Welker’s Loyalty Not Returned By Patriots

[Hammock Parties]

Hmmm. Curious.

http://www.golocalprov.com/sports/sc...d-by-patriots/

Wes Welker learned a valuable lesson this week. He learned that when it comes to doing business with the New England Patriots, that loyalty isn’t a two-way street.

Welker learned Monday at 4pm that the Patriots were not interested in giving him a lucrative multi-year contract like the one he was seeking. Instead, they were happy to pony up the $9.5 million in salary this season to pay him as their “franchise” player.

Yes, when it comes to the business of football, the New England Patriots mean business. They will pay whom they want to pay and how much they want to pay them and nothing more. Wes Welker learned this the hard way.

In the National Football League, a player’s leverage when it comes to getting paid is the threat of holding out is they do not receive the deal that they want. Welker knew this, but made it clear that he would not hold out if he could not reach a long-term deal with New England and, instead, he signed the franchise tender.

Welker did this because he is a man of principle. He assumed that showing a little loyalty to the Patriots might buy him a little in return from the organization. Fat chance!

Since 2007, no receiver in the NFL has had more receptions than Welker including a league-leading 122 catches last season. Some might argue that he is a product of the Patriots’ system and playing alongside Tom Brady. Fair enough. But he has just concluded a 5-year, $18 million contract, a deal he outperformed by a large margin.

But the Patriots don’t care about what you did yesterday. They want to know what you can do for them tomorrow. And, obviously, they have some questions as to how long the 31-year old Welker can perform at such a high level.

No one epitomizes the “Patriot Way” of doing things more than Welker. He is a hard-working, selfless player who says and does the right thing. At the end of the 2009 season, he suffered a torn ACL leaving many to wonder how he would perform after having surgery. Two seasons, 208 receptions, 2,417 yards and 16 touchdowns later, I think we have our answer.

There have been many players who have given into the Patriots in contract negotiations because of their desire to remain a part of a winning organization. But there have also been some who have challenged the Patriots and many of them have cashed in.

Richard Seymour, Assante Samuel, Deion Branch and Logan Mankins are a few examples of those who made it clear that they would not bow at the altar of Bob Kraft and, as a result, they got paid. The squeaky wheels got the grease.

Meanwhile, Welker tried to play the good soldier and all that it got him was a 1-year deal.

I guess it’s true when they say that nice guys often finish last.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Toad King

And they haven't won a SB in years because of talent issues.

Absent the amazing helmet catch, the "years" would be "four years", to be precise.

If Brady/Welker could've hooked up on that one play, "years" would be "five months"

But yeah, you're right, they suck.

(seriously, do you know how dumb you sound?)

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by SNR

The Rams have been to two Super Bowls in 12 years and have won one of them. The Chiefs haven't even won a playoff game in that period of time.

WE HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK SHIT ABOUT TEH ALMIGHTY RAMMS!!!!!!111

no, you only believe in talking shit about the Chiefs.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by whoman69

Without a Brady, last year's team is the Bills. They used their offense to compensate for a non existent defense. They might have even been as bad as the Colts.

Seriously? Brady was worth 11 wins all by himself (Pats 13-3; Colts 2-14)?

You won't find a bigger fan of Tom Brady than me, but....seriously....?

[-King-]

It is ironic that Welker dropped the pass that could have sealed the win for the Patriots.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Toad King

And Eli Manning being a bad mother****er.

Same reason the Pats went. Bad mother****er QB.

And lost to a more talented team.

Oh, and of course it's worth pointing out that the Patriots bad mother****er actually kinda failed them in the AFC Championship game...and had it not been for a dropped pass, the Patriot Way would have failed even harder.

Bunch of ****ing bullshit.

You're seriously frothing-at-the-mouth-insane on this topic. that bad mother****er QB of the Giants squeaked into the playoffs by the skin of his teeth, right?

I'm not going to diss the Giants. They deserved that win, but you're acting like the talentless Patriots were the ones who were lucky to be there. They went 13-3 and took care of business in the playoffs. The "dropped pass" was actually knocked out of hte guy's hands by the defensive player. The Patriots had a clean hook up that they barely missed on, which cost them the Super Bowl.

So WTF are you talking about? You're not making any sense at all.

[Hammock Parties]

You know what's dumb?

Touting your bullshit way when it literally hasn't worked for a single other ****ing team.

[Amnorix]

The "dropped" pass. Should he have held on? Probably so. Was it good defense that made him drop it? Obviously.

[Hammock Parties]

The Patriot Way also made an excellent kicker choke on 4th down.

Belichick is god.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Toad King

You know what's dumb?

Touting your bullshit way when it literally hasn't worked for a single other ****ing team.

There's only one Bill Belichick.

Besides, who went around shouting about the Patriots Way being the only path to the Super Bowl? Not me.

I understand what the Patriots do and why, and why sometimes that mean syou lose a Wes Welker to free agency. That doesn't mean that any team can do it. It doesn't mean it's the only path to winning.

But that doesn't mean their approach isn't sound and the one that is most likely to lead to being a consistently competitive team.

You can throw dartboards at a draft board and select the players the darts land on, but that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. You can oversign everyoen and keep all your talent until their legs fall off too, but that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Toad King

The Patriot Way also made an excellent kicker choke on 4th down.

Belichick is god.

To tie, not to win.


Oh, and Gronk being useless in the SB had no effect on the outcome, while we're discussing luck, good and bad.

And you clearly need valium or something. WTF is wrong with you?

[Hammock Parties]

It's not even "a" path to the Super Bowl.

It doesn't even guarantee a winning ****ing program.

IT'S A LOAD OF SHIT.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Toad King

It's not even "a" path to the Super Bowl.

It doesn't even guarantee a winning ****ing program.

IT'S A LOAD OF SHIT.

Of course it doesn't guarantee a winning program. Nothing would. Bad drafts (for whatever reason), missing on too many free agents, etc., injuries, whatever, there's lots of ways a program can have a good, solid philosophy but not have a winning program.

You don't seem to understand what the "Patriots Way" really is. It's a philosophy to try to optimize the team's chances of competing (not winning, that takes luck and alot else), just competing for championships every year.

How? By building a "tough, smart, strong, fast, disciplined football team."

That's obvious! Everyone wants that! yeah, of course, but people forget. The Eagles went for collecting talent and forgot the last word -- TEAM. They screwed up everything by collecting talented pieces that don't fit well together.

Teams every year show lack of discipline, or toughness, when the going gets hot.

And part of the program requires that very difficult decisions be made to let players go "a year too early, rather than a year too late". Cap management is critical. The Redskins and Cowboys try to win March or April (start of free agency), but tend not to win in November/December.

Patriots players are routinely among the smartest in the NFL. Their football intelligence is frequently cited by opposing players, and their football intelligence is a key to their success (complicated offense that Brady runs, which requires fast, multiple decisions by WRs, etc., and a multiple defense -- whcih has lacked elite talent lately).


Forget all that, though. That's just a bunch of words. When your'e trying to compete in the NFL you probably need a PHILOSOPHY. A series of guidelines to help in your decision-making, because otherwise you're just constantly engaged in the kidn of idiotic, issue-by-issue analysis that fans engage in. Sign that guard to too high a contract and next year maybe you can't sign that WR you really need.

The philosophy is what lets the Patriots constantly have mutliple high draft picks -- gotten at the expense of teams that have too short a focus, and what has helped (not solely caused) them to be competitive for over a decade. So competitive that they have won more games int he new millenium, been to more Super Bowls, and won more Super Bowls, than any other team.

Enough. You're a drooling Patriot hater. I get it. That's fine. Have fun. Good luck with your 8-8 prediction for the Pats this year.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Of course it doesn't guarantee a winning program.

Ah, so it's a worthless philosophy, then.

Thanks for playing.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Toad King

Ah, so it's a worthless philosophy, then.

Thanks for playing.

I can see how you drew that conclusion, given your lack of basic cognitive ability.

You actually WROTE articles on football topics? That's stunning.

[Hammock Parties]

Congrats on wasting the latter half of Tom Brady's career.

Maybe if you had assembled a more talented team around him, he would have had a couple more rings.

"Way" to go.