Wes Welker signs with Denver Broncos / Amendola to Pats (Merged)

[Snakehead]

I sure will miss wes welker. He came through big when we needed him most.

That's a heck of a throw right there.  Any time a receiver needs to make a leaping, off-balance, over-the-wrong shoulder type of catch, you know the QB did his job.

Yeah, whenever a ball hits you square in your hands and you make catches like that all that time in far less important moments and in your own words "I make that catch 99 times out of 100" *Unless its the superbowl of course* I'm sure that was a very difficult catch to make.

It wasn't the greatest throw in the world but brady still hit him right in his hands. That was 80 percent welker 20 percent brady as far as who's fault it is. He made that same exact catch last year in the regular season. I mean it was so exact it looked like a replay.

No, Brady didn't "hit him in the hands".  Welker had to make a contorted, off-balance jump for the ball to get his hands on it. 

Just because Welker makes amazing grabs other times doesn't mean he should be expected to do it every time.  That was a lousy, lousy throw.  If Brady throws the ball where he's supposed to, it's game.  Instead, he was off target by a full yard or so, turning an easy completion into a very difficult grab.

That mess up is 100% on Brady.  Welker did his job by getting open.  A good -- or even decent -- throw and the Pats win.  I understand that Tom Terrific is generally considered infallible, but that one is on him.

Roy, no matter how you attempt to phrase it the ball was in welkers hands and he dropped it, PERIOD. Everybody, EVERYBODY including welker himself knows that ball has to be caught and it should have been caught.

The fact you honestly just said that was 100 percent on brady is nothing short of laughable. You are definitely in the minority with that for obvious reasons.

If I'm in the minority, it's because:

1. I don't worship at the altar of Tom Brady, like many fans and pundits seem to; and

2. I don't expect professional athletes to complete miracle plays with any consistency.

A lesser receiver wouldn't have even been able to get his hands on that ball.  It was a lousy throw.  There was plenty of room to hit Welker in stride, and Brady simply missed it.

If I wanted to be a pain, I'd say it was a miracle Welker *didn't* catch it.
Simply put, it wasn't that tough of a catch to make. It also wasn't the best throw. Blame all around.

What's your basis for saying "it wasn't that tough a catch to make"?

How often do you see a guy falling backward, contorting behind himself, catching a ball?

I'd say, not very often.  Much more frequently, you hear the announcers say "he threw that one behind him".  But, because Welker is good enough to get his hands on the ball, it's suddenly his fault?

You make it sound like a routine catch.  There probably aren't five guys in the league who make a better play on that ball than Welker did.

Because it wasn't that tough a catch to make probably


or catching it in stride looking back with little separation

So Welker made catches on two very good throws from Brady.  What's your point?  If Brady threw those passes to Welker in the Super Bowl, he'd have four rings right now.

My point was that that catch was well well wellll within the capability of Welker to catch and that he had been in far trickier situations before.  He got both hands well on it.  There was nothing near him.  He had an extremely clear line of sight on the ball.  What else does he need? The ball to hit him in the numbers? No defensive backs on his side of the field?

Throw the ball where it's intended to go, rather than behind the receiver.  It's a fairly simple concept.  Welker did his job by getting open.  It's then on Brady to put the ball in a place where Welker doesn't have to make an acrobatic catch.

Look at Welker's body language after he drops it. He knows.

Knows what?  That he wanted to catch it?  Obviously.

I love how Welker gets blamed for a poor throw.  He is short and he can't rotate that high to make that kind of catch.  It would have been a VERY GOOD catch if he had made this.

[Roy H.]

Look at Welker's body language after he drops it. He knows.

Yeah.  He's frustrated that his acrobatic attempt to bail out his QB came up just short.

I think Gordon Hayward looked pretty similar after his halfcourt shot against Duke in the 2010 title game just missed.

[Cman]

I sure will miss wes welker. He came through big when we needed him most.

That's a heck of a throw right there.  Any time a receiver needs to make a leaping, off-balance, over-the-wrong shoulder type of catch, you know the QB did his job.

Yeah, whenever a ball hits you square in your hands and you make catches like that all that time in far less important moments and in your own words "I make that catch 99 times out of 100" *Unless its the superbowl of course* I'm sure that was a very difficult catch to make.

It wasn't the greatest throw in the world but brady still hit him right in his hands. That was 80 percent welker 20 percent brady as far as who's fault it is. He made that same exact catch last year in the regular season. I mean it was so exact it looked like a replay.

No, Brady didn't "hit him in the hands".  Welker had to make a contorted, off-balance jump for the ball to get his hands on it. 

Just because Welker makes amazing grabs other times doesn't mean he should be expected to do it every time.  That was a lousy, lousy throw.  If Brady throws the ball where he's supposed to, it's game.  Instead, he was off target by a full yard or so, turning an easy completion into a very difficult grab.

That mess up is 100% on Brady.  Welker did his job by getting open.  A good -- or even decent -- throw and the Pats win.  I understand that Tom Terrific is generally considered infallible, but that one is on him.

Roy, no matter how you attempt to phrase it the ball was in welkers hands and he dropped it, PERIOD. Everybody, EVERYBODY including welker himself knows that ball has to be caught and it should have been caught.

The fact you honestly just said that was 100 percent on brady is nothing short of laughable. You are definitely in the minority with that for obvious reasons.

If I'm in the minority, it's because:

1. I don't worship at the altar of Tom Brady, like many fans and pundits seem to; and

2. I don't expect professional athletes to complete miracle plays with any consistency.

A lesser receiver wouldn't have even been able to get his hands on that ball.  It was a lousy throw.  There was plenty of room to hit Welker in stride, and Brady simply missed it.

If I wanted to be a pain, I'd say it was a miracle Welker *didn't* catch it.
Simply put, it wasn't that tough of a catch to make. It also wasn't the best throw. Blame all around.

What's your basis for saying "it wasn't that tough a catch to make"?

How often do you see a guy falling backward, contorting behind himself, catching a ball?

I'd say, not very often.  Much more frequently, you hear the announcers say "he threw that one behind him".  But, because Welker is good enough to get his hands on the ball, it's suddenly his fault?

You make it sound like a routine catch.  There probably aren't five guys in the league who make a better play on that ball than Welker did.

Because it wasn't that tough a catch to make probably


or catching it in stride looking back with little separation

So Welker made catches on two very good throws from Brady.  What's your point?  If Brady threw those passes to Welker in the Super Bowl, he'd have four rings right now.

My point was that that catch was well well wellll within the capability of Welker to catch and that he had been in far trickier situations before.  He got both hands well on it.  There was nothing near him.  He had an extremely clear line of sight on the ball.  What else does he need? The ball to hit him in the numbers? No defensive backs on his side of the field?

Throw the ball where it's intended to go, rather than behind the receiver.  It's a fairly simple concept.  Welker did his job by getting open.  It's then on Brady to put the ball in a place where Welker doesn't have to make an acrobatic catch.

No one is arguing that Brady made a perfect throw. Far from it, actually. But 100% on Brady? Nah, it just wasn't that tough of a catch to make. I know you dont agree with that last statement, so think that last statement is where we will have to agree to disagree. I see WRs and TEs routinely make "tough" catches like that. It's part of the game.

[KGs Knee]

It was Brady's fault, why is that so difficult to understand.  A ball throw above, and behind, a wide open receiver is a bad throw.

I can't believe this is being argued.

[Roy H.]

Which he did and welker dropped it. Welker dropped a very catchable ball roy. Its unhealthy to not accept such obvious realities.

I've seen your Youtube videos, man.  I feel pretty confident about my grasp on "obvious realities" in comparison. 

[Cman]

Look at Welker's body language after he drops it. He knows.

Yeah.  He's frustrated that his acrobatic attempt to bail out his QB came up just short.

Haha! You don't give in without a fight do you, Roy?

[blink]

I sure will miss wes welker. He came through big when we needed him most.

Wow, you pats fans are rough.  So one of the best receivers in the nfl, potential hall of famer (imho) makes 1 drop and you aren't willing to give him a pass?  Wow.  That pass wasn't terrible, but it wasn't on the money.  Wes has made tons of game winning catches (I know, I am a dolphins fan) over the past 5 years.  So he isn't allowed just one drop?
That is a pretty extreme attitude from a fan.  Maybe the Pats D should have been able to get a stop somewhere along the line.  I hate it when people feel like that one guy (esp in football) lost a game for the team.

I think Wes Welker's stats speak for themselves:
2007 112 catches
2008 111 catches
2009 123 catches
2010  86 catches
2011 122 catches
2012 118 catches

So in all those years, I think Wes probably made up for the one bad pass / bad catch combo against the giants.  Hey if you don't like Wes whatever, but to base his whole value to the Pats on one questionable drop is just over simplifying everything.

I'm tough on everyone that chokes on the big stage. And that ONE DROP came in the freaking SUPERBOWL on the most important play of the whole game! If he catches that we win. Hes allowed some drops, but not on the biggest play of his life and the patriots season.

Sorry, newsflash, Wes didn't LOSE the superbowl for you guys.  The whole TEAM lost the game.  Not being able to stop the Giants on a 88 yard drive with 3 min left was a pretty big part of why they lost. 

Wes was one of the main reasons you even got that far.  I am not even a pats fan and I realize that.

Its easy to be more forgiving when you're not even a fan of the team. I can't believe I'm even debating this with a dolphins fan, what the hell?

I have probably watched Wes longer than most of the people who are commenting on this blog.  I watched him back when he was at Texas Tech, I am a big12 fan.  When he went to the phins I was pumped, and the the phins in their stupidity gave him away for two draft picks that they botched.  He was great in miami and only getting better. 

I feel I have enough experience watching Wes to be able to debate with you about it.

Welker killed the phins so many times it was silly.  But bottom line, if you guys don't appreciate what welker did when he was with the pats, that is your loss, some other team will.  I am sure Manning will enjoy having him the next two years.

[Lightskinsmurf]

Which he did and welker dropped it. Welker dropped a very catchable ball roy. Its unhealthy to not accept such obvious realities.

I've seen your Youtube videos, man.  I feel pretty confident about my grasp on "obvious realities" in comparison. 

This was clearly a frustration comment. Not sure what you mean by that comment tho.

[Roy H.]

Look at Welker's body language after he drops it. He knows.

Yeah.  He's frustrated that his acrobatic attempt to bail out his QB came up just short.

Haha! You don't give in without a fight do you, Roy?

I'm generally willing to admit when I'm wrong.  I just don't happen to believe I'm wrong here.

[blink]

I sure will miss wes welker. He came through big when we needed him most.

That's a heck of a throw right there.  Any time a receiver needs to make a leaping, off-balance, over-the-wrong shoulder type of catch, you know the QB did his job.

Yeah, whenever a ball hits you square in your hands and you make catches like that all that time in far less important moments and in your own words "I make that catch 99 times out of 100" *Unless its the superbowl of course* I'm sure that was a very difficult catch to make.

It wasn't the greatest throw in the world but brady still hit him right in his hands. That was 80 percent welker 20 percent brady as far as who's fault it is. He made that same exact catch last year in the regular season. I mean it was so exact it looked like a replay.

No, Brady didn't "hit him in the hands".  Welker had to make a contorted, off-balance jump for the ball to get his hands on it. 

Just because Welker makes amazing grabs other times doesn't mean he should be expected to do it every time.  That was a lousy, lousy throw.  If Brady throws the ball where he's supposed to, it's game.  Instead, he was off target by a full yard or so, turning an easy completion into a very difficult grab.

That mess up is 100% on Brady.  Welker did his job by getting open.  A good -- or even decent -- throw and the Pats win.  I understand that Tom Terrific is generally considered infallible, but that one is on him.

Roy, no matter how you attempt to phrase it the ball was in welkers hands and he dropped it, PERIOD. Everybody, EVERYBODY including welker himself knows that ball has to be caught and it should have been caught.

The fact you honestly just said that was 100 percent on brady is nothing short of laughable. You are definitely in the minority with that for obvious reasons.

If I'm in the minority, it's because:

1. I don't worship at the altar of Tom Brady, like many fans and pundits seem to; and

2. I don't expect professional athletes to complete miracle plays with any consistency.

A lesser receiver wouldn't have even been able to get his hands on that ball.  It was a lousy throw.  There was plenty of room to hit Welker in stride, and Brady simply missed it.

If I wanted to be a pain, I'd say it was a miracle Welker *didn't* catch it.
Simply put, it wasn't that tough of a catch to make. It also wasn't the best throw. Blame all around.

What's your basis for saying "it wasn't that tough a catch to make"?

How often do you see a guy falling backward, contorting behind himself, catching a ball?

I'd say, not very often.  Much more frequently, you hear the announcers say "he threw that one behind him".  But, because Welker is good enough to get his hands on the ball, it's suddenly his fault?

You make it sound like a routine catch.  There probably aren't five guys in the league who make a better play on that ball than Welker did.

Because it wasn't that tough a catch to make probably


or catching it in stride looking back with little separation

So Welker made catches on two very good throws from Brady.  What's your point?  If Brady threw those passes to Welker in the Super Bowl, he'd have four rings right now.

My point was that that catch was well well wellll within the capability of Welker to catch and that he had been in far trickier situations before.  He got both hands well on it.  There was nothing near him.  He had an extremely clear line of sight on the ball.  What else does he need? The ball to hit him in the numbers? No defensive backs on his side of the field?

Throw the ball where it's intended to go, rather than behind the receiver.  It's a fairly simple concept.  Welker did his job by getting open.  It's then on Brady to put the ball in a place where Welker doesn't have to make an acrobatic catch.

Look at Welker's body language after he drops it. He knows.

Knows what?  That he wanted to catch it?  Obviously.

I love how Welker gets blamed for a poor throw.  He is short and he can't rotate that high to make that kind of catch.  It would have been a VERY GOOD catch if he had made this.

This is exactly how I feel.  It wasn't an un-catchable ball, but it would have been a great catch if he would have hauled it in.  I don't see how that is an obvious drop.  It isn't obviously a drop to everyone.

[Lightskinsmurf]

Look at Welker's body language after he drops it. He knows.

Yeah.  He's frustrated that his acrobatic attempt to bail out his QB came up just short.

Haha! You don't give in without a fight do you, Roy?

I'm generally willing to admit when I'm wrong.  I just don't happen to believe I'm wrong here.

I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong as well. I feel like I'm 100 percent right on this tho. I don't think you will find many people that agree with you on that play being 100 percent on brady.

[Roy H.]

I don't think you will find many people that agree with you on that play being 100 percent on brady.

Several have posted in this thread that it was a bad throw, and that Welker wasn't to blame.  I'm confident that there are literally millions of football fans who feel the same way.

[blink]

Look at Welker's body language after he drops it. He knows.

Yeah.  He's frustrated that his acrobatic attempt to bail out his QB came up just short.

Haha! You don't give in without a fight do you, Roy?

I'm generally willing to admit when I'm wrong.  I just don't happen to believe I'm wrong here.

I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong as well. I feel like I'm 100 percent right on this tho. I don't think you will find many people that agree with you on that play being 100 percent on brady.

Just because someone doesn't think it was 100% on brady doesn't mean we agree with you.  haha

[RebusRankin]

Pats made a mistake. Amendola he of 12 games the past two seasons isn't good enough.

[KGs Knee]

Look at Welker's body language after he drops it. He knows.

Yeah.  He's frustrated that his acrobatic attempt to bail out his QB came up just short.

Haha! You don't give in without a fight do you, Roy?

I'm generally willing to admit when I'm wrong.  I just don't happen to believe I'm wrong here.

I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong as well. I feel like I'm 100 percent right on this tho. I don't think you will find many people that agree with you on that play being 100 percent on brady.

I'd say it's 90% on Brady.  The only thing Welker could have possibly done differently, is maybe turn the other direction.  The problem then is, he'd be trying to make the catch while looking back over his inside shoulder.

It was just a plain bad throw.