BESIDE THE POINT
other. That’s why it works.
Wes Welker, no stranger to being at odds with Belichick, laughed at the analogy. While Welker, whose sense of humor didn’t always cut it with Belichick, wouldn’t go the marriage route, he didn’t think what was going on was out of the ordinary.
“I think it’s like any work environment. You’re not always going to see eye to eye with everybody there,” said Welker, in town last week for the Leonard Hair Transplant Associates media day event. “I didn’t notice too much of that when I was there, but whatever problems there were, always got worked out. It might not end right that second, or whatever, but whatever it is, we’d always get back on track to have the one goal in mind.”
It’s possible the relationship never gets repaired. Perhaps this lingers through training camp and into the season. The two men, however, remain supreme competitors.
Unless that quality changes in both of them, which is highly doubtful, they’ll continue to be successful even if they don’t particularly like each other all that much. That’s just who they are.
“You’re always working toward the same goal. When you step out on the field, it’s about winning the game,” said Welker. “So it doesn’t really matter what you think of this teammate or that teammate, or that coach or this coach or whatever it is. Yeah, we’re going to have our issues, but at the same time, we’re all here for the same thing.”
Chris Long made similar comments on the “Glass Half Empty Podcast.”
“Whatever people are alluding to going on up there hasn’t affected their play, it hasn’t affected their bottom line,” said the former Patriot. “It hasn’t affected how they executed on Sundays. That’s what they pride themselves in. When you’ve got the greatest quarterback of all time and possibly the greatest coach of all time, that’s why they’re in those big games.”
It’s always been about winning for Belichick and Brady. It’s always been about the next game, the next championship.
Could it reach a breaking point? Sure. We’re just not there yet.
Already on Friday, we saw the first positive sign. Brady responded to a post on the team’s Instagram account and indicated he would be reporting to the facility ahead of Wednesday’s due date for veterans. So whatever the issues, Brady is ready to go and ready to set the tone, which is how it’s always been since he’s been the starting quarterback. Perhaps some of those problems are on their way to being ironed out.
No matter the answer, for Brady, it’s time to get out on the field and play football. Relationships are usually put aside when that happens.
Retiring to an Island
Darrelle Revis announced his retirement last week. His one year with the Patriots got him a ring. The three years he played after got him one last hefty paycheck, but he hit a quick decline during his second go-round with the Jets and one last season with the Chiefs.
In his prime, the four-time AllPro and seven-time Pro Bowler was the definition of a shutdown corner. There was no one better at eliminating top receivers.
After losing Aqib Talib in free agency, the Patriots swooped in and grabbed Revis, released by the Buccaneers prior to the 2014 season. He signed a one-year contract worth $12 million with a $20 million option. Not picking that up the following year proved wise.
The Pats won a Super Bowl with Revis in that memorable comeback against the Seattle Seahawks. He started out a bit slow that year, but ultimately was worth the investment, as he took away whoever Belichick deemed the most important opposing weapon.
“He was special,” Devin McCourty wrote in a text to the Herald on Friday. “Each week he would want to know who his matchup was — didn’t care which guy. The most impressive thing I watched was he was never out of position as a corner.”
Logan Ryan, now with the Titans, played in the secondary with Revis that year and tweeted out an appreciation.
“Congrats on a HOF career @Revis24! He wasn’t the first press corner but he was the best. Now being able to play press man to man is a must in the league. One of the most competitive teammates I ever had & one of the best businessmen he knew his worth! Taught me alot. Respect!”
Learning the ropes
Getting back to Welker, while he worked with the receivers and special teams returners last year with the Texans, he’s with the tight ends this year.
Coach Bill O’Brien is moving the former slot receiver around. Welker wants the experience.
“With tight ends, at least I learn the run game, I learn the protections . . . it’s almost like you’re playing part offensive line, part receiver,” said Welker, “so I get the best of both worlds of learning a little bit of offensive line technique and things like that, but still able to teach them the receiving aspect of it.”
Welker didn’t dismiss the notion of following the same path as Mike Vrabel, who was the Texans linebackers coach and defensive coordinator before graduating to Tennessee Titans head coach.
“We’ll see. I mean, yeah,” Welker said, when asked if being an NFL head coach was his end game. “Why else are you doing it? We’ll find out. You prepare, you learn, you try to understand it, and we’ll go from there.”
Moving on to the Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson, coming back from the torn ACL he suffered in November, Welker said he looked good during minicamp.
“He works hard,” he said. “He’s a very instinctive player, a guy we’re really going to lean on this year.”
Watson set the league on fire his rookie year before suffering the injury during a practice. What’s a realistic expectation for him in Year 2?
“I don’t know what that is. I think for him, it’s really understanding the offense, and learning about the defenses, and understanding what he’s seeing out there, and anticipating some of those things,” said Welker. “Some of those plays were kind of crazy, because it was the wrong protection, and he makes a guy miss, then he chunks it 60 yards for a touchdown. That’s not totally sound. So yeah, we’re happy. But at the same time, we have to get parts of that cleaned up. We have to get better as a team, and make sure everyone is on the same page.”
Harrison takes on Tomlin
Newly retired James Harrison did a pretty good job bashing the Steelers and pumping up the Patriots on Thursday.
Speaking on FS1’s “Undisputed” with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe, Harrison — who spent 14 seasons with the Steelers and four games with the Patriots — took down Mike Tomlin and pumped up Belichick.
“Mike Tomlin is good as a head coach,” Harrison said. “He’s a players’ coach. I think he needs to be a little bit more disciplined. . . . The big thing with Belichick is he’s regimented. He’s disciplined. Everyone is going to be on the same page. It’s not going to be anything as far as someone doing their own thing.”
Harrison was asked what Tomlin could do to improve as a disciplinarian. Harrison said he needs to be “more consistent across the board with everyone, from your stars to your special teams.”
“I think it’s easier if you hold everyone accountable because you don’t have to treat anyone differently because of a certain situation or a certain player,” Harrison said. “It’s a lot easier across the board. It don’t look like you’re playing favorites.”
Harrison announced his retirement in April.