Like Ray Allen of the Celtics, Wes Welker of the Patriots took the first stagecoach out of Dodge.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, "Say it ain't so, Wes." He too saw the parallel of a major star on a successful team choosing to leave town.
Ray Allen took less money with the Miami Heat than was offered by the Celtics, so agitated was he with the home treatment.
Now history has repeated itself. Wes Welker, prolific receiver and best buddy of Tom Brady, felt mild disdain and translated it into a short career for middling dollars in Denver.
Imagine how insulting the Patriot offer must have been.
Welker had been benched for making jokes about Rex Ryan, and overlooked by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in favor of his hand-picked sweetie-pies.
So, the crafty owners of the Patriots will face the music with fans who ask why.
The genius coach of the Patriots in whom all true believers follow without question will be asked repeatedly why he hated Wes Welker.
Tom Brady who restructured his contract to insure signing good, reliable players must ask himself if he has been duped by the "friendly" owners who treat him like one of the family.
If this is All in the Family treatment, then Brady may want to find another bunch.
Fans will not soon forget this travesty of Patriotic vitriol. Welker was offered peanuts, and not a few minutes later the Patriots gave Danny Amendola a five-year, $30million contract.
Ouch.
A certain contingent will lump Welker and Ray Allen into the same barrel as rotten apples for a decade to come. Eventually the prism of history will shine its light into the crevices of corrupt motives.
Blame will hang in the air for some time to come. But, there is no honor among the Patriot leadership.
