Wes Welker’s Super Bowl Drop Mocked At Celtics-Knicks Game

[bap1331]

Wow that was just not right!! I hope Wes Welker makes it up with a Super Bowl win. At least he will say that he was able to win it with the rivals.

[Dustin]

Man, just imagine if Brady had thrown an accurate pass.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

Man, just imagine if Brady had thrown an accurate pass.

As a receiver of welker's level and on the big stage...you gotta catch that. 

[MAC]

Anytime the ball is so difficulty placed that the announcers would have said "great catch" if it was snagged, it's hardly fair to call the inability to pull it in a drop. Welker has had plenty of drops - that wasn't one of them. I have no idea what happened at the Knicks game, but it sounds juvenile.

[BrentMc11]

I agree...but I also think announcers say "great catch" WAYYYYY to often!  

 

Anytime the ball is so difficulty placed that the announcers would have said "great catch" if it was snagged, it's hardly fair to call the inability to pull it in a drop. Welker has had plenty of drops - that wasn't one of them. I have no idea what happened at the Knicks game, but it sounds juvenile.

[Dustin]

As a receiver of welker's level and on the big stage...you gotta catch that. 

 

As a QB of Brady's caliber and on a stage like that....you shouldn't throw an inaccurate pass like that to a wide-open receiver.

 

That is as much on Brady as it is on Welker IMO.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

As a QB of Brady's caliber and on a stage like that....you shouldn't throw an inaccurate pass like that to a wide-open receiver.

 

That is as much on Brady as it is on Welker IMO.

I knew you were going to say exactly that. Literally that. 

 

bad throw but still easily catchable for Welker. 

[BOTT]

Anytime the ball is so difficulty placed that the announcers would have said "great catch" if it was snagged, it's hardly fair to call the inability to pull it in a drop. Welker has had plenty of drops - that wasn't one of them. I have no idea what happened at the Knicks game, but it sounds juvenile.

Noteworthy that Chris Collingsworth, a pro bowl wide receiver, said Brady missed him during the broadcast. The "drop" is just another sports myth.

[Yehoodi]

I first thought it might of been a player on the Celtics when I read this thread, but apparently it was a fan . . .

[southwest1]

Wow that was just not right!! I hope Wes Welker makes it up with a Super Bowl win. At least he will say that he was able to win it with the rivals.

Jesus, what a bunch of ungrateful Boston fans...SMH...I won't lump my NE friends on this site into that category, but Dustin is right it was a poor throw by Brady over Welker's wrong shoulder. Welker played great for many years in Massachusetts & it royal ticks me off that a large portion of Boston fans treat Wes like a steaming pile of elephant dung. We will see who gets the last laugh on Sunday now won't we? 

 

Grow up you petty mo rons....Sigh...[Not directly at bap1331 personally just those fools who love to slam Wes Welker every chance they get. You know who you are & how empty your lives must be.]

[ReMeDy]

Funny how if a receiver runs the wrong route (Reggie; Superbowl) and the pass gets intercepted, it's the QB's fault, but if the receiver runs the right route and drops the pass (Welker), it's the receiver's fault.

[southwest1]

I knew you were going to say exactly that. Literally that. 

 

bad throw but still easily catchable for Welker. 

It's like an Olympic move you do a hundred times in practice. If you fall before the judges does that mean you suck too? Gabriel it's a little more complicated that than that I'm afraid. 

 

No WR ever says "I'm going drop the most crucial pass today." It happens. That's what makes SBs so compelling to watch. I don't think any less of Wes for dropping that ball. You may chose to think of the drops. I chose to think of all the critical 3rd down catches/conversions that Welker was responsible for. That's what I hang my hat on. 

 

And why in the world does Welker take so much heat when Gronk did not catch the darn ball or prevent Blackburn on the NY Giants side from picking off the ball? Gronk never takes any criticism for that failure ever. Why is that? 

[shecolt]

Just wanted to post a little more info on this story:

 

 

 

With the game pretty unexciting (the Knicks blew the Celtics out 114-88, and it wasn’t even that close), a few New York fans decided to have some fun at Welker’s expense.

 

A gentleman sitting behind Welker must be a Giants fan, because he took the chance to mock Welker when he was showed on the jumbotron during the game. He first made the choking signal, and then pretended to bobble a ball, making fun of Welker for his big drop in Super Bowl XLVI against New York.

 

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/01/29/new-york-fan-mocks-wes-welker-at-celtics-knicks-game/

[Moose Of Woe]

As a receiver of welker's level and on the big stage...you gotta catch that. 

As Dustin said -  for a QB hailed by many as the best to ever play he has to make a much better throw. Both players were to blame on it 50/50.

That play, as I recall, was on second down. The Pats had another play to get a first down and failed. Perhaps I'm misremembering.

 

As for WW he has nothing to prove. He's been the best slot receiver in the NFL for nearly a decade. Hands down. The occasional drop or special teams gaffe don't change that regardless of where and when they happen.

 

Looking ahead - I do think WW's production might slip next season. Reasons being the concussions and his age creeping up.

[Shane Bond]

As Dustin said - for a QB hailed by many as the best to ever play he has to make a much better throw. Both players were to blame on it 50/50.

That play, as I recall, was on second down. The Pats had another play to get a first down and failed. Perhaps I'm misremembering.

As for WW he has nothing to prove. He's been the best slot receiver in the NFL for nearly a decade. Hands down. The occasional drop or special teams gaffe don't change that regardless of where and when they happen.

Looking ahead - I do think WW's production might slip next season. Reasons being the concussions and his age creeping up.

I think it was 3rd down

[Moose Of Woe]

I think it was 3rd down

 

 

Had to double check, 2nd and 11. Also liked the ad at the end.

[Shane Bond]

 

Had to double check, 2nd and 11. Also liked the ad at the end.

Oh ok

[lollygagger8]

 

Had to double check, 2nd and 11. Also liked the ad at the end.

 

I couldn't care less about the drop, but the dude is like 4'11" Brady, don't throw it 7 feet in the air. 

[tonychen]

To be fair it was a very catchable ball, and in recent years Welker has had a lot of drops like this, which is his problem. However, after they punted Giants still needed a long drive to take the lead, and Pats had plenty of opportunities to stop them but failed.

 

Pats in their glory days could easily overcome the adversities here and there but their recent teams have been very mediocre at best and there has been no sign of improvements. To put all the blame on this drop is not going to take them anywhere but to continue failing in the future.

[GoPats]

Brady threw it to the shoulder away from the safety, which is what you're supposed to do on a route like that. But it wasn't a great throw for a 5'10" receiver. Not a perfect ball by any means, too much air under it. But it still should have been caught.

 

The Patriots had 3rd down and, as tonychen pointed out, every opportunity to stop Eli and the Giants' offense. They couldn't get it done, end of story. In almost any game you can point to one play but the reality is it's 60 minutes of football. 

[TAPLOOK]

That what the 2nd SB he blew.

[coltsfanmilyman]

WW looks like the type of dude that could have a serious Napoleon complex.  Give him props for not turning around  and choking him out though.  I would've

[southwest1]

Brady threw it to the shoulder away from the safety, which is what you're supposed to do on a route like that. But it wasn't a great throw for a 5'10" receiver. Not a perfect ball by any means, too much air under it. But it still should have been caught.

 

The Patriots had 3rd down and, as tonychen pointed out, every opportunity to stop Eli and the Giants' offense. They couldn't get it done, end of story. In almost any game you can point to one play but the reality is it's 60 minutes of football. 

You are probably technically correct GP like you usually are my friend. I just think that given Wes Welker's ability to grab that ball out of the air 90% of the time it doesn't matter if you are close to the safety or not because both Brady & Welker know 1 another's tendencies that the safety doesn't have. Film study & live familiarity on the field generated from countless practices are 2 different animals IMO. 

 

Like I said to Gabriel, NE had other players during that SB that failed to make plays beyond Welker at different points in that SB that could have opened that game wide open for NE & they didn't. I like you GP & your team & I am rooting for Wes Welker to win a ring too buddy. 

[southwest1]

Just wanted to post a little more info on this story:

 

 

 

With the game pretty unexciting (the Knicks blew the Celtics out 114-88, and it wasn’t even that close), a few New York fans decided to have some fun at Welker’s expense.

 

A gentleman sitting behind Welker must be a Giants fan, because he took the chance to mock Welker when he was showed on the jumbotron during the game. He first made the choking signal, and then pretended to bobble a ball, making fun of Welker for his big drop in Super Bowl XLVI against New York.

 

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/01/29/new-york-fan-mocks-wes-welker-at-celtics-knicks-game/

Thanks for this post shecolt. I always appreciate the full context of the story & a complete picture. 

[BOTT]

Brady threw it to the shoulder away from the safety, which is what you're supposed to do on a route like that. But it wasn't a great throw for a 5'10" receiver. Not a perfect ball by any means, too much air under it. But it still should have been caught.

 

The Patriots had 3rd down and, as tonychen pointed out, every opportunity to stop Eli and the Giants' offense. They couldn't get it done, end of story. In almost any game you can point to one play but the reality is it's 60 minutes of football.

Gotta disagree, that ball wasn't supposed to be to the back shoulder. The safety had no shot at intercepting it. It was an easy throw that Brady missed....it happens.

[southwest1]

Gotta disagree, that ball wasn't supposed to be to the back shoulder. The safety had no shot at intercepting it. It was an easy throw that Brady missed....it happens.

Well put BOTT. Well put. I can't really evaluate the right shoulder/wrong shoulder question, but I do agree with you completely that the safety had no shot at getting the ball. 

[oldunclemark]

Man, just imagine if Brady had thrown an accurate pass.

 

 

Man, just imagine if Brady had thrown an accurate pass.

 

 

Man, just imagine if Brady had thrown an accurate pass.

That;s what I thought 'D'

 

I NEVER considered that as a drop

 

Giselle never accepted it.....but that was one Tom Brady just missed..

[GoPats]

Gotta disagree, that ball wasn't supposed to be to the back shoulder. The safety had no shot at intercepting it. It was an easy throw that Brady missed....it happens.

 

No threat of an INT, but had he thrown it inside, Welker would have gotten lit up. 

 

The big problem, IMO, is that Brady threw it a little early. 

 

The corner was pressing up with the safety taking that deep half of the field. The open side of that route is the sideline. If he wasn't going to try to hit Welker on a rope, then Brady could (and should) have held the ball a second longer to get Welker get into that spot, behind the corner and running away from the safety with good separation. He never really takes his eyes off Welker, but if he had looked right a bit, that could have pulled the safety over and given Welker even more space. 

 

It's not so much a back-shoulder throw, my guess (given the coverage) is that, had the play developed a second or two longer, Welker would have turned and ran more of a corner route, trying to get into that space behind the CB. Those route trees the Patriots run are reactive and depend on Brady making the same decision as the receiver. I think Brady read it correctly but the throw was early, and earlier than it had to be. In those games against the Giants, with a very effective pass rush bearing down on him, it seemed like Brady's timing was off at certain moments of the game. This was one of them. 

 

Still shoulda caught it though.  ;)

[BOTT]

No threat of an INT, but had he thrown it inside, Welker would have gotten lit up. 

 

The big problem, IMO, is that Brady threw it a little early. 

 

The corner was pressing up with the safety taking that deep half of the field. The open side of that route is the sideline. If he wasn't going to try to hit Welker on a rope, then Brady could (and should) have held the ball a second longer to get Welker get into that spot, behind the corner and running away from the safety with good separation. He never really takes his eyes off Welker, but if he had looked right a bit, that could have pulled the safety over and given Welker even more space. 

 

It's not so much a back-shoulder throw, my guess (given the coverage) is that, had the play developed a second or two longer, Welker would have turned and ran more of a corner route, trying to get into that space behind the CB. Those route trees the Patriots run are reactive and depend on Brady making the same decision as the receiver. I think Brady read it correctly but the throw was early, and earlier than it had to be. In those games against the Giants, with a very effective pass rush bearing down on him, it seemed like Brady's timing was off at certain moments of the game. This was one of them. 

 

Still shoulda caught it though.  ;)

I don't think he gets lit up either. The safety didnt even make contact with him at any time during the attempted catch. But we can agree to disagree

[Colts_Fan12]

Well if Wes wins Sunday he can say he won a SB with out spygate