A Sip of Kool-Aid

As a wise one hit wonder once opined, every new beginning comes from some otherbeginning’s end. We’re going to see a different offense from the Patriots next year and – fingers crossed – an improved defense. I’ve got a nice tall icy cold glass of Kool-Aid sitting right here in front of me. I also added a shot of vodka to it. You know. Just in case.

 

Okay, a few more notes about Wes Welker and then I shall speak of it no more.

So, one of the things I kept hearing after Amendola signed was (in a righteously indignant tone) “the money’s the same!”

No, it isn’t. Even on the face of it, it isn’t the same. Yes, Amendola’s contract looks like it averages $6m a year but what really matters is the cap hit. Amendola will count $3.5m against the cap in 2013. That’s a $2.5m difference. $1m in annual salary (I need to keep the math simple) would’ve covered Sebastian Vollmer or Danny Woodhead in 2012; it would’ve covered both Danny Aiken and Alfonzo Dennard. That’s a lot of production for that $1m. The Patriots get younger, bigger and faster and save $2.5m dollars.

In the spreadsheet, it looks like a no-brainer.

That terrible Mr. Belichick is being mean to that nice little Welker boy!

The other thing I hear over and over again is that Bill Belichick is a heartless prick. That may be true. But I just can’t wrap my mind around the notion that this was vindictiveness on Belichick’s part. I have to believe he wants one more Lombardi Trophy before he hangs up the hoodie. Clearly there’s some risk here. We could all be sitting home watching Wes Welker in the Super Bowl come next February. (Spoiler Alert! He catches the ball this time!) Just because the odds are in your favor doesn’t mean you’re going to win. You’re playing with an oblate spheroid. It takes funny bounces and not “funny ha-ha,” either.

Like Welker, I’ll miss Danny Woodhead. Watching him bob and weave among the behemoths, taking a screen pass 17 yards on a third and 16, disappearing behind the offensive line on a quick draw then popping out into the open for a short touchdown run. He was fun to watch. But I can see Shane Vereen taking Danny Woodhead’s snaps. I can see Leon Washington taking some of those snaps, too.

What I’m waiting for now is more defensive additions. I’m down with Dwight Freeney or John Abraham (slight preference for Freeney). I’m fine with Adrian Wilson. He’s not Ed Reed but he’s a close approximation. Wilson is big, smart and fast enough. At 6’ 3” and 225 pounds, he can bring the wood. He’s a little older than Rodney Harrison when he joined the Patriots but I’m going to take a little sip of Bill Belichick’s Wild Blueberry Kool-Aid and wonder if New England has finally found their replacement for Rodney. For 2013, at least.

Here’s hoping Danny Amendola and Donald Jones are going to Tom Brady’s summer camp for wayward wide receivers.

And here’s hoping the Patriots re-sign Sebastian Vollmer and Aqib Talib.

While I’m at it, I’ll hope Alfonzo Dennard doesn’t have to serve any time.

Good luck and thanks for the memories, Wes and Woody. It was great. I hope we'll stay friends but things are going to be different. You're moving on, I can see that. I really should do the same.