There’s not an inch of NFL turf designed for the meek.
But it’s the area framed by the two offensive tackles, stretching 7 or 8 yards downfield, where the bodies are bigger, the landscape more crowded, the contact less forgiving.
It’s here that Wes Welker does his best work. It’s here where the NFL leader in receptions makes defenses pay for overlooking him, the way so many teams once did. It’s here where the 5-foot-9-inch dynamo’s most valuable quality shines through.
Marvel at Welker’s ability to increase the dividends of his touches, at the 435 yards he’s churned out after the catch, if you will. Expound on his knack for finding holes in zone coverage, or his consistency in catching 76 percent of the balls thrown his way.
And know that, unequivocally, none of this happens unless the best trait he has as a football player is there.
Wes Welker is one tough hombre.
“He’s one of the toughest players I’ve coached,’’ said Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who was talking about all players at all positions. “It’s one thing to hit somebody, it’s another thing to catch the ball and get hit. That’s a different kind of toughness, to be able to have that kind of concentration. You get hit inside, you know there’s somebody in there.’’
An average reception for Welker, this year, has come 5.3 yards from the line of scrimmage. Last year, that figure was 3.7 yards, and the year before, 4.8 yards.
For his Patriots career, the number is 4.5 yards, and he has significantly more yards after the catch (1,833) than at the point of reception (1,361) in his three years in Foxborough.
And that is why Welker’s toughness is so essential to his game. Most of those catches come right in the teeth of the defense - where he looks like a pine tree in a forest of redwoods - near the hash marks and inside the box.
“He’s incredibly tough,’’ said Texas Tech’s Mike Leach, who coached Welker in college. “He played his entire senior year with a bad case of turf toe. He was getting treatment for it every week. And yet he had a tremendous season.’’
When people see the 15 catches Welker made last Sunday against the Jets, they may not take into account the corresponding hits, or consider who delivered them. But every one of them is tallied.
He leads the NFL with 79 catches, despite having missed two games. And those two games were the first ones he’s missed as a Patriot - despite the beating he takes. No small feat.
Avoiding annihilation
Welker may be proud of his toughness. But he’s no dummy. The line between being noble and being a numbskull is thin in a slot receiver’s world.
