so...safe to say Welker dropped the superbowl championship?

[Lord of Mikawa]

Wes wasn't the only guy dropping passes in the fourth quarter.

[Bahku]

No, it's probably not safe to say, and unfair that Wes should carry all of that burden.

This game, (and any game for that matter), hinged on any number of plays that could have turned the tide for the Patriots.

Was it a big play opportunity missed? Yes.

Would it have made the difference? Who knows?

We win as a team and lose as a team, and Wes was simply a vital member of a team that gave a lackluster performance.

This kid was the leading WR in the NFL this year, and a vital part of the Patriots' bid to get as far as they did ... he should not have to bear this yoke by his lonesome.

As Brady (thankfully) said in his post-game presser about Welker: I love this guy.

[Celtics4ever]

There were lots of dropped passes.

[Redz]

Probably not a fair thing to say, but yeh...he makes that play Pats likely win...Then again the D makes a play on Giants final drive, the same can be said.  Bottom line, Giants made plays when they needed to, and the Pats did not.

[scaryjerry]

why when eli scrambled out of the pocket 4 years ago and chucked it up in the air..itt was caught on a scrubs helmet with a man all over him?
brady 4 years later..same deal...its picked off by a linebacker.
Wes drops a ball in his hands when hes wide open...Manningham catches a ball falling out of bounds with 2 guys near him...

I dont get why fate is on the giants side against the pats....but hmmm absolutely awful gut punch losing to the giants again

[scaryjerry]

Lots of fans seem to think so.

I think that was a tremendously difficult catch, even though he got his hands on it.  He had to contort his body awkwardly and would have had to make an acrobatic catch. 

To me, the fault with that play is on Brady.  If he'd made a better throw to a wide open receiver, the Pats win. 

I think Welker is the victim of high expectations, and is further victim of the Sainthood of Tom Brady.  I just heard Steve Young talk about how Brady does "more with less" than any QB in history.  That's despite having a very, very talented receiving core the last several years. 

Brady made a bad throw.  I don't expect Welker to make a miracle catch just because the ball came out of Wonder Boy's hands.

Gotta make the catch, sorry and yes you do have to make the miracle catches (which that one absolutely would not have been)
see tyree 4 years ago and not to mention manninghams catch last night

[scaryjerry]

I'm surprised that Brady isn't getting a little more blame.

* A bad intentional grounding penalty to gift the Giants two points and the ball;

* A terrible interception on 1st-and-10 from the 43 yard line with the Pats up 17-15 in the fourth quarter;

* That very poor throw to Welker.

Yes, he strung together 16 straight completions, and he looked good in the second and third quarters for the most part.  However, early and late, Brady let the team down, and he's probably the individual player most responsible for this loss.

Terrible interception...its funny how when eli did the same thing an unknown caught the ball of his helmet though.. sigh

It wasnt a "very poor" throw..completely catchable and an honestly routine catch for wes...Welker shouldve caught it...Im assuming hes your patriots binky?
Maybe a victim of his own success and ability to catch....he makes that catch 99 times out of 100...made tougher ones this year and wouldve caught it in my mind if it wasnt in the superbowl...aka gag job

[Roy H.]

I'm surprised that Brady isn't getting a little more blame.

* A bad intentional grounding penalty to gift the Giants two points and the ball;

* A terrible interception on 1st-and-10 from the 43 yard line with the Pats up 17-15 in the fourth quarter;

* That very poor throw to Welker.

Yes, he strung together 16 straight completions, and he looked good in the second and third quarters for the most part.  However, early and late, Brady let the team down, and he's probably the individual player most responsible for this loss.

It wasnt a "very poor" throw...Welker shouldve caught it...Im assuming hes your patriots binky?
Maybe a victim of his own success and ability to catch....he makes that catch 99 times out of 100...made tougher ones this year and wouldve caught it in my mind if it wasnt in the superbowl...aka gag job

I don't have a Patriots binkie. I don't like seeing Weaker scapegoated, though, when Brady made the bad throw there.

If you Brady makes a good throw the Pats win. If he doesn't turn it over on 1st down with the ball near midfield or make a terrible decision on that safety maybe the Pats win. I think blame needs to rest on others besides Welker.

[scaryjerry]

I'm surprised that Brady isn't getting a little more blame.

* A bad intentional grounding penalty to gift the Giants two points and the ball;

* A terrible interception on 1st-and-10 from the 43 yard line with the Pats up 17-15 in the fourth quarter;

* That very poor throw to Welker.

Yes, he strung together 16 straight completions, and he looked good in the second and third quarters for the most part.  However, early and late, Brady let the team down, and he's probably the individual player most responsible for this loss.

It wasnt a "very poor" throw...Welker shouldve caught it...Im assuming hes your patriots binky?
Maybe a victim of his own success and ability to catch....he makes that catch 99 times out of 100...made tougher ones this year and wouldve caught it in my mind if it wasnt in the superbowl...aka gag job

I don't have a Patriots binkie. I don't like seeing Weaker scapegoated, though, when Brady made the bad throw there.

If you Brady makes a good throw the Pats win. If he doesn't turn it over on 1st down with the ball near midfield or make a terrible decision on that safety maybe the Pats win. I think blame needs to rest on others besides Welker.

I agree on the safety and interception but welker shouldve caught that ball....was not uncatchable...quite routine for him but overall we can agree he shouldnt be scapegoated....hes been a true patriot....better question is...was that his last game and last ball brady will throw to him as a patriot? probably sealed his fate

[Eja117]

I'm surprised that Brady isn't getting a little more blame.

* A bad intentional grounding penalty to gift the Giants two points and the ball;

* A terrible interception on 1st-and-10 from the 43 yard line with the Pats up 17-15 in the fourth quarter;

* That very poor throw to Welker.

Yes, he strung together 16 straight completions, and he looked good in the second and third quarters for the most part.  However, early and late, Brady let the team down, and he's probably the individual player most responsible for this loss.

I think people here see me as pretty willing to take a dump on Brady (think we can get Tebow for him?) but I have to disagree.  The grounding I guess is his fault and he should know, but it's a very unusual play and I've never seen that before. It wasn't Brady's fault they were in the endzone to start with.

The interception was a throw deep to Gronk in single coverage against a LB....you make that throw every time. He slightly underthrew it, the defender played it great, and Gronk didn't judge it right or play defensive back. The effect was to be a punt that pinned them on the 8.

Welker had a chance to see the ball and make the play.  Here's the play on Youtube....Collinsworth's first statement was Welker makes that catch 100 out of 100 times

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or1nSVUJeq8


I thought both teams played almost perfect games with the whole thing coming down to another miracle catch for them and an amazing drop for us.

[wdleehi]

I fault the Patriots coaches.  They waited to long to let the Giants score the game winning touchdown. 



I said this last year, get Brady some real weapons on the outside and they would be truly dangerous.  They do not have WRs that stretch the field. 


They have the underneath WRs set. 



The defenses both played well.  Patriots clearly saw that the Giants are a big play offense and played off to prevent that. 


Giants let the Pats dink and dunk, keeping their main pass catchers under 10 yards a catch.

[Rondo2287]

When I watched that play i said to my girlfriend, this is the play we are going to look back on and say, "If only," 

That said, its a team game, yes Welker should have caught it, it hit him in the hands, but countless other things could have been done earlier or later to make up for it. 

[kozlodoev]

All I get out of it is that Wes Welker ain't clutch.

Manningham is clutch.

David Tyree was clutch in 2008.

Brady wasn't too clutch either. Bad interception and failure to move us in FG range in the 4th? We get 3 pts on that drive, and I don't think the Giants are coming back.

[wdleehi]

All I get out of it is that Wes Welker ain't clutch.

Manningham is clutch.

David Tyree was clutch in 2008.

Brady wasn't too clutch either. Bad interception and failure to move us in FG range in the 4th? We get 3 pts on that drive, and I don't think the Giants are coming back.

Why?   The Giants would only be down 5 points.  Did the Patriots show that ability to stop the Giants hurry up offense?

[MBz]

I fault the Patriots coaches.  They waited to long to let the Giants score the game winning touchdown. 



I said this last year, get Brady some real weapons on the outside and they would be truly dangerous.  They do not have WRs that stretch the field. 


They have the underneath WRs set. 



The defenses both played well.  Patriots clearly saw that the Giants are a big play offense and played off to prevent that. 


Giants let the Pats dink and dunk, keeping their main pass catchers under 10 yards a catch.

Well, Ochocinco was supposed to be that guy on the outside, but it just  never happened.  Now on to the Welker play, people need to stop blaming Welker.  That's a tough catch for him to make.  Yes it hit him in the hands, but the ball was behind him and in the air.  How many times have we seen Welker go up and make a catch in the air?  I honestly can't think of any.  The guy is 5'8, that's his game.  Brady made a bad throw, should Welker have caught it? Possibly, but Brady needs to get some blame to.  The other people to blame is the coaching staff.  There's no reason why Green-Ellis didn't get more carries.  We got KILLED in time of possession.  Giants 37:05, Pats 22:55.  You are not going to win any game like that.  The giants kept our defense on the field and wore them out to the extent that the one time they needed a stop, they couldnt get it..