"After the type of knee surgery Wes Welker endured, after wrestling with those nagging internal doubts that he might not ever be the same, it's not outlandish to think the Patriots receiver would be pleased his comeback season nearly produced the usual 100 catches along with another Pro Bowl appearance.

Given how well he bounced back, given how much he inspired others, it also might not be a stretch to assume Welker is banking on getting to the negotiating table a bit early to hammer out a nice contract extension, especially in wake of the Patriots taking care of Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork and Stephen Gostkowski before they hit free agency.

It makes a lot of sense. But we'd be wrong on all counts.

"I think everybody wants a new deal, but I wouldn't say anything I did this past year would warrant one or anything like that," Welker told the Herald Monday.

Wow. When's the last time you heard any athlete make an admission like that? When has any athlete said he's not worthy of a new deal? Let's try .?.?. never.

All Welker did was return from shredding his ACL and MCL, which is not the best news for a receiver who makes his living planting and cutting and darting and weaving. Not only that, but he produced close to what he did pre-reconstructive surgery.

Instead of 100-plus catches, he had 86 for 848 yards and seven touchdowns, which is fine work considering the circumstances. Only Welker, who arrived in Honolulu Monday night for his third Pro Bowl, doesn't want to hear it.

While Welker certainly is grateful to be playing football again, and hauling in balls from Brady, he still wasn't satisfied with his performance. It still wasn't good enough. And therein lies the beauty of Welker. There's the reason a little guy who always was told he couldn't, can."