Teamwork is all about chemistry. There are times when things are clicking so well between teammates that it's like they share the same mind.
That happened a lot for Tom Brady and Wes Welker.
The standout quarterback and receiver for the New England Patriots put up mind-boggling numbers in their six seasons together, and that was largely due to their uncanny ability to be on the same page without having to say a word.
"I think it happened pretty early. I think we thought the same ways," Welker said. "Towards the end of my first year, even until our last years together we were still trying to improve [the chemistry]. We were still trying to get where we really wanted to be."
The pinnacle of the Brady-Welker synergy came in 2011, when the Patriots went 13-3 and made it to the Super Bowl. Brady threw for 5,235 yards, which at the time was the second-highest single-season total in NFL history. Welker caught 122 passes for a career-high 1,569 yards and nine touchdowns during the campaign.
Both athletes played with a chip on their shoulder -- Brady wasn't selected until the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, much lower than he felt he should have gone -- and Welker went undrafted out of Texas Tech. Welker's relatively small frame for a receiver (5-feet-9, 185 pounds) also led to him being underestimated throughout his career. But what he lacked in size he made up for in confidence, quickness and intelligence.
"It's really just understanding coverage, exactly how the defense is playing me, exactly how I need to attack it to create that much more room," Welker said. "Whatever it is to try and get open."
Of course it helped to have a future Hall of Famer throwing passes to him.
"The key thing to have is confidence -- confidence in yourself that you're going to get open, that you're going to catch the ball, that you're just going to be able to go out there and dominate," Welker said. "Any time you're taking the field with Tom, it definitely gave you some confidence going into the game."
Despite the instant connection, the incredible chemistry between Welker and Brady didn't happen overnight. It took constant practice and communication throughout the season -- and even during the offseason. Welker would head out to California to practice with Brady over the summer, and that's when their mutual work ethic really began to shine.
"We'd run two-minute drills and he'd have me running up and down the field -- this route, that route, moving the ball down the field," Welker said. "We'd finish the last one and he'd say, 'Oh, somebody jumped offsides' and I'd have to come back and have to run another one."
Welker says he learned a lot from Brady off the field as well, as far as game preparation and film study.
"We'd be flying back on a plane after winning an away game, and he's watching film. I'd be like, 'Oh are you watching the game?' and he'd be like, 'No, I'm watching the film for the team for next week,'" Welker said.
Another common thread between the two was a fiery on-field demeanor. Welker admitted that occasionally, but not often, he and Brady would butt heads about something that happened during a game.
"I usually let him just win those battles because I know there's no winning it with him," Welker said. "A lot of times I'd just kind of walk away and go sit at the other end or something and just kind of get away from him, because I'm not going to win this."
After the disagreements, however, Welker says he and Brady would go look at the game film to see who was wrong and who was right during the situation to make sure it didn't happen again.
And, as you can tell from their success together, they usually figured it out.
