Moving Slots

The movement of slot receivers Wes Welker and Danny Amendola was one of the more interesting moves of the first week of free agency. It was certainly one of the most talked about. When the Amendola signing was announced seemingly moments after the Welker signing, many felt that the New England Patriots made a knee jerk reaction to losing quarterback Tom Brady's security blanket. The Patriots, of course, said that they had come to an agreement with Amendola the day before. The order and the timing really doesn't matter. The Patriots and Welker had months to settle their differences. They couldn't and there was little doubt that they were going their separate ways. Despite the possible little tantrum thrown by Brady, I really think that this is a win-win-win-win situation for Welker, Amendola, the Broncos, and the Patriots.

Wes Welker may have had to really battle to establish his presence in the NFL but once he did he has led a pretty charmed football life. He catches a lot of passes from Brady for six years and when that comes to an end he moves on to Peyton Manning. If you're a receiver and you can pick any two quarterbacks of this generation with which to play, Brady and Manning are likely the choices. No offense to Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. Plus, Welker joins a terrific Broncos receiving duo in Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. Throw in tight ends Joel Dressen and Jacob Tamme and the Broncos passing offense goes from damn good to a real life nightmare. There may not be a better three receiver set than Thomas, Decker, and Welker. 

Danny Amendola is definitely happy. He goes from a St. Louis Rams team that has seen little but struggles the past few years to an annual Super Bowl contender in the Patriots. He gets to catch passes from Tom Brady! Sam Bradford has real nice potential but this is Tom Brady. Every time that I've seen Amendola play, I come away even more impressed. The Rams drove the much more talented San Francisco 49ers nuts this past season. Amendola was one of the main reasons, especially in the first game between the division foes. He's a tough little sucker. That toughness often gets him into trouble. If there is any negative to Amendola's game it's his injury history. He lost pretty much the entire 2011 season with significant elbow and triceps injuries. That was terrible in terms of time lost. His injury last season was downright frightening. In early October he suffered a dislocated clavicle. Instead of it popping out, the clavicle popped in. It was millimeters from puncturing his trachea and aorta. This could have killed him. It didn't and he returned to the field with his dynamite game against the 49ers. While Amendola has missed some significant time with injuries, some, especially the last one, have been of the unusual variety. It's not like he's had several recurring injuries. I really like this addition for Patriots. Amendola may not have the resume' of Welker but he's got real similar talent. Plus, he's about five years younger than Welker. He could start building his own Welker-like resume'. I really think that the Patriots will like this exchange of slot receivers but Amendola obviously has to stay on the field. 

If Amendola has left the injury bug in St. Louis, this is a win for all parties involved. I love watching receivers like Welker and Amendola work their magic in finding the holes in the defense. They're fighters and their paths to the NFL are similar. Some might even call their paths identical. Both played at Texas Tech. Both went undrafted. Both fought through being cut from NFL teams and finally sticking in the league. Both established themselves with struggling teams and moved on to the Patriots. When they finally got a shot on the field, they shined. Both are examples of never giving up. You can see their fight in every moment that they are on a football field. This is a win for everyone involved.