Report: Amendola has torn muscles in hip

[winsomme]

Amendola has torn muscles in his hip? Losing Welker and being $10 million under the cap is looking like a bad decision right now.

I'm not even sure what you mean.
Pats did want to re sign Welker, but I don't want to argue or rehash the whole Welker thing.
And I don't get the "$10m under cap" criticism.

I think he means that they had plenty of money to sign Welker with...

[Fafnir]

I thought Edelman did a really nice job Thursday night.

I suspect that playing the Jets helped.

The Jets defense is pretty good.

I'm not sure what Welker would have done in that Jets game that Edelman didn't do.  Edelman did everything that a smaller slot receiver could do in that situation.  He caught a TON of passes, usually as the safety valve for Tom Brady, since none of the other receivers were getting open at all.  Welker might have gotten some more yards after the catch, but I doubt it would have been much.

The Patriots are really missing their TEs right now, not Welker.  Through 2 games Brady has completed 1 pass to a TE.  Compare that to the last few years in which the TEs have been a major part of the offensive game plan at all times.

This.

Actually, of all receivers we had last season who are not available now, Welker's production is the closest to being replicated.

The issue is less having Edelman replicate Welker, but that Edelman is the only reliable receiver that Brady has.

You can't get it done offensively with only 1 target you trust to run the right routes or catch the ball.

[BleedGreen1989]

I thought Edelman did a really nice job Thursday night.

I suspect that playing the Jets helped.

The Jets defense is pretty good.

I'm not sure what Welker would have done in that Jets game that Edelman didn't do.  Edelman did everything that a smaller slot receiver could do in that situation.  He caught a TON of passes, usually as the safety valve for Tom Brady, since none of the other receivers were getting open at all.  Welker might have gotten some more yards after the catch, but I doubt it would have been much.

The Patriots are really missing their TEs right now, not Welker.  Through 2 games Brady has completed 1 pass to a TE.  Compare that to the last few years in which the TEs have been a major part of the offensive game plan at all times.

This.

Actually, of all receivers we had last season who are not available now, Welker's production is the closest to being replicated.

The issue is less having Edelman replicate Welker, but that Edelman is the only reliable receiver that Brady has.

You can't get it done offensively with only 1 target you trust to run the right routes or catch the ball.

Pretty much.

Pats are missing their TE more than anything. If Brady had a healthy Gronk, along with a Hernendez who didn't shoot people in the face, and Julian Edleman this offense would be cruising right along.

[Chris]

Pats are missing their TE more than anything. If Brady had a healthy Gronk, along with a Hernendez who didn't shoot people in the face, and Julian Edleman this offense would be cruising right along.

This is what drives me nuts when people say that the Pats were dumb to let Welker walk (well, besides the fact that I believe Welker was in a similar spot as Ray Allen, and had just decided he was leaving for reasons other than money).  At that time, the Pats still had Hernandez, and Gronk's injury didn't seem nearly as bad.  Those are the guys Brady is really missing, not Welker.

[Cman]

Amendola has torn muscles in his hip? Losing Welker and being $10 million under the cap is looking like a bad decision right now.

I'm not even sure what you mean.
Pats did want to re sign Welker, but I don't want to argue or rehash the whole Welker thing.
And I don't get the "$10m under cap" criticism.

I think he means that they had plenty of money to sign Welker with...

Except.... not really. The Pats have a little less than $7M under the cap, by my understanding (from here http://patscap.com/), and are going to need it to sign or extend their three best defensive players:

Talib (playing on a one year deal),
McCourty (contract through 2014),
Wilfork (contract through 2014).

Probably in that order. Actually, Wilfork, arguably the most important of the three, might be the easiest to resign given his age.

Also, Solder and Slater have contracts through 2014. They would probably be 4th and 5th on that list. Brandon Spikes is gone, IMHO, there just isn't enough money for him.

[Cman]

Apparently Amendola will not need surgery, but still out 2-6 weeks (though now the lower end of that range). I'm guessing he'll be out until the New Orleans game (at home Oct 13).