Wes Welker – Quiet Superstar

Here is the ESPN.com story.

I don’t watch a great deal of NFL football. What little I do watch is either the Saints or Jaguars – and Falcons once that scumbag Vick was out. I watch the Saints because I grew up watching the Saints. I watch the Jaguars because there’s just something about them I like. They aren’t fancy. They aren’t loaded with superstars known by just their first or last name. They’re simply a scrappy bunch of guys who play hard that I find easy to root for. And I watch the Falcons for one reason only – Jerious Norwood. He’s from my hometown, my highschool, and my university.

I know who Wes Welker is only because of fantasy football this season. Before this season, I had no idea who Welker was. I needed to pick up a 3rd WR for my team and had a couple #1 WRs and tons of #2 and #3 WRs to pick from. A friend of mine who is a huge Patriots fan told me to draft Welker. He’s their #2 WR this year and Tom Brady would be throwing a lot. I browsed his bio and thought my friend was crazy telling me to draft a 5′9″ guy who weighs 185 lbs. soaking wet. Boy am I glad I took his advice. 112 or so receptions later, I’m wondering where Welker has been all this time. Then I read the ESPN.com article above. Wow.

Some highlights from the ESPN.com article:

• Welker played offense, defense, and special teams in high school. He was also known for puking during some games. Not because of nerves. He just pushed himself that hard.
• Welker is only 5′9″ and weighs just 185 lbs. He’s also slow by NFL – and even college – standards at 4.55 in the 40-yard dash.
• Welker’s high school football coach sent out 105 faxes looking for an opportunity for Welker in college. 104 said no, and the 105th (Texas Tech) tried to.
• Welker played his way into Texas Tech’s starting lineup as a true freshman.
• In his Tech career, he caught 259 passes for 3,019 yards and 21 touchdowns.
• His eight career punt returns for touchdowns are tied for the NCAA record.
• He played most of his senior year with turf toe that hurt so bad he wore a protective boot on off days.
• Welker was not invited to the NFL combine, nor was he drafted.
• After being cut by San Diego, Welker was picked up by the Dolphins and became the second player in NFL history to return a kickoff, return a punt, kick a field goal, kick an extra point, and make a tackle in one game.
• Welker quietly led the Dolphins in receptions (67) in 2006. Probably because the Dolphins were… and still are… horrible.
• Welker’s 112 receptions this year is an NFL record for a player in his first year with a new team. And this is with 6-foot-4 Randy Moss in the lineup. Welker’s 112 receptions is also a Patriots franchise record.

Remember the Dolphins game where Welker did the kick and punt returns and all that? Guess who the opponent was. That’s right. The New England Patriots. Bill Belichick is known for wanting hard-nosed, versatile role players on his team more than the Chad Johnsons and Terrell Owenses of the world. Welker, it seems, is the perfect New England Patriot.

I’m not a Pats fan. I could care less if they win or lose, but consider me a Wes Welker fan. Even moreso after reading this article.

C-Rhodes Out of The Bag

“Ole Miss is like one of those games where C-Rhodes just comes out of the bag.” – Charles Rhodes

The play in this video was ESPN’s #1 play of the day on Saturday. It says everything about the game that you need to know. The Rebels’ Kenny Williams didn’t even contend the opening tip to start the game. Apparently he took one look at Jarvis Varnado and figured why bother.

MSU now has a 9-game winning streak and a 5-game SEC winning streak – the team’s longest streaks since their 2003-04 SEC championship season.

State is 5-0 in the SEC for the first time since 1993-94.

MSU head coach, Rick Stansbury, holds a 15-5 record against Ole Miss, including a 10-0 mark at home. State has also won 11 of the last 13 meetings against the Rebels, including 23 of the last 25 in Starkville. The Bulldogs are 27-6 all-time against Ole Miss at Humphrey Coliseum.

In holding the Rebels to 36.8% shooting on the day, State has now held twelve opponents to under 40% shooting on the year. MSU is currently second in the nation in field-goal percentage defense behind Georgetown.

The game’s 10,421 fans in attendance marks the 9th largest crowd at Humphrey Coliseum.

With 13 points in the game, junior guard Jamont Gordon moved into 10th place on MSU’s all-time scoring list. His six assists also moved him into 5th place on State’s all-time assist list.