The Super Bowl is less than a week away, but one play from the AFC Championship Game nearly two weeks ago is still garnering attention.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker laid a hit so brutal on New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib during the Broncos’ 26-16 win, that it prompted Patriots coach Bill Belichick to call the hit “one of the worst plays” he’s seen.
In his postgame comments nearly two weeks ago, Belichick said Welker had deliberately targeted Talib to take him out of the game, but at Super Bowl Media Day on Tuesday, Welker contended that it’s a play commonly run by teams.
‘”It’s a rub play that everybody runs,’” Welker said, via WEEI.com. “It’s one of those deals where you try to get a rub on that guy and really, if you can get him to go over the top of you, the more separation the other receiver will have. That’s what I tried to do to get Demaryius [Thomas] a little more open and unfortunately we collided.”
When asked by a reporter if it was a move Welker had learned under Belichick, Welker responded:
“We ran the same play.”
Welker’s block was a game-changer as it sent the Patriots’ best defensive back to the locker room for the remainder of the matchup. Welker wasn’t fined for the hit.
Photo via Twitter/@BGlobeSports
