To address the point of Morris and Welker, Morris was basically out of Miami anyway it went. With the expected return of Ricky Williams his salary would have been too high to warrant keeping him around. And as for Welker, I'll gladly take 2 draft picks for a player who proved to be a mediocre kick returner, horrible punt returner, and have no home run threat at all. In 3 years in Miami he scored 1 touchdown.
No offense, but your evaluation of Welker is pure garbage and shows a lack of knowledge of the game in general.
Miami's kick return blocking was some of the WORST in the league. As was their punt return blocking. Its why Miami led the league in fair catches with 29. That was 6 more than anyone else. Welker had a 9.2 punt return avg. Considering the inordinate number of fair catches he had to make, that is still a pretty damn good average.
Also, Welker scored 2 TDs in Miami. One on a kick-off return in his rookie year and one receiving TD. But considering he is a 5'9 slot receiver, that is hardly surprisinig. Miami tended to go to McMichael and Chambers in the red zone. So, how can you hold that against Welker? You can't if you know anything about the way the game of football is played.
Also, out of Welkers 67 receptions, 33 of them went for 1st downs. That is pretty good considering how poor the Maimi QB situation was last year.
As for your last question, I never said that I put more of a premium on fan favorite players. I was just stating that the Pats release a lot of fan favorites. Which is why I asked if fans are willing to accept that their favorite players aren't going to be around for long. And if that was okay with them as long as the team is winning.
Do you know how many "fan favorites" the Pats have released in the past 5 years? Here, count them. Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Troy Brown, Corey Dillon.
Milloy refused to restructure his contract to help the Patriots out of a jamb that a rash of injuries caused just before the start of the 2003 season. It also didn't help Milloy that in 2002, he had his worst season as a professional.
Ty Law asked for his release when the Patriots and he couldn't reach an agreement on a contract extension. Ty Law was attempting to recover from a Lis Franc injury. Law was 31 at the time of his release.
Willie McGinest, 34, asked for his release after the Pats and he couldn't come to an agreement on restructuring his contract. McGinest had lost a step and he wasn't the pass rusher that the Pats were used to seeing.
Troy Brown was 34 prior to the start of free agency last year and the Pats and he couldn't reach a deal to restructure his contract. The Pats released him, but continued to try and work out a deal. Troy returned last year after a heart to heart with his son who didn't want to see him in any uniform other than a Pats uniform. Troy Brown is recovering from knee surgery currently and his status is uncertain for the season.
Corey Dillon quickly won the hearts of the Pats faithful. He spent 3 good years here. However, the Pats decided it was time to part ways as they clearly felt that Dillon wasn't able to bring his A game anymore. Rumor has it that Dillon's agent had also asked for Dillon's release so that Dillon could retire. That rumor remains unconfirmed.
Now, If you are talking about players like Joe Andruzzi, David Patten, Ted Washington, Tom Ashworth, David Givens and Adam Vinatieri, only Vinatieri and Andruzzi were truly fan favorites. But they all left for greener pastures. Plain and simple.