Branch on M&M: 'Wes is a clown'

Patriots receiver Deion Branch joined Mut & Merloni on Monday to talk about Sunday's 31-21 victory over the Broncos and the latest chapter in the alleged falling-out between fellow receiver Wes Welker and coach Bill Belichick.

Welker turned some heads Sunday night when he made a wisecrack about his relationship with Belichick. Welker, whose playing time was limited in the opening game of the season, caught 13 passes Sunday. Asked about it on CSNNE's postgame show, Welker said with a smirk and a wink: "Yeah, it's kind of nice to stick it in Bill's face once in a while. So this is definitely a good one."

Branch laughed when the clip was played for him and said he didn't think Belichick would take it seriously.

"That's Wes, though," Branch said. "I don't think coach will think too much of it. That's Wes. Wes is a clown, man. That's Wes. … That's Wes, man. And coach Belichick knows that."

Looking at the Patriots' performance Sunday, Branch said the offense did a lot of good things but still had some issues.

"We played good against a great team," Branch said. "We gave them some of the opportunities as far as the offensive side of the ball. A couple of times we could have actually finished the game the way we always talk about finishing, and we didn't. We put the defense's back against the wall, and they stopped them, they held them. … We've got to stop doing that."

Added Branch: "Overall, we're doing a great job of being balanced. Josh [McDaniels] is doing a great job of, we're setting up certain things, we're running the ball good, play-action is doing great. Everything is working well. We've got to continue to get better. The whole game wasn't perfect, though. It wasn't perfect."

To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page [1]. For more Patriots news, visit the team page at weei.com/patriots [2].