Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker addresses the media during his postgame press conference at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, December 27, 2009.
Q: How big of a win is this knowing that the division is signed, sealed, delivered?
WW: It's a very big win, kind of a playoff-type atmosphere knowing what was at stake. Getting that hat and t-shirt and winning the division was huge. We were happy to get out there and take care of business.
Q: Why isn't there a Wes Welker mask? [referring to the shot of a fan wearing a Randy Moss mask on the ProVision]
WW: Because you see these [pointing to self] all the time. I don't know. You don't so much see the fro and things like that; it's pretty extraordinary. Plus what he does out there is extraordinary.
Q: When you guys were 7-5, did you get a sense that people questioned you, as a team, as just how good you could be?
WW: We didn't really pay attention to any of that; any sort of that outside noise or anything like that. We knew what we had to do in this room which was taking care of business on a day-to-day business and that's what we've been doing; just continuing to work. We have to continue to work from here and just keep on grinding it out and really playing well through the stretch.
Q: (On the offensive gameplan)
WW: Any time going week to week, you're preparing so much, getting ready. We're really putting an emphasis on what they do and the type of game plan we're going to see. They're a type of team that's going to go out there and play their stuff and you got to make sure you're able to get open and understand what coverages you're going to get and just kind of go from there.
Q: (On success in the red zone as of late)
WW: The execution, there's only so many things they can do in the red area. You just got to understand what they're going to do and just go out there and try to make a great play from there and have great plays called. I think we did that this week and we had a good game plan down there and we were able to execute.
Q: Did you ever envision coming here and putting together three straight seasons like you've had?
WW: No, I never envisioned [that]. I knew my numbers would probably go up just having Tom [Brady] and the type of offense we're in and things like that. I never knew it would be like this. Definitely, I'm very blessed to be a Patriot and to be here. Hopefully, we'll just keep it going.
Q: No matter what defense they throw at you you find a way to get open...
WW: As a receiver you never want to feel like you're open or you're covered or anything like that. That's not really my mindset. My mindset is trying to win somehow. Whether it's double covered or safety over the top or whatever it is. It's always working hard to try to get Tom an option to go to.
Q: (On taking a lot of hits this year)
WW: I think when you catch this many balls you're definitely going to take your shots and [when] returning punts and things like that; definitely probably taking a little toll on the body and stuff. Really, I'm feeling pretty good and hopefully we keep it going here through the stretch.
