Report: Wes Welker deal with Patriots “isn’t anywhere near close”

The Patriots and free agent receiver Wes Welker have a lot of work to do if they want to get a deal done.
As the second day of free agency begins, Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald reports that a deal “isn’t anywhere near close to happening” and that the Patriots and Welker’s camp are “miles apart.” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network described talks between the Patriots and Welker as “over.”
That doesn’t mean those talks couldn’t start again. But it does mean the Patriots, who say they want Welker to stay with the team for the rest of his career, haven’t offered him anything resembling the kind of contract that he believes a receiver who has topped 110 catches in five of the last six seasons deserves.
The problem for Welker is that teams don’t pay for what you’ve done in the past. Teams pay for what they think you can do in the future. And as great as Welker has been in New England, other teams aren’t lining up to offer him huge money because they’re not convinced he can replicate his success in any other offense.
Which means it’s still possible that Welker will survey free agency and discover that no team is offering him more money than New England. Even if the money New England is offering is a lot less than Welker wants.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Michael David Smith
Photo: David Silverman

Report: “A little paranoia” in Welker camp about Pats role

The Patriots and wide receiver Wes Welker are reportedly making progress toward a new contract, which helps explain why the Patriots opted not to use their franchise tag on Welker even as a way to buy time for a new contract.
Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reports that Welker is weighing a couple of different issues as he decides where to sign on for 2013 and beyond. One is whether he’d rather stay in a familiar role and offense with the Patriots for less money than he might be offered from another team and the other is whether that familiar role has been replaced by another one.
Cole spoke to a source close to Welker who said that Welker is still “miffed” about the limited playing time and targets he received early last season. It’s left him with “mild disdain” for the team and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and reportedly stuck “in his craw” all season. What’s more, Cole reports that there’s “a little paranoia” in Welker’s camp about what his role in the offense would be if Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are healthy all season.
Welker wound up with 118 catches last year, so it’s not like the early playing time was indicative of the way things went over the entire season. With Julian Edelman also heading for free agency and Brandon Lloyd reportedly on thin ice with the team, there’s a fair chance that Welker will be the only receiver with meaningful experience in the Patriots roster on the roster heading into next season.
That doesn’t exactly set the stage for a limited role in the offense, but we’ll find out soon enough which way the wind is blowing in regard to Welker.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Josh Alper
Photo: David Silverman/NewEnglandPatriots.com

Week 14 Football ERA Cumulative Results

Weekly 2012 Cumulative Football ERA Formula results are published below with the usual cautionary disclaimer that these are NOT Power Rankings. To analyze these results, we primarily have to look at how teams change within the Rankings rather than looking at the Rankings as raw stand-alone data. Position is neither the best nor the sole criteria of analyzing the list as much as is observing change in the list (first derivative). In other words, how teams rise and fall from week to week during the long season is more of a primary criteria for evaluating performance.

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Hou	…	27924
SF	…	23109
NE	…	21886
Den	…	18875
Sea	…	18738
Chi	…	16395
Was	…	15470
Pitt	…	15095
NYG	…	14471
Det	…	14460
Cinn	…	14063
Ind	…	14047
KC	…	13811
GB	…	12905
Phi	…	12250
SD	…	11828
Atl	…	11572
Mia	…	11484
Dall	…	10549
Car	…	10453
TB	…	9711
Minn	…	9571
NYJ	…	9063
Buff	…	8399
StL	…	8062
Bal	…	7352
Cleve	…	5667
Arz	…	4056
Oak	…	2948
Tenn	…	1995
NO	…	1954
Jax	…	-5164

Photo: David Silverman, (New England Patriots)/ Patriots.com