Pride and Prejudice: Why the Pats need Wes Welker
Once again, introducing the wit and vitriol of my friend Al Bedrosian. Al's hobbies include riding dirt bikes, collecting guns, shooting bows and arrows, drinking cheap but not light beer and watching youtube videos of engines starting up. When he gets a spare moment, he also watches the Patriots. Back by popular demand, here's what he thinks of them.
With just three days until free agency hits the NFL, the Patriots have yet to lock up Wes Welker. Coming off another 100 catch season the veteran receiver should expect a lucrative contract, and keeping with tradition the Patriots are in no rush to ante up.
This time it may be different though, because Wes is no ordinary receiver. You could call him elite, but that word gets passed around an awful lot these days.
One could simply say he does his job, and he does it better than anyone else in the NFL.
The Patriots need him, and here’s why.
The penitent man will pass.
To be a wide receiver you have to have a lot of things: speed, great hands, and endurance. Not to mention you have to be a little crazy if your job description involves “takin' the ball deep and rippin' the top of the defense”, but everything comes with a price.
Wide receivers are emotional, difficult and flat out unreliable. Their ego is so wrapped up in their game that if anything is wrong, they don’t and often can’t play. It's no secret why the Patriots got rid of Randy Moss, he was nuts.
Now it’s not to say that Welker isn’t, but those egotistical, megalomaniacal, self-destructive tendencies are completely lost on him. He is a rock on the field and in the locker room, and if allowed to leave, all he will do is shore up another team.
At 20 it’s the will, at 30 it’s the way.
Wes will be 32 at the start of the 2013 season, old for any football player. Especially receivers. At least that is what Bob Kraft is telling Wes’s agent.
Football is a young man's game, and if you can’t open the taps like you used to, then you are of no use to anyone. The guys who lasted the longest in this game however had a lot more going for them than just being fast or strong. They learned and evolved with the game. Jerry Rice played professionally for 20 years, and in his 18th season he was in a Superbowl and caught a touchdown pass. Could he still run and cut like he used to? Probably not, but then again, he didn’t have to.
It’s like a veteran prizefighter that has learned all the dirty moves, and knows how to use them. A receiver like Wes understands the game better than anyone, and even more so, he understands the Patriots’ offense. That is something that won’t diminish with age, and cannot easily be replaced.
In Bill We Trust
Bill’s got a system, and for the most part it works. Everyone is replaceable - from a coordinator to a quarterback.
Charlie Weis quit so promote that young kid Josh to do his job, he should do all right.
Tom Brady tore his ACL? Not a problem. Put in Matt Cassel, the guy who hasn’t played since high school, he’s good for at least 11 wins.
What? Adam Vinitarei is leaving; the kicker who won us an AFC title game, two Super Bowls and countless regular season games, you sure that’s a good idea? Yea, I guess you're right, it is.
The Patriots aren’t afraid to replace anyone regardless of who it is, and it always works out. Except for receivers.
Remember in 2006 when they let David Givens go, traded Deion Branch and Bethel Johnson only to replace them with Reche Caldwell and Chad Jackson? Remember them? That’s ok, if that doesn’t work out there is always Joey Galloway!
By the time they traded for Ochocinco it seemed everyone was numb to the fact that he would sucked that they didn’t bother complaining about it. The Patriots have made a habit of taking stable, reliable, and talented receivers and replacing them with junk, crap, and bullshit. As the saying goes, you plant corn, you get corn.
This time it's different though, there is still a chance to do the right thing. Sign Wes Welker and make him a Patriot for life.
Hey did you hear? Ted Ginn Jr. is a free agent!
This time it may be different though, because Wes is no ordinary receiver. You could call him elite, but that word gets passed around an awful lot these days.
One could simply say he does his job, and he does it better than anyone else in the NFL.
The Patriots need him, and here’s why.
The penitent man will pass.
To be a wide receiver you have to have a lot of things: speed, great hands, and endurance. Not to mention you have to be a little crazy if your job description involves “takin' the ball deep and rippin' the top of the defense”, but everything comes with a price.
Wide receivers are emotional, difficult and flat out unreliable. Their ego is so wrapped up in their game that if anything is wrong, they don’t and often can’t play. It's no secret why the Patriots got rid of Randy Moss, he was nuts.
Now it’s not to say that Welker isn’t, but those egotistical, megalomaniacal, self-destructive tendencies are completely lost on him. He is a rock on the field and in the locker room, and if allowed to leave, all he will do is shore up another team.
At 20 it’s the will, at 30 it’s the way.
Wes will be 32 at the start of the 2013 season, old for any football player. Especially receivers. At least that is what Bob Kraft is telling Wes’s agent.
Football is a young man's game, and if you can’t open the taps like you used to, then you are of no use to anyone. The guys who lasted the longest in this game however had a lot more going for them than just being fast or strong. They learned and evolved with the game. Jerry Rice played professionally for 20 years, and in his 18th season he was in a Superbowl and caught a touchdown pass. Could he still run and cut like he used to? Probably not, but then again, he didn’t have to.
It’s like a veteran prizefighter that has learned all the dirty moves, and knows how to use them. A receiver like Wes understands the game better than anyone, and even more so, he understands the Patriots’ offense. That is something that won’t diminish with age, and cannot easily be replaced.
In Bill We Trust
Bill’s got a system, and for the most part it works. Everyone is replaceable - from a coordinator to a quarterback.
Charlie Weis quit so promote that young kid Josh to do his job, he should do all right.
Tom Brady tore his ACL? Not a problem. Put in Matt Cassel, the guy who hasn’t played since high school, he’s good for at least 11 wins.
What? Adam Vinitarei is leaving; the kicker who won us an AFC title game, two Super Bowls and countless regular season games, you sure that’s a good idea? Yea, I guess you're right, it is.
The Patriots aren’t afraid to replace anyone regardless of who it is, and it always works out. Except for receivers.
Remember in 2006 when they let David Givens go, traded Deion Branch and Bethel Johnson only to replace them with Reche Caldwell and Chad Jackson? Remember them? That’s ok, if that doesn’t work out there is always Joey Galloway!
By the time they traded for Ochocinco it seemed everyone was numb to the fact that he would sucked that they didn’t bother complaining about it. The Patriots have made a habit of taking stable, reliable, and talented receivers and replacing them with junk, crap, and bullshit. As the saying goes, you plant corn, you get corn.
This time it's different though, there is still a chance to do the right thing. Sign Wes Welker and make him a Patriot for life.
Hey did you hear? Ted Ginn Jr. is a free agent!
