getting very tough to root for the pats these days.  BB refuses to admit his poor drafting choices, awful FA signings, and stressed an offense that could score against anyone BUT a playoff team.  he built the latest version of the Colts and all Brady will have to show for it is some more busted ribs and empty fingers.  instead of building up a pathetic defense and trying to shore up the few weaknesses the offense had, he has now put brady back to needing to work in new corps of players and still has a horrrific defense.  its been 9 years since they won a meaningful game.  well to fans anyway.  i guess they won in london and made bobby some more cash.

There is no logical explanation.  Many Patriots who left the organization did not fair well which gave you an idea that the pats made a good decision.  In this case, he will have a great chance for 3-4 outstanding seasons.  After all of this time, the offer they gave was so lame, he should have spit in their face and did just what he did.  How can they value Welker at $5 million per year for two years?  Look at the top receiver contracts over the past 3 off seasons.  Please explain to me how the Patriots who are $24 million under the cap could not have come up with a much better package for their number 2 weapon on offense!  And now he goes to their current number one rival to get to another Super Bowl.  They had to assume that was a good possibility.  I look forward to reading Greg Bedard tomorrow.

Honestly, if Robert Kraft thinks he can replace Wes Welker with a bunch of cheap Reche Caldwells and Doug Gabriels, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tom Brady demands a trade.  This is low, petty, and extremely dirt cheap, even for the so-called “Patriot Way”.

Barring an unexpected monster deal for a Greg Jennings or a couple Ed Reeds, Robert Kraft and Scott Pioli have just effectively Harry Sindened this franchise into prolonged decline. A cheap, ineffective Danny Amendola Caldwell who runs bad routes and drops passes on 3rd downs WILL NOT CUT IT.It’s the Pete Carroll Era all over again. 10-6 next season, 1 and done in the Wild Card Round.

Billy B has the image as unemotional, calculating genious. Not this time. I’d say he let his emotions and ego get the better of him. Welker for 2 year 12 million deal is deal–says everyone. Remember, when Bill benched him in the opening series against the Jets and Brady got picked? How did that move work out? Bill take your own advice-”do what is best for the team”. Not what stokes your ego….

Championships one before Wes Welker – 3 How many won with Welker – 0 = He wasn’t the answer!! Move along, nothing to see … Next!!

If I was Brady, I would demand a re-negotiate of my contract to where Flaco is, I believe that he was betrayed and the loyalty that he had shown was just dumped down the toilet. For a lousy $1MM dollars per year was all that it would have taken. And Amendola gets a 5 year $31 MM with $10 MM of it guaranteed (weei). At times like this it is hard to still carry the Jerry Thornton torch.

Scott Piolli is no longer with the Patriots and How did David Patten, David Givens or Troy Brown do for the Pats??? Won them Three Championships … In Bill we trust …..

Hey outraged, WTF does Scott Pioli have to do with this decision?

Really unfair to put that on Welker. If tyree doesn’t make that helmet catch in 2008 then Welker was going to be Super Bowl MVP. If you are happy with amendola as a replacement that’s fine, but don’t dismiss the best receiver in patriots history, and Brady’s self proclaimed best teammate ever.

Tough, but something’s gotta be coming beyond Amedola here. Hold tight, or get off the bandwagon.

 Sorry Troy Brown, Stanley Morgan and Irving Fryar did just as well as he did … Guy also lost us the Second Super Bowl with that drop of a ball that hit him in the hands … he was good, but not good enough when he needed to be!! Good Luck and so long ….

This has Josh McDaniels’ finger prints on it! Since he has arrived we seem to be acquiring Josh’s Denver & St. Louis WR castoffs!! Welker will catch more than 100 catches each of the next two seasons and BB’s arrogance will be on full display. What is to keep Brady from either retiring or forcing a trade because hewas most likely duped by BB amd Kraft? Kraft is so PR conscious that this may signal the beginning of the end for BB!

This has Josh McDaniels’ finger prints on it! Since he has arrived we seem to be acquiring Josh’s Denver & St. Louis WR castoffs!! Welker will catch more than 100 catches each of the next two seasons and BB’s arrogance will be on full display. What is to keep Brady from either retiring or forcing a trade because hewas most likely duped by BB amd Kraft? Kraft is so PR conscious that this may signal the beginning of the end for BB!

old Krafty has a knack of getting coach bill to wipe his buttocks with dollar bills.

bye wes, thank u for all u did includin’ 2 crucial drops. 2 mil made the difference? u made a mistake leavin’. good luck to u. just don’t come over the middle against the Pats. ur head might end up in the cheap seats.

never said he was a i man team-just an exceptional team player

Wes Welker has always been one of my fave Pats players-from day one-I personally think BB and Kraft org made a huge mistake and will miss him enormously.  Wishing  Wes and his wife all the best.

Sad day as  a Patriot fan. Hard to be a loyal follower of  such a ruthless organization with so few scruples.  Welker  better then this.  To be replaced by Amendola , who makes JD Drew seem like a man of steel. Disgusted.

I could live with letting Welker go if they thought he’d be too much money, but. . .did they seriously just pay *more* to a guy who can’t stay on the field???

It always sucks to loss players but at the end of the day it’s a business and the Pats are not the big contract type team.  Everyone plays a part and with Woodhead and Edelman being similar to Wes they looked at it strictly from an age perspective.  Anyone can understand feeling betrayed and dicked around when your viewed only as an asset.  The leauge is brutal and hard decisions are often made.

I’m more interested in landing a solid CB and pass rusher.  Amendola if healthy is a solid WR. 2012 killed us with injuries so let’s hope we get some solid play out of everyone.

thank goodness. get some fresh blood in, welker lost two superbowls the way I see it. 

Gibba 1924. Your an idiot…Wes carried this team….I bleed patriots….look at the #s the durability …..in bb we trust is overrated now a days

I know it’s a business and that’s why paying Wes an extra million per year was a great value. It’s simple, it’s another weapon that Brady can throw to. My guess is every NFL team is kicking themselves for not at least talking to Welkers agent at this price. Denver got a steal. Time for Billy Boy to go, his ego is too much for this team and this fan base.  

Must a Jets fan.

You are so right. In playoffs this current team is whimpy, I’ve been saying for years, BB should have been fired years ago. BB should have won another 3 SB with Brady.

Agreed Sports guy. It used to be in Bill We Trust, now it is In Bill We Disgust. This has to be the biggest, most monumental blunder since Belichick has been there. Love ya Tom, but Belichick just screwed you!!

Like who, or what to replace the most prolific receiver the Patriots have had since Moss, and even before him. He’s the first player EVER to make 100 receptions 5 years straight. He lead the league in first down conversions, and he’s the BEST at his position, dependable, and durable (unlike Hernadez, Amedola, Gronk, Edelman or any other replacements) and you think he can be replaced. If you believe tha,t let’s replace Gronk now with a cheaper priced TE like Dustin Keller… 

 What does Scott Pioli have to do with anything?  He has not been associated with the Patriots for years.  If you are so ignorant as to think Pioli is still working for the Patriots, your comment lose all credibility.

You are so right, Chris.  It appears that this became a battle of two ‘slighted’ egos over what Freud once described as “the narcissism of small differences”…  For the small delta in money (5M per year vs. 6M) and the identical, short duration (2 years), it seems to defy cool headed logic.  Maybe BB thought he was entitled to a rebate, after paying Wess franchise tag money this year.  It all reminds me of the bitter wine surrounding the departure of HOF kicker Adam Vinatieri, also over chump change; and the cheesy dealings with another agent BB didn’t like, hastening Branch’s departure in the prime of his career.  Those unhappy departures trimmed the sails of the Pats dynasty, and helped Peyton win his first SB ring.  I hope today’s disconnect with Wes doesn’t wind up delivering Peyton’s second SB ring on a shifty, 5’9″ platter…  Wes is one helluva player.

Amendola is also versatile and very talented.  Only 27, he is a Wes clone several respects, including yardage after catch.  In special team duty, he gets great yardage returning kicks as well as punts — one plus over Wes, and an area where the Pats have generally been lackluster.  But Amendola has been WAY less productive from scrimage, even when healthy, with significantly fewer catches, less consistency game to game, and way fewer yards overall.  His production could go up some when he gets in synch with TB.  Still, he isn’t looking like such a bargain at $31M over 5 years,especially considering his play rate.  He missed all but 1 game in 2011.  He missed five games last year, and he wasn’t much of a factor in two other games.  His game logs are a great reminder why small guys get beat up in the NFL.  And it also reminds us that Wes’ durability, hit after hit and game after game, was so unearthly that we almost took it for granted.         

Not at all surprised. Don’t agree with this decision at all, but not surprised. there was a formula here at work, not one or two aspects, but several. Besides the personal comments to BB it was obvious that Edleman was being worked in as a replacement. This goes well beyond the value of an older slot reciever. Secretly, i don’t care what ANYONE says, a f/u in the super bowl, a deep round playoff has serious repercussions with BB; Seymour, Samuels. I t doesn’t help.

Couldn”t agree with you anymore than I do on this. Patriots have become a petty, hypocritcal team lead by Belichick, who I used to respect but not anymore. Welker was The Patriots!!! I for one will be rooting for
Welker to win a ring with Manning & the Broncos.

Welker as i have stated  again and again, was good for his role. That role was to move the chains consistently and convert. unfortunately, with all these other reciever inuries and the inadequacy of Lloyd, way too much was expected of WW in the playoffs/superbowl. Wes Welker is not a Red Zone target and could not be counted on when the game is on the line with minutes and seconds, that’s NOT his game. It wont be with Manning either.

It’s hard to imagine that Brady didn’t know this was coming. If he didn’t he’ll almost certainly have the same kind of mistrust and ambivalence that others players now will have– if they had any doubts before about how the Patriots are capable of treating their elite players at times. This one is stupid; It’s a no-brainer and is going to bite the Pats big time. Not only on the field, but in terms of acquiring players who USED TO feel that New England was the “go-to” place to play football.
So  they go out and get Danny Amendola. Big deal. Now we know exactly what the Patriots have been thinking and we can trust this move no better than so many stupid moves that the Patriots have taken over the past half dozen years. Somebody in the Pats “braintrust” is clearly suffering from a massive BrainFa*t. In the past two years Amendola has played a total of 12 games and been injured the majority of that time. He’s averaged 8.8 yds a catch and, in his best year, he had 85 receptions for 689 yds. Wes Welker (on a yearly basis) has shown zero evidence of decline statistically or, frankly, for anyone who is able to see. Wes has played 32 games in the last 2 years and has missed only 3 games in his entire career thus far, despite major ACL surgery. In the last 6 years, Wes had averaged 112 catches and 1243 yards. Given the amount of money they’re shelling out for 5 years for a guy who just doesn’t have anywhere near Welker’s numbers and whose ability to stay healthy is a mystery, where’s the genius in this? Also, consider that Tom Brady isn’t going to be around forever. At his age, and given that he has already shown a decline in passing accuracy, would it not have made sense to make Wes a SERIOUS offer and keep that Brady-Welker combo together for at least two more years? Would it not have made more sense to spend money on DBs in the hope that maybe they didn’t misfire on defensive signings…yet again?? Seems to me the Patriots dropped the ball on this one–horribly! This is a repeat of Richard Seymour, only now they won’t have the offense to try and pick up the slack. Whatever faith I still held out (despite the evidence) in the Patriots’ decision making has now completely evaporated. The emperor indeed has no clothes. And now I no longer will be making excuses for Belichick’s arrogance and the fact that he has shown little ability to select talent for many years now.

The patriots ARE TRULY IDIOTS!

The pats offensive coordinator has brought in some real receiver duds–just add another to the list.

Love Wes. Sad to see him go. A face of the franchise.  One of my favorite Pats  of all time.  On every souvenir cup, popcorn bowl, magazine, etc. But, they never won a  SB with him. The status quo was not going to work.  Wes was a solid performer but has shown to fail in crucial moments.  Time to move on.  Welcome to Boston, Danny.  

Hmmm…you know nothing about football…Scott Pioli is not with the Pats. Last worked as GM of the Kansas City Chiefs and now is doing work with the NFL network…you bring down the IQ of these posts

Emotional? Asinine, I’d say. It was time to revamp the Pats passing offense … but dumping Wes and then signing a mini-Wes in Danny Amendola (if he can stay out of the ER for most of the season)  is absolutely silly.

Anything can happen but I doubt the Pats fare any better in post-season this go ’round than in the 2012 campaign.

Time for BB to be held accountable by Krafty … but most of all, by the fans. He’s lost the thread.

 This is not Kraft!!  I think Kraft vetoed Bill last year and franchised Weilker.  I think this was all Bill.  Bill has a very personal dislike of Weilker.  That has been evident for a few years.  We may never know why.  But we do know Wes is a wise guy and jokes and doesn’t always keep his mouth shut.  Maybe he doesn’t kiss Bill’s behind enough?

 If I was Brady, I would demand to be traded. 

Belichick’s arrogance has gotten the better of him.
Answer this one question. Are the Patriots a better team today with Amendola
instead of Welker? The answer is no. Belichick is heralded as a “defensive
genius”, yet after letting Assante Samuel leave (not paying him either) the
Patriot’s pass defense has been in the bottom 5 in the league for the last 5
years. A dozen high draft picks have been wasted trying to find a corner with
Samuel’s talent. Enough arrogance, it’s time for Bill to go!!!

really doesn’t make sense.  Hopefully the Hoodie is planning on signing up Eddie Reed + Talib to compensate.  Otherwise this is simply asinine

I think the idea of “Patriot Way” was more represented by Myra Kraft than Robert. He has not been the same since she passed away. This is not the organization that came into prominence in 2001. Other players will take notice.

Note to Danny Amendola
Enjoy your only contract with the Patriots.There will be another 27 year old slot receiver available in a few years.

That`s the New Patriots Way.

Belichick always says he does what is best for the team. Well how is this best for the team? More money for a player that needs to learn a new system, quarterback and breaks down every year. Brady’s window is closing, why wreck a system that is working just fine. This was not business and was not done for the betterment of the team. Belichick clearly let his testy relationship with Welker cloud his judgment on this. The team is not better today than yesterday. Bill screwed this one up royally.

I agree Gibba!  If Welker doesn’t drop that ball against the Giants, Pats would have won that game.  Besides, who of us knows that Wekler actually WANTED to stay in NE?  Maybe he WANTED to go.   After all…it’s only 2 mil difference…he could have taken the lower number and stayed if he had any loyalty.  That street runs both directions!

if they sign woodhead and edelman (still an open question) add amendola and
hernandez for the slot and use ballard as the second tight end behind gronk ..
they won’t lose a thing….your right DEFENSE is the problem as it has been
for many years..sign talib hes their only proven cb cover guy and improve
on man on man tight coverage and pass rush..(thats what kills TB when he has a bad game) and pray that big vince doesnt miss much playing time ..

 Pioli has been gone from the Pats for years.

This is the pink hat room.You guys are like jet fans…wes droppler was a product of the system nothing more nothing less.Get a grip pink hats 

Okay, stop with the “Welker dropped the ball in the SB” nonsense. It was a bad throw by Brady, low and behind the reciever. Look at the replay…Brady lost the SB not Welker.

I have a feeling that when Wes’ wife, Anna Burns made the comment about Ray Lewis not being a good role model, she cemented the end of Wes’ football career for New England.  This was the last straw for BB.  Wes is being made an example for any other Patriot or their wives other than Giselle, that this type of thing is NOT the Patriot Way and won’t be tolerated PERIOD.

well on the bright side I guess the cheapatriots can bring in some washed up talents at WR aka Randy Moss & Terrell Owens.

Tough one to fathom.  They let Welker go but sign Amendola for comparable money.  I know this is a business but I thought they paid based on future potential.  Not sure Amedola was/is 75% as good as Welker but since they offered him essentially the same money as Wes…..Bill must think so.  Finally, they always talk about it being a business and letting people go even when it’s hard because that’s the way to do it but they kept Kevin Faulk and Troy Brown around for a year or two more than they should have. 

You didn’t really answer the question you posed in the headline…How did it happen…?

Here’s my take…

The Pats were mainly interested in Josh Cribs, because he could do alot of what WW could do + he could fix the glaring hole at kick returner.  The Pats thought they could get him on Tuesday, and be done with WW issue or really drive a lowball scenario from a position of strength.

When the Cribs negotiation strung out into Wednesday, the Pats then made their offer of 2×5=10M in an attempt to keep WW on the line long enough to close on Cribs and have WW available as plan B.  If Cribs went elsewhere, then they could have a negotiation and hopefully settle in the 5-6-7M range.

The problem was…WW didn’t want to play that game…When Elway/Manning expressed interest, and found out what the Pats were offering, they jumped in with an offer 1M more per year…probably with the Johnny Damon clause that they had 15 minutes take it or leave it, and no cell phone calls to Foxboro…I believe Borges that WW didn’t give the Pats a chance to counter…as pig-headed as BB is, he’s not that stupid to conciously lose that much productivity over pennies…WW had probably had it with the lack of love he was getting, and jumped at the opportunity to play with Manning, on a contender, near his wife’s family…getting all kinds of hugs and kisses from Elway vs haterade from BB.

Look at the timeline of events…
First Welker agrees to deal
Then Cribs  says he’s going to STL
Then 3 hrs later we hear the Pats agree with Amendola for 6M per yr/10 guaranteed (same $ as WW)
Once the Pats got blind-sided by WW/Broncos, they had to scramble to sign Amendola who was then plan C…for 50% more than what STL was offering him to come back.  Once Cribs and WW committed, Amendola then had the leverage to get overpaid by 1-2M because BB got caught with his pants down.

The bottom line is that the Pats overplayed their hand, and probably didn’t think that WW would have the stones to walk straight out the door, and not get into a back and forth negotiation.

Bottom line… You can’t keep putting your “Boss” on blast in the media (Since 2011), and test him multiple times (“His 1st Meeting w/Belichick”, on NFL Network to Michael Irving, “Rex Ryan 11 Foot Interview”, “Stick it in Bill’s Face” and the blowout with Brady last season that led to Brady calling him a “Bit*h) without having repercussions… The deal struck with Danny Amendola (Was signed on Tuesday before Welker’s “Going to Broncos” announcement, and they held theirs till he made his) was a BIG FU to Welker from Belichick IMHO. I hope the trainers here can keep Amendola healthy… Remember… Moss’ numbers didn’t mean crap to the Pats once his antics carried over into a crucial Monday night game, and he was off to the Vikings. Making the 13 catches was enough to get his point across to Bill which IMO was felt, but to say it in an post game interview… I know I cringed when he said it.

My question is – Welker has sat down for 3 games in 6 years, so how did we do in those games without him? We have had everyone else get injured and them team has been able to manage without them. But, we have never have had the experience to determine if the team is capable of winning without Welker and how they adjust their plans. 

So, lets wait for a couple of games to know that. In any case losing Wes is a blow to the fans morale at least until the season starts and we have some real experience! 

Go Pats!

YES!!!
Finally somone who gets it.

Butter fingers!!!
Good but not clutch. Pats, like all NFL teams and any other business, have a lot of moving peices. They’ll make it up…will Welker be the same? Getting older and new system.

2 Mil less now could have been several million down the road had he stayed. Either he hated NE or is not a big picture guy… Remember the static between him and B-chk at the start of ’12?