Wes Welker Blames Himself for New England Patriots' Super Bowl Loss

Super Bowl XLVI finished off with a bang last night.

With a Hail Mary completion at the end, we could be talking about Tom Brady's legacy being set in stone. However, Eli Manning notched another win over the New England Patriots with another game-winning drive.

Does Eli even get the chance to be the hero if the pass from Brady to Wes Welker is caught?

With about four minutes left in the game, Tom Brady threw a deep pass to Welker. The wideout jumped and spun around to get his hands on the ball, but did not secure it to his chest to make the catch.

Welker in his postgame comments took all the blame, which is a very admirable approach to the interview.

Now anyone who has played any type of football in their life has heard of the saying, "If it hits your hands, you have to catch it." Even when I play some football on the weekends, I find myself saying this. I believe that if you are a NFL wide receiver, you must catch the ball when it hits your hands.

On this pass in the fourth quarter, my blame doesn't fall on Wes Welker entirely. My blame falls on Tom Brady throwing the ball to the wrong shoulder of Wes Welker.

All year long you have to endure all the TV personalities praising Tom Brady as a top-five quarterback. Over these past two weeks, you had to hear TV analysts all praise Tom Brady and his "X factor clutch gene" during Super Bowl games.

Tom Brady had the chance to cement his legacy with another Super Bowl win if he hits that pass to Welker.

However, Tom Brady threw the ball high and to the outside shoulder of Welker, who then jumped and turned to make a play on the ball. Welker was wide open and if Brady hit him in stride, that game has a different outcome. 

A top-five quarterback will hit that target every time.

There were many different plays in this Super Bowl where the game could've changed and the outcome may have been different.

This play will be one of the plays that will always be remembered from Super Bowl XLVI. Wes Welker did get his hands on that ball, and to an extent should be blamed, because if you get your hands on it, YOU MUST CATCH THAT BALL!

Lee Evans became a goat for that just a few weeks ago.

My question is, what if Tom Brady didn't break down under the pass rush? What if instead of Brady throwing to Welker, it was Rodgers, Brees or Eli Manning? Would the Patriots be the team planning the Super Bowl parade, or would we still be congratulating the New York Giants on their most recent Super Bowl victory?