Chrebet, any WR could do waht Welker did this year w/ the weapons NE had. Wes only averaged 10.5 yds per rec, that's good...for a RB. In '98, Chrebet's best year, he caught 75 balls but averaged 14.4 per reception and had 8 TDs just like Wes this year. Wes caught 112 balls which was 37 more than Wayne that year BUT had just 92 more yds and Wes played on a team that liked to run up the score in garbage time which is wher a good portion of Wes' #s came from. I hope Moss is playing elsewhere next year then we'll see what Wes can really do.
Chrebet Rec Yds Avg Ln TD FD 580 7365 12.7 70 41 379 Welker 208 2296 11.0 47 9 118 That is all you need to know. Lets not put the cart before the horse here, Welker has a long way to go , and Welker got most of his #'s this year playing in the most Dynamic Offense ever , taking advantage of the Randy Moss factor. I am certain that plug in Chrebet (in his Prime) for Welker in that Pats offense and the #'s would be similar. Plug in Welker for some of the Awful Jets teams , I am not si sure as evidence by his ordinary #'s in Miami.
He had 67 catches, and lead the Dolphins in receptions last year with Joey Harrington throwing to him and Marty Booker and Chris Chambers as the other WR.
So you're saying, put him on one of the old Jets teams, with a shit QB throwing to him, like, say, the 1-15 1996 team (O'Donnel, Reich, and Foley {<60% Comp %, 22 TDs and 30 INTs that year among them), and he'll compile similar numbers, 67 catches. Chrebet caught 84 balls that year, his second in the league after being an UDFA. That was one of 3 seasons for his 11 year career, where his average YPC was nearly as low as Welker's was this season, as it was 10.8 to Welker's 10.5... I know people are going to try and make it seem like Welker's better than he is, but he really isn't. If you watch hi play, he's not even as good as his numbers suggest, because of the help he gets from that offense, and the fact that he never makes a 'special' play, and the numbers don't say that much anyway if you get past the gaudy reception numbers. In 1998 the Jets were a fantastic team. The OL was phenomenal, Curtis Martin was grinding out the yards in the backfield, etc, etc, but they were not nearly as good as this year's Pats. That season, next to Keyshawn Johnson and Dedric Ward, Chrebet caught 75 passes, for 1083 yards, a 14.4 YPC average and 8 TDs. In 2007, in arguably the best offense of all time, next to record-setting Randy Moss, dynamic Dante Stallworth and many others, Welker caught 112 balls, for 1175 yards, a 10.5 average (which, as junc said, is good, for a RB) and 8 TDs. I know Chrebet is overrated by Jets fans a lot, but nobody in football is more overrated than Welker. At this point in his career, Welker is not even in the same league as Chrebet.... I don't think it's even an argument
Didn't Welker lead the league in YAC? Granted, some of that is aided by the sheer volume of pass receptions he accumulated, but it still is something to note.
The Pats run the bubble screen better than any player in football... On that play, the WR catches the pass with 2-4 blockers in front of him (at least half of whom are offensive linemen, and all of whom are often already engaged) with his momentum carrying him forward, as far as 2 or 3 yards behind the LOS. When executed properly, the WR catching the screen can usually get about 5 yards upfield before he is touched.... It works very well for NE, because the CBs are usually playing off to respect Stallworth and Moss' speed, giving the blockers and WR plenty of room to work with.... Welker catches 2-4 of these passes every single game, sometimes more. If that doesn't boost your YAC, I don't know what does.... I'd like, however, to look up his yards after contact (I'm not sure if they keep that for WRs)... As I'm positive that number will be SIGNIFICANTLY lower.... I saw a lot of Pats games this year (enough that I can comfortably say I watched at least 75 of his receptions, plus all of those made in the playoffs), and I can't remember many times where he broke through first contact to make extra yards....
Chrebet was awful as a punt returner. Welker is an adequate returner. Welker is a better blocker. Chrebet had better hands and was tougher. As far as intangibles (leadership, being a good teammate, etc.), from what I've heard and read, there does not seem to be a noticeable difference between the two. Chrebet was a better traditional WR. Welker is one of these new-fangled West Coast gnat WRs who makes most of his receptions within 10 yards and then looks to make a few moves to get a first down. I didn't yet vote, but would probably go with Chrebet, in large part because I'd need to see more from Welker.
Jesus, they are the same player. Neither is markedly better than the other. They both do the exact same things. This is like comparing a Macintosh apple to a Granny Smith. Welkers career is going to last about the same time because he gets crushed just like Chrebet. In the Super Bowl, I would be surprised if he did not have a concussion as he was getting hammered. Beyond the stats, both are equally tough to cover, block well and open up the playbook because of their versatility. Welker is in a perfect system right now. However, he is not a #1 WR and neither was Chrebet. Honestly I think Welker has a little more upside than Chrebet, then again Chrebet never played in the best offense ever with a top 5 alltime QB throwing to him. It is a good/tough question asking which one is/was better and probably not one which will get an objective answer here.
WC was a 3rd down genious. Of his 580 receptions, 579 were for a 1st down. While welker is shifty and quicker, WC had that 'knack' of getting to were he needed to be on 3rd and 10. and he always made the catch. my only knock on WC was his head over heels 'drop' that ended our playoff run in 19??.
I don't think Welker is better or worse. Welker produced on a bad team with a bad supporting cast and on a great team with a good supporting cast. Chrebet No.s went down the more talent he was surrounded by, I don't think that's a great argument one way or another. Welker lead the league in receptions was open on every single play, virtually uncoverable in the slot and did a great job this year. The guy is a young player who has 1 great year a one good year under his belt. Chrebet had 3 really good years and was essentially a third down WR most of his career. Both of them are nice player I don't consider either one of them great and to say Chrebet is much better than Welker at this point in their careers is a bit over the top. Welker was an every down starter at WR on the greatest passing O in league history.
