``Coach (Bill) Belichick always talks to me about, `Make sure you always catch it with your hands,' '' Welker said. ``At the end of the day, as long as you're catching the ball - whether it's against your chest or however you're doing it - you're going to catch the ball however you need to.

``If I try to catch the ball with my hands and I drop it, I know he's going to be all over me. So I just let him know that I'm going to catch the ball however I need to catch the ball - whether it's with my hands, chest, legs, whatever. (I) just make sure I secure the catch.''

Welker mostly gets attention for his ability to get open and pick up yards after the catch, but none of that matters if he doesn't make the reception. Welker has put in a lot of work to develop his receiving skills, including unique drills catching tennis balls devised by his college coach, Texas Tech's Mike Leach.

The best advice Welker ever got about catching the ball involved his head more than his hands.

``I remember when I first got in the league, (former Chargers coach) Marty Schottenheimer told me you don't catch the ball with your hands, you catch the ball with your eyes, which I thought was very interesting,'' Welker said. ``And it works. If you keep your eyes on the ball and really focus in on it, it definitely makes it a lot easier to catch.''

To keep sharp in the offseason, Welker bought a JUGS Football passing machine for his back yard. He also puts in extra work during the season.

``After practice, every Wednesday and Thursday, I hit the JUGS machine and get about 25-30 balls just to make sure I'm staying on top of it and catching those balls with your hands,'' Welker said. ``The more you do it, the easier it becomes.''

It has obviously paid off. Since joining the Patriots in 2007, Welker's 318 receptions are the most in the NFL. And despite missing two games with a knee injury, Welker has 95 catches to lead the league this season (12 ahead of the next wideout), and sits second overall in receiving yards (1,053) - 5 yards behind teammate Randy Moss.

The All-Fundamental nod included $1,500 earmarked for youth Football, which Welker planned to donate to a Football league in his hometown of Oklahoma City.

The recognition comes at a time when there is little good news for the Patriots . The team has lost 3-of-4 and Welker is anxious to move forward.

``That's what you've got to do, especially after the loss we came off of,'' Welker said. ``The best thing you can do is just get back to work and really just get back after it. That's what we plan on doing.''

- danduggan@bostonherald.com