Role of Patriots’ Welker further in doubt – Patriots – Boston.com
For all those asking what’s going on with Wes Welker this article breaks it all down nicely. No one can know for sure but Bedard lays it all out.
Not only did Edelman start the game (the only time Welker didn’t start last season was against Dallas when Deion Branch got the nod) with the opening personnel grouping of Stevan Ridley, Rob Gronkowski, Hernandez, and Lloyd, Welker didn’t enter the game until the fourth play — after Hernandez was injured. And the first two passes of the game (Tom Brady’s interception, and a bubble screen) were plays that targeted Edelman. And the most irrefutable evidence about the Patriots’ plans for Welker came in the “12” personnel of one back, two tight ends, and two receivers. As long as Gronkowski and Hernandez are healthy, this is the Patriots’ base personnel grouping. The Patriots played 15 snaps of “12” personnel. Edelman played 13 of them as the No. 2 receiver. Welker played two. It used to be the other way around. The four other plays Edelman came off the field for had two-back, two-tight end sets. If Hernandez was not injured, you really have to wonder how much Welker would have played in the game. He clearly was not part of the game plan going in.
