Welker Not Focused On History, But Physical 49ers Secondary
BOSTON (CBS) - Wes Welker will likely make history this weekend, but all he is thinking about is the San Francisco 49ers.
Welker needs just five catches on Sunday night to become the first player in NFL history to record five seasons of 100 or more catches.
When asked if he was thinking about entering the record books, Welker was pretty clear with a simple, but effective, three-word answer.
"No I'm not," he said stone-faced.
Instead, Welker is focused on a 49ers secondary that ranks among the best in the NFL.
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"They have a lot of good players back there, a lot of experience guys who fly to the football well and are very physical," he said. "We'll definitively have our hands full. "
While there is little doubt Bill Belichick is also focused on San Fran, he took some time to praise the dependability and durability that Welker has shown, not only with his time during the Patriots, but throughout his career in the NFL.
"That's a lot of catches for a lot of years. To go be able to go out there and do it week after week against all the different coverages, all the different matchups that we see and all that, it's a real credit to, like you said, Wes's ability but also his toughness and his durability because he's taken a lot of hits out there," Belichick said Friday. "Our slot receivers historically – Troy Brown, Wes – they've always caught a lot of balls, but he's caught a lot for a long time and returned kicks for us."
"He's a tough kid," continued Belichick. "He's in there on a lot of plays and it's not all catches – he's in there blocking in the running game."
Welker has caught five or more passes in 11 of the Patriots' 13 games this season, but Monday night against Houston he had only three catches on nine targets. He dropped multiple passes, something that has been an issue as of late.
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But like his date with history, Welker is putting little focus on his drops.
"You move on," he said. "You come out and have a good week of practice and you move on from it."
Tune in to Patriots-49ers Sunday night on 98.5 The Sports Hub! Pregame coverage begins at 5pm with Patriots Preview, with three hours of coverage following the game. WBZ-TV's coverage kicks off with Patriots GameDay at 11:30am, with Patriots 5th Quarter after the game.
