And, by the way, the Patriots* were not one of the best teams in the league before Welker's arrival.
The Patriots won their division in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. They won the conference and Super Bowl in 2001, 2003 and 2004. If that doesn't constitute one of the best teams in football, I don't know what does.
I lied though. I did keep reading your post and after doing so I should have stuck with my original thought.
You say you played the game? Was it before helmets?
As has been suggested by more than a few NFL pundits. The 2006 Patriots* would not have beaten the Chargers in this year's AFC Championship game. The 2006 Patriots* would never have gone undefeated this year. They were starting to slide backward. They were not the quality team that they had been in the past. They needed help last year. Keep in mind, this year, despite all the injuries and despite Norv Turner, the Chargers were still in the game against this year's "greatest team ever".
Last year, when things needed fixing, they had to go find some players and they were fortunate enough to get two very good deals on players who were flying somewhat under the radar. Moss was not really "under" the radar but was considered a locker room pariah and not too many teams were willing to take that gamble and Welker was a relative unknown who fit perfectly into their offensive scheme. The difference between starting to slide out of contention last year and their success this year was the acquisition of Welker and Moss.
"The Patriots won their division in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006."
LOL! But the biggest laugh of the day is that you think that winning the AFC East is an accomplishment?! HAH! That's a given every year, look at the rest of the division. Buffalo, the Jets and Miami... They start the season off with 6 wins in their pocket.
"They won the conference and Super Bowl in 2001, 2003 and 2004. If that doesn't constitute one of the best teams in football, I don't know what does."
Now, also by trying to understand your reasoning, we're obviously taking it to the extreme, but the Patriots*, you say, were still one of the best teams in the NFL in the 2002 season (they didn't even make the playoffs) because they won the Super Bowl in both 2001 and 2003?!
The point being that even the Patriots* know that they can't relax on past success. They have to identify their weaknesses and fix them year in and year out. Last year they were not one of the best teams, this year they are the best so far.