Coach Bill Belichick said he believes Danny Amendola can play both inside and outside in the Patriots' scheme.

Thanks to better long speed and a two-inch height advantage, Amendola is more versatile than Wes Welker. Former Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels knows this, and it's likely one of the reasons the Patriots were fine with letting Welker walk. Amendola is going to be featured all over the field in one of the game's premier passing offenses.

So, Brady's not happy? You can understand why when you recall that he just took a big pay cut to become arguably the lowest paid quarterback in the pro league's upper echelon. It's worth remembering that he's been unhappy before (Deion Branch) and all has worked out quite well.

The salve that soothes comes perhaps in the form of yet another former Texas Tech alum, ex-Rams receiver Danny Amendola?

Does anyone here remember that the Patriots were sniffing around Amendola last year, too? Well, until the Rams slapped him with a 2nd round tender that is. I'd say given last year's flirtation with Amendola, the Pats new signing was one of the easier moves to telegraph this year.

Understandably, though, some people aren't enthused and on the face of it, who can blame them? Welker's shoes are inversely proportional sized cleats to fill, at least in comparison to the rest of him! Especially given his propensity to be both a game-changer and a release for Brady in equal measure.

But, is it really so outlandish to think the more things change, the more they stay the same at Foxboro?

The only factor I think that matters is: "Was Welker a product of his environment more than he was a factor in it?"

Tale of the tape Welker vs Amendola:

College: Texas Tech / Texas Tech

Drafted: UDFA '04 / UDFA '08

Age: 32 / 28

Height: 5'9" / 5'11"

Weight: 185lb / 188lb

40yd: 4.65s / 4.58s

20yd Short Shuttle: 4.01s / 4.25s

3 Cone Drill: 7.09s / 6.81s

Vertical: 30" / 31.5"

Broad: 9'5" / 8'7"

KR/PRs pre Patriots: 23.3ypg / 23.5ypg

YAC pre Patriots: 5.1ypg / 4.4ypg

Looking at their pre-Patriots careers, YAC is notable as it's what separates "good" from "great" with receivers. But with only half the length of a football between the two at that stage in their prospective careers, even whilst discussing them in a vacuum (outside of scheme, personnel, circumstance etc). Heck, even the production of both themselves and their team mates in their per-Patriot final season is eerily similar. I won't bore you with the minutiae, but if you check back to those two years and teams you could practically sub out Chris Givens, Brandon Gibson, Danny Amendola & Steven Jackson for Chris Chambers, Wes Welker, Marty Booker & Ronnie Brown and get similar production.

Even their own YPR was identical at 10.3 a clip.

And that's the key for me: They're interchangeable. They came from the same Texas Tech Air Raid/spread offense that the Pats have been using successfully for years now, the same...

Coach Bill Belichick has previously said that the Patriots' offense sets up the slot for big production.

Before Wes Welker was putting up Madden-style numbers in New England, Troy Brown was the Patriots' slot receiver. Between 2000-2002, he averaged 93.6 catches for 1,011 yards and scored 12 touchdowns during that three-year span. If Danny Amendola can stay healthy for the first time since 2010, he's going to have a huge season.