Wes Welker: Can He Break 2,000 Yards and Challenge Conventional Wisdom?

New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis is arguably one of the best football players in the NFL today. 

Yet, this past Sunday, New England's wide receiver  Wes Welker won the battle between the two as the Patriots won the the war, 30-21, in Foxborough, Mass. 

Peter King at Sports Illustrated in his "Monday Morning Quarterback" column highlighted the matchup in detail:

On the plus side for Welker, he did have five catches for 124 yards, and his long completion led to a [Tom] Brady touchdown throw early in the third quarter that gave New England a 10-point lead.

On the plus side for Revis, Brady had thrown to Welker an average of 14.3 times per game before Sunday; on this day, he targeted Welker eight times and completed five.

Welker had caught 25 balls for 375 yards in the previous two weeks. So he was clearly diminished in his effectiveness Sunday, but the Patriots scored 30 points, and Revis wasn't an overwhelming presence on the other receivers.

You pick the winner. Seems like more Welker than Revis to me, but very close.

"Seems like," might be a tad polite at this point? 

Five catches and 124 yards at best means that Welker was contained and the long completion at the start of the second half was a back-breaker even if Revis wasn't necessarily assigned on the play.   

In some ways, it seems inconceivable that the diminutive Welker at the age of 30 is statistically the best receiver in all of football with stats that are downright laughable—45 receptions for 740 yards through five games. 

You would expect as much from Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson, Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald or Houston Texans' Andre Johnson, but Wes Welker?

Initially it seemed that Welker was a glorified Wayne Chrebet, yet upon closer review of Welker's career stats, it's hard to argue about his production since coming to New England.  Which begs another question:

Is Welker a product of the Patriots system?  Having Brady throw to you season after season certainly can't hurt.  Meanwhile, John McTigue at ESPN seems to believe that Welker's game is actually evolving. 

Nevertheless, what Welker is doing is truly impressive by any measure, but would seem impossible to sustain.  Yet, if Darrelle Revis, one of the league's best cover men, can only hold Welker to 124 yards, who is to dispute the potential of reaching 2,000 yards for the season assuming he stays healthy?

Time will tell if Welker can earn his place in the record books, but perhaps more importantly, we can put to rest the foolish notion that white wide receivers are extinct.  Not since the pass-happy days of the AFL featuring Hall of Famers Lance Alworth, Fred Biletnikoff and Don Maynard have there been more than one or two notable white wideouts in the NFL at any given time.  

What happened? 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, it's safe to say that pro-talent evaluators have buried the ridiculous "theory" that black players can't play quarterback, as even the harshest of skeptics have to admit that Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton has proved in short time that he belongs. 

In a perfect world, talent evaluators and key decision makers should be colorblind in hoping to find the best players available.  But, what's it going to take to get scouts to actively take notice moving forward? 

Will Welker's play have any real impact or simply be seen as a strange anomaly?  In all likelihood, he will continue to be viewed as a "Diamond in the Rough" unearthed by the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick, and therefore, an exception to the conventional wisdom that rules the league.  

If any change will happen, it will probably take more than a handful of Wes Welker's over many years, as it did for the likes of Marlin Briscoe, Joe Gilliam, Doug Williams and Randall Cunningham in helping legitimize their cause.   

For now, it's interesting to watch and see what Welker does next.