Projo Pats Blog

Journal photo / Wes Welker

O.K., so the officials in Sunday's Patriots-Cardinals game had to penalize Wes Welker for playfully making a celebration in the end zone -- rules are rules and need to be enforced, no matter how popular or hardworking the offender. But a $10,000 fine for making a snow angel? That's what Welker has received from the league. And while Welker has no grounds to appeal the fine -- league rules stipulate the punishment for "going to the ground" in celebration of a play -- I put in my vote for a little flexibility in the future.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in favor of eliminating all rules against celebrating touchdowns. The league has good reason to discourage premeditated celebration -- which we have seen in the past can lead down all sorts of undesirable roads. So it seems that using a prop of any kind in a celebration can certainly draw a fine -- I don't want wide receivers dialing anyone on cellphones or carrying Sharpies in their pants to autograph their TD balls anymore. But something like Welker did -- something that was clearly, as the receiver called it, a "spur of the moment" deal -- seems to be punished quite severely enough by a 15-yard penalty.

The good news: The money Welker pays, like all NFL fines, will go to charity.

MORE ON WELKER: He needs just four catches on Sunday afternoon to break his own franchise record for most receptions in a season (112). His chances are doing that are pretty good, since Welker has not in any game this season had fewer than four catches (Boston.com).

A REMINDER: The New York Yankees' free-agent buying binge reminds many of us why we love the NFL. Although the league is imperfect, it is one that rewards a front office's competence and skill, unlike Major League Baseball, where teams like the Yankees (and it doesn't stop there, Red Sox fans) can guarantee upper-division finishes into the rest of eternity by simply buying the players that any other team would buy if it had the means. In baseball, the teams that defy our expectations (like the Tampa Bay Rays) are occasional exceptions to the rule -- and fans of these teams shouldn't get too attached to any of their heroes, because most of them won't be around for too long if they are really any good.

But in football, even fans of franchises that are terrible today can look to the future with the confidence that a Miami Dolphins-style turnaround could come next season, with the right leadership and a couple key player acquisitions. And teams that spend big money on underperforming players -- as the Yankees have for years -- are punished much more severely than by barely missing the playoffs in one season.

NOT LAUGHING ANYMORE: When he first agreed to come out of retirement and play for the Patriots, even Junior Seau's own friends laughed at him. In two games since his return, Seau has played in 90 of 117 defensive snaps; he'll be in the starting lineup on Sunday for the biggest game of the season so far (Boston.com).

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: The Herald's John Tomase analyzes the three most costly plays of the Patriots' season -- anyone of which might leave New England in control of its own destiny, had the play happened differently. The plays are: Dustin Keller's overtime catch for the Jets on a third and 15 that eventually led to the game-winning field goal; Jabar Gaffney's drop of what seemed like a sure touchdown in Indianapolis; and Matthew Slater's kickoff fumble that turned a close game against Pittsburgh into a Steeler rout.

BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: The Patriots are on the verge of breaking an NFL record for fewest accepted penalties called against them; meanwhile, Buffalo has the distinction of being the second-least-penalized team in the NFL (Buffalo News).

MIKE SINGLETARY WILL BE BACK: The Sacramento Bee reports that the 49ers are offering a multiyear contract to their interim head coach, who has overseen significant improvement in the 49ers' level of play this season. Singletary's return probably means that Mike Martz is out as offensive coordinator, the Bee reports.

RECORD WITHIN REACH: The Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware needs three sacks against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday to break Michael Strahan's single-season record of 22.5 sacks (DallasCowboys.com).

UNHAPPY AGAIN: Roy Williams wasn't happy in Detroit, and he isn't happy in Dallas, either. Williams told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Clarence Hill Jr. that he is frustrated with his lack of opportunities in the Cowboys' passing game.

POST-RETIREMENT CONFESSION: Former Broncos offensive lineman Matt Lepsis, who retired after last season despite having two years remaining on a four-year, $25-million contract, says in today's Colorado Springs Gazette that he played games last season while high on drugs. Lepsis has now had a spiritual awakening and is a student at the Dallas Theological Seminary.

TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW: Buccaneers defensive backs coach Raheem Morris, just 32 years old, learned on Christmas Day that he will be promoted at season's end to take over for departing defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin (St. Petersburg Times), who has held the job since 1996 and is the man most responsible for turning Tampa Bay from a joke of a franchise into a one-time Super Bowl winner and regular playoff contender.

SHOULDER STILL A PROBLEM: Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers may need offseason surgery to repair his right shoulder, even though the injury has not been an obvious hindrance to him this season (Wisconsin State Journal).

HE WASN'T RIGHT, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE: The Philadelphia Eagles' DeSean Jackson, who dropped four passes in Washington last week (one of them in the end zone), had bruised ribs and another, unspecified injury, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg now says (Philadelphia Inquirer).

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE: Mike Holmgren says that, despite rumors to the contrary, he will absolutely not be coaching in the NFL in 2009 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer).

DANCING ON THEIR OWN GRAVES? I'm sure the Detroit Lions franchise wants no part of 0-16, but Darren Rovell of CNBC tells them that the "feat" makes the team a marketable commodity -- if they don't mind selling T-shirts that mock themselves. ESPN's Page 2 actually did a head-to-head comparison of these Lions and the '76 Buccaneers, who finished 0-14, and concluded that the Lions are the worst team of the modern era.

THIS WEEK'S PICKS: Last week's result: an awful 7-9. Now onto Week 17, with the home teams listed in all caps.

FALCONS over Rams: Atlanta has clinched a playoff spot, and they have a chance to win the NFC South if they beat the dismal Rams and Carolina falters at New Orleans.

Patriots over BILLS: I think a motivated Buffalo team might make this one tougher than a lot of Patriots fans expect, but the fact remains that the Bills are not particularly good in any single facet of the game (outside of special teams), and certainly not good enough to stop a Patriots offense that is playing with a ton of confidence.

BENGALS over Chiefs: In a game that pits two teams closing out miserable seasons, Cincinnati has the motivation of trying to finish with a third straight victory.

TEXANS over Bears: Houston was playing terrific football until last week in Oakland, and now they need to beat the Bears to finish 8-8 for the second straight season. Chicago still has playoff aspirations, but Houston is a tough place to play, and the Bears are not a good road team.

VIKINGS over Giants: It's hard to predict this game without knowing how Tom Coughlin is going to play it, but indications are that he will either sit his starters for the entire game, or at least for significant chunks of it. If that is the case, Minnesota has no reason not to wrap up the NFC North title -- something they will do in any case if I am correct about the Texans beating the Bears.

Panthers over SAINTS: A week after losing an eight-point lead late in the fourth quarter and seeing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs slip away, Carolina will have to win in New Orleans to clinch the division title and a first-round bye. That won't be easy, as the Saints are good at home and will be looking to finish over .500. But Carolina's running attack should be the difference against a defense that is suspect in run defense.

STEELERS over Browns: You get the feeling that Pittsburgh could rest its entire first-string defense and Cleveland still wouldn't score a touchdown in this game.

BUCS over Raiders: Tampa Bay has fallen apart at the worst possible time, losing three straight games and giving up more than 30 points per game in the process. The Bucs now need a win and a Cowboys loss to grab a wild-card playoff berth. The Oakland offense, meanwhile, is closing the season on a positive note; still, it would be a shock if Tampa Bay let this game slip away.

COLTS over Titans: It's a meaningless game for both of these playoff-bound teams, and many key players will see only limited action. Peyton Manning should be in long enough to make an impact with his MVP-caliber play of late, and the Colts will finish the season with 12 consecutive victories.

PACKERS over Lions: The Lions have not won in Green Bay since the last Bush administration. The Packers have had a bitterly disappointing season -- they simply won't allow it to end by losing to Detroit. The 1976 Bucs get off the hook as Detroit joins them in the annals of infamy.

RAVENS over Jaguars: Baltimore is a team that wins with defense, but also a team that pounds its opponents into submission with a physical running attack. They won't be an easy playoff opponent. And unless the Patriots hand them the wild card by losing in Buffalo at 1, the Ravens won't show any letup in their home finale against the last-place Jags.

CARDINALS over Seahawks: After embarrassing themselves last week in Foxboro, the Cardinals have to bring something to the table this week against Seattle. The Seahawks have been doing a nice job the last three weeks -- that they've played honorably down the stretch gives them something to take out of this nightmarish campaign.

49ERS over Redskins: Washington salvaged what it could out of its season by beating the Eagles last week, likely knocking their division rivals out of the playoffs. Now they finish against the noncontending but improving 49ers, who will be paying tribute to their great teams of the 1980s and perhaps celebrating the news of Mike Singletary's return to the sidelines next season.

Dolphins over JETS: There's a voice in my head that tells me the Jets are going to win this game and hand the Patriots the division title. I just can't explain ho that would happen. The Dolphins are most vulnerable in defending the pass, but Brett Favre has been awful these last few weeks. Chad Pennington is playing with a ton of confidence and unlikely to be affected by the pressure of playing in his old stadium with the season on the line. The Jets have been generating no pressure with their pass rush while the Dolphins' offensive line has been jelling. I don't think the Jets will roll over as some Patriots fans fear; I just don't think they're good enough to win.

EAGLES over Cowboys: Philadelphia's upset loss in Washington last week took a lot of luster out of this battle between bitter rivals. The Eagles will probably be out of the playoff picture by the time this game starts. Philly isn't exactly a team that excels under pressure, so I'm not sure that this will really hurt their play all that much. What the Eagles can do and have done in other late-season meetings with the Cowboys is force Tony Romo to make mistakes. If they do it this time around, it will make the Philly fans happy, and the Tampa Bay fans even happier.

CHARGERS over Broncos: San Diego can turn its season from a disaster to a success with a win on Sunday night. And ironically it is the Broncos -- the team that stole a game from San Diego in Week 2 thanks to Ed Hochuli's officiating error -- that the Chargers have to thank. Denver has failed repeatedly down the stretch to clinch the division title that has been there for the taking all season long. Now they are facing an awful matchup against a confident team that is bent on getting revenge. This one could get ugly, but what do I know: I was 7-9 last week.

 Tags  Football Today Wes Welker

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