Wes Welker Benched For Opening Series Of Patriots-Jets Game

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker sat out the start of Sunday's playoff game against the Jets, and CBS reported on its broadcast that he was benched for mocking New York coach Rex Ryan during the week.

In meeting with reporters on Thursday, Welker made more than a dozen references to toes and feet, a not-so-subtle reference to recent foot-fetish reports involving Ryan and his wife. On the television broadcast, the announcers said Welker was being punished for his comments.

Asked about the reports, Patriots spokesman Aaron Salkin said, "I guess we'll see."

Welker received the punt after the Jets' opening drive, but Julian Edelman lined up with the offense.

Comments

[chiodo08]

02:30 PM on 01/18/2011

Personally...I think the team lost some fire because of cr@p like this....Belichek has a lot of nerve...seriously, until he got lucky with the 6th round pick QB sitting on the bench. He was an utter failure as a head coach....it's intellectually dishonest to not recognize what makes a football team great...it's the QB...
OBVIOUSLY he couldn't coach up his fragmented defense...in fact, Raheem Morris is a better coach than he is...look what he had..10 rookie starters(record) and 7 first round starters go out with injuries...pulling guys off practice sqauds and still competing...

[jagrmeister721]

04:53 PM on 01/18/2011

Have to agree.  This is over-coaching by Bellichek.  These are adults - you can't coach them like they're children.  It ruins morale on the team - for no reason.

[Dog Whistle Translator]

02:21 PM on 01/18/2011

The Patriots...discipline...someone...because...of...something...on......videotape.

yeah, thats rich

[chiodo08]

02:24 PM on 01/18/2011

...and beyond hypocritical...something tells me Bellichek is a Republican

[Wintersoldier7020]

02:36 PM on 01/18/2011

Good one.

[splinky]

12:30 PM on 01/18/2011

All the Belichick haters can say what they want, but you've got to admit, he sticks to his principles of not saying anything about the opponent, especially anything insulting.

[jagrmeister721]

04:53 PM on 01/18/2011

Good way to kill team morale over a non-issue.

[dreamers]

09:02 PM on 01/17/2011

He's cute.

[Strateshooter]

05:25 PM on 01/17/2011

He was benched because he was acting like a real...heel.

[larrykat]

04:12 PM on 01/17/2011

Oh my gosh - they made him sit out like THREE PLAYS! That must have really hurt Wesley's feelings. This guy's mouth, along with the Patriot's consistently trying to cheat, make it very satisfying to see them out of the playoffs.

[KevinCasey filmcritic]

06:49 PM on 01/17/2011

Almost as satisfying as it will be to see Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl.

[chiodo08]

02:26 PM on 01/18/2011

...easy player.Lets not forget who has the boorish date r@per on the team...sorry fella but the Steelers lost a lot of class by backing that p/g

[blueken]

03:22 PM on 01/17/2011

The Patriot way. Wes is a great receiver up the middle with some good yards after catch, but makeing fun of a coach's priavate life is off limits. Wes knows that. For a bunch of guys that play a game for a living the Patiots are pretty classy. That's part of their charm, win or loose.

[lioness39]

05:24 PM on 01/17/2011

Fanning you and faving you, blueken.

[chiodo08]

02:58 PM on 01/18/2011

is cheating part of the charm as well...The patriots are like Dick Cheney automatons...look the other way while daddy has you do shady things...but your accountable for YOUR actions...

[Dominick Roffo]

01:40 PM on 01/17/2011

Not a fan of either team,as you see by my avatar, but Rex gave a blueprint on how to beat the Patriots. He disguised his coverages so well, that Brady was confused and held on to the ball longer than he wanted to. Also, jamming the receivers on the line messed up their rhythm.

[AsISaid]

11:06 PM on 01/17/2011

You must have missed the game this season when the Cleveland Browns beat the Pats - by 20 points. Brady was totally confused with the Browns defense and mixed coverages.

Please note that the defensive coach was Rob Ryan, Rex Ryan's brother. Seems like the Jets learned something from the Browns.

[TheBear]

11:45 AM on 01/18/2011

good observation

[FunctionOfTheCrisp]

01:21 PM on 01/17/2011

HA! Yeah, he was so benched that there he was, out there at the first opportunity to return the Jets' first punt.

PainfuI, that benching.

[iamsamh2]

02:32 PM on 01/17/2011

You said exactly what I was thinking. Kind of interesting that the commentators never said anything about it.

[TBrennan]

12:26 PM on 01/17/2011

I thought Welker was hysterical. Good wit from a football player is pretty rare. We are lucky if they can just talk.

[Peter Boehringer]

11:58 AM on 01/17/2011

Pats made a lot of mistakes yesterday. Benching Welker was the first because it had a pshychological effect on both teams. If he was going to be disciplined, they should have done what the NCAA did, have him sit out sometime next year. Their "trick" plays all backfired and should never have been tried, especially so early in the game. Belichek did himself in yesterday and two dropped touchdown passes didn't help either. The Jets played good football yesterday, but they lack class even in victory.

[Big0725]

11:50 AM on 01/17/2011

Mocking? He only did one of the most amazing jobs in an interview I've ever heard. And when did the Patriots get so concerned about appearances?

[pjones006]

12:13 PM on 01/17/2011

Where's the tape of the incident, I hear they are experts with a video camera.

[iuriggs6]

03:06 PM on 01/17/2011

Colts fan here, hate the Pats, but that was hysterical...

[zonafan51]

11:41 AM on 01/17/2011

As I read about tripping walls, dirty hits and trash talking one thing becomes amazing clear . . . big money can't buy class or good sportsmanship . . . what a shame.

[chucknchar]

11:47 AM on 01/17/2011

He is? Like him already

[Rush 2112]

08:12 AM on 01/17/2011

And the Patriots were de"feet"ed