The Patriots Don't Franchise Welker and Talks are Going Well, but the Media Still Says He's "Miffed"

Yahoo! - As Wes Welker continues difficult negotiations with the New England Patriots… What’s important to consider is Welker’s somewhat mild disdain for the Patriots right now, according to a source close to the player. Welker apparently is a little miffed at how he was treated in last year’s opener, when offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had him targeted for a season-low five pass attempts that resulted in a season-low three receptions. That bit of tweaking stuck in Welker’s craw all season. So did the notion that if tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski hadn’t both gotten hurt at different times, there’s a strong belief that Welker would have been limited to far fewer than the 118 receptions he finished with last season. In short, there’s a little paranoia in the Welker camp these days about his role with the Pats.

This is it?  This is all the press has got?  “Somewhat mild disdain” “a little miffed” and “a little paranoia”?  Christ, I can’t imagine what they’d be saying if the Patriots had actually slapped the Franchise Tag on him again, as they had every right to do.  They’d be making it out like Mr. Kraft was the sweatshop owner in Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle.”  The Pats opted instead to take their chances they could work out a long term deal, by all accounts the talks are going great, but still the press can’t stop talking about Welker like he’s a victim in all this.  Get the union involved.  Call in the Dept. of Labor.  Get Amnesty International on the phone because Welker’s Human Rights are being abused.  I’m not putting any of this on Welker; it’s all a media concoction.  They’ve been playing this same victim card for steady line of Patriots players going all the way back to Drew Bledsoe being “lied to” by Belichick.  Next it was Lawyer Milloy.  Then Ty Law.  And on and on.

I mean, seriously this fiction that they were “tweaking” Welker in Week 1 is supposed to be a real thing now?  He was off the field for like the first two sets of downs when they came out running the ball.  He was in before they reached midfield and didn’t leave a game again until 118 catches later.  But that simple gameplan (trying to establish the run) was seen by a few Patriots haters in the media (I’m looking at you, Dennis & Callahan) as a conspiracy to undermine/degrade/humiliate/marginalize Welker so they drive his price down.  To think that any football coach would risk losing a championship by “benching” one of his best, most reliable, core players because he’s trying to save a few bucks next year is laughable.  But here we are six months later and Yahoo is talking about it like it’s true.  There’s a concept in logic called Petitio principi.  It literally means “begging the question.”  It means to present as accepted fact that which should be proven by argument.  “Because Wes Welker is mad at the Patriots…” instead of “Here is what Wes Welker said about how mad he is at the Patriots…”  Now with every team in the league involved in tough contract talks with star players, watch while some anonymous quote about “somewhat mild disdain” is blown out of proportion like Welker’s ready to take a flamethrower to Gillette.  And when he signs a long term deal, they’ll forget all about it and move on to talking about the next abused, angry Pats player.  It’s all they got.  @JerryThornton1