Report: Welker “seriously considering” leaving Patriots

[upstater1]

I think he's referring to the easy drop by Branch on the last drive of the game, unless that's the one you are thinking of also?

That's the one. Deflected.

 

[tonyto3690]

Branch's ball was deflected, not dropped. He was also open and Brady made a bad throw.

I was saying Brady is as much to "blame" for the loss as Welker, but that play and the Hernandez one weren't because of it. Branch was heading right into either getting his head ripped off or forcing Brady to throw an interception. Brady threw it behind him because if he threw it were Branch was going a guy would have intercepted it. Branch should have slowed down and settled into the zone and he left Brady out hanging.

 

[PATSNUTme]

I want the Patriots to keep Wes but I don't want them to keep him at any price.
So, if a team offers him much more than the Patriots are willing to offer, then I wish him the best if he decides to leave.

The Patriots will adjust to losing him. The W-L record over the recent years after losing players to Fa or retirement speaks for itself.

 

[Kontradiction]

I will fully admit to being a huge homer but until this teams gives me a reason not to have %100 confidence in them I will not waiver. And shame on you guys that have. We aren't even complete with 2 days of free agency and I am of the opinion there is already enough talent on the team that we will be in the playoffs so I am not that worried about WR and/or CB at least until the 25 Mil has dried up.

If the Patriots were to take the field today, they wouldn't be able to put together a complete WR unit.

 

[kudzif]

Hernandez, Branch and Brady also cost the team in the SB and in several other play-off games. Does that make them the Mannings of TEs, QBs and Receivers as well?

Seriously, do you stop to think about what you are saying?

Welker had a "drop" on what would have been a circus catch. It's amazing how people ignore the fact that both Hernandez and Branch had drops AFTER that on what should have been much easier catches. And let's not forget that Brady cost them 9 points, essentially, with his boneheaded play in the end zone by throwing the ball deep and getting flagged for intentional grounding.

Or how about is the AFCCG against the Ravens where more than a few of Brady's throws were off target and the receivers couldn't make the catch? I don't see you or others lambasting Brady for that?

The reason you pay receivers top level money is because they give your Qb a higher margin for error (ie The ball does not have to be perfectly placed ,and they can be covered and still come up with the ball or they are clutch). Wes does not do these things so he should not be compensated like he does. His ceiling should be Brian Hartline money

 

[BradyManny]

Is there any reason as his shoulder gets better, that Manning won't go back to making accurate short passes again?

What signs of Manning's health improving are there? Their season ended prematurely because he couldn't throw the damn ball without feeling in his hands. His balls in the second half were all ducks.

Manning's still a menace to deal with. But think about the throws he was making a living off of. 10-15 yard comebacks to two wideouts a combined foot taller than Wes. Beautifully precise lofts and lobs (again, Wes can do it, but its not his thing). I thought all year that his short, underneath stuff was softly thrown, often too high, and he was asking for trouble with it. Ravens got a pick-6 off of a pass like that.

I don't think he could take advantage of Wes the way Brady could.

 

[Belichick8384]

Honestly, with him asking for so much it would probably be best to part ways with him anyhow.

The Patriots could do a lot with that extra money on their hands...

 

[BadMoFo]

There's white smoke! Does that mean Wes Welker signed?

 

[Clonamery]

If the Patriots were to take the field today, they wouldn't be able to put together a complete WR unit.

Spot on, spot effin on. Thank goodness it's March.

 

[Clonamery]

There's white smoke! Does that mean Wes Welker signed?

Holy smokes!

 

[eagle eye]

Am I the only one not bothered by all these silly reports in the media? I'm pretty confident that my gut feeling is right. That feeling is that Welker has an agreement with the Patriots where he will get the best offer that comes from elsewhere matched. Its clear that the Patriots want him, its been clear for some time that he wants to be here.

 

[IllegalContact]

honestly, I think its all smoke.......I think they've already agreed to a deal and now everyone is watching that one hand while the other hand.............is doing nothing

 

[mgcolby]

If the Patriots were to take the field today, they wouldn't be able to put together a complete WR unit.

Today is March 13th. If it were say June 13th then I would be concerned. Seems like a pointless statement given we have the entire FA period, trade period and Draft left to go before Mini-Camps start.

 

[borg]

OK, no seriously, can we move the SB46 talk elsewhere??

If it's really down to Denver vs. NE for Wes, he's going to be a lot happier in NE. Obviously, we don't know the money, but Brady's skillset and passing meshes a million times better with his game than Manning's.

Brady is a classic, accurate passer who zips the ball into tight windows, and who - especially in the last few years - makes a living out of throwing it low and hard. Manning can't do either of those things. Manning's best throws in 2012 were precise lofts, and a lot of over the shoulder stuff. That is not in Wes' wheelhouse. Wes main asset, his ability to separate and get open in an instant, is made even greater by his chemistry with Brady, and Tom's ability to get the ball in their quick.

Break out the violins, the Brady Welker duet is just too irreplaceable. Do you guys just hope the facts occasionally bump into your beliefs. In 2012, Manning was a 68.6% passer while Brady was 63%. Do you really believe Manning will have difficulty with 5 yard dump offs?

 

[RobertWeathers]

honestly, I think its all smoke.......I think they've already agreed to a deal and now everyone is watching that one hand while the other hand.............is doing nothing

If they have already agreed to a deal then you would hear about it.

I'm confident that the team wants WW back and WW wants to come back but they are still apart enough on the terms that they cannot come to an agreement. Both sides are dug in.

 

[signbabybrady]

Losing a player 3 days before the season to trade or losing them in free agency makes little difference when you replace them with garbage, which is what he did. You can believe that Belichick won't make that mistake again and i will hope you are right but right now that doesn't look too promising.

Btw, who did he replace Samuel with?

Building a roster is a fluid process some things leak out in one place while you are trying to fill another. You seem to think that it is a one in one out black and white process.

We replaced Samuels with Deltha Oneal not a good choice but the following year that was remedied by Leigh Bodden which was pretty good unfortuanately he got hurt so it wasnt a long term fix. We then moved onto McCourty and then when we moved him to safety we moved onto Talib. And if Talib moves on we will find someone else. Not all are as good as Asante was but you know what we have been to another SB and we were close again last year without Asante and we will still be able to get there again without Wes.

 

[fgssand]

Losing a player 3 days before the season to trade or losing them in free agency makes little difference when you replace them with garbage, which is what he did. You can believe that Belichick won't make that mistake again and i will hope you are right but right now that doesn't look too promising.

Btw, who did he replace Samuel with?

Yup - you are right. I sure wish we could be more like Miami or Buffalo. The success of those teams this past decade is something I sure would to replicate.

Seriously, can't anyone let the record speak for itself?

I am so sick of fans here, Felger and his asskissing buddy Maz, Borges and the rest of the haters continually bash this team and bellichick, at every turn.

Cap management is crucial and key to the success of the Patriot domination. Nobody does it better.

Doesn't the won loss record count for anything??

 

[kudzif]

When Branch and givens left he brought in Caldwell and Doug Gabriel, however both are tall so that would meet the standards of all of the Madden idiots here. C'mon Mike Williams and chad jackson.

You are distorting people's opinion simply to make yourself look good.Nobody want's other receiver's simply because they are tall : they want vertical threats and think that what Wes does for the Patriots is redundant and replaceable(ie because we have enough between the numbers threats).

 

[BradyManny]

Break out the violins, the Brady Welker duet is just too irreplaceable. Do you guys just hope the facts occasionally bump into your beliefs. In 2012, Manning was a 68.6% passer while Brady was 63%. Do you really believe Manning will have difficulty with 5 yard dump offs?

Facts? Citing their completion percentage is completely meaningless to this conversation.

What part of my argument do you actually disagree with?

And if you think all Brady and Welker do is connect on 5 yard dump-offs, you're selling both of them short. Brady is asked to make throws into small windows precisely when Wes is open, often low and hard throws. Welker is asked to make catches after making insanely quick cuts, while being on the verge of getting pummeled by a 250 LB linebacker.

I don't think the dynamic is irreplaceable, but the notion that it's just pitch and catch is foolish.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Building a roster is a fluid process some things leak out in one place while you are trying to fill another. You seem to think that it is a one in one out black and white process.

We replaced Samuels with Deltha Oneal not a good choice but the following year that was remedied by Leigh Bodden which was pretty good unfortuanately he got hurt so it wasnt a long term fix. We then moved onto McCourty and then when we moved him to safety we moved onto Talib. And if Talib moves on we will find someone else. Not all are as good as Asante was but you know what we have been to another SB and we were close again last year without Asante and we will still be able to get there again without Wes.

You proved my point, letting Samuel walk made them worse, they were unable to replace him and they wasted resources for years trying to do so. It will be the same with Welker unless Belichick hits it out of the park in finding a replacement, and that's not that likely. You simply don't replace HOF quality players easily, and opening up a gaping hole on offense heading into Brady's final years is stupid. Welker is the best value in this free agency, no player with anywhere near his production is going to be paid the way he will, and letting him go to denver will make them much better and the Patriots much worse, it makes absolutely no sense at all. Sometimes Belichick is a complete **** about money, and this appears to be one of his pennywise pound foolish moments. I would much rather see him go for it, that's why Brady gave them the cap room.