Let's rip the Pats because they're ruthless and rip the Sox because they throw money at players that have outlived their usefullness...it's good to be a journalisth with no responsibilities...can never be held accountable for anything other than throwing this together and meet a deadline...you win no matter what happens...you have hindsight on your side...never having to meet a payroll or have tangible measurements like wins and losses...just be obtuse and non-commital...but negative always works best...until one of these guys wins big and you can ride that story...I am really sad for even reading Dan's stuff anymore...I should know better...where have you gone Peter Gammons?

love ya Dan................not that you care!

Have we forgotten his drops? Have we forgotten the Super Bowl that could have been except oops....? Or the critical drop in the Ravens game? Lets not get sentimental over the Pats version of Bill Buckner.

Wes was a Fan favorite and loyal team player- the Pats gambled that he'd take less and lost. Good for him bad for the Pats and their " reputation" - mot that they care. Having moved from the area I can tell you how much they are hated ! Not that they care,.,,you really need a score card to tell who is who on the squad as every year it's a revolving door- and when was the last time they won the Super Bowl? How has that been working for them? 

Hope Wes has a great year - hope Mr personality Coach Bill ticks someone off really bad that they punch his face out!!!!!!!!! His act is getting really old....

It is one thing to be ruthless and calculating - it is another to be petty and vindictive - I watched both Welker and Amendola play at Texas Tech and there is a huge difference on the field between these two players and there was a huge difference between their careers at Tech.   Welker was much better and he has been much better in the NFL - if Amendola is so great at eluding tackles then why has his yards after catch been about 1.5 yards shorter than Welke'sr over his career?   What is suddenly going to change to make him more successful in games?   The Patriots downgraded themselves at slot receiver on purpose and I think that it was something more than football acumen at work.   Welker angered the powers that be in 2012 during contract talks and they were going to punish him for this temerity.   Hubris is the sin that normally brings down the powerful - success breeds arrogance and arrogance breeds mistakes which eventually destoys the success.   I suspect that if this sort of behavior is exhibited too often in Foxboro, someone will be looking for a new job and it won't be the owner.

Well he did drop a couple of key balls in the Super Bowl and the conference championship, but without Welker do the Patriots even get as far as the Super Bowl or the conference championship?

Right on Dan.

I've been a lifelong Patriot fan for more years than I care to remember and I must admit find this organization hard to take at times.

I completely understand why the Patriots are so intensely disliked outside of New England and much of it has to do with the behavior of the head coach.

The arrogance of Belichick, whether it's telling Goodell and the NFL to shove it by ignoring a league mandate that brought us Spygate or his continual boorish behavior with the media, it's really easy to dislike Bill Belichick.

The Welker dismissal is just he latest log on the fire. Kissing off the best slot receiver in football over a million bucks in annual salary.

Unreal!!   

Let's see what Bill can do without Tom Brady. 

Somehow I don't think his arrogance and hubris will lead to Patriot dominance or even a single Super Bowl victory. 

Something that's rarely floated... is it time to send BB packing?

I'm actually more concerned about them letting Woodhead go

And as best as I can figure, the point of this column was to waste three minutes of my life.

Wes Welker is a hero in Pats nation? Really? I've never seen or heard one ounce of evidence to confirm that Dan. Wes is a good player, he won no championships while in New England and the heroes of sports in Boston are reserved for those special people like Brady, Bruschi, Harrison,Orr, Esposito, Bucyk, Chara, Bill Russell, Hondo, Bird, McHale, Parish and members of the 04 and 07 Red Sox. Dan, you are a shell of your former self as a writer and when I see you name attached to an article, it is painful to click on it and read. You are so negative, pick the wrong battles and never offer a solution to any problem.

The real story here is that the Pats were not happy that they paid him the francise money of 11 million last year. So what they did was count that money against him in this year's negotiation. The Patriots can never lose a negotiation, even at the expense of the football team. What ever the market value was for Welker the Patriots were going to come in under that. The Pats nailed the market and then won the negotiation. They wanted Wes back" on his knees", begging for forgiveness. 

The emperor has no clothes.

Dan,Rwhy don't you read Mike Reiss' columns, where he generates several hundred comments leveraged against  your pathetic 20, or Banzai Bob Ryans, two or three, just in case you are gaging who is read and respected and who is not. The overwhelming supposrt on the day after the trade is for Bellichick, but you never let few salient facts get in the way of your agenda driven hate for Belichick who marganalized Borges, Bob Ryan and your beloved Red Sox without even lifting a finger or Bob Kraft, the greatest owner in the history of Boston Sports.

Yeah, and Pats wide receivers do so well when they leave Brady.. Bill Russell used to say its not how many shots you block,it's when you block them. Lot of key droppd balls past two years. Manning will gt Welker killed. Brady is a master of theunderneath , Manning more side line and deep ball. Welker killed two drives in he first hwith of the SB with drops to go with the 2nd half

I can't help but wonder when the callous treatment of good players, the total lack of sentiment (c'mon, there should be at least a teeny bit for players who have given their all for the team and who are fan-favorites), and yes, the "punishment" of anyone who dares to challenge the great and powerful Bill will start to truly limit our access to other good players.  We haven't won a Superbowl in eight years; we bid bottom dollar; we clearly offer no loyalty to the players (other than #12)  - what then exactly is the draw for elite players to come here?  I also think there has to be some consideration given to what the fans want - after all, it is we who are ultimately footing the bill here.  Wes Welker is a terrific player - his stats prove that - with more heart than practically anyone else in the game.  His toughness is the stuff of legend - the hits he took on the field from which he bounced back and played on were countless.  I am ashamed of the arrogant and petty way the Patriots leadership has treated Welker, and as hard as it is for me to wish ANYONE success on a Manning team, I wish it for him, and will have a hard time rooting against Denver when we play them in the fall.  Just sayin' . . .   

I have just one question for Dan -- has he ever seen Danny Amendola play?

It's a similar question to the one that occurred to me last week, after his "The Red Sox are boring" column. After that one, I thought, "Has Dan ever heard of Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster, Jackie Bradley, Christian Vasquez, or Steven Wright (the baseball player, not the comedian)"? Yes, these Red Sox certainly are boring if you don't actually watch a lot of baseball, or follow the organization as a whole -- but they're extremely interesting if you like exciting young players, which the Red Sox suddenly have a lot of for the first time in ages.

In the same vein, how can Shaughnessy write a column blasting the Welker decision if he has to rely on Greg Bedard to tell him what kind of a player they essentially traded Welker for? If he doesn't know anything about Danny Amendola, how can he possibly gauge this decision?

I just don't understand how you have a guy whose job it is to watch sports -- not the hardest of assignments -- who doesn't, you know, watch sports.

Sports appears to be the only industry where the management is subject to daily scrutiny and second-guessing, perhaps even more so than politics, and they are "playing with our money". Nobody here knows what information is at the disposal of Belichick or the Krafts. I hated to see Welker go and I think Bill Belichick often comes across as arrogant and childish. But then I look around the NFL and see places like San Diego, Oakland, Miami, the Jets and others. I'll put up with the unpopular decisions and the arrogant coach for now.

if so many posters hate Shaughnessy's columns, why do you read them?

Good work Scoop!

I still haven't forgiven the Red Sox for the loss of #27. I never will.

The Super Bowl dropped ball was high and behind Welker, it was certainly more Brady's fault than Welker's. Welker did dropped at least a few catchable balls last season, but Mr. Brady has also been throwing more and more not quite catchable balls in the 15 to 25 yard range over the last few years.  And the long ball?  Forget about it, he completes them so infrequently, it seems like just luck.  Of course Brady brings a lot more to the game and the team than his declining ability to make medium and long passes.  Unfortunately, I doubt there is going to be anyone near as good as Welker at geting open underneath and catching those short passes that Brady can still throw.    I would be suprised if the Tom and Bill era has more than 2 or 3 more contending years.  They would have been better with Welker than they are going to be without.

Whose money is it that Kraft is spending? You are going to tell him how he should spend it? Fans are still going to watch the games and buy the tickets. This isn't fantasy football. This is real money and the owner has the right to determine value anyway he wants.

Typical drivel from Shank. 

"The loss of Welker did something no other move has done: It gave Patriot toadies a moment of pause. This time, even the loyalists are acknowledging the arrogance and hubris of the Patriot operation."

Here Shank is once again proving how superior he is to the typical man, are those "toadies" (did you mean fans?) garbage Dan?  I love it how doing your job becomes arrogance and hubris.  Yeah making decisions is hard, but nobody ripped Wes on the way out did they?  It's clear that Amendola was being signed before Wes left.  The team was moving on.  Number 83 is not number 27.  This is more like number 24 going to play in Baltimore.  He could still play but the team was moving on.  I am not happy to see Wes go either but your glee at insulting others makes me ill.  Your use of aggogance and hubris is amusing.  Take a look in the mirror Shank.

"Belichick has made his move, and it is bold. But it’ll be a national holiday for Patriot Haters if Welker wins a Super Bowl with Manning in Denver."  Patriot haters, a club of which you are a card carrying member member.  What with those folks do if the Patriots win a Superbowl with Danny Amendola?  If Manning wins a Superbowl it will suprise you?  Peyton Manning is an underdog?  You need to learn a little about the NFL sir.  

This article is just another Shank Shaughnsessy attack piece more suitable for an internet troll than a real sportswriter. 

I love Wes Welker. He was money! Go to guy. TB12 and he were almost always on the same page. Almost. 

I hope to love Danny Amendola, or Saunders, or whomever. The Pats are not arrogant. They read the market right. Wes Welker had to lobby the Bronco's to sign him (he said it himself). Wes miscalculated. Should have taken the contract offered last year (?two years / 16 mil), but he rolled the dice. 

Shank, you're similar to the best hitter in baseball, your average is about .400! And that may be generous.

So now we know that General Manager Shaughnessy's Patriots would have a 41-year-old Bledsoe at quarterback.

What, exactly, is wrong with Shaughnessy's opinion here?  The Red Sox paid princely sums to players who had outlived their usefulness, which was idiotic.  And Belichick?  He is a ruthless competitor.  With obvious disdain, he refuses to allow the media to bait him into answering questions that will they will gleefully shove up his arse.  He sets a value for a player and won't go above it.  Was the low-ball offer to Welker pay back?  Certainly could have been.  But, let's be honest.  Kraft is in charge of the budget and he isn't giving Belichick unlimited money to spend.  Kraft is a ruthless businessman.  The Patriots aren't a family -- it's a business, big business.  Listening to Kraft's describe the Patriots as a family is nauseating.  They charge outrageous amounts for everything.  The Foxboro police are their own private militia (I've represented a number of individuals arrested for very minor "offenses," one who was brutalized by the police).  Shaughnessy isn't being negative, he's being honest.  Maybe one day the fans who shell out big bucks to attend the games will one day see light. 

I am ashamed of Krft, BB and Brady.........It did not take long for Kraft to find a new squeeze after publisly crying for 18 months and now with Welker and Woodhead..............I have lost ALL RESPECT for the HYPOCRITE.................It is now time to take BB off the pedestal. What has he won lately. Time for the interviewers to just ignore him, do NOT ask questions when you know you will NOT get an answers. Ignore BB........As for BRADY, you do have dropped several notches in the respect grade. You got you without DEMANDING that Welker get resigned...................The 3 Sttoges are HEARTLESS