Wes Welker isn’t coming back through that door, but the measure of the Patriots’ offseason is who is coming through the Gillette Stadium doors on defense.
It’s the Patriots’ prerogative if they wanted to move on from Welker. Bill Belichick’s track record of letting players go shows that he’s been right significantly more often than he’s been wrong about parting ways with a core player. His Hoodiness viewed Welker as expendable; otherwise the Patriots would have been willing to make a bigger expenditure.
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What this column skirts around is the fact that they could have kept Welker for a relatively trivial increase in their offer, and they signed a Welker clone to replace Welker - so there is no grand philosophical change in offense going on. There appears to have been a rift between the team and the player. It will be interesting to see if we ever learn what it is/was. To get rid of a guy who averaged 100+ catches a year is pretty hard to treat as a good idea.
Bottom line this is true but they fu)(;3:ed around with wes which was not cool given his commitment to this team - but let's discuss that over beers. The question you, Gasper, and other sports writers need to be asking is why they did not bring Cox or Smith in to talk? These were the 2 best non overrated CB's available in FA and yet they are sitting on their hands. If CB was not a 1A issue then there would be no questions asked.....also, they seem to be nowhere(per greg bedard) with talib.
Does BB know he has a CB and Safety problem or are we all dumb?
...a CB and Safety issue For 5-6 years now. You can add pass rusher to that list too but let's see how jones shakes out. It only took BB 5 years to draft a pass rusher....
Bill is smart, he knows what he has to do.....ok? Wes who?
Obviously BB has many strenghts but also a handful of weaknesses which he does not seem to be addressing. he has NOT known what to do for 5-6 years in drafting and signing CB and Safety- it's been a disapointment and revolving door which has hurt this team. Both positions, including the lack of a pass rush until he finally addressed it in 2012 with drafting Jones, can be masked en route to 12+ regular season wins but when it comes to the playoffs and SB it has cost them.
Keep drinking the kook aid
Gasper- Agree 150% on all points..........moving on from the "binky" was inevitable and became apparent last season. The Pats realized they needed to evolve on offense and made the (tough) decision to limit his looks and prepare to let Welker walk. In fact they did what most people would do w/ a kid or a long-time partner when it's over so you could say the Pat's unwillingness to re-sign him was a form of love and respect! The issue is obvious....It's the DEFENSE DUMMIES..........!!! The pass rush is like the dream where you're running in place and just can't seem to get "there." Not ONE CB looks back @ a deep pass drawing a PI flag! Every time I see Arrington on the field I cringe- He's fine on Special teams and MAYBE dime but Jeez! And where's that tough, smart, hard hitting Safety?? The Chung experiment failed and it surely ain't Steve Gregory. They should go after Pollard if for nothing else than to avoid Pats players getting injured while he's on the opposing defense! So here we go again- extending and resurrecting football careers. I really get tired of retreads- for once I'd like to see them go after a FA in his prime. I really thought that the Seymour release several seasons ago was a setup for Peppers as an RFA then as a FA. Oh well..........
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Defense is the problem. Not Wes Welker. I'm just totally sick of hearing/reading that people somehow think that it was Welker's fault that Pats haven't won a SB since 2004. The problem has consistently been defense in big games.
This defense is pathetic. Awful. An embarrassment from a coach that has a reputation of being a 'defensive genius'
And it start with coaching and the fact that BB does NOT have any assistant coaches of note on defense. They're all low-level guys. Reference Felger's rants about the defensive backfield coach being from the South Dakota School of Mines and Engineering.
WW provided 72 pass catches for First Downs in 2012. Given the fact that Gronk, Hernandez, Edelman and now Amendola all have relatively poor track-records for staying healthy, those 72 first downs might prove to be hard to replace. If their injury history repeats itself, this offense could go into a painful 3-and-out mode. Forget the big playoff games. This offense could stall the whole team. If this offense can't stay on the field and extend drives, this pathetic defense will get even more exposed. It could get ugly.
Imagine just playing for the coach that say's after the game" we were out played,out coached,and didn't make many plays"......really now........and then call him a god and put all our trust in him.....he is labeled a defensive genius.....why does his defense suck.........what a way to hide all the defenses issues.........get rid a great player...let the fans moan and talk all summer....suck again on defense and blame the guy who left.....
Elvis Dumerville, the kind of pass rusher the Pats need, has to take a huge pay cut from the Broncos - today - or get released. If he goes, he could be a Patriot tomorrow. Why not?
Go easy on the cliches
The column is absolutely right on. Please give it to Bedard so that he'll have some idea of what is important to a football team.
Hey Gasper didn't you write that the Pats blew the deal with Welker. Today it is a different story. You are as bad as the redheaded stepchild.
Welker's wife wanted to live in Colorado.. End of story..