Business as usual

Are you surprised? Really? Bill Belichick decided to go in the other direction. What else is new? Lawyer. Deion. Asante. Vinatieri. Seymour. Add Wes Welker to the list. This one hurts most of all.

The Pats let Welker walk to the rival Broncos so he can continue catching 100 passes a year -- now from the arm of Peyton Manning. Belichick let him go for a mere $6 million a year for the next two years. A total of $12 million. A bargain price for one of the most reliable offensive weapons in the league and the guy Brady, rightfully so, calls the heart and soul of the offense.

We'll never know why Belichick soured on Welker. It couldn't be his game. The little guy was as tough as they come. I got to see Welker wobble to the sideline after getting clocked many times during his six years with the Pats. And every time he was back on the field in seconds, making the next big third-down catch. As a football fan, you just love to root for guys like Welker. And as a player, it was pretty clear you love to play with a guy like that, too.

But Belichick never lets love -- or any human emotion -- get in the way when making team decisions. And -- love it or hate it -- that is why the Patriots continue to be among the handful of teams with a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl year in and year out for over a decade now. He decides it's time to move on and he does. Unlike most guys, he has no trouble ending relationships.

It's just not a lot of fun for the fans. You enjoy rooting for a guy and then he's gone. I'm still bummed my favorite all-time Patriot, Willie McGinnest, spent his last two years with the Browns. But it's not unique to the Patriots or to football. Remember... Bobby Orr finished his career a Blackhawk, not a Bruin. But it's a drag just the same. But don't feel bad for Welker. He made $9 million last year. Another $12 million is coming his way. He's going to live in beautiful Colorado for a few years before he and his wife settle into the guest house at Tom and Gisele's place.

There will be lots (lots!) of talk in the Sports Blabosphere of how Belichick disrespected Welker. Nonsense. Welker made millions of dollars with the Patriots. Many, many millions. He got to play with one of the three or four best quarterbacks to ever play the game and learn from one of the three or four best coaches ever. He got to play in Super Bowls. Belichick did right by Welker when he pried him from the unsuspecting Dolphins six years ago. Welker did right by Belichick by playing his ass off every single down.

And that's the thing. I don't remember anyone predicting Wes Welker was going to be Wes Welker when the Pats signed him in '07. Sure, he was considered a pretty good slot receiver. But who could have predicted he and Brady would be soul mates? Who knew that Welker was capable of catching 100 or more passes in five seasons? No one. Not even Belichick. He took a chance and it sure paid off. Other times he takes a chance and it doesn't. Right, Ocho? The thing that makes Belichick different from most other GMs is that he's not afraid to take the chance. He won't always be right. Except for all the Sportsblab geniuses, who is always right? The Pats are never predictable and they are never boring. And -- at least for now -- they are always in the hunt. And that's all you can ask.

Now Danny Amendola gets his shot. Will he be one of the hits (Dillon, Vrabel, Moss, Welker)? Or one of the misses (Ocho, Haynesworth, every free agent defensive back)? Time will tell. The knock on him is that he's been injured a lot the last two seasons, missing 20 games. In 2011 he dislocated his elbow in Week 1, requiring season-ending surgery. (Welker blew out his knee in 2009. He just did it in the last week of the season so he didn't miss any games.) Amendola came back last year and was off to a solid start when he suffered a broken clavicle. Here's what Wikipedia says about that injury...

• On 6 October 2012, Amendola suffered a dislocated clavicle and had season-ending triceps surgery. In a rare case, instead of popping out, the clavicle popped in and came millimeters from puncturing his trachea and aorta, which could have killed him. Rams' medical staff called around the league for information but no teams had ever had players suffering a similar injury. Amendola was anesthetized before popping the clavicle back into place. Due to the unusual nature of the injury the Rams were not certain when Amendola would return, but he was able to recover after just three weeks and recorded 11 catches for 102 yards against the 49ers.

So Amendola almost dies and he's back in three weeks catching 11 passes against one of the nastiest defenses in the league. You can say he's had injuries, but you can't say he's not tough. He's younger than Welker, taller than Welker, and faster than Welker. At this point he's no Wes Welker. But neither was Welker when the Pats got him.

Do I think the Pats should have topped Denver's offer? Hell. I would have given Welker a 3-year, $21 million contract without a thought. Belichick, as usual, didn't ask me what I would do. He had other ideas. We'll see if he got this one right. Either way, it was a great six years rooting for Wes Welker.

Now it's time to root for Danny Amendola. He could be the next great story.