thing to take into consideration is the fact that DEN has 2 other weapons who both received about 100 catches last season, so Welker's production may be somewhat "off" of his current pace that he's expected even considering the fact that he's almost certain to have a good year there.

Amendola--if healthy, can provide more of the catches and yardage that you may initally realize; not saying that he's as good as Welker, just that he has the capacity to thrive in our system just as well. The concern of course is his ability to stay healthy.

If I had to make a choice between DA and WW for my fantasy team, I'd have to give it a lot of thought due to DEN having more weapons and the possibility that Amendola is Brady's main guy here.

We're forced to trust in Belichick on this one, and while I was very pissed when Welker left, I did feel significantly better one hour later when the Amendola signing was reported.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

I wonder whether Wes never really got over being benched for joking about Rex's foot fetish. It was seemingly minor at the time and just for one series, but it was a publc rebuke. I always thought Wes seemed overly peeved about it, and I think I can see his side a little. Not sayng it's right, but I could see Welket thinkng, "we're on the same team and that guy can't shut up, you're punshing me for poking a little fun at a guy we hate"?

I'm sure Welker understands the bigger point and BB's obsessive avoidance of bulletin board material, but he's only human. I'm sure it felt a bit like a betrayal. Seemed to be the beginning of the end.

Those saying maybe BB is in his head, I hope you're right. I think he's going to play well against us.

 

[SVN]

Wes Welker details how bond with Bill Belichick fell apart - Sports - The Boston Globe


http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-.../_/id/4746336/video-reiss-on-welkers-comments

two really contrasting comments. One hand he says he left because of more than money .On the other according to reiss he was negotiating till the last minute with BB

 

[SVN]

The SI magazine cover in question

https://twitter.com/ProLinkSports/status/365076331509194754/photo/1

I hope all their preseason predictions fail.

 

[Joker]

I LOVE that cover....so much possible schadenfreude...

 

[supafly]

Wes Welker details how bond with Bill Belichick fell apart - Sports - The Boston Globe


Video: Reiss on Welker's comments - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

two really contrasting comments. One hand he says he left because of more than money .On the other according to reiss he was negotiating till the last minute with BB

Yeah, it was definitely reported all day in multiple circles that Welker and his agent went back to NE/Belichick after Denver made their offer, so that would point to the negotiations continuing up until the final minute.

It's also a reason why I think it definitely had more to do with than just money, because Belichick obviously could've chosen to come up to a 2/11 deal, which was only another million dollars. That, coupled with the fact that we were giving him more guaranteed money in the first year at 8.5m + Welker's relationship with Brady and the area etc would lead me to believe that certainly would have been enough for Welker to stay. It doesn't sound like he wanted to go. It sounds instead like he was practically forced to go.

To be honest it almost sounds like a game of chicken, and Bill Belichick just wasn't going to move one small inch. I think that turned Wes and his agent off a lot, but from Belichick's perspective it would seem almost strange to allow such an important piece of the offense to walk over such a small and measly amount of money. I know that BB is always about the final dollar, but this is a case that reeks of having more aspects than just that, and I've thought that from day one.

 

[Demosthenes]

I can name 100 guys we've missed less than we will Welker. How about Ochocinco? Do you think you'll miss his 15 catches as much as Wes' 118?

Welker will have a productive season in Denver this year, barring injury. Answer this: do you think any current receiver on the Patriots will have as many receptions as Wes Welker will have for the Broncos in 2013?

I don't.

I don't think Welker will have anywhere near the production with Manning that he had with Brady and the Pats because Peyton never has targeted the slot receiver nearly as often, and I don't think he's about to change the offense in order to do so.

As to the 2nd part of your question, I think that Brady will be less reliant on a single receiver this year, and instead, will spread the ball more.

 

[Pewsterbaby]

That guy is a dead ringer for Phil Lynott.

I thought the same thing. Lynott was the freaking man. Hella sexy & charismatic. There's a great Thin Lizzy concert on You Tube when they play outdoors in front of The Sydney Opera House at dusk.

 

[PatsDeb]

I don't think Welker will have anywhere near the production with Manning that he had with Brady and the Pats because Peyton never has targeted the slot receiver nearly as often, and I don't think he's about to change the offense in order to do so.

As to the 2nd part of your question, I think that Brady will be less reliant on a single receiver this year, and instead, will spread the ball more.

Agree with what you've said, but I'll still miss Welker. Hopefully Brady won't miss him so much...

 

[PatsDeb]

I think that anything is possible, but that you'd be right the majority of the time.

One thing to take into consideration is the fact that DEN has 2 other weapons who both received about 100 catches last season, so Welker's production may be somewhat "off" of his current pace that he's expected even considering the fact that he's almost certain to have a good year there.

Amendola--if healthy, can provide more of the catches and yardage that you may initally realize; not saying that he's as good as Welker, just that he has the capacity to thrive in our system just as well. The concern of course is his ability to stay healthy.

If I had to make a choice between DA and WW for my fantasy team, I'd have to give it a lot of thought due to DEN having more weapons and the possibility that Amendola is Brady's main guy here.

We're forced to trust in Belichick on this one, and while I was very pissed when Welker left, I did feel significantly better one hour later when the Amendola signing was reported.

I didn't feel better until we started getting reports that Brady is working well with Amendola and some potentially explosive rookies. Hopefully that continues when the real games start. Wouldn't it be great if youth and speed prove to be just as good as experience this year?

 

[supafly]

I didn't feel better until we started getting reports that Brady is working well with Amendola and some potentially explosive rookies. Hopefully that continues when the real games start. Wouldn't it be great if youth and speed prove to be just as good as experience this year?

The fact that Brady and Amendola are using hand signals to make sure they are both reading the same thing isn't surprising when you think about it, but it does speak volumes to the level of professionalism and success that we can expect from both of them.

The Llyod (and even Welker) situations just seemed too strange for Belichick to allow both of them to walk without some halfway decent reasoning. I'm not sure if you've seen any of the horrible percentage numbers of the failure of our downfield passing attack last year, but there's no way that Belichick couldn't have wanted a huge improvement in that regard.

Youth, speed, the ability to actually beat man coverage, YACs, and also draw some added attention from safeties at times may end up equating to just as much success as the "experience" factor that we are so concerned about.

 

[Coach42]

I don't think Welker will have anywhere near the production with Manning that he had with Brady and the Pats because Peyton never has targeted the slot receiver nearly as often, and I don't think he's about to change the offense in order to do so.

As to the 2nd part of your question, I think that Brady will be less reliant on a single receiver this year, and instead, will spread the ball more.

This is utterly ridiculous.

 

[Demosthenes]

This is utterly ridiculous.

What's so utterly ridiculous about it ?

 

[PatsDeb]

The fact that Brady and Amendola are using hand signals to make sure they are both reading the same thing isn't surprising when you think about it, but it does speak volumes to the level of professionalism and success that we can expect from both of them.

The Llyod (and even Welker) situations just seemed too strange for Belichick to allow both of them to walk without some halfway decent reasoning. I'm not sure if you've seen any of the horrible percentage numbers of the failure of our downfield passing attack last year, but there's no way that Belichick couldn't have wanted a huge improvement in that regard.

Youth, speed, the ability to actually beat man coverage, YACs, and also draw some added attention from safeties at times may end up equating to just as much success as the "experience" factor that we are so concerned about.

I'm not a stats person, but I watch every game intently, so of course I know that our down field passing game was pretty much non-existent last year (and pretty much every year since Moss lost a step [then lost his mind, but I digress]). I remember watching games last year and being particularly jealous of the big, fast receivers the Ravens or the Saints have and wishing we had some of those.

I have been reading through the thread and have to agree with the posters (of which you are one, I think) that think that BB just didn't want Welker back, whether it's because he didn't like the drops, didn't like his attitude or just decided it's time to go in another direction. I thought that at the time when the facts came out about his contract in Denver. We could have matched that or upped it if we really wanted him back, but we didn't do it. I was crushed and shocked because I love Welker and thought the Pats were making a big mistake.

Time will tell.

This is for all the people who jump into attack mode the minute someone says something positive or negative about WW - I wish him well in Denver; I don't think he hates the Pats; he probably should keep his mouth shut about BB, even though what he said isn't that bad or surprising (because it diminishes him not BB); just because I wish he made a certain catch doesn't mean I don't appreciate all he did here. Sheesh people lighten up! You can't imagine how many threads I stop reading because they turn into personal attacks and pissing contests. There is no need to lead off your opinion by saying, "All you morons..." etc. or picking a fight with another poster. It's just a message board and nobody's opinion is better than anyone else's.

 

[DarrylS]

Got to thinking about the whole premise of this thread, and remember long ago when I played football... the coaches all get me in a way that I had never been gotten before.

Their job is to motivate you, not coddle you... I like Welker, but often he falls prey to the media who salivate about anything how bad a person BB is...

 

[patman52]

Welker gave the fans plenty to cheer for and he was a great player for us. His football personality is everything a fan could ask for in a player, but his off the field personality was such that he was not comfortable being restrained. Like a lot of athletes he thinks his thoughts on any subject are something that he needs to share with the world.