celticdb15
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2007
- Messages
- 8,469
Alll weekl i have been bragging about wes to anyone who will listen! he is quickly becoming one of my fav players!
wes welker
- Thread starter cslewis1
- Start date
ToughJ.Riggins
Hall of Famer
I am absolutely shocked: Yahoo analyst Cris Carter must be jealous of Welker's white skin. Here is Carter's analysis of the Patriots offense:
Offense: The Chargers have some nice weapons in LT and Gates, but I'll take Brady, Moss, Stallworth and Maroney.
What? He mentions Stallworth, but no mention of Welker who had much more yards and tied for league lead in catches
And again he mentions Stallworth, who I'll give his due as a pretty good player, but still no mention of the slippery Welker who I should also mention led the league in yards after catch.
Intangibles: Moss and Stallworth should be well-rested after combining for just four catches against the Jaguars.
Cris Carter are you racist?...Oh I forgot blacks are incapable of racism against whites according to the PC media. How could I be so stupid to pose the question.Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins
Offense: The Chargers have some nice weapons in LT and Gates, but I'll take Brady, Moss, Stallworth and Maroney.
What? He mentions Stallworth, but no mention of Welker who had much more yards and tied for league lead in catches
And again he mentions Stallworth, who I'll give his due as a pretty good player, but still no mention of the slippery Welker who I should also mention led the league in yards after catch.
Intangibles: Moss and Stallworth should be well-rested after combining for just four catches against the Jaguars.
Cris Carter are you racist?...Oh I forgot blacks are incapable of racism against whites according to the PC media. How could I be so stupid to pose the question.Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins
Next time, Carter will probably leave out Tom Brady. Seriously, the fact that Cris Carter has a job as an analyst for a national networkisutterly ridiculous. This clown was known as a team cancer for most of his career, a definite "me-first" type.
I really believe that guys like Carter hang out with their buddies, and basically just laugh at how stupid mainstream white America is. I can see Carter saying to his cronies, "These white people pay me all this money to just sit there and mouth off all day".
The sad thing is the average white fan probably gets a big kick out of Carter. All of this 'black worshipping' by whites is beyond me.
Regardless, Welker will play a huge role tomorrow. He is definitely Brady's go-to man, and he really is basically a tailback out there who just happens to catch passes. As usual, Wes will make critical catches when the Patriots are in need of key plays.
Welker is a better receiver than Carter ever was. Most importantly, Wes will have a Super Bowl ring. Cris Carter never will.
I really believe that guys like Carter hang out with their buddies, and basically just laugh at how stupid mainstream white America is. I can see Carter saying to his cronies, "These white people pay me all this money to just sit there and mouth off all day".
The sad thing is the average white fan probably gets a big kick out of Carter. All of this 'black worshipping' by whites is beyond me.
Regardless, Welker will play a huge role tomorrow. He is definitely Brady's go-to man, and he really is basically a tailback out there who just happens to catch passes. As usual, Wes will make critical catches when the Patriots are in need of key plays.
Welker is a better receiver than Carter ever was. Most importantly, Wes will have a Super Bowl ring. Cris Carter never will.
I literally can't believe this statement from Carter. Is he that confident and comfortable in being a blatant racist that he'd actually exclude Welker from his analysis? Apparently so. Of course none of the other sports powers that be will call him on it.ToughJ.Riggins said:
But I tell you, my friends, this is a good sign. When those in power begin to get too comfortable with the current state of affairs, it's only a matter of time before the house of cards falls. Might not be next year, but this is a sure sign of the bottom because it is so over the top. Even the idiots on ESPN would see it for being blatantly anti-white. And at some point, even they will begin to get some balls.
Thrashen
Hall of Famer
"But I tell you, my friends, this is a good sign. When those in power begin to get too comfortable with the current state of affairs, it's only a matter of time before the house of cards falls. Might not be next year, but this is a sure sign of the bottom because it is so over the top. Even the idiots on ESPN would see it for being blatantly anti-white. And at some point, even they will begin to get some balls."
Great anaysis!
You're right, even the most vehement caste-bigot would agree that Welker was 10 times more valuable to the Pats this season than Stallworth and Maroney.
Stallworth had an ok season, but disappeared in big games and at critical drives during games. He's a good player, not the type of guy you mention in the top 30-35 WR's in the league.
Maroney was nothing special at Minnesota at the college level, and he's nothing special now. He constantly runs out of bounds, is very undersized, and runs behind the best OL in the past 8-10 seasons. Hell, they have two RBs on their OWN TEAM who run harder that Maroney (Evans and Eckel) and one RB on their OWN TEAM who constantly outplays Maroney during all the important games (Faulk).
In all truth, and this goes for about 65% of NFL RBs....if Maroney was white, he wouldnt have made a D-1 college or NFL roster as a running back anywhere on this planet.
The foolishness by the "super-religeous" Carter is just further proof of the 100,000 hidden agendas in America. He knows if he starts mentioning a white WR as a "great threat" to black DBs and all-black defenses, maybe little white boys and girls will grow up and begin to wonder if they are actually inferior athletes....or if something else has been keeping then down.
Maybe I'm giving this total buffoon too much credit. I think the more likely situation is that he, like most of America, has been brainwashed into thinking that white american males are the cause of all his "woes."Edited by: Thrashen
Great anaysis!
You're right, even the most vehement caste-bigot would agree that Welker was 10 times more valuable to the Pats this season than Stallworth and Maroney.
Stallworth had an ok season, but disappeared in big games and at critical drives during games. He's a good player, not the type of guy you mention in the top 30-35 WR's in the league.
Maroney was nothing special at Minnesota at the college level, and he's nothing special now. He constantly runs out of bounds, is very undersized, and runs behind the best OL in the past 8-10 seasons. Hell, they have two RBs on their OWN TEAM who run harder that Maroney (Evans and Eckel) and one RB on their OWN TEAM who constantly outplays Maroney during all the important games (Faulk).
In all truth, and this goes for about 65% of NFL RBs....if Maroney was white, he wouldnt have made a D-1 college or NFL roster as a running back anywhere on this planet.
The foolishness by the "super-religeous" Carter is just further proof of the 100,000 hidden agendas in America. He knows if he starts mentioning a white WR as a "great threat" to black DBs and all-black defenses, maybe little white boys and girls will grow up and begin to wonder if they are actually inferior athletes....or if something else has been keeping then down.
Maybe I'm giving this total buffoon too much credit. I think the more likely situation is that he, like most of America, has been brainwashed into thinking that white american males are the cause of all his "woes."Edited by: Thrashen
Great story about Wes Welker and his family.Typical situation facing so many white athletesalmost entirely overlooked by the system. Very frustrating.
http://newsok.com/article/3197518/1201412644?pg=1
<DIV ="author">By Jenni Carlson
Staff Writer
When he got the big news, Wes Welker was on his knees  grouting ceramic tile.
His brother had enlisted help after buying a house in need of remodeling. While helping his father with kitchen tile one day last winter, Welker's cell phone rang. The Oklahoma City native looked squarely at his dad when he hung up.
"That was my agent," Welker said, "and New England has made me their No. 1 priority to secure me in the off-season."
Then, he told his dad about the money.
Five years, $18.1 million.
"You've got to be kidding me," his dad said.Edited by: Bart
http://newsok.com/article/3197518/1201412644?pg=1
<DIV ="author">By Jenni Carlson
Staff Writer
When he got the big news, Wes Welker was on his knees  grouting ceramic tile.
His brother had enlisted help after buying a house in need of remodeling. While helping his father with kitchen tile one day last winter, Welker's cell phone rang. The Oklahoma City native looked squarely at his dad when he hung up.
"That was my agent," Welker said, "and New England has made me their No. 1 priority to secure me in the off-season."
Then, he told his dad about the money.
Five years, $18.1 million.
"You've got to be kidding me," his dad said.Edited by: Bart
RedBeard
Newbie
Another interesting article from the front page of espn.com. Always amazes me when the MSM is baffled by the success of a white player. While this article appears to be positive, it's almost belittling in the way it portrays Welker.
Once a role player, Patriots' Wes Welker now a budding star
Once a role player, Patriots' Wes Welker now a budding star
ToughJ.Riggins
Hall of Famer
A good overall article, but it's by hated Yahoo one of this sites biggest enemies. It gives Welker credit for being lightning quick and elusive, but excuses the fact that college recruiting overlooked him b/c of his speed and size. Welker is your typical white player who doesn't do the trash talking and doesn't relish the limelight, but he's been so good this year he's still getting noticed!
Welker lets his play do the talking
By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports
January 30, 2008
Jason Cole
Yahoo! Sports
PHOENIX - Wes Welker didn't tell anyone what he had planned.
Not his coaches. Not his teammates. Not even Graham Colton, his best friend and quarterback since they first learned to throw and catch a ball.
It was the beginning of the second half against rival Millwood High in Welker's junior season at Heritage Hall High in Oklahoma City. Heritage Hall was on its way to a state title, but trailed by four points at halftime against a team loaded with Division I recruits, including future first-round draft pick Rashaun Woods.
During halftime, coach Rod Warner and his staff had laid out the strategy, which revolved around the defense stopping Millwood after the kickoff.
ADVERTISEMENT
Welker, who served as kicker in addition to being the safety and running back, had a different plan. He went for an onside kick and recovered it himself, helping propel Heritage Hall to its first undefeated season.
"He would just see something and do it, not tell anyone. He probably did that three times when we were in school. Not tell a soul, do it and make the coaches look like geniuses," said Colton, Welker's rock singer buddy who hopes to perform at a show here Saturday night.
On Sunday, Welker and the New England Patriots will play the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, hoping to finish the second undefeated season in NFL history.
Just as in his prep days, Welker doesn't do much talking with New England. That's a fine fit on a team that preaches an all-business approach. And just like in high school, he's making his coach look like a genius.
Last offseason, New England coach Bill Belichick approved an aggressive trade with the Miami Dolphins to get Welker. The Pats gave up second- and a seventh-round picks for Welker, a guy who went undrafted out of college and essentially unrecruited out of high school. In addition, the Patriots gave Welker, then a restricted free agent, a reported four-year, $19 million contract.
It was the first of three big moves the Patriots made this offseason which have combined to make them the most prolific offense in the history of the NFL. After Welker, the Patriots signed Kelley Washington and Donte' Stallworth as free agents, then finished the receiver overhaul with Randy Moss in April.
While quarterback Tom Brady, with his record 50 touchdown passes, and Moss, with his record 23 touchdown catches, have been the show, Welker has been the stunning supporting actor. His 112 receptions tied for the NFL lead. He also led the league in yards after the catch, an unofficial-but-critical stat.
Welker, who was little more than a return man and No. 3 receiver with the Dolphins for three years, even received a vote for Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year (Brady won it) and made second team All-Pro. Pretty lofty stuff for a guy who managed a scholarship at Texas Tech only after another recruit went elsewhere.
"It's taken Wes a long time for people to understand how good he is," Warner said. "It's like when the college coaches would come around and say, 'Well, how fast is he?' I'd say, 'What does it matter how fast he is? How many football players do you have because that's what he is - a football player.'"
That all sounds prophetic these days, but the bottom line is that when you're 5-foot-9 and not overwhelmingly fast in a game that feeds on bigger and faster, it's hard to turn the critics into believers.
It takes awhile for people to notice that you're too quick to be covered in the small areas underneath the coverage of the defense, particularly when you're put in the slot. It takes awhile for coaches to notice that you're always in the right spot at the right time and that you play every down as if your feet and hair were being scorched by volcanic flow.
"Sometimes you have to see guys play live to really appreciate what they do, how competitive they are and how hard they play," said Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, whose team gave the Patriots fits during a 31-28 loss in Week 12. Welker played a vital role for the Pats with 13 receptions for 149 yards, both season highs.
"We went into that game with the goal to take away Moss and Stallworth and we did that pretty well. But then Welker just keeps making play after play, moving the chains, keeping drives going. ... You see him on film and you figure you can handle him. Knowing what I know now, we'd pay more attention to him now."
In that game, Welker defined his role better than at any other time. He worked the short parts of the field, getting open quickly for quick throws from Brady, who was avoiding the various blitzes Philadelphia ran at him. Welker was stunning after the catch.
"It takes everything you can do to cover him in that 10-yard area," said Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, whose defense faced the Patriots a week later and held Welker to three catches. "He has those short, choppy steps and great balance, so he gets great separation on patterns right away even though he's not the fastest guy in the world.
"You better have somebody one him who's going to work just as hard as he is."
Therein lies the problem. Welker is relentless, smart and intriguingly versatile. In high school, he played practically every down, leading the team in tackles as a safety and often reading dive plays so fast that he'd make the tackle before the linebackers. On offense, he and Colton were so in-tune with each other that they could change plays at the line of scrimmage without much help from the coaches.
"The smartest football player I've ever had. He could read coverages so well that he and Colton could get us in the right plays, figure out who was going to cover him or what spot in the zone was going to be open for him," Warner said.
With Miami, Welker showed those smarts in other ways. On three occasions with the Dolphins, Welker would escape potentially bad kickoff situations by putting one foot out of bounds and one in bounds before catching the kickoff. By rule, the ball would be put at the 40-yard line instead of the Dolphins either getting cornered for a bad return or the ball skipping into the end zone for a touchback.
"That's a lot harder play than it looks because you have to have the judgment really quickly," former Dolphins special team coach Keith Armstrong said. "It happens really fast with the coverage coming at you. I wouldn't teach that play to just anybody because a lot of guys can't do it right. Wes picked it up right away after I pointed it out. You don't see it much, but he did it perfectly every time."
Not exactly surprising for a guy always looking for an edge.
"He's so unbelievably competitive," Colton said. "It's like when we were kids. It was never negative or boastful, but he wasn't always trying to do better than you. If you did 10 chin-ups, he was going to do 20. It was like that all the time, every day."
Why is Welker, the middle-class son of a phone company engineer and a nurse, like that? Why did he push himself so hard in high school games that Warner sometimes had to call timeouts after touchdowns to let Welker throw up before he kicked the extra point?
"He'd return a punt 50 yards for a touchdown after playing defense. He'd be so spent he'd tip his helmet back, throw up and then he'd be OK," Warner said.
Welker shrugs his shoulders and gives one of his typically brief responses.
"I just play hard, do whatever I can to help the team," he said. "I've just tried to be like that ever since I started playing."
That's the other problem for Welker. In a game where look-at-me personalities get rewarded, Welker practically sprints from the spotlight. After one game this season, Welker was being interviewed by NBC's Andrea Kremer. Before Kremer could finish, Welker looked off to the side, claimed Belichick was looking at him and quickly excused himself.
At another point, Welker cut off a locker room interview in similar fashion. His quotes over the season read like the best of Belichick, a series of general comments that amount to less than zero in total content.
"That's Wes, he's just a worker," said Armstrong, who used to have Welker run the players-only meetings on Fridays to go over the special teams plan for the upcoming game when they were in Miami. "He comes to work, does his job and doesn't say much,"
Sometimes, he says nothing at all.
Jason Cole is a national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jason a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Welker lets his play do the talking
By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports
January 30, 2008
Jason Cole
Yahoo! Sports
PHOENIX - Wes Welker didn't tell anyone what he had planned.
Not his coaches. Not his teammates. Not even Graham Colton, his best friend and quarterback since they first learned to throw and catch a ball.
It was the beginning of the second half against rival Millwood High in Welker's junior season at Heritage Hall High in Oklahoma City. Heritage Hall was on its way to a state title, but trailed by four points at halftime against a team loaded with Division I recruits, including future first-round draft pick Rashaun Woods.
During halftime, coach Rod Warner and his staff had laid out the strategy, which revolved around the defense stopping Millwood after the kickoff.
ADVERTISEMENT
Welker, who served as kicker in addition to being the safety and running back, had a different plan. He went for an onside kick and recovered it himself, helping propel Heritage Hall to its first undefeated season.
"He would just see something and do it, not tell anyone. He probably did that three times when we were in school. Not tell a soul, do it and make the coaches look like geniuses," said Colton, Welker's rock singer buddy who hopes to perform at a show here Saturday night.
On Sunday, Welker and the New England Patriots will play the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, hoping to finish the second undefeated season in NFL history.
Just as in his prep days, Welker doesn't do much talking with New England. That's a fine fit on a team that preaches an all-business approach. And just like in high school, he's making his coach look like a genius.
Last offseason, New England coach Bill Belichick approved an aggressive trade with the Miami Dolphins to get Welker. The Pats gave up second- and a seventh-round picks for Welker, a guy who went undrafted out of college and essentially unrecruited out of high school. In addition, the Patriots gave Welker, then a restricted free agent, a reported four-year, $19 million contract.
It was the first of three big moves the Patriots made this offseason which have combined to make them the most prolific offense in the history of the NFL. After Welker, the Patriots signed Kelley Washington and Donte' Stallworth as free agents, then finished the receiver overhaul with Randy Moss in April.
While quarterback Tom Brady, with his record 50 touchdown passes, and Moss, with his record 23 touchdown catches, have been the show, Welker has been the stunning supporting actor. His 112 receptions tied for the NFL lead. He also led the league in yards after the catch, an unofficial-but-critical stat.
Welker, who was little more than a return man and No. 3 receiver with the Dolphins for three years, even received a vote for Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year (Brady won it) and made second team All-Pro. Pretty lofty stuff for a guy who managed a scholarship at Texas Tech only after another recruit went elsewhere.
"It's taken Wes a long time for people to understand how good he is," Warner said. "It's like when the college coaches would come around and say, 'Well, how fast is he?' I'd say, 'What does it matter how fast he is? How many football players do you have because that's what he is - a football player.'"
That all sounds prophetic these days, but the bottom line is that when you're 5-foot-9 and not overwhelmingly fast in a game that feeds on bigger and faster, it's hard to turn the critics into believers.
It takes awhile for people to notice that you're too quick to be covered in the small areas underneath the coverage of the defense, particularly when you're put in the slot. It takes awhile for coaches to notice that you're always in the right spot at the right time and that you play every down as if your feet and hair were being scorched by volcanic flow.
"Sometimes you have to see guys play live to really appreciate what they do, how competitive they are and how hard they play," said Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, whose team gave the Patriots fits during a 31-28 loss in Week 12. Welker played a vital role for the Pats with 13 receptions for 149 yards, both season highs.
"We went into that game with the goal to take away Moss and Stallworth and we did that pretty well. But then Welker just keeps making play after play, moving the chains, keeping drives going. ... You see him on film and you figure you can handle him. Knowing what I know now, we'd pay more attention to him now."
In that game, Welker defined his role better than at any other time. He worked the short parts of the field, getting open quickly for quick throws from Brady, who was avoiding the various blitzes Philadelphia ran at him. Welker was stunning after the catch.
"It takes everything you can do to cover him in that 10-yard area," said Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, whose defense faced the Patriots a week later and held Welker to three catches. "He has those short, choppy steps and great balance, so he gets great separation on patterns right away even though he's not the fastest guy in the world.
"You better have somebody one him who's going to work just as hard as he is."
Therein lies the problem. Welker is relentless, smart and intriguingly versatile. In high school, he played practically every down, leading the team in tackles as a safety and often reading dive plays so fast that he'd make the tackle before the linebackers. On offense, he and Colton were so in-tune with each other that they could change plays at the line of scrimmage without much help from the coaches.
"The smartest football player I've ever had. He could read coverages so well that he and Colton could get us in the right plays, figure out who was going to cover him or what spot in the zone was going to be open for him," Warner said.
With Miami, Welker showed those smarts in other ways. On three occasions with the Dolphins, Welker would escape potentially bad kickoff situations by putting one foot out of bounds and one in bounds before catching the kickoff. By rule, the ball would be put at the 40-yard line instead of the Dolphins either getting cornered for a bad return or the ball skipping into the end zone for a touchback.
"That's a lot harder play than it looks because you have to have the judgment really quickly," former Dolphins special team coach Keith Armstrong said. "It happens really fast with the coverage coming at you. I wouldn't teach that play to just anybody because a lot of guys can't do it right. Wes picked it up right away after I pointed it out. You don't see it much, but he did it perfectly every time."
Not exactly surprising for a guy always looking for an edge.
"He's so unbelievably competitive," Colton said. "It's like when we were kids. It was never negative or boastful, but he wasn't always trying to do better than you. If you did 10 chin-ups, he was going to do 20. It was like that all the time, every day."
Why is Welker, the middle-class son of a phone company engineer and a nurse, like that? Why did he push himself so hard in high school games that Warner sometimes had to call timeouts after touchdowns to let Welker throw up before he kicked the extra point?
"He'd return a punt 50 yards for a touchdown after playing defense. He'd be so spent he'd tip his helmet back, throw up and then he'd be OK," Warner said.
Welker shrugs his shoulders and gives one of his typically brief responses.
"I just play hard, do whatever I can to help the team," he said. "I've just tried to be like that ever since I started playing."
That's the other problem for Welker. In a game where look-at-me personalities get rewarded, Welker practically sprints from the spotlight. After one game this season, Welker was being interviewed by NBC's Andrea Kremer. Before Kremer could finish, Welker looked off to the side, claimed Belichick was looking at him and quickly excused himself.
At another point, Welker cut off a locker room interview in similar fashion. His quotes over the season read like the best of Belichick, a series of general comments that amount to less than zero in total content.
"That's Wes, he's just a worker," said Armstrong, who used to have Welker run the players-only meetings on Fridays to go over the special teams plan for the upcoming game when they were in Miami. "He comes to work, does his job and doesn't say much,"
Sometimes, he says nothing at all.
Jason Cole is a national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jason a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
i want us to remember great Super Bowl record tying night for Wes. here's some articles about it!
* article 1, NJ.com
PHOENIX -- Wes Welker didn't want to be a receiver. Not in pick-up games as a kid when his friends just figured the fastest kid out there should be catching passes rather than running with the ball. And not in college, when he arrived with dreams of being like his idol, Barry Sanders, but kept getting shuffled out to work with the receivers.
Eventually, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach decided to try Welker at slot receiver.
He never saw the backfield again.
"My first year, I don't think they had any idea where they wanted to put me," Welker said this week. "I think they wanted to put me at running back, but we had a need at that receiver position. ... It kind of became my position from that point on."
It has become a position no one plays any better than Welker. He makes up for being 5-9 by using his quickness, good hands and football smarts. And in his first season with the Patriots, he tied for the league lead with 112 receptions for nearly 1,200 yards.
"I think my strengths are used really well here," he said. "I always thought I'd be a returner in this game. I would never rule anything else out, but at the same time, have I established myself as a slot receiver? I think so."
In an offense of many stars, Welker has become just as important as Tom Brady and Randy Moss for opposing coaches to stop. Tonight, when the Patriots play the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, Welker is the not-so-secret weapon.
For nearly a decade, the Patriots had a good slot receiver in the form of Troy Brown. But even Brown thinks Welker is the best.
"I don't think I've ever seen anybody as quick as he is with as much speed as he has," Brown said. "If you want to know what makes a good slot receiver, watch Wes Welker do it."
DAVIS SEES PERFECT FIT
Mouse Davis has watched Welker work this season with a particular sense of joy. You can hear it in his voice, one that sounds like he has chewed gravel for a better part of his 74 years.
Davis has been a football coach since 1955 and seen nearly every aspect of the game -- including the rise of the slot receiver.
"When we first starting running four- and five-wide receiver sets, people said, 'You can't do this, it's really unsound,'" said Davis, now the offensive coordinator at Portland State. "And now, everyone's running it, with guys like Welker who are having great success."
Davis' run-and-shoot offense, which he has used in college, the USFL and the NFL, thrived with slippery slot receivers -- players who could catch the ball but were too small to line up on the outside of a formation as a wide receiver. Davis moved them inside, offset from the tackles, and let them work against linebackers while the outside receivers occupied the cornerbacks.
Although it was a pass-happy offense, it also became a way for teams to control the clock.
"Back in the old days, we used to hold onto the ball forever," said Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, who learned under Davis. "Once all the deep stuff went away, the ball went underneath and all of a sudden, we're holding the ball 40 minutes a game."
Davis' and Gilbride's offenses succeeded, but they had a hard time finding players who solely wanted to play in the slot. There is a correlation, Davis said, between being a good punt returner -- like Welker was previously with the Miami Dolphins -- and being a good slot receiver.
"That's the kind of kids they are -- quick, make you miss and -- bam! -- they're by you," Davis said. "They may not all be burners, but the kids that are athletes are the kids you're looking for."
CAN'T BEAT HIM, GET HIM
In playing against us, he killed us every time we played them," Belichick said. "The only way we could handle him was to double-cover him."
Last off-season, Belichick and the Patriots did the only thing they could do to stop Welker: They traded for him. New England gave up a second- and a seventh-round pick in last year's draft. While Welker had 112 catches, 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns, Miami's leading receiver's numbers were half that.
He has fit flawlessly into the Patriots' offense, consistently getting the short-yard passes and turning 65 of his catches into first downs.
"I think with a lot of that underneath stuff that I run, trying to create some separation and get those first downs and move the chains, it's kind of been my forte all year," Welker said.
Moss has garnered all of the attention with his record 23 touchdown catches, but opponents have felt all along that Welker is the more dangerous receiver because he is such a difficult matchup.
"When I first saw him, we were working out and I saw his quickness," Moss said. "But I didn't pay much attention to what he could do in the slot. Once I saw him, I felt it could be something big because we can definitely play off one another."
With Miami, Welker was largely under-utilized as a receiver. He never caught more than 700 yards and had only one receiving touchdown. But Bill Belichick had bigger plans.
Said Davis: "It was a perfect move for him. He was one of those guys who was in a perfect spot because they used all of his skills. Did he have all that before? Yeah. Did they use it? Not quite."
Not even Welker, though, envisioned that he would have this much success in his first year as a true slot receiver. He figured that with Brady throwing him passes, he would increase his stats, but nothing like this.
"I knew I'd catch quite a few balls," Welker said. "But not to the point of 112."
Brendan Prunty may be reached
at bprunty@starledger.com
* article 2, the Sun Chronicle
WEB EXTRA: Welker's record-tying night not enough
BY MARK FARINELLA / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Monday, February 4, 2008 1:07 AM EST
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- He was money in the bank when the game was on the line, as he had been all season long.
Only this time, it wasn't enough -- and Wes Welker had a hard time believing it.
"We've been able to close out games like that," the Patriots' wide receiver said after their 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. "Unfortunately, this time, we weren't able to. Obviously, we came up short."
Welker caught 11 passes for 103 yards in the game, and three of those (for 28 yards) came as quarterback Tom Brady drove the Patriots 80 yards in 12 plays to take a 14-10 lead with 2:42 left to play. It looked as if the Patriots' fourth Super Bowl victory in seven years was almost assured.
"Tom is the best in the game," Welker said. "He's everything you want in a quarterback. There's no quarterback I'd rather play with. He showed great poise on that last drive.
"We just have to execute as an offense and move it along," he said. "However it happens, it happens. We should move the ball a lot more effectively than we did. We didn't do that all game, and we should have."
Indeed, the Patriots had several abortive drives where the offense moved confidently early, then sputtered under the heavy pressure brought against Brady by the Giants' pass rush. The result was a lack of consistency that kept the Giants within striking distance -- a classic strategy that the mentor of both head coaches, Bill Parcells, employed in both his tenures with the Giants and Patriots.
"They've got some good pass rushers, some guys that break on the ball well, and they do some good things out there," Welker said. "It makes it tough to get those throws downfield. They did a great job with their pass rush. They covered it short."
The Patriots had one last gasp, getting the ball back with 29 seconds left at their own 26. A long pass to Randy Moss was knocked down by Corey Webster at the Giants' 21, which, if caught, might have given the Patriots to tie the game on a field goal or possibly even win.
"We're just trying to move the ball downfield and get an opportunity to kick the field goal," Welker said. "We knew there was an opportunity there, and it's the Super Bowl. We weren't just going to give it away."
One thing that escaped Welker's notice was exactly how many passes he was pulling in. By game's end, he had 11 -- tying a Super Bowl record held by the late Dan Ross, the former Cincinnati tight end from Everett, Jerry Rice and former Patriot Deion Branch.
Welker still didn't know until the post-game interviews -- but by that time, and under those circumstances, it didn't matter much to him.
"It was tough," he said of the defeat. "Sometimes, the ball bounces your way. That's what happened to the Giants tonight ... I don't know if it's really set in or not. It is what it is, and there's really nothing you can do."
* article 3, projo.com
MVP award slips out of Welker's grasp
01:00 AM EST on Monday, February 4, 2008
BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer
New England wide receiver Wes Welker meets a Giants defender after a third-quarter reception last night.
The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl
GLENDALE, Ariz.  Wes Welker was on the brink of being not just a Super Bowl champion, but also the Super Bowl MVP.
With a record-tying 11 catches for 103 yards, Welker was the leader in the press box for Most Valuable Player honors if the Patriots had hung on to their 14-10 fourth-quarter lead.
He didn't let anything go through his hands throughout the game. Unfortunately, the Patriots let a history-making victory slip through their grasp in the final seconds, allowing the Giants to drive 83 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
"We've been able to close out games like that," Welker said. "Unfortunately, this time, we weren't able to. You have to give it up to [the Giants]. They played well. They out-executed us."
The Giants hurried and harried Patriots quarterback Tom Brady throughout the game, sacking him five times and pressuring him constantly.
That made it difficult for Brady to throw deep, because he simply didn't have the time.
"They've got some good pass rushers," Welker said, "some guys that break on the ball well. It makes it tough to get those throws downfield."
Consequently, Brady, as he has done so often  and so successfully  all season, looked for Welker on shorter routes.
"We just have to execute as an offense and move it along. However it happens, it happens. We should move the ball a lot more effectively than we did," said Welker. "We didn't do that all game, and we should have."
Although Brady wasn't at his best last night, Welker says there is no better quarterback in football.
"Tom is the best in the game," he said. "He's everything you want in a quarterback. There's no quarterback I'd rather play with. He showed great poise on that last drive."
Desperately trying to get into field-goal range after Eli Manning had led the Giants on their game-winning drive, Brady couldn't connect with Randy Moss.
"It was tough," Welker said. "Sometimes the ball bounces your way. That's what happened to the Giants tonight. I don't know if it's really set in or not. It is what it is."
jdonalds@projo.com
* article 4, WHDH-TV.com
Patriots' Welker ties Super Bowl record with 11 catches
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Told he was too small to play in the NFL years ago, New England receiver Wes Welker had one of the biggest games in Super Bowl history.
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound speedster caught 11 passes for 103 yards, tying the receptions mark set by Cincinnati's Dan Ross in 1982, San Francisco's Jerry Rice in 1989 and New England's Deion Branch three years ago.
But it wasn't enough to bail out the Patriots in a 17-14 loss to the New York Giants.
"I don't know if it's really set in or not," Welker said.
Welker, acquired by New England in the offseason, tied for the NFL lead with 112 catches this season.
It only seemed as if he caught that many against the Giants, who couldn't find him most of the night. Six of Welker's catches gave the Patriots first downs.
Late in the third quarter, with the Patriots facing a second-and-15, Welker zig-zagged his way for a 16-yard gain. On first-and-10 on the same drive, Welker had a 19-yard catch over rookie Aaron Ross.
But there weren't enough plays like that from the rest of the potent Patriot offense, which set an NFL scoring record during the regular season.
"We just have to execute as an offense and move it along," Welker said. "However it happens, it happens. We should move the ball a lot more effectively than we did. We didn't do that all game, and we should have."
* article 5, Boston.com
Welker was one who couldn't be caught
Jim McCabe
Globe Staff / February 4, 2008
GLENDALE, Ariz. - There was a red welt on his forehead and knuckles on his left hand were bleeding. But for the real pain, you had to peer deep inside Wes Welker, and last night, in the heartbreaking moments following Super Bowl XLII, that was an impossible task.
"I don't know if it's set in yet," said the Patriots wide receiver, a blank stare on his face in the aftermath of New York's stunning 17-14 win. He paused, searched for words, but could only produce something his coach would have said.
"It is what it is. There's nothing you can do."
For 18 games, the Patriots had been able to do plenty, their vaunted offensive explosiveness at the heart of what was expected to be the most historic season in NFL history. But inside the dome in the desert, the Patriots could do very little on offense and Welker was asked why.
"You have to give it up to New York," he said. "They out-executed us."
No one had out-caught Welker. That was one of the few bright spots in a dismal night for New England, because Welker's 11 catches tied him with Dan Ross, Jerry Rice, and former Patriot Deion Branch for the most in a Super Bowl. But the mere mention of that record-tying effort was of little solace to the fourth-year player.
"No, I didn't," is all Welker said when asked if knew he had seized a piece of a Super Bowl record. He didn't care. He wasn't in the mood to search for answers, either.
"We should have moved the ball a lot more effectively than we did. We didn't do that all game and we should have."
On a night when quarterback Tom Brady was under siege, he needed to throw a security blanket over his team, and in Welker he found an outlet. Having been held to just two catches in the first half, Welker came alive in the second half and Brady was happy to go to him time and time again.
Welker had a 15-yard reception on the first play of the second half, snared a 7-yarder minutes later, and while that drive stalled, it seemingly established that he was - as he has been all season - the go-to guy for Brady. By now, it was apparent that New England wasn't going to be able to slow the Giants' pass rush, which meant a heralded aspect of the team's offense was gone.
"They've got some good pass rushers, some guys that break on the ball well, and they do some good things out there," said Welker. "It makes it tough to get those throws downfield. They did a great job with their pass rush."
Brady noticed, which is why he turned to Welker on the team's second drive of the second half for two more completions, then again late in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Welker had had a 13-reception game earlier in the season, and twice he had snared 11, including the regular-season finale at the Meadowlands - a 38-35 win over the Giants. So hardly was it a surprise that with 7:54 left and the Patriots trailing, 10-7, Brady took his team to the line of scrimmage and called Welker's number for 5 yards. Three plays later, he found Welker again, then after a completion to Kevin Faulk, Brady zoomed in for Welker for 10 yards to get the ball to the Giants' 29.
It was vintage crunch time and Welker was thrilled to be part of it, especially with the man in control.
"Tom is the best in the game," said Welker. "He's everything you want in a quarterback. There's no quarterback I'd rather play with. He showed great poise on that drive."
It went for 12 plays over 80 yards, took 5:12, and ended with Brady's touchdown pass to Randy Moss for a 14-10 lead. Welker and his mates on offense moved to the sidelines with just 2:39 to play and while they were thrilled to be back on top, it was also a time for a sense of helplessness. The Giants started to move the ball and there was nothing Welker and teammates could do. Nothing was as shocking as the third-and-5 completion off a wild scramble that Eli Manning made to David Tyree, a near-miraculous grab that covered 32 yards and pushed the Giants to the Patriots' 24.
"It was tough [to watch]," said Welker. "Sometimes the ball bounces your way. That's what happened to the Giants tonight."
Four plays later, it was even tougher to watch, for Manning's lob into the left corner of the end zone nestled into Plaxico Burress's hands to put the Giants back in front, 17-14.
There were 35 seconds left to possibly record the first 19-0 season in NFL history, but there would be no miracle finish for Brady, Welker, and the Patriots. The unthinkable had happened. The improbable had taken place. But the pain had not yet sunk in.
"We knew there was an opportunity there," said Welker of the final, desperation drive that ended with three incompletions and a sack, "and it's the Super Bowl. We weren't just going to give it away."
No, they weren't.
But the Giants were more than willing to take it away.
Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.
* article 6, NY Post
WELKER SHINES IN LOSS
By MARK CANNIZZARO
February 4, 2008 -- GLENDALE, Ariz. - When the Most Valuable Player voting for Super Bowl XLII was tabulated, Patriots receiver Wes Welker was second to Eli ManningEli Manning .
It was a distant second, because the Patriots lost 17-14 to the GiantsNew York Giants , ending their bid at perfection. But had the Patriots won, Welker may well have won the award after catching 11 passes for 103 yards - both game highs for both teams.
With the Patriots running game stifled by the Giants defense and Randy Moss bottled up by the secondary, Welker - as he has all year - became Tom Brady's best outlet.
Welker, who led the NFL with 112 receptions this season (a New England franchise record), tied a Super Bowl record for most catches in a game.
Despite his terrific performance, Welker could not have cared less about the statistics or anything else other than winning the game.
"We've been able to win games like this," he said. "Unfortunately this time we weren't able to. Obviously, we came up short."
Welker said he was impressed with Brady's toughness after he was battered around by the Giants defense.
"Tom is the best in the game," he said. "He's everything you want in a quarterback. There is no quarterback I'd rather play with. He showed great poise in that last drive."
Brady began to go to Welker often in the second half after Welker had two catches for 17 yards in the first half.
Welker had nine of his catches for 86 yards in the second half, and he looked like someone the Giants couldn't handle. That was of little solace to Welker.
"We should move the ball a lot more effectively than we did," he said.
Asked about losing the final game after going 18-0, Welker said, "There's really nothing you can do."
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com
* article 7, USA Today
Welker's 100-yard game goes for naught
Enlarge By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY
Patriots receiver Wes Welker eludes Giants cornerback Aaron Ross in the fourth quarter. Welker led New England in receiving with 11 catches for 103 yards.
By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY
GLENDALE, Ariz.  New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker finished Super Bowl XLII with the kind of statistics that might have made him the game's MVP, if the Patriots' season had indeed had a perfect ending.
The 5-9, 185-pounder had had 11 receptions for 103 yards and made multiple big plays on the 80-yard touchdown drive that gave the Patriots a 14-10 lead with 2:42 left to play.
But the New York Giants and Eli Manning pulled out a 17-14 victory.
"I don't know if it has really set in. But it is what it is, and there's really nothing you can do," Welker said after the Patriots finished their season a not-quite-perfect 18-1.
Quarterback Tom Brady and a New England offense that set an NFL record for points scored during the regular season weren't racking up the points as usual Sunday night.
But Welker kept getting open, and he was a key contributor on the fourth-quarter touchdown drive that put New England ahead.
On second-and-1 from the Patriots' 44-yard line, Brady and Welker combined on a 13-yard play for a first down.
On second-and-6 from the Giants' 39, Brady found Welker again for 10 yards.
"We should have moved the ball a lot more offensively than we did," Welker said. "And we didn't do that all game and we should have."
Welker saluted Brady for leading that go-ahead drive.
"Tom is the best in the game," Welker said. "He's tough. He's smart. He's everything you want in a quarterback. He showed great poise ... on that drive, and he got us down there, and he got us into the end zone."
After the Giants took the lead with a clutch drive on their own, New England got the ball back at its own 26-yard line with 29 seconds left.
All the Patriots could produce were three incomplete passes and a sack of Brady. With 1 second left, they turned the ball over on downs. Game over, perfect season down the drain.
"I think it definitely gives us something to shoot for," Welker said. "Obviously, we came up short. We can come back and try to get to this point again."
* article 1, NJ.com
PHOENIX -- Wes Welker didn't want to be a receiver. Not in pick-up games as a kid when his friends just figured the fastest kid out there should be catching passes rather than running with the ball. And not in college, when he arrived with dreams of being like his idol, Barry Sanders, but kept getting shuffled out to work with the receivers.
Eventually, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach decided to try Welker at slot receiver.
He never saw the backfield again.
"My first year, I don't think they had any idea where they wanted to put me," Welker said this week. "I think they wanted to put me at running back, but we had a need at that receiver position. ... It kind of became my position from that point on."
It has become a position no one plays any better than Welker. He makes up for being 5-9 by using his quickness, good hands and football smarts. And in his first season with the Patriots, he tied for the league lead with 112 receptions for nearly 1,200 yards.
"I think my strengths are used really well here," he said. "I always thought I'd be a returner in this game. I would never rule anything else out, but at the same time, have I established myself as a slot receiver? I think so."
In an offense of many stars, Welker has become just as important as Tom Brady and Randy Moss for opposing coaches to stop. Tonight, when the Patriots play the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, Welker is the not-so-secret weapon.
For nearly a decade, the Patriots had a good slot receiver in the form of Troy Brown. But even Brown thinks Welker is the best.
"I don't think I've ever seen anybody as quick as he is with as much speed as he has," Brown said. "If you want to know what makes a good slot receiver, watch Wes Welker do it."
DAVIS SEES PERFECT FIT
Mouse Davis has watched Welker work this season with a particular sense of joy. You can hear it in his voice, one that sounds like he has chewed gravel for a better part of his 74 years.
Davis has been a football coach since 1955 and seen nearly every aspect of the game -- including the rise of the slot receiver.
"When we first starting running four- and five-wide receiver sets, people said, 'You can't do this, it's really unsound,'" said Davis, now the offensive coordinator at Portland State. "And now, everyone's running it, with guys like Welker who are having great success."
Davis' run-and-shoot offense, which he has used in college, the USFL and the NFL, thrived with slippery slot receivers -- players who could catch the ball but were too small to line up on the outside of a formation as a wide receiver. Davis moved them inside, offset from the tackles, and let them work against linebackers while the outside receivers occupied the cornerbacks.
Although it was a pass-happy offense, it also became a way for teams to control the clock.
"Back in the old days, we used to hold onto the ball forever," said Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, who learned under Davis. "Once all the deep stuff went away, the ball went underneath and all of a sudden, we're holding the ball 40 minutes a game."
Davis' and Gilbride's offenses succeeded, but they had a hard time finding players who solely wanted to play in the slot. There is a correlation, Davis said, between being a good punt returner -- like Welker was previously with the Miami Dolphins -- and being a good slot receiver.
"That's the kind of kids they are -- quick, make you miss and -- bam! -- they're by you," Davis said. "They may not all be burners, but the kids that are athletes are the kids you're looking for."
CAN'T BEAT HIM, GET HIM
In playing against us, he killed us every time we played them," Belichick said. "The only way we could handle him was to double-cover him."
Last off-season, Belichick and the Patriots did the only thing they could do to stop Welker: They traded for him. New England gave up a second- and a seventh-round pick in last year's draft. While Welker had 112 catches, 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns, Miami's leading receiver's numbers were half that.
He has fit flawlessly into the Patriots' offense, consistently getting the short-yard passes and turning 65 of his catches into first downs.
"I think with a lot of that underneath stuff that I run, trying to create some separation and get those first downs and move the chains, it's kind of been my forte all year," Welker said.
Moss has garnered all of the attention with his record 23 touchdown catches, but opponents have felt all along that Welker is the more dangerous receiver because he is such a difficult matchup.
"When I first saw him, we were working out and I saw his quickness," Moss said. "But I didn't pay much attention to what he could do in the slot. Once I saw him, I felt it could be something big because we can definitely play off one another."
With Miami, Welker was largely under-utilized as a receiver. He never caught more than 700 yards and had only one receiving touchdown. But Bill Belichick had bigger plans.
Said Davis: "It was a perfect move for him. He was one of those guys who was in a perfect spot because they used all of his skills. Did he have all that before? Yeah. Did they use it? Not quite."
Not even Welker, though, envisioned that he would have this much success in his first year as a true slot receiver. He figured that with Brady throwing him passes, he would increase his stats, but nothing like this.
"I knew I'd catch quite a few balls," Welker said. "But not to the point of 112."
Brendan Prunty may be reached
at bprunty@starledger.com
* article 2, the Sun Chronicle
WEB EXTRA: Welker's record-tying night not enough
BY MARK FARINELLA / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Monday, February 4, 2008 1:07 AM EST
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- He was money in the bank when the game was on the line, as he had been all season long.
Only this time, it wasn't enough -- and Wes Welker had a hard time believing it.
"We've been able to close out games like that," the Patriots' wide receiver said after their 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. "Unfortunately, this time, we weren't able to. Obviously, we came up short."
Welker caught 11 passes for 103 yards in the game, and three of those (for 28 yards) came as quarterback Tom Brady drove the Patriots 80 yards in 12 plays to take a 14-10 lead with 2:42 left to play. It looked as if the Patriots' fourth Super Bowl victory in seven years was almost assured.
"Tom is the best in the game," Welker said. "He's everything you want in a quarterback. There's no quarterback I'd rather play with. He showed great poise on that last drive.
"We just have to execute as an offense and move it along," he said. "However it happens, it happens. We should move the ball a lot more effectively than we did. We didn't do that all game, and we should have."
Indeed, the Patriots had several abortive drives where the offense moved confidently early, then sputtered under the heavy pressure brought against Brady by the Giants' pass rush. The result was a lack of consistency that kept the Giants within striking distance -- a classic strategy that the mentor of both head coaches, Bill Parcells, employed in both his tenures with the Giants and Patriots.
"They've got some good pass rushers, some guys that break on the ball well, and they do some good things out there," Welker said. "It makes it tough to get those throws downfield. They did a great job with their pass rush. They covered it short."
The Patriots had one last gasp, getting the ball back with 29 seconds left at their own 26. A long pass to Randy Moss was knocked down by Corey Webster at the Giants' 21, which, if caught, might have given the Patriots to tie the game on a field goal or possibly even win.
"We're just trying to move the ball downfield and get an opportunity to kick the field goal," Welker said. "We knew there was an opportunity there, and it's the Super Bowl. We weren't just going to give it away."
One thing that escaped Welker's notice was exactly how many passes he was pulling in. By game's end, he had 11 -- tying a Super Bowl record held by the late Dan Ross, the former Cincinnati tight end from Everett, Jerry Rice and former Patriot Deion Branch.
Welker still didn't know until the post-game interviews -- but by that time, and under those circumstances, it didn't matter much to him.
"It was tough," he said of the defeat. "Sometimes, the ball bounces your way. That's what happened to the Giants tonight ... I don't know if it's really set in or not. It is what it is, and there's really nothing you can do."
* article 3, projo.com
MVP award slips out of Welker's grasp
01:00 AM EST on Monday, February 4, 2008
BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer
New England wide receiver Wes Welker meets a Giants defender after a third-quarter reception last night.
The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl
GLENDALE, Ariz.  Wes Welker was on the brink of being not just a Super Bowl champion, but also the Super Bowl MVP.
With a record-tying 11 catches for 103 yards, Welker was the leader in the press box for Most Valuable Player honors if the Patriots had hung on to their 14-10 fourth-quarter lead.
He didn't let anything go through his hands throughout the game. Unfortunately, the Patriots let a history-making victory slip through their grasp in the final seconds, allowing the Giants to drive 83 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
"We've been able to close out games like that," Welker said. "Unfortunately, this time, we weren't able to. You have to give it up to [the Giants]. They played well. They out-executed us."
The Giants hurried and harried Patriots quarterback Tom Brady throughout the game, sacking him five times and pressuring him constantly.
That made it difficult for Brady to throw deep, because he simply didn't have the time.
"They've got some good pass rushers," Welker said, "some guys that break on the ball well. It makes it tough to get those throws downfield."
Consequently, Brady, as he has done so often  and so successfully  all season, looked for Welker on shorter routes.
"We just have to execute as an offense and move it along. However it happens, it happens. We should move the ball a lot more effectively than we did," said Welker. "We didn't do that all game, and we should have."
Although Brady wasn't at his best last night, Welker says there is no better quarterback in football.
"Tom is the best in the game," he said. "He's everything you want in a quarterback. There's no quarterback I'd rather play with. He showed great poise on that last drive."
Desperately trying to get into field-goal range after Eli Manning had led the Giants on their game-winning drive, Brady couldn't connect with Randy Moss.
"It was tough," Welker said. "Sometimes the ball bounces your way. That's what happened to the Giants tonight. I don't know if it's really set in or not. It is what it is."
jdonalds@projo.com
* article 4, WHDH-TV.com
Patriots' Welker ties Super Bowl record with 11 catches
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Told he was too small to play in the NFL years ago, New England receiver Wes Welker had one of the biggest games in Super Bowl history.
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound speedster caught 11 passes for 103 yards, tying the receptions mark set by Cincinnati's Dan Ross in 1982, San Francisco's Jerry Rice in 1989 and New England's Deion Branch three years ago.
But it wasn't enough to bail out the Patriots in a 17-14 loss to the New York Giants.
"I don't know if it's really set in or not," Welker said.
Welker, acquired by New England in the offseason, tied for the NFL lead with 112 catches this season.
It only seemed as if he caught that many against the Giants, who couldn't find him most of the night. Six of Welker's catches gave the Patriots first downs.
Late in the third quarter, with the Patriots facing a second-and-15, Welker zig-zagged his way for a 16-yard gain. On first-and-10 on the same drive, Welker had a 19-yard catch over rookie Aaron Ross.
But there weren't enough plays like that from the rest of the potent Patriot offense, which set an NFL scoring record during the regular season.
"We just have to execute as an offense and move it along," Welker said. "However it happens, it happens. We should move the ball a lot more effectively than we did. We didn't do that all game, and we should have."
* article 5, Boston.com
Welker was one who couldn't be caught
Jim McCabe
Globe Staff / February 4, 2008
GLENDALE, Ariz. - There was a red welt on his forehead and knuckles on his left hand were bleeding. But for the real pain, you had to peer deep inside Wes Welker, and last night, in the heartbreaking moments following Super Bowl XLII, that was an impossible task.
"I don't know if it's set in yet," said the Patriots wide receiver, a blank stare on his face in the aftermath of New York's stunning 17-14 win. He paused, searched for words, but could only produce something his coach would have said.
"It is what it is. There's nothing you can do."
For 18 games, the Patriots had been able to do plenty, their vaunted offensive explosiveness at the heart of what was expected to be the most historic season in NFL history. But inside the dome in the desert, the Patriots could do very little on offense and Welker was asked why.
"You have to give it up to New York," he said. "They out-executed us."
No one had out-caught Welker. That was one of the few bright spots in a dismal night for New England, because Welker's 11 catches tied him with Dan Ross, Jerry Rice, and former Patriot Deion Branch for the most in a Super Bowl. But the mere mention of that record-tying effort was of little solace to the fourth-year player.
"No, I didn't," is all Welker said when asked if knew he had seized a piece of a Super Bowl record. He didn't care. He wasn't in the mood to search for answers, either.
"We should have moved the ball a lot more effectively than we did. We didn't do that all game and we should have."
On a night when quarterback Tom Brady was under siege, he needed to throw a security blanket over his team, and in Welker he found an outlet. Having been held to just two catches in the first half, Welker came alive in the second half and Brady was happy to go to him time and time again.
Welker had a 15-yard reception on the first play of the second half, snared a 7-yarder minutes later, and while that drive stalled, it seemingly established that he was - as he has been all season - the go-to guy for Brady. By now, it was apparent that New England wasn't going to be able to slow the Giants' pass rush, which meant a heralded aspect of the team's offense was gone.
"They've got some good pass rushers, some guys that break on the ball well, and they do some good things out there," said Welker. "It makes it tough to get those throws downfield. They did a great job with their pass rush."
Brady noticed, which is why he turned to Welker on the team's second drive of the second half for two more completions, then again late in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Welker had had a 13-reception game earlier in the season, and twice he had snared 11, including the regular-season finale at the Meadowlands - a 38-35 win over the Giants. So hardly was it a surprise that with 7:54 left and the Patriots trailing, 10-7, Brady took his team to the line of scrimmage and called Welker's number for 5 yards. Three plays later, he found Welker again, then after a completion to Kevin Faulk, Brady zoomed in for Welker for 10 yards to get the ball to the Giants' 29.
It was vintage crunch time and Welker was thrilled to be part of it, especially with the man in control.
"Tom is the best in the game," said Welker. "He's everything you want in a quarterback. There's no quarterback I'd rather play with. He showed great poise on that drive."
It went for 12 plays over 80 yards, took 5:12, and ended with Brady's touchdown pass to Randy Moss for a 14-10 lead. Welker and his mates on offense moved to the sidelines with just 2:39 to play and while they were thrilled to be back on top, it was also a time for a sense of helplessness. The Giants started to move the ball and there was nothing Welker and teammates could do. Nothing was as shocking as the third-and-5 completion off a wild scramble that Eli Manning made to David Tyree, a near-miraculous grab that covered 32 yards and pushed the Giants to the Patriots' 24.
"It was tough [to watch]," said Welker. "Sometimes the ball bounces your way. That's what happened to the Giants tonight."
Four plays later, it was even tougher to watch, for Manning's lob into the left corner of the end zone nestled into Plaxico Burress's hands to put the Giants back in front, 17-14.
There were 35 seconds left to possibly record the first 19-0 season in NFL history, but there would be no miracle finish for Brady, Welker, and the Patriots. The unthinkable had happened. The improbable had taken place. But the pain had not yet sunk in.
"We knew there was an opportunity there," said Welker of the final, desperation drive that ended with three incompletions and a sack, "and it's the Super Bowl. We weren't just going to give it away."
No, they weren't.
But the Giants were more than willing to take it away.
Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.
* article 6, NY Post
WELKER SHINES IN LOSS
By MARK CANNIZZARO
February 4, 2008 -- GLENDALE, Ariz. - When the Most Valuable Player voting for Super Bowl XLII was tabulated, Patriots receiver Wes Welker was second to Eli ManningEli Manning .
It was a distant second, because the Patriots lost 17-14 to the GiantsNew York Giants , ending their bid at perfection. But had the Patriots won, Welker may well have won the award after catching 11 passes for 103 yards - both game highs for both teams.
With the Patriots running game stifled by the Giants defense and Randy Moss bottled up by the secondary, Welker - as he has all year - became Tom Brady's best outlet.
Welker, who led the NFL with 112 receptions this season (a New England franchise record), tied a Super Bowl record for most catches in a game.
Despite his terrific performance, Welker could not have cared less about the statistics or anything else other than winning the game.
"We've been able to win games like this," he said. "Unfortunately this time we weren't able to. Obviously, we came up short."
Welker said he was impressed with Brady's toughness after he was battered around by the Giants defense.
"Tom is the best in the game," he said. "He's everything you want in a quarterback. There is no quarterback I'd rather play with. He showed great poise in that last drive."
Brady began to go to Welker often in the second half after Welker had two catches for 17 yards in the first half.
Welker had nine of his catches for 86 yards in the second half, and he looked like someone the Giants couldn't handle. That was of little solace to Welker.
"We should move the ball a lot more effectively than we did," he said.
Asked about losing the final game after going 18-0, Welker said, "There's really nothing you can do."
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com
* article 7, USA Today
Welker's 100-yard game goes for naught
Enlarge By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY
Patriots receiver Wes Welker eludes Giants cornerback Aaron Ross in the fourth quarter. Welker led New England in receiving with 11 catches for 103 yards.
By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY
GLENDALE, Ariz.  New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker finished Super Bowl XLII with the kind of statistics that might have made him the game's MVP, if the Patriots' season had indeed had a perfect ending.
The 5-9, 185-pounder had had 11 receptions for 103 yards and made multiple big plays on the 80-yard touchdown drive that gave the Patriots a 14-10 lead with 2:42 left to play.
But the New York Giants and Eli Manning pulled out a 17-14 victory.
"I don't know if it has really set in. But it is what it is, and there's really nothing you can do," Welker said after the Patriots finished their season a not-quite-perfect 18-1.
Quarterback Tom Brady and a New England offense that set an NFL record for points scored during the regular season weren't racking up the points as usual Sunday night.
But Welker kept getting open, and he was a key contributor on the fourth-quarter touchdown drive that put New England ahead.
On second-and-1 from the Patriots' 44-yard line, Brady and Welker combined on a 13-yard play for a first down.
On second-and-6 from the Giants' 39, Brady found Welker again for 10 yards.
"We should have moved the ball a lot more offensively than we did," Welker said. "And we didn't do that all game and we should have."
Welker saluted Brady for leading that go-ahead drive.
"Tom is the best in the game," Welker said. "He's tough. He's smart. He's everything you want in a quarterback. He showed great poise ... on that drive, and he got us down there, and he got us into the end zone."
After the Giants took the lead with a clutch drive on their own, New England got the ball back at its own 26-yard line with 29 seconds left.
All the Patriots could produce were three incomplete passes and a sack of Brady. With 1 second left, they turned the ball over on downs. Game over, perfect season down the drain.
"I think it definitely gives us something to shoot for," Welker said. "Obviously, we came up short. We can come back and try to get to this point again."
How about this comparison of Wes Welker and Jerry Rice by Peter King:
In the grim dawn of a very bad day for Patriot Nation, let's not forget the very bright spot that Wes Welker was this year. Comparing the 2007 season of Welker with the most productive season Jerry Rice ever had:
<TABLE =cnnTM cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%">
<T>
<TR>
<TD =cnnIESubTitle>Jerry Rice vs. Wes Welker</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD =cnnTMcontent>
<TABLE =cnnTM cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%">
<T>
<TR>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Player</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Year</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Regular Season Catches</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Postseason Catches</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Total</TD></TR>
<TR =cnnIERowAltBG></TR>
<TR>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Jerry Rice</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>1995</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>122</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>11</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>133</TD></TR>
<TR =cnnIERowAltBG></TR>
<TR>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Wes Welker</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>2007</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>112</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>27</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>139</TD></TR></T></TABLE></TD></TR></T></TABLE>
How incredible is that, really? [url]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/02/ 04/Giants/2.html[/url]
In the grim dawn of a very bad day for Patriot Nation, let's not forget the very bright spot that Wes Welker was this year. Comparing the 2007 season of Welker with the most productive season Jerry Rice ever had:
<TABLE =cnnTM cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%">
<T>
<TR>
<TD =cnnIESubTitle>Jerry Rice vs. Wes Welker</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD =cnnTMcontent>
<TABLE =cnnTM cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%">
<T>
<TR>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Player</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Year</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Regular Season Catches</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Postseason Catches</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Total</TD></TR>
<TR =cnnIERowAltBG></TR>
<TR>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Jerry Rice</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>1995</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>122</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>11</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>133</TD></TR>
<TR =cnnIERowAltBG></TR>
<TR>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>Wes Welker</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>2007</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>112</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>27</TD>
<TD =cnnIEColTxtL>139</TD></TR></T></TABLE></TD></TR></T></TABLE>
How incredible is that, really? [url]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/02/ 04/Giants/2.html[/url]
Welker is now a household name among NFL fans. What a great game by #83. All throughout the game people were like wow who is his #83 he's pretty good and really quick. I had the pleasure of telling everyone all about Welker and how the odds have always been stacked against him and how he led the NFL in receptions this year. Welker did Texas Tech proud and made Miami look like fools for not only trading him but underutilizing him as well.
Don Wassall said:
It's nice to see all the people jumping on the bandwagon.You know what's funny? We at Caste Football werethe only ones touting Welker when the drunken white fans in Miami were hoping the Dolphins would throw him overboard and get some real receivers.
The link above leads to another another interesting bit of information, right after the Welker story:
"In 1969, Hillary Rodham, a recent graduate of Wellesley College, interned in the office of New York Republican Rep. Charles Goodell. Father of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell."
I'm sure it's only a coincidence.
And the video confiscated from the Patriots cameraman that somehow made it's way to Fox Sports? No one knows how Fox got hold of it, but by coincidence, Roger Goodell's wife happens to beFox news anchor.Jane Skilling.
Thrashen
Hall of Famer
"It's nice to see all the people jumping on the bandwagon. You know what's funny? We at Caste Football were the only ones touting Welker when the drunken white fans in Miami were hoping the Dolphins would throw him overboard and get some real receivers."
Great point, man. I always think about players like that. You know, guys we talk about in the college threads....then we talk about them as soon as they are drafted or signed in free agency. In a fair world, the severely watered-down NFL of today would be filled with tough white WRs, DBs, and RBs. The goal of this site is stories like Welker. I just want to see them get their fair chance.
And to think, Nick Saban was going to cut Welker to sign the repeatedly convicted felon, Marcus Vick
! I suppose Saban is eating his words after this season when it comes to Welker, huh? May that caste-devil rot in hell.Edited by: Thrashen
Great point, man. I always think about players like that. You know, guys we talk about in the college threads....then we talk about them as soon as they are drafted or signed in free agency. In a fair world, the severely watered-down NFL of today would be filled with tough white WRs, DBs, and RBs. The goal of this site is stories like Welker. I just want to see them get their fair chance.
And to think, Nick Saban was going to cut Welker to sign the repeatedly convicted felon, Marcus Vick
sport historian
Master
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2004
- Messages
- 2,986
"In 1969, Hillary Rodham, a recent graduate of Wellesley College, interned in the office of New York Republican Rep. Charles Goodell. Father of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell."
I'm sure it's only a coincidence.
  I did a Yahoo search. Hillary currently a Senator from NY interned years ago, in the office of one Charles Goodell, a NY Congressman who eventually became a Senator of the state of New York.  Charles, turns out was the father of Roger Goodell, the current  Spygate  Commish, who also strangely enough began his NFL career working for the New York Jets.  Kind of interesting in respect to the intense rivalry between Boston and New York, and Mangini and Belichick.
And the video confiscated from the Patriots cameraman that somehow made it's way to Fox Sports? No one knows how Fox got hold of it, but by coincidence, Roger Goodell's wife happens to be Fox news anchor.Jane Skilling.ÂÂ
 [/QUOTE]
New York Senator Charles Goodell was a major hate object of conservatives during 1969-70. I remember this well. When Senator Robert Kennedy was assasinated in June 1968, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller (who was running for the GOP nomination that summer) appointed an obscure upstate New York conservative Republican Congressman named Charles Goodell to RFK's seat.
Goodell had a conservative voting record, but turned leftward upon assuming the Seante seat. He seemed to have thought this would ensure his keeping it. New York was a liberal state, wasn'r it? In 1970, James Buckley, WFB's brother, ran against Goodell on the NY Conservative Party slate. The Democratic nominee was a Congressman named Charles Ottinger.
In the three-way race, Goodell sunk like a stone. Conservatives and Republican regulars abandoned him for Buckley, and Ottinger had the liberal vote and was leading in the polls.
The Nixon White House came up with a strategy to elect Buckley, who promised to vote with the GOP. Vice President Spiro Agnew had been lustily attacking liberals that year, delighting conservatives and infuriating liberals. Agnew went to New York and gave a speech blasting Goodell, calling him the "Christine Jorgensen of the Republican party." This referred to Goodell taking an extreme liberal stance as a Republican Senator, "cross-dressing" in other words.
Enough liberals, out of hatred for Agnew, switched from Ottinger to Goodell. This enabled James Buckley to win a three-way race with about 39% of the vote, as I recall.
I didn't know that the NFL Commissioner was Charles Goodell's son. When Hillary was interning for Senator Goodell, he was known as the most liberal Republican Senator. He attacked Nixon relentlessly on the Vietnam War.
I'm sure it's only a coincidence.
And the video confiscated from the Patriots cameraman that somehow made it's way to Fox Sports? No one knows how Fox got hold of it, but by coincidence, Roger Goodell's wife happens to be Fox news anchor.Jane Skilling.ÂÂ
 [/QUOTE]
New York Senator Charles Goodell was a major hate object of conservatives during 1969-70. I remember this well. When Senator Robert Kennedy was assasinated in June 1968, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller (who was running for the GOP nomination that summer) appointed an obscure upstate New York conservative Republican Congressman named Charles Goodell to RFK's seat.
Goodell had a conservative voting record, but turned leftward upon assuming the Seante seat. He seemed to have thought this would ensure his keeping it. New York was a liberal state, wasn'r it? In 1970, James Buckley, WFB's brother, ran against Goodell on the NY Conservative Party slate. The Democratic nominee was a Congressman named Charles Ottinger.
In the three-way race, Goodell sunk like a stone. Conservatives and Republican regulars abandoned him for Buckley, and Ottinger had the liberal vote and was leading in the polls.
The Nixon White House came up with a strategy to elect Buckley, who promised to vote with the GOP. Vice President Spiro Agnew had been lustily attacking liberals that year, delighting conservatives and infuriating liberals. Agnew went to New York and gave a speech blasting Goodell, calling him the "Christine Jorgensen of the Republican party." This referred to Goodell taking an extreme liberal stance as a Republican Senator, "cross-dressing" in other words.
Enough liberals, out of hatred for Agnew, switched from Ottinger to Goodell. This enabled James Buckley to win a three-way race with about 39% of the vote, as I recall.
I didn't know that the NFL Commissioner was Charles Goodell's son. When Hillary was interning for Senator Goodell, he was known as the most liberal Republican Senator. He attacked Nixon relentlessly on the Vietnam War.
The Patriots re-signing Randy Moss should ensure that Welker has a prominent role in the offense againin '08. Sofew white receivers ever get a chance to shine in the NFL and so many have seen their role diminish following a good year, but Welker would seem to be with the right team to continue as a star.
ToughJ.Riggins
Hall of Famer
I was just thinking how Welker is really a half back similar to Brian Westbrook, playing WR. That is how he led the league in yards after catch, even though most of his catches were short ones. He makes the first guy or even second and third guy miss like it's nobodies business.
Brian Westbrook has a similar frame, (added a little more weight for HB), has great burst, agility and is a great pass catcher, but runs basically a 4.6 like Welker and will get run down often on runs over 40 yards. Another similar player is Ahmad Bradshaw of the Giants. Both are lightning quick scat backs without the 3rd gear. I can't help but think that Wes Welker would be playing RB like Westbrook or Bradshaw if he were black, instead of slot WR. Anyone agree?
Brian Westbrook has a similar frame, (added a little more weight for HB), has great burst, agility and is a great pass catcher, but runs basically a 4.6 like Welker and will get run down often on runs over 40 yards. Another similar player is Ahmad Bradshaw of the Giants. Both are lightning quick scat backs without the 3rd gear. I can't help but think that Wes Welker would be playing RB like Westbrook or Bradshaw if he were black, instead of slot WR. Anyone agree?
PhillyBirds
Mentor
It's possible. Welker reminds me a little more of Eagles RB Lorenzo Booker than B. Westbrook. Welker and Booker are about the same size, and the Eagles use him in a similar capacity to Welker (except he lines up in the backfield sometimes). Booker is a scat back with shifty east-west moves, but might be faster straight ahead than Welker.
TJR, I keep getting into these WR to RB conversations with you.
It's your obsession!
TJR, I keep getting into these WR to RB conversations with you.
Any theories out there as to why Welker's stats are so down from last year. I mean he's puttuing up decent numbers but no where near the pace he was on last season. I don't think the loss of Donte Stallworth and Brady can hurt him that badly. I think its just teams know the routes he does within the Pats offensive scheme and teams are just double teaming him a lot more this year. Last season Welker faced much more single coverage.
celticdb15
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2007
- Messages
- 8,469
Well Welker only has 1 td catch this year, but he is still averaging 7 catches per game. I think he has just been unlucky when the Pats enter the redzone, they have either been looking for Moss or giving it to Sammy Morris who had been doing good until his injury.
Welker's tied for 3rd in the league in receptions, very impressive considering the dropoff in the New England offense from lastyear to this year. He's on pace for back to back 100 catch seasons.
After his huge game Sunday, Welker now has 80 catches for 838 yards. He'll almost surely go over 1,000 receiving yards again, which would make him the only white receiver besides Ed McCaffrey in the past 22 years to have more than one thousand yard season.
Welker took a vicious hit by Steelers' safety Ryan Clark. It's on youtube but I don't know how to link it. It drew a penalty and I would expect a major fine. The pass was knocked down and Welker took two steps with his hands down before the hit. The commentary I read was that Clark was "classy" for looking for Welker after the game to apologize. This was a brutal cheap shot and Welker never returned.
A link to the video also came from Blacksportsonline with the headline "Welker gets jacked up." But their editor also acknowledged it was a cheap shot.Edited by: icsept
A link to the video also came from Blacksportsonline with the headline "Welker gets jacked up." But their editor also acknowledged it was a cheap shot.Edited by: icsept
Welker practiced fully on Wednesday and isn't listed on the injury report.