Wes Welker thinks the Patriots secondary is strength of defense

What a ways we have come.

Remember when we were worried about any old joe schmo passing for 400 yards on the Patriots?

Well, that's still kind of a worry, but not as much. If you look at this Patriots team, the deepest and most talented part is really in that secondary.

Wes Welker would go as far as to say that it is the strength of the entire team.

WEEI:

‘€œTheir secondary I feel like is the real strength of their defense and of their football team,” he said. “They have a lot of good players back there and lot of good cover guys. Their safeties are very knowledgeable, and they do a great job. I don’€™t see too many differences from what they did in the first game going forward, but we’€™ll just see how it plays out.’€

I might not go that far, but it is certainly one of the biggest advantages the Patriots will have tomorrow. Nearly all of Denver's passing weapons were limited in their overtime loss to New England earlier this year. All except tight end Jacob Tamme of course (5 catches, 47 yards, 1 TD).

This fits in line with what Tom E. Curran of CSNNE said prior to the divisional round that the team can go as far into the playoffs as their secondary will take them.

The secondary had their moments last week, picking off Andrew Luck four times, but they also had their lapses, allowing quite a few deep passes, two for touchdowns. Limiting those big plays will probably come down to individual performance this week, as the team will likely dare the aging Manning to beat them with throws far down the field.

Can Talib and company hold up? If they're truly the strength of the team, I sure hope so.