PATRIOT64
In the Starting Line-Up
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Nice Article from a Miami columnist last September and now is about our new guy...Good stuff and makes you glad we have him and the Dolphins don't 
Wes Welker: A Great Story
September 14, 2006
I’ve got to admit I play favorites. Not always. Not every season. But occasionally a player comes along who has some special ingredients, a player you can’t help but root for, a player with the heart and dedication and class that every coach wants and every team needs.
A player just like Wes Welker.
You look at Welker and you wonder why he isn’t selling insurance or teaching school or doing anything other than throwing around his 5-foot-9, 185-pound frame. But when you look closer, when you see how he catches a football, how he fields punts and kickoffs and how he somehow always makes a difference, you begin to understand that this is far more than The Little Engine That Could.
This is one outstanding football player and, as tough and relentless as Nick Saban can be, the mere mention of Welker’s name brings a look of satisfaction to his face. I’m going to guess that Saban was a lot like Welker as a player. Tough. Fearless. Cerebral. Passionate.
The word during training camp was that the Dolphins were looking for a third wide receiver, that there was a void to fill behind Chris Chambers and Marty Booker. They drafted Derek Hagan with that in mind. They looked for free agents. They brought in a long list of names. Most of those names are now long gone.
The word during training camp was that the Dolphins were also looking for an upgrade at kick returner. A player with the speed to turn six yards into 60. They tried Marcus Vick there. And Cliff Russell. And so many others.
But when the season started on Sept. 7th in Pittsburgh, there was Wes Welker returning kickoffs and punts and serving as the third wide receiver.
Seems like nobody can move Wes Welker out of the lineup.
All Welker did against the Steelers was just about everything. A 47-yard punt return set up a touchdown. Four catches netted 67 yards. He made smart decisions. He didn’t appear to make any mistakes. He is clearly on Daunte Culpepper’s mind, a big endorsement considering Culpepper probably didn’t even know who he was a year ago.
You get the feeling if you could clone Wes Welker, the Dolphins would gladly take four or five of him.
The Dolphins have had players like Welker through the years. Small in stature, big in results. I remember Tommy Vigorito in the early to mid 1980s. He also had a memorable punt return against the Steelers. I remember a kid named Nick Giaquinto out of Connecticut. Only played a couple of seasons. Did just about everything right. The Perfect Dolphins of 1972 had Howard Twilley, a receiver that was supposed to be too small and too slow. All he did was catch everything.
See, the thing about Wes Welker is that he doesn’t only get by on guts and guile. He’s talented as well. Extremely quick. Extremely smart. Some great moves. Just ask the Steelers about that. Back in college at Texas Tech, Welker became the NCAA career record-holder for punt return yards. You need plenty of ability to do that.
It’s interesting that Zach Thomas also played at Texas Tech. Another player who was supposed to be too small to make it. Another player who slam-dunked that notion. They obviously know what they’re doing at Texas Tech.
I’ve gotten to know Wes Welker pretty well over the last couple of years. My son, Travis, has been his partner in Jason Taylor’s charity ping pong tournament. Wes will smile a lot and say the right things and downplay his accomplishments and then he’ll slam a ping pong ball into your face. Just like he plays football.
Ask Welker how he does it, and he’ll smile and shrug. “I just give everything I have and never stop believing.”
A pretty good one-sentence description, don’t you think?
I can’t predict what’s going to happen to Wes Welker next year or even next week. But I can tell you this: As long as he gets his hands on the ball, he’ll keep making plays like he did against the Steelers. There is no telling when No. 83 will give the Dolphins a much-needed spark, no telling when he’ll be the difference in a game. But it will happen. Be sure of that.
Yep, it’s hard not to play favorites when it comes to a player like Wes Welker. The Dolphins are so fortunate to have him.
Not any more..We do now :rocker:
Wes Welker: A Great Story
September 14, 2006
I’ve got to admit I play favorites. Not always. Not every season. But occasionally a player comes along who has some special ingredients, a player you can’t help but root for, a player with the heart and dedication and class that every coach wants and every team needs.
A player just like Wes Welker.
You look at Welker and you wonder why he isn’t selling insurance or teaching school or doing anything other than throwing around his 5-foot-9, 185-pound frame. But when you look closer, when you see how he catches a football, how he fields punts and kickoffs and how he somehow always makes a difference, you begin to understand that this is far more than The Little Engine That Could.
This is one outstanding football player and, as tough and relentless as Nick Saban can be, the mere mention of Welker’s name brings a look of satisfaction to his face. I’m going to guess that Saban was a lot like Welker as a player. Tough. Fearless. Cerebral. Passionate.
The word during training camp was that the Dolphins were looking for a third wide receiver, that there was a void to fill behind Chris Chambers and Marty Booker. They drafted Derek Hagan with that in mind. They looked for free agents. They brought in a long list of names. Most of those names are now long gone.
The word during training camp was that the Dolphins were also looking for an upgrade at kick returner. A player with the speed to turn six yards into 60. They tried Marcus Vick there. And Cliff Russell. And so many others.
But when the season started on Sept. 7th in Pittsburgh, there was Wes Welker returning kickoffs and punts and serving as the third wide receiver.
Seems like nobody can move Wes Welker out of the lineup.
All Welker did against the Steelers was just about everything. A 47-yard punt return set up a touchdown. Four catches netted 67 yards. He made smart decisions. He didn’t appear to make any mistakes. He is clearly on Daunte Culpepper’s mind, a big endorsement considering Culpepper probably didn’t even know who he was a year ago.
You get the feeling if you could clone Wes Welker, the Dolphins would gladly take four or five of him.
The Dolphins have had players like Welker through the years. Small in stature, big in results. I remember Tommy Vigorito in the early to mid 1980s. He also had a memorable punt return against the Steelers. I remember a kid named Nick Giaquinto out of Connecticut. Only played a couple of seasons. Did just about everything right. The Perfect Dolphins of 1972 had Howard Twilley, a receiver that was supposed to be too small and too slow. All he did was catch everything.
See, the thing about Wes Welker is that he doesn’t only get by on guts and guile. He’s talented as well. Extremely quick. Extremely smart. Some great moves. Just ask the Steelers about that. Back in college at Texas Tech, Welker became the NCAA career record-holder for punt return yards. You need plenty of ability to do that.
It’s interesting that Zach Thomas also played at Texas Tech. Another player who was supposed to be too small to make it. Another player who slam-dunked that notion. They obviously know what they’re doing at Texas Tech.
I’ve gotten to know Wes Welker pretty well over the last couple of years. My son, Travis, has been his partner in Jason Taylor’s charity ping pong tournament. Wes will smile a lot and say the right things and downplay his accomplishments and then he’ll slam a ping pong ball into your face. Just like he plays football.
Ask Welker how he does it, and he’ll smile and shrug. “I just give everything I have and never stop believing.”
A pretty good one-sentence description, don’t you think?
I can’t predict what’s going to happen to Wes Welker next year or even next week. But I can tell you this: As long as he gets his hands on the ball, he’ll keep making plays like he did against the Steelers. There is no telling when No. 83 will give the Dolphins a much-needed spark, no telling when he’ll be the difference in a game. But it will happen. Be sure of that.
Yep, it’s hard not to play favorites when it comes to a player like Wes Welker. The Dolphins are so fortunate to have him.
Not any more..We do now :rocker:
