Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker enjoyed a stellar debut with the Denver Broncos last Thursday night. He hauled in nine catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns and picked up with Peyton Manning right where he and Tom Brady left off. Given that the Broncos put up 49 points against the Baltimore Ravens, we’re surprised we didn’t hear more about injury faking from that game.
In his latest interview for Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard, our friend Jimmy Traina spoke with Welker and asked him about defenders doing more acting this season.
“It’s tough to really say,” Welker said. “As fast as offenses are going these days, I think you do see it a little bit more and there’s nothing really you can do. You just gotta keep doing your job.”
We are only through one week of regular season games, and we have already heard one team owner and several players complaining that opponents are faking injuries to slow offensive attacks. The more teams attack with a no-huddle offense, the more guys will be going down with “cramping.” There really is nothing the NFL can do about it, so it’s something teams will have to adjust to.
As for Denver’s win over the Ravens, Baltimore probably could have used a few more cramps after Manning began lighting it up. He threw for an NFL record-tying seven touchdown passes, but Welker said he didn’t really notice during the game.
“He’s a great quarterback and did a great job of leading us down the field, but I really wasn’t paying attention to it,” he said. “I was just trying to focus on me and my job and help our team move the ball down the field and score points.”
That’s nice of the 32-year-old to be so modest. We will probably see many more dominating performances from Welker, Manning and the Broncos’ offense this season. They have the tools to be an unstoppable force.
