By Jay Skurski
Chan Gailey was honest Monday about his team's struggle to cover New England slot receiver Wes Welker.
"To be honest with you I don’t believe we’ve had a guy in the three years I’ve been here that can cover that guy one-on-one for an entire ball game," Gailey said during his weekly radio show on WGR 550. "He can get open. That’s why he made the Pro Bowl so many years."
The job Sunday largely belonged to second-year cornerback Justin Rogers.
"He's effective. He's proven that over the years. You can say what you're going to do to him, until you really get out there," Rogers said. "It was definitely a learning experience. There were some things I could have done better. The thing is, you've got to get your hands on him, but it's easier said than done. Like I said, it's a learning experience. There's things I know now I could have done in the game.
Rogers said after watching film of the game he believes he needed to play more physical against Welker.
"Just a little bit more to slow him up. I was on him with good leverage, but then you've got Tom Brady, a Hall of Fame quarterback, throwing it on time. ... I can help that a little bit by trying to mess up the timing and slowing him up on his route."
Welker finished with nine catches for 129 yards Sunday in the Patriots' 52-28 win. While the film review wasn't much fun, Rogers said learning from it is a must.
"That's the whole team's mind-set. The whole defense learned from it," he said. "The good thing about it is it's still early in the season. It's only Week Four, so we can correct the mistakes and bounce back."
