From 2007 to 2012, Wes Welker was a huge contributor for the New England Patriots as well as Tom Brady’s top pass catcher on the team.
As expected from the people on the outside looking in, it was not a walk in the park playing under Bill Belichick, even with the amount of success in the regular season and postseason.
In a radio interview with WEEI’s Greg Hill Show — Welker spoke out on how Belichick did not give anyone on the roster any type of special treatment, even saying that Tom Brady got called out and chastised by the head coach.
“The way he goes about it there are no superstars,” Welker explained. “Everybody has their role on that team. Everybody is going to get called out. There’s no preferential treatment and a lot of time he calls out the star players a lot of times just to set the tone with the whole team. Where, everybody, ‘Okay, he’s talking to Tom like that, well obviously he can talk to me like that.’”
Welker led the NFL in receptions three times and made the pro bowl five times in six years with the Patriots. He departed from the Patriots in 2013 as the team’s all-time leader in receptions with 672.
Welker admitted that it felt good to leave and go somewhere else where he could actually enjoy the game.
“…I did want to be there, but there was part of me that, I just like enjoying the game,” Welker said. “I enjoy having fun, all those things. Coaching now, you learn a lot from the tactics and different things like that, but at the same time putting your own twist on it and understanding…”
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He added that Belichick places a ton of pressure on players, which it makes it very hard playing for the demanding Patriots head coach.
“…There’s definitely pressure on that, there’s definitely all these different things…” Welker said. “[It] is tough and it’s hard. And Coach Belichick is hard on guys, trying to get the most out of him that he can.”
