Look away, Patriots fans.
You may not be completely over the heartbreaking loss of Super Bowl XLVI, but Wes Welker has turned the page.
In fact, Welker said as he prepares for his third Super Bowl — and he hopes his first on the winning side — he said he hasn’t even thought about his costly drop in Indianapolis two years ago that proved pivotal in the Giants’ come-from-behind, 21-17 victory.
“You know what? I don’t even think about it,” Welker said at Super Bowl Media Day at the Prudential Center. “The past is the past, what happened, happened, and I’m just looking forward to this one and going out there and playing my best game and doing what I can to help my team win.”
In the fated Super Bowl following the 2011 season, the Patriots led 17-15 with 4:06 remaining and had the ball at the Giants 44-yard-line when Tom Brady found Welker wide open 23 yards downfield. The pass was slightly behind Welker, and it was high, but he turned and got both hands on the ball. Shockingly, it went through the receiver’s sure-handed arms, falling to the turf.
The Giants would respond with a game-winning drive in the final minutes.
Welker played his last game with the Patriots in last season’s AFC Championship loss to the Ravens. During his free agency, he found a home in Denver, where he hauled in 73 passes for 778 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Though he said he has forgotten about the play, Welker was quick to point out he has a piece of a Super Bowl record, tied with Jerry Rice, Deion Branch and Dan Ross for most catches in the Big Game with 11, set in his first Super Bowl, another loss to the Giants.
“The only thing I have to prove is to myself and going out there and just playing the best game I can, and whatever happens after that, happens,” he said.
Welker, 32, credited the Seahawks’ top-ranked defense and said the Broncos receivers will have to adjust to Seattle’s physical secondary, nicknamed the Legion of Boom. He doesn’t plan to back down.
“I expect to be effective just by doing what I do and going there and playing hard,” he said. “Playing tough and making plays over the middle, trying to move the sticks and put us in position to score some points.”
Welker refused to bite on several potentially controversial topics, from the critical drop to who is the better quarterback, Peyton Manning or Brady, and his relationship with former coach Bill Belichick, who accused him of intentionally taking out Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib in the AFC Championship Game.
Welker spoke from the heart, however, when asked about Sunday’s significance and what could keep him from playing.
“The Super Bowl, this is what you dream about,” he said. “You’re going to be there, I don’t care what it takes, you’re going to be out there in this game.”