I was watching the NFL network last night and they had some unique angles of the field and they were showing Wes run around during the Raven's game - the guy still has that unbelievable quickness to his game. I don't think I've ever seen a guy who's legs just constantly move at the same speed throughout an entire pass pattern. Good stuff.

I understand he's not a complete talent like a Larry Fitzgerald, but man does he bring something that is tough to stop. I hope he catches another 100 balls this season and I'd love to see how long he can go before he loses that quickness. To think some people think we can replace him with Edelman...they are not and never will be in the same league.

I fully believe that it was Welker's speed (and his completions in the second half) that kept Buffalo from abandoning their nickel defense in the third and fourth quarters last week.  Welker was incredibly important in opening up the running game for the Pats, I believe.  In fact, Chan Gailey pretty much admitted that in his interview on the Buffalo sports radio station, which I can usually get here in Toronto.   

I don't think any conversation has been about they are "in the same league". The question is how much longer can Wes physically continue, and what is the cost/value of what he does compared to  the other offensive players. The financial decision was made that at 32,33 and 34 years old, Wes is not worth $10 million per year, when the team has so many other weapons, which include Edelman and Lloyd. 

I am also sure the Pats are saying after the season to Wes, go make your best deal, and see if the Pats read the market correctly or not. If the Pats did read the market correctly, I believe they will resign Wes at what they and the market feels are market value numbers.

This has never been about who is better, but strictly a financial/age issue. Either the Pats or Wes and his agent have misread the market. It will be interesting as this unfolds after the season to see who was right

In response to rkarp's comment:

Smart post rkarp.  I think you read the situation correctly. 

In response to rkarp's comment:

Personally I don't think they are going to resign him because you're right, it is a age/value issue. However I'm going to enjoy what he brings this season and probably keep track of what he can do for the rest of his career (as long as it's not for the jets). 

Truthfully some people didn't put them into "the same league"...some actually put Edelman in a better league.

Edelman has played better than he has in the past this year, but he hasn't proven that he can play consistently at Welker's level yet.  I also think Welker's skills are a bit different than Edelman's.  Welker seems to have better quickness and agility.  Edelman's improvement this year seems to be more in toughness (yards after the catch) than anything else.  In some ways, Edelman reminds me more of Danny Woodhead than Wes Welker.  

That's the thing with Welker, even at his age, he still keeps defenses honest with his route running. He can still make a safety occasionally move up to him and leave Gronk open down the middle or Lloyd in single coverage down the sidelines. Unlike Edelman or probably anyone else we can bring in, they will not have the same present on offense as Welker. Defenses will cover Lloy,d Gronk and Hern all day long and let the Pats beat us with more passes to the likes of Edelman or whomever we bring in. 

Sure, we still have a lot of weapons and an improving backfield. However, Welker has not been a star in the NFL his whole career, his age might be up, but I don't think his body is worn down as most think it may be now or in the nest few years.

BB is the mastermind of personnel, he has dumped and traded many players that left us fans shocked. I hope this only negotition related and not anything else, because as far as I am concerned Welker has given everything to the Pats since he has been here for the biggest bargain probably in NFL history.

I'm not sure what value a player who can get open almost every play brings, but I think it's high.

There is nobody else really like him.  Watching Amendola, who people compare to Welker, Thursday night and it's not even close.  People talk that Welker is starting to drop more but heck, there were two Thursday night that Amendola dropped that I know Welker would have made those catches.  Then people bring up age... Welker looks like he is running just as hard and fast as he ever has.  This guy is a true talent at this position, one that the Patriots have made into a serious threat every year and he just keeps on giving.  There isn't another guy in the league like him at this position, doubt we will see another for a very long while.

Welkers quickness makes him one of the toughest guys to cover in the league. He adds a dimension that very few teams have. Someone who can get open every down. When he played for Miami I thought he was great and he used to drive me crazy when he went against the Patriots. Not very fast but very quick. He will get run down from behind but can move the chains as well as anyone. 

In response to mthurl's comment:

I just hope he doesn't drop any in the Super Bowl.

I'm hoping the pats resign him for another two years after this one.  Sure, he will test the waters, but eventually may come back here.  He is a WR like NO other!  Very unique in his own way. Very special.

He is the best slot receiver i have ever seen.I can,t think of any other slot receiver as good or better than him.You cannot replace a player like him.That is why brady says he is the best player on the team.

In response to rkarp's comment:

yes those who understood, this is what its been about all along. we have to field a "whole team" under a salary cap

and to tell you the truth, given all the offensive weapons we have, if i had to pay 10 mil per year, id rather pay it to a top tackle, de or cb. (even this year id probabaly woudl have gone for finnegan at 10 mil over welker). 

now maybe we can solve those postions in the draft (de and dt) along with a c/g and t/g (but not cb. we cant pick a top cb for the life of us, so a fa seems like a better idea).

id love to keep wes moving forward., but likely not at a price he may want to play for.

The cap is due to go up the next few season, yes?

You know...I wonder if they'd tag him again, at about 11 mil. That'd be 2 years at 20, and I don't think Welker could really be mad about that.

If the cap is going up, I don't think the Pats would have a problem with that.

Maybe they offer him another 2/16 after the season? To me, offering the same contract to a player now a year older would amount to some measure of respect.

What the Pats won't do is put themselves in a position to take a huge cap hit if Welker's size, and part of the field he plays on finally catch up to him. As he gets older, he's not going to be able to rebound as quickly. That's just the way the human body is. Remember that cheapshot from the NYJ safety a few years back? I wonder if Wes would pop right back up now.

I don't know what was going on with Edelman aat the beginning of the season. I remember Ty Law commenting that something HAD to be going on behind the scenes, but with how the Pats are, we'd never hear about it. I trust that opinion. Law, on TV, does not strike me as someone who makes things up to be heard, he and Troy Brown give some of the best, honest analysis about football you can watch. I just wish they didn't share the stage with Felger...though Felger does make them look that much smarter when talking football. And I like Felger most of the time...but when talking football? Well, he's great at talking hockey.

Agree Edelman is no Welker, but to be fair to Edelman, he has only been playing WR for 4 years, and 4 years of also learning to play db and st. 

Dont forget demps, Hernandez or vereen. All potentially capable of playing the slot effectively. 

Thinking forward when Ballard is ready to go, we now would have 3 starting caliber te's. I could see the pats letting Welker go based on value/age as mentioned above and use the 3 headed monster of Hern, demps, vereen to fill in.  

In response to PatsLifer's comment:

Truthfully if and when he's gone I don't think it will be a "this guy or that guy is replacing Wes's roll type of design", I think it will be more the offense evolving into whatever we have out there and Brady gets comfortable with. I don't think long term Edelman will ever be a receiver simply because it's too hard to become one at this level without years of experience...plus he is not reliable from an injury stand point...the guy gets hurt a lot.