Bill O'Brien
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Special to PatriotsInsider.com
Posted Mar 4, 2012
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Penn State head coach, and former Patriots assistant, Bill O'Brien told reporters that Patriots fans shouldn't be hard on Wes Welker. O'Brien referenced the reported "drop" made by Welker in Super Bowl XLVI vs the Giants. He went on to say...
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O'Brien: Welker play 'wasn't a drop'
The incompletion that could have helped the New England Patriots put
away Super Bowl XLVI -- and kept Tom Brady's wife, Gisele, from
infamously bashing the quarterback's wide receivers -- "wasn't a drop,"
former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien said.
O'Brien, now the Penn State head coach, told reporters at the Big New
England Coaching Clinic that the notorious pass not handled by receiver
Wes Welker was no gimme.
"That would have been a tremendous catch, and he should never think
twice about that," O'Brien said. "And it had nothing to do with us
losing the game. There were many, many plays before that, where we
could have made better coaching decisions, and better plays. That's
just one play of many."
Evidence from the game supports O'Brien's notion that the play wasn't a
simple drop, but the idea that "it had nothing to do with us losing the
game" is less realistic.
While there were many plays that contributed to the New York Giants'
21-17 win over the Patriots, the missed opportunity by New England with
4:06 certainly had much to do with the Giants getting a chance to put
together their game-winning drive.
New England led 17-15 at the time and faced a second-and-11 from the
Giants' 44. Welker was open downfield and would have put the Patriots
in the red zone if he came down with the catch, which would have
allowed New England, at the very least, to eat up more of the clock.
Replays have shown, though, the pass was a touch high.
A distraught Welker did not look at the play that way after the game.
"That's a play I make a thousand times," Welker said then. "I just
didn't make it."
The play likely helped spark an infamous post-game scene with Brady's
wife, Gisele, caught on camera responding to hecklers as she made her
way through Lucas Oil Stadium.
"My husband cannot (expletive) throw the ball and catch the ball at the
same time," she said on a video captured by gossip site theinsider.com.
"I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times."
O'Brien focused on the overall accomplishments for Welker, who has made
four straight Pro Bowls, and led the NFL with 122 receptions last
season.
"I would tell (New England fans) they should be very grateful
to have a player like Wes Welker as a Patriot," O'Brien said this
weekend of Welker, who is expected to get the team's franchise tag by
Monday's deadline. "He is what Boston is all about, in my opinion. He's
a hard-working guy, he's a tough guy, he's an honest guy; nothing was
ever given to him.
HOT TOPIC: Do
you think Welker's play was a drop?
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