Wes Welker recalls one of the first times Bill Belichick tried to get into his mind
Remember Wally Pipp?
Bill Belichick sure does. And in 2009, he wanted to make sure that his then-player Wes Welker did, too.
During a Patriots-Eagles preseason game, the retired wide receiver had elected to sit out because his knee was bothering him. Julian Edelman, a rookie at the time, took his place as punt returner.
“In a preseason game against Philly, I wasn’t playing,” Welker recalls in his edition of NFL Network’s A Football Life. “Julian returns a punt and, you know, takes it to the house.”
Following the touchdown, Belichick immediately spoke into his headset to ask the team’s research director Ernie Adams, “What’s that guy’s name who played before Lou Gehrig?” Once he got his answer, he strolled over to Welker on the sidelines for a quick chat.
“Coach Belichick comes up to me and goes, ‘You heard of Wally Pipp?'” Welker recalls.
Turns out that he was not familiar with the former baseball player, prompting his then-coach to explain.
“You’ve never heard of him?” Belichick said, with a knowing look. “Well, he played first base before Lou Gehrig. Then Lou Gehrig started whatever it was, 2,300 straight games.”
“That might be the punt return story,” he said, as he started to walk away.
“That’s his way of doing things: needling and needling and needling,” Welker told NFL Network. “I guess he always felt that I always performed my best when my back was against the wall, and I think that was kind of one of the first times, he really kind of tried to get at me a little bit.”
Belichick’s form of motivation appeared to have a positive impact on Welker, as he went on to have best receiving season in Patriots history. In 14 games, he caught league-leading 123 passes for 1348 yards. To this day, the 36-year-old still holds the franchise record for total number of receptions.
Watch the 2009 exchange between Belichick and Welker below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gExolAhbRPQ
