Wes Welker vs. Danny Amendola
By Michael Schneid
Back in August when writing our AFC East preview, we said this about Wes Welker leaving New England and the Patriots signing Danny Amendola...
The Patriots and Broncos are both 4-0. But it's obvious how the move has benefit Denver and hurt New England. Brady has struggled with accuracy and struggled to create new chemistry with his underdeveloped WRs. Manning meanwhile has a Pro Bowl slot WR that he is clearly fond of. One man's treasure is another man's loss. Especially when these two teams are competing to represent the same conference in the Super Bowl.
Danny Amendola caught 10 balls (on 14 targets) for 104 yards in a Week 1 win over Buffalo. Since than, he has been out with a groin injury. Yet, he is still the team's fourth leading receiver. Brady has slowly began developing chemistry with rookies Kenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobson while veteran Julian Edelman has token over the Wes Welker-slot role, that Amendola was supposed to occupy.
Meanwhile, Welker is only the Broncos third leaving receiver, behind Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. The difference though, is Welker has 26 catches (on 36 targets) for 266 yards, and most importantly 6 TDs. As mentioned above, Welker had 6 TDs in 16 games in 2012; he has matched that total through the first four games already. We also mentioned above the difference in injury history between Welker and Amendola and it has already shown.
It's easy to say the Broncos won this series of deals. But both teams are currently 4-0. So maybe the Patriots did this for a reason? Maybe it's helped them? Hard to say, even though on the surface the answer might be obvious. The Broncos and Patriots meet Week 12. These two may have a few catches, assuming Amendola is healthy at that time.
Back in August when writing our AFC East preview, we said this about Wes Welker leaving New England and the Patriots signing Danny Amendola...
"With Welker gone, New England signed a player very similar in Danny Amendola. The knock on him is that he is injury prone. He played 11 games last year and had just 3 TDs and caught 63 passes. In comparison, Welker caught 118 passes and 6 TD and has missed THREE total games in his 8-year career. He has also gone over 1000 yards 5 times, including 1,569 in 2011 and 1354 in 2012. Amendola's career high was in 2010 with 689 yards. He also went over 600 yards in 2012. Expect Amendola to get a lot of forced passes early as Belichik tries to prove a point on this issue. But if Welker has the same success in Denver that he had in New England, and Amendola misses games due to injury, Belichik's "genius" reputation may take a hit."
The Patriots and Broncos are both 4-0. But it's obvious how the move has benefit Denver and hurt New England. Brady has struggled with accuracy and struggled to create new chemistry with his underdeveloped WRs. Manning meanwhile has a Pro Bowl slot WR that he is clearly fond of. One man's treasure is another man's loss. Especially when these two teams are competing to represent the same conference in the Super Bowl.
Danny Amendola caught 10 balls (on 14 targets) for 104 yards in a Week 1 win over Buffalo. Since than, he has been out with a groin injury. Yet, he is still the team's fourth leading receiver. Brady has slowly began developing chemistry with rookies Kenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobson while veteran Julian Edelman has token over the Wes Welker-slot role, that Amendola was supposed to occupy.
Meanwhile, Welker is only the Broncos third leaving receiver, behind Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. The difference though, is Welker has 26 catches (on 36 targets) for 266 yards, and most importantly 6 TDs. As mentioned above, Welker had 6 TDs in 16 games in 2012; he has matched that total through the first four games already. We also mentioned above the difference in injury history between Welker and Amendola and it has already shown.
It's easy to say the Broncos won this series of deals. But both teams are currently 4-0. So maybe the Patriots did this for a reason? Maybe it's helped them? Hard to say, even though on the surface the answer might be obvious. The Broncos and Patriots meet Week 12. These two may have a few catches, assuming Amendola is healthy at that time.
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