Fans and writers wailing about loss of Welker to the Broncos seem to have forgotten how the Patriots deal with high priced free agents


Wes Welker - not the first Patriot to depart in the free agency process

The departure of Wes Welker from New England to the Broncos via free agency has predictably been the catalyst for the usual over the top dramatic hyperbole from some of Boston’s finest sporting media entities. I was amused to read one prominent scribe describe the loss of the wide receiver as such;  ‘’Patriots drop ball in Welker, Amendola swap’’. On his page there is a link to his Twitter feed and his top Tweet was this cracker; ‘’Hey, Ryan Mallett is younger than Brady, let's go with hom (sic) at QB, too.;]’’. Fantastic stuff. Exactly the kind of over the top and completely pointless reaction we have sadly come to expect from Boston writers, both journalists and bloggers alike, the last five years in particular.

Exploring our friend’s ‘analysis’ through the medium of his scorching headline for a second, to this day I find it hilarious when a blogger preaches forth on a coach making a mistake. Really? The Patriots ‘dropped the ball’, did they? One can only assume that one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Bill Belichick, lost the above headline writers phone number, or maybe forgot to check in with him, before all of this went down. Naturally if the writer had warned Belichick he was about to drop the ball, the coach would have followed the bloggers advice and paid top dollar to keep Welker.

The subsequent Tweet is funny too. Funny like dental surgery. It represents exactly the kind of anti-contextual, highly sardonic approach that many New England writers take, thinking that this sparkling attitude substitutes for an inability to be otherwise interesting. For such a Democratic voting, liberal region, New England sure produces a lot of angry, reactionary, caps using, keyboard bashing writers.


In truth, Tom Brady will miss his sidekick, Welker

All of this arm waving, hysterical, blustering, rhubarb, rhubarb outrage at Welker leaving is at best short sighted, at worst, pathetic.

To insist loudly that the coach of one of the most successful American sporting franchises ever has ‘dropped the ball’ in this situation is about as knuckle headed as it gets. It is also in complete denial as to the recent history of the New England Patriots and their marquee free agent players.

Did Belichick and the Patriots drop the ball with Richard Seymor? Should they have backed the truck up at his mansion and paid him whatever he wanted to keep him? The same question for Lawyer Milloy. The same question for Mike Vrabel and a host of other former Patriot players who decided to test the free agency market instead of staying in New England.

Dropped the ball? Wes Welker knows all about dropping the ball. Particularly the last couple of seasons.



Before anyone starts defending poor Wes here, and suggesting the Patriots deliberately low-balled his offer, effectively forcing him into the loving arms of Peyton Manning, John Elway and the Broncos, let us not forget this was not week-one of the negotiations. If you think Welker didn’t have an opportunity to ensure he became a Patriot-for-life the last couple of seasons during on-going negotiations, you are being very naïve.

It is amazing that people are ignoring the history of New England’s dealing with expensive free agents, and also the positive alternatives that the Patriots will now explore. Assuming Gronkowski and Hernandez are healthy, New England will once again take the field with the single greatest Tight End tandem in the NFL. Two game changing, impact players unlike anything else going in the league. Danny Amendola is a fantastic, athletic and indeed younger alternative to Welker, and Julian Edelman can pitch in admirably to pick up the slack in Welker’s absence.

No doubt the Patriots have also done their due diligence on the forthcoming draft. Perhaps they can land some help there.

Above and beyond all of that, the most crucial area that needs upgrading is obviously the defence. The Patriots need help in the backfield and in their pass rush. To whine about the departure of Welker and completely ignore the Patriots defensive issues just indicates you are simply not watching the games. Maybe you are too busy updating your Twitter account while the action unfolds on the field in front of you?

Look, here’s the thing. Wes Welker seems like a decent, smart and funny guy, and was a great fit in New England. His extended joke about Rex Ryan’s feet fetish was nothing short of hilarious. He was, is and always will be a top class wide receiver. He is also now a Denver Bronco, and whining about his loss as if it is some kind of mistake by the Patriots is completely denying New England’s history in dealing with high priced free agents.

The Patriots will continue to do business their way, and will continue to be in and around the playoffs in doing so.

If that isn’t enough for you, perhaps you should be blogging angrily about something else.


Wes Welker - Peace, out.


Follow Cormac on Twitter