Wes Welker signs with Denver Broncos

Brady2Moss said:

It is so sweet to see all the people who screamed at me when I said Bill cheaps out on talent and that HES THE BEST AT BUILDING TEAMS now are jumping off a cliff because he's doing what he has always done, make tough choices. Even I can see that they'll be fine. Seems like people have a serious Welker Syndrome that causes them to be hypocritical only when it comes to their binky WW

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I dunno if I'd call it sweet, but there is a certain truth to the fact that every poster here seems to have at least one veteran for whom they can't accept the Patriots doing business the way they always do business. Some people flipped out when Seymour was traded, some for Vrabel, some for Moss, some were ready to go to the mat for Mankins, and now some for Welker.

Personally, the closest that I ever came was probably with Seymour. The fact that he left the way that he did made me genuinely angry, but over time I got over it. When Moss got the axe the following season, I wasn't thrilled about it, but I had better perspective on the issue and was okay with what was happening. In Welker's case, I'm closer to the Moss scenario than Seymour. I don't like that he left, and I certainly don't like that he left for the Broncos, but if there's one thing that we know, it's that the Pats honestly think that they're better off spending that money somewhere else. They do not think that Welker is worth the contract that he got from Denver. The fact that they had a chance to match the offer and chose not to does matter, in this respect.

Will they be right? Who knows. I'm skeptical; it really only makes sense if there was some behind-the-scenes stuff going on that made the Pats extremely worried that the wheels were going to fall off imminently.

I think my logic is just fine and dandy. BB is an egotistical ahole. What, is he above reproach? Maybe he should be elected as the next pope? BB sucks as a personnel manager. That is evident. He was blessed by fate to land a young hungry Tom Brady. He did zero with Cleveland before coming here. Zero. How many draft busts have we had in the last 10 years? When is the last time we had a secondary? Or a pass rush? Look at our assistant coaches. Our DB coach is a farce. Our so called D coordinator wouldn't qualify as a waterboy on any other team. The guy has too much control and guess what, it's not working anymore. This Welker move was so obviously personal. Even Brady is pizzed off.
Somebody needs to put this guy in check. But Kraft is too busy chasing young inappropriate tail and counting his billions with his cronies to do anything about it. This team is turning into the red sox, part 2.

kudzif said:

I don't think not resigning Wes was about money its more a philosophical change.The Patriots gave us that clue early last season .If the Te's did not get injured i think we would have clearly seen this change.

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then why offer $10m...if they didn't want him, let him walk....They wanted him for $10m, but not $12m...It ended up being about the $$$.

Not thrilled with the news. However....

There are any number of combination of FA signings/trades that could happen over the coming days or weeks that could change my mind.

Chrissakes, ya know how we always laughed about the Jets fans crowing about offseason championships??? This is the opposite. The offseason sky-is-falling stuff that was sort of cute when Red Sox fans mastered the art back in the day. From Pats fans, it's just obnoxious.

Come late April, I may be b1tching about the move too. But I would like to see what the plan is, and how it unfolds.

Not gonna go back and quote posts, but two obnoxious themes I've seen:

1. "FU Kraft...Kraft should have vetoed this..."

Really? Kraft is not Jerry Jones, and thank dog for that. We always liked when he learned from the Parcells/Carroll years and decided to let the football people make the football decision, didn't we? He wanted Welker to stay. BB didn't. Kraft stayed out of it. Thank you, Mr. Kraft.

2. "What did Brady take a pay cut for? We probably won't even spend to the cap..."

Really, REALLY? Since when does this team not spend its cap allowance?

If Belichick goes absolutely ape-**** on spending the available cap space getting the best defensive talent available, and the offense takes a small step backward, I am at the very least intrigued.

EDIT: I'm deleting my original post here. It doesnt contribute anything to the conversation which is already overwrought (and understandably so) with emotions and overreactions.

Fill: I wish we could find out more about the "incentives" that were offered.

My shock is that I was thinking that the only way the two sides hadnt reached an agreement was because Welker HAD to be asking for something like 10+ million a year.

The man is worth every penny of 6 million a year. And worth every penny of 8 or 9.

Run DMC said:

I think my logic is just fine and dandy. BB is an egotistical ahole. What, is he above reproach? Maybe he should be elected as the next pope? BB sucks as a personnel manager. That is evident. He was blessed by fate to land a young hungry Tom Brady. He did zero with Cleveland before coming here. Zero.

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This is false. BB turned that franchise around. He took them from losers to the play-offs in 3 years. But, you wouldn't understand that it was basically HIS team that won the 2000 SB in Baltimore. Oh what? You didn't know that? Yeah. The only reason he was canned was because the owner wanted a new regime in Baltimore. You know. A new start kind of thing.

Run DMC said:

How many draft busts have we had in the last 10 years? When is the last time we had a secondary? Or a pass rush? Look at our assistant coaches. Our DB coach is a farce. Our so called D coordinator wouldn't qualify as a waterboy on any other team.

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You're clearly talking out your rear end. The Patriots are considered by many in the league to be amongst the best at drafting players. They've had far more success than busts.

Patricia is considered one of the best up and coming DCs in the league.

Run DMC said:

The guy has too much control and guess what, it's not working anymore. This Welker move was so obviously personal. Even Brady is pizzed off.
Somebody needs to put this guy in check. But Kraft is too busy chasing young inappropriate tail and counting his billions with his cronies to do anything about it. This team is turning into the red sox, part 2.

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Brady isn't "pizzed" off. Tom Curran issues a CORRECTION saying that someone close to Brady was the one who was upset. NOT Brady.

I'm not happy about Welker leaving, but your reactions are absolutely ridiculous.

Bill Belichick is an overrated bum; seriously he would have been fired from the head coaching job in New England had it not been for the fortuitous injury to Bledsoe that compelled the team to start Tom Brady, who has completely made Belichick's career. The numbers back it up; Belichick is a loser without Brady. Belichick's arrogance facilitated the Welker departure. Belichick's incompetence as general manager had led to the demise of the defense which will prevent the team from winning another championship in the Brady-era. Why this boob is revered in New England at this point in time is a total mystery. The team will not win another championship with Belichick calling the shots. Period. And it's a shame that Brady will have the latter part of his career wasted at the hands of such an arrogant fool.

Btw, Robert Kraft is a total fraud as well. Cheap douche.

It sucks to see wes go, but i think this makes gronk/hernandez more chances to dominate the middle

Not to keep Welker after he gave the Pats the opportunity to match is a huge disappointment.

This shows how little the reporters who cover the Pats know. One shill had Wes getting $4 million for 5 years. This sets expectations for the players.

Too bad.

I don't get the "philosophical change" points. Did we need a philosophical change on offense? I tend to think we needed more talent on defense.

But anyway, with Welker on the team, Brady has averaged fewer than 10 interceptions a year. I don't think that's an accident. The man guarding Welker almost never gets a pick unless it's a freak play. If anyone wants to give me over under 10 Brady picks for for 2014, I'll take the over. Welker has averaged more than 60 first downs a year. He doesn't fumble. (He's lost two in his career.) He's a chain-moving, turnover preventer and a first-down generator. That's what wins. I just don't see how you let that go, no matter what your "philosophy" in a 2-year contract for $6 million per. Doesn't make any sense to me.

Looking at the over side of this is painful too. I wouldn't have minded the Patriots giving up $1 million a year for the next two years in cap room solely to keep Welker off the Broncos. He will be devastating on that team. He gives Manning exactly what he needs -- it makes him very tough to get off the field and he's a first down option with very low interception potential when targeted.

I think this was about personality and interpersonal conflicts. My belief has always been that this team is above that stuff and just goes about its business. That belief has been shaken today.

Again, for the people who missed it the last couple of times that it was brought up in this thread:

Tom Curran did not say that Brady was enraged. He said that someone who is close to Brady is enraged. This is even less credible of a statement than when everyone said he was furious about his contract status a couple of years back. There's nothing to it. Curran even clarified the statement, and seemed genuinely surprised that so many people had misread it.

Absolutely pathetic.

jukes said:

It sucks to see wes go, but i think this makes gronk/hernandez more chances to dominate the middle

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Sorry, but I disagree.

Look at this past year.

When Edelman got hurt, and/or Hern got hurt, and or Gronk got hurt,

WHO stepped up? Welker. Super durable.

This is something I think even BillB and Patriots Front Office, probably did not thought of...

Seems like the Adam Vinatiere situation all over again.

PatriotReign said:

He has to feel cheated and betrayed. He restructured so we could keep players like Wes around.

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He didn't restructure enough. $12 million/year is 10% of the salary cap and just $1.8 million less than Tom Brady. If they matched the $12 million per year offer, Brady and Welker would be at $25.8 million or roughly 21% of the cap.

The Broncos have Manning at $20M and Welker at $12 accounting for 25% of their cap. Good luck with that.

I think the Broncos got weaker with this deal. The saving grace is the contract is for just two years. But this sort of spending means you sacrifice depth all over the field.

Bold move. Elway is a real gambler.

PatsFaninAZ said:

I don't get the "philosophical change" points. Did we need a philosophical change on offense? I tend to think we needed more talent on defense.

But anyway, with Welker on the team, Brady has averaged fewer than 10 interceptions a year. I don't think that's an accident. The man guarding Welker almost never gets a pick unless it's a freak play. If anyone wants to give me over under 10 Brady picks for for 2014, I'll take the over. Welker has averaged more than 60 first downs a year. He doesn't fumble. (He's lost two in his career.) He's a chain-moving, turnover preventer and a first-down generator. That's what wins. I just don't see how you let that go, no matter what your "philosophy" in a 2-year contract for $6 million per. Doesn't make any sense to me.

Looking at the over side of this is painful too. I wouldn't have minded the Patriots giving up $1 million a year for the next two years in cap room solely to keep Welker off the Broncos. He will be devastating on that team. He gives Manning exactly what he needs -- it makes him very tough to get off the field and he's a first down option with very low interception potential when targeted.

I think this was about personality and interpersonal conflicts. My belief has always been that this team is above that stuff and just goes about its business. That belief has been shaken today.

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Think about it. BillB traded for Welker, because at that time, Patriots had a very tough time covering him, when he was a Phin. Now, we have to do that again, and we already have a HARD TIME covering the middle-of-the-field!

jukes said:

It sucks to see wes go, but i think this makes gronk/hernandez more chances to dominate the middle

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Thats the key I guess, Pats plan has to be; we got enough talent and players to work the middle let's use money elsewhere

I could get physically sick when I see Welker in a Broncos uniform.

goheels22002 said:

He didn't restructure enough. $12 million/year is 10% of the salary cap and just $1.8 million less than Tom Brady. If they matched the $12 million per year offer, Brady and Welker would be at $25.8 million or roughly 21% of the cap.

The Broncos have Manning at $20M and Welker at $12 accounting for 25% of their cap. Good luck with that.

I think the Broncos got weaker with this deal. The saving grace is the contract is for just two years. But this sort of spending means you sacrifice depth all over the field.

Bold move. Elway is a real gambler.

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Umm, Welker's deal is 2 years for a TOTAL of $12 Million. It's not 2 years at $12M per year.

goheels22002 said:

He didn't restructure enough. $12 million/year is 10% of the salary cap and just $1.8 million less than Tom Brady. If they matched the $12 million per year offer, Brady and Welker would be at $25.8 million or roughly 21% of the cap.

The Broncos have Manning at $20M and Welker at $12 accounting for 25% of their cap. Good luck with that.

I think the Broncos got weaker with this deal. The saving grace is the contract is for just two years. But this sort of spending means you sacrifice depth all over the field.

Bold move. Elway is a real gambler.

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Welker didn't sign for $12M per year. That's the total amount for two years.