Do I root for Wes Welker tonight?

Whether you've accepted since last March that Wes Welker is no longer a New England Patriot is one thing. Whether or not you've accepted that he's now one win away from winning his first Super Bowl--helping Peyton Manning in the process--is an entire other matter.

As soon as Welker took the 2 year, $12 million deal with the Denver Broncos last March, you knew that the storyline wouldn't just fade away, that we'd never see Wes again. This wasn't Pedro Martinez signing with the Mets back in 2005, virtually guaranteeing he'd only come back to haunt the Red Sox in interleague play, if at all (which wound up being the case). The Broncos were the top seed in the AFC a year ago, returning virtually the same roster, and while strengthening themselves, they weakened the Patriots. This was bound to happen.

So if it's not like Pedro, would it be a little bit more like Ray Allen leaving to join the Miami Heat in the summer of 2012? I think I speak for most in New England that while we begrudgingly respect Peyton Manning, we still despise LeBron James. Add in the fact that Allen took LESS money to join the Heat, and it becomes clear that's not a great parallel either. 

Considering Welker wound up signing with the Broncos for just $2 million more than the Patriots were offering over the length of the contract, could you say that Welker simply followed the money, and never cared about loyalty to New England in the first place?

Before you say yes, that the difference between $10 million and $12 million over two years is enough to qualify Welker as a 'traitor,' consider that this past off-season, Mike Wallace signed with the Dolphins for $60 million over 5 years ($30 guaranteed) and Greg Jennings signed with the Vikings for $47.5 million over 5 years ($18 guaranteed). 

During Welker's Patriots career (2007-2012), he caught an average of 112 passes a year for 1,234 yards. Jennings, over the same time frame with the Packers, averaged 63 catches a year, for 984 yards. Wallace, who's only been in the league since 2009, had averaged 59 catches for 1,010 yards with the Steelers. While I completely understand that they are more traditional "deep threats" than Welker would be considered, to say that they're worth upwards of $38 million (Wallace) or $35.5 million (Jennings) more than Welker is asinine on every level imaginable. Statistics don't tell the whole story, but in this case, they're more than enough to seal the deal.

The Patriots, and Bill Belichick in particular, low-balled Wes Welker. The fact they "replaced" him with Danny Amendola is equally laughable, but that's another story for another time.

I'm not telling you who to root for tonight, but if you're rooting against the Broncos, make sure it's not because Welker plays for them. He belongs with the Patriots, and that is strictly on Belichick.