Plaxico Burress > Wes Welker
By Staff
Yes, that is the greater than sign used in math in the title. I am puzzled as to how this is even a serious argument on ESPN.com. Plaxico Burress or Wes Welker?This argument can be answered pretty quickly: Welker has Randy Moss, Plaxico doesn’t.
I have never seen a receiver as open as Wes Welker. The difference between Welker and a Burress or Moss is that Wes is left open, Plax and Randy get open.
The Patriots have played 18 games. Randy Moss has been under incredible coverage in 18 games, leaving Welker, Dante Stallworth, and Jabar Gaffney defended by the opposition’s middle and lower tier defenders. While Randy is sprinting down the sidelines with the entire secondary surrounding him like a presidential motorcade, Wes Welker is there right up the middle for an easy first down and sometimes more.
When Randy sprints to the corner of the endzone for a jumpball while the Patriots are in the redzone, he gets three defenders to commit to him and there is Wes Welker sitting underneath the goal posts, drinking a cup of copy and reading the New York Times waiting for a touchdown pass from Tom Brady.
Those football fans who don’t get to watch Plax on a consistent basis I am sure found out what he is all about against Green Bay. Built like Moss with not as much pure talent, Plaxico could be the second best receiver in the league. He makes tough catches, gets hit hard, and plays through injuries (maybe he could talk to L.T. about character and pride). Not only is Plaxico directly under Randy when discussing the NFL’s top receivers, but he and Elite are the best 1-2 punch in football after Brady-Moss.
While Al Harris and Antonio Cromartie and the rest of the star cornerbacks in the league are busy preparing for Plax and Randy, Wes can relax knowing that he is going against someone signed off the practice squad.
So ESPN, go ahead and make a case for Wes Welker as being somewhere near equivalent to Plaxico Burress as a wide receiver. One of them does the work himself and the other has the work done for him.