Mike Dussault

The Patriots are expected to assign the franchise tag to receiver Wes Welker by Monday’s deadline. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the team is waiting until the last minute. In some ways, I see it as symbolic of the club not wanting to create a “hard ball” type of message with a player who has done everything it has asked of him. They just have a difference of opinion as to the right contract at this point.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-patriots-are-expected-to-assign-the-franchise/

O’Brien’s one big regret from the Super Bowl? “Probably the first play of the game, call a different play,” he said of the safety Brady took that put the defense right back on the field. “But it was a play that we worked on that we felt like was going to be a good play, so hindsight is definitely 20-20. But if I could change one, I would change that one. But there’s a lot of plays that we always look back on in any game, especially games you lose, that you always think you could have done a better job on. "It just wasn’t a good start. It’s not why we lost the game, I want to make sure I’m clear on that, but all year we had started pretty well for the most part. That wasn’t a good start.”

https://www.patspropaganda.com/obriens-one-big-regret-from-the-super-bowl/

Did Welker get more grief than he deserved? “Definitely,” O’Brien said sternly after an event this morning in Newport, R.I. “I would tell (Patriots fans) they should be very grateful, I’m sure they are, to have a player like Wes Welker as a Patriot. He is what Boston is all about, in my opinion. He’s a hard-working guy, he’s a tough guy, he’s an honest guy, nothing was ever given to him…he’s what Boston is all about. "That wasn’t a drop. That would have been a tremendous catch, and he should never think twice about that. And it had nothing to do with us losing the game. There were many, many plays before that where we could have made better coaching decisions, and better plays. That’s just one play of many.”

https://www.patspropaganda.com/did-welker-get-more-grief-than-he-deserved/

If they pay Wes Welker a top-of-the-line deal, or even the $9.4 million franchise tag, and then do the same for (Vincent) Jackson, it’s potentially eating up about 18-20 percent of the salary cap on two players at the same position.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/if-they-pay-wes-welker-a-top-of-the-line-deal-or/

CB Ras-I Dowling / Patriots — Patriots fans got an inkling of how the team feels about Dowling — who was the first pick of the second round of the ‘11 draft — by the fact that he started the two games he played before landing on injured reserve. Injuries plagued Dowling in college, and he needs to prove he can stay healthy. However, he could be an X-factor in the Patriots’ secondary in 2012, a unit that is sorely in need of an upgrade in personnel. Dowling’s size and physicality give him the versatility to play inside or maybe some safety.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/cb-ras-i-dowling-patriots-patriots-fans-got-an/