A few days ago I posted "In Bill we Trust". As much as I believed Welker's departure was going to happen, I did not want to be berated by my fellow Patriots' fans for making such a prediction. So instead I tried to prep my fellow fans in another way, for such a loss, by reviewing the success BB has brought the Patriots, with him at the helm the team has had unparalleled success for over a decade now.

We have been down this road many times before... Milloy, Law, Branch, Samuel, Seymour and now Welker. No player is irreplaceable, no individual star is greater than the team, this has been the Patriots' Way... sometimes it seems misguided, when they overpay for players like Ocho and AD Thomas, and yet seemingly under-value their own stars.

There have been bad decisions, there have been hard feelings between agents/players and the team, and there have been times when they were caught ill prepared for some of the changes that came along.

BB has turned over the entire roster since arriving here in 2000, he has turned over his entire coaching staff, his scouting staff, and his FO since then too... and yet the Patriots are just as capable of competing for a Championship now, as they were in 2001.

Despite all the nay-sayers and BB bashers you can find in today's articles from his avid fans like Ron Borges and Chris Gasper to the relatively unknowns, keep in mind they are like broken records... they have been chastising BB and proclaiming the Patriots' downfall since his decisions to suspend Glenn and bench Bledsoe all the way back to the beginnings of his Head Coaching here with the Patriots.

These are the same writers that claimed his idiocy and arrogance for letting Milloy go, for not keeping Law, for trading away Seymour. And yet, year in and year out, even when Brady was lost for the season, the Patriots have found a way to remain in the hunt, and be relevant.

There is one reason, one person more than any other, that is responsible for the success the Patriots have had the past half dozen years. Lets not lose sight of that fact on a day when we have to say good bye to yet another Patriots great, as difficult as it is to see things end on a sour note with Welker, the team will continue to have success... and that is the ultimate goal for any team.