NFL Preseason, Patriots At Falcons: Wes Welker Says His Six Snaps Were 'Really Significant'

On Jan. 3, Wes Welker went down in heap of wide receiver with a torn ACL on the Texans' field. A little more than eight months later -- and just six months after surgery -- Welker made his return to an NFL game in Thursday nights 28-10 win over the Falcons, the Patriots' second preseason game.

Just the latest example of Welker's fast recovery, his time on the field in Atlanta was short -- just six snaps -- but meaningful (beyond the two catches for 20 yards).

Six snaps in a preseason game usually means nothing, but this is about as significant half-dozen plays as you'll ever see in an August NFL game. And we know why. With the exception of Marvin Harrison in 2000-02, no player in NFL history has caught as many passes in a three-year span as Welker did in his first three years in New England. Sure, we all get a kick out of Edelman and he might turn out to be terrific, but Welker has been historically good. And you can make a case that he and Moss have been the most prolific duo in league history, at least for a three-year span.

After the game, Welker, who admitted to some pre-game "worries," called the game "a step forward," and detailed the importance of his six plays.

"I think they're really significant. This is something I've been working towards, really trying to get back, and then get back out on the field. To be able to do it here in the second preseason game is kind of a milestone for me, and something I've really been looking forward to, something I worked my tail off to get to this whole offseason. It was pretty significant to get out there and get those reps."

NFL Preseason: Video Highlights Of Patriots' 28-10 Win Over Falcons

In case you missed the game ... and don't have ESPN, here's video highlights of Thursday nights 28-10 Patriots' win over the Falcons.

Undefeated in the preseason, baby!

NFL Preseason, Patriots At Falcons: New England Shows Progress In Throttling Of Atlanta

Neither the Atlanta Falcons nor the New England Patriots are particularly sexy picks to win their respective divisions this year. After last night's preseason game in the Atlanta, odds-makers may want to reconsider at least one of those trends.

A revamped Patriots offense, energized by the return of Wes Welker (2 catches, 20 yards) and bolstered by a veteran running game and rookie tight end presence, trotted up and down the carpet at the Georgia Dome en route to a 28-10 victory over former Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan's Falcons.

Tom Brady went 10-for-12 for 85 yards and a touchdown, rookie TEs Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski each had four receptions and a touchdown and Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris each rushed for over 50 yards and six points of their own while the defensive secondary covered up for a weak performance from the linebacking corps. The Patriots first team outscored the Falcons first team, 14-3 in the first half.

The second team is still fighting growing pains, although the second defensive front seven didn't disappoint, according to Pats Pulpit:

Brandon Deaderick had a very solid game, along with Myron Pryor. But defensively, the story of the day may have been the play of Ron Brace. Brace lined up at left end, and was really solid. He got some quarterback pressures, picked up three tackles, and forced a fumble that was recovered by Tyrone McKenzie (who also had a solid day).

Although it's hard to take much from preseason games, there's no doubt that this trip south was a series of steps in the right direction for the Patriots, who struggled mightily last season in the red zone. The emergence of a ground game and two pass-catching tight ends should go a long ways to easing those woes in the season ahead.

The defense is still raw and vulnerable, but they are equally as hungry, and it looks like the secondary will lead the charges again.

In the defensive backfield, Pat Chung had another good game. He really flies all over the field, and made a couple of big hits. I really like what I've seen from Chung so far, although he still needs to work on his coverage. Jonathan Wilhite also had a solid game, coming up with an interception, but looked solid in coverage as well. Patriots 1st round pick Devin McCourty looked like a first round pick. He absolutely shut down Roddy White on one play, and made a couple of plays in run support.

Belichick has never struggled to put together a strong defense; the Patriots' ultimate undoing last year was the inability of the offense to milk the clock late in games and give the defense a rest. A younger defensive unit, coupled with a promising short-yardage attack on offense, should alleviate some of the problems that Belichick, Brady and company fought all too often last season.

NFL Preseason, Patriots At Falcons: Ground Game Sparks New England's Win, 28-10

Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Tom Brady completed 10-of-12 passes for 85 yards with a touchdown and the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 28-10, in an exhibition game at Georgia Dome.

Fred Taylor rushed 11 times for 54 yards with a touchdown and Sammy Morris gained 52 yards on six carries with a TD for New England, which has won both its preseason games. Randy Moss had two catches for 24 yards, while Aaron Hernandez caught a TD pass in the victory.

Matt Ryan finished 8-for-13 for 76 yards through the air for the Falcons, who won their preseason opener last week but watched their offense struggle in this one. Michael Turner gained 32 yards on eight carries in the loss.

John Parker Wilson also saw action under center for the Falcons and completed 14-of-25 passing attempts for 98 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Matt Bryant's 46-yard field goal 5 1/2 minutes into the game gave the Falcons the lead, but the Pats answered on the ensuing possession. Brady and Taylor combined to engineer an 11-play scoring drive capped by Taylor's 28-yard TD run.

In the second quarter, with Brady still the signal-caller, New England found the end zone again. The 10-play drive started with a 14-yard connection to Moss but eventually stalled after a fumble. Stephen Gostkowski's 41-yard field goal attempt was no good, but a roughing-the-kicker penalty gave the Pats a first down at the 11-yard line. Brady found Hernandez for a 4-yard TD on third down.

In the third quarter, Sammy Morris's 20-yard touchdown run made it 21-3. Morris started up the middle, but cut outside and raced down along the left sideline and into the corner of the end zone.

The Pats scored again in the fourth quarter via a 24-yard TD pass from Brian Hoyer to rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski. Hoyer finished 8-for-15 with 94 yards passing.

The scoring was capped by Wilson's 19-yard touchdown pass to Troy Bergeron.

Welker Leads Patriots Out On To The Field

Still no final confirmation if Wes Welker will actually play, but word coming out of Foxborough is that Welker led his teammates out on to the field Thursday night.

So you tell me? Would a guy leads his teammates out on to the field only to sit on the sidelines for the entirety of the evening? I think not. Stay tuned. Kickoff is about half an hour away.

NFL Preseason, Patriots At Falcons: Wes Welker Is There, But Will He Play?

According to CSNNE's Mike Giardi, Wes Welker is indeed IN THE BUILDING for Thursday nights preseason game with the Falcons. But so far, he has not joined Julian Edelman and Buddy Farnham on the field for some early warm-ups.

Welker has practiced all week with the team, but there have no indications as to whether or not he will play in Atlanta.

Ian Rapport at the Herald asks, should Welker even play at all tonight?

Colleague Karen Guregian wrote on this topic for today's paper, arguing that it's not worth the risk to play Welker tonight. She opined, not on the road, not so soon, and no earlier than is necessary.

It's a tough call, because you want his reconstructed ACL to be tested, but not too much and certainly not in any way that would put him at risk. Plus, wouldn't you like him to make his grand debut in front of the home crowd?

There's an argument to be made that it would in fact be best to start him away from the home crowd, but for now, it's a wait and see game.

NFL Preseason, Patriots At Falcons: Another Early Test For New England

(Sports Network) - A couple of teams looking to maintain their positive preseason momentum will meet at the Georgia Dome on Thursday night, when the Atlanta Falcons play host to the New England Patriots in the second August warm-up for each club.

The homestanding Falcons were 20-10 winners over the Kansas City Chiefs last Friday, although the Atlanta offense played to mixed reviews.

Matt Ryan was 3-of-6 passing for 34 yards in limited action, and running back Michael Turner (4 rushes, 29 yards) and wideout Roddy White (1 reception, 22 yards) made the most of their cameos, but the Falcons scored only three first- half points in the contest.

With Atlanta's first unit pegged for just 18-20 snaps against the Patriots, the window for the starters to score will again be short.

On the injury front for Atlanta, defensive end Jamaal Anderson (knee) and cornerback Brent Grimes (groin) are among the questionable notables for Thursday, while safety William Moore (undisclosed), cornerbacks Brian Williams (knee) and Dunta Robinson (hamstring), and defensive tackle Peria Jerry (knee) are all unlikely to play.

Atlanta will be playing at the Georgia Dome for the final time until Week 2 of the NFL season (Sept. 19th), when the Falcons host the Arizona Cardinals in the team's formal 2010 home opener.

The Patriots, meanwhile, will be seeking to build on a 27-24 win over the New Orleans Saints last Thursday night.

Tom Brady was 5-of-8 for 67 yards without a touchdown or turnover in the victory, but made bigger headlines by injuring two fingers on his throwing hand after striking them on a helmet in the game. Brady subsequently had the fingers taped in practice, but has not missed any training camp time and is expected to play on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the injury department, wide receiver Wes Welker (knee) has made the trip to Atlanta but his status for Thursday will be unknown until game time. One player who won't appear for New England is Torry Holt (knee), who was released as part of an injury settlement earlier this week.

The Falcons lead the all-time preseason series with the Patriots, 6-5, breaking a deadlock in the series with a 26-23 home victory in the last such meeting, prior to the 2006 season.

The teams last met in Week 3 of the 2009 regular season, a 26-10 New England home victory.

By Tony Moss, NFL Editor