Better off with or without?

The Patriots and the Broncos rivalry has heated up over the past few seasons. First Manning went from a Colt to a Bronco, then Wes Welker left New England to play with Manning, then Talib followed and we thought we had lost all hope for a successful secondary...little did we know that life would actually get better once Welker and Talib dropped off our roster.
Still, it was hard to see them go, especially Welker. But this raises the question..are the Patriots better with or without the traitors/current-Broncos?

Welks
Just three seasons ago if you had asked me to picture a Tom Brady-led Patriots offense without Wes Welker, I probably would have laughed in your face. Why? Two reasons. 1) Welker used to be my favorite player in the NFL. He's the reason I got so into football when I was just 10 years old. 2) It's no secret that Brady and Welker were best friends on and off the field. There was just no way I could picture a Welker-less Patriots' offense any time soon. Fast forward to March 2013 and my worst "fear" had come true. My favorite player and Brady's security blanket was no longer a Patriot. And to make it worse, he was now going to be playing for Peyton Manning (not to mention wearing that horrible, gaudy orange color). Obviously, everyone saw the Patriots' struggles last season, especially early in the season, and many people started to wonder if Belichick the GM had screwed up, yet again. Brady and co managed to get on the same page and find success, making it back to the AFCCG despite losing two of Brady's favorite targets (Welker and Hernandez), and what seemed like half of the roster on injured reserve. 
Ask any Patriots fan about Welker (who used to be a fan favorite in PatsNation), and they will most likely be bring up his "butterfingers" and key drops. Most notably the infamous drop that would've essentially sealed the deal on Super Bowl 46, and his failure to catch and hold onto key passes in the AFCCG during his last season as a Patriot. 
Sure, it's okay to hold that against him. In fact, I completely understand. But it's also important to remember all the good things he did for us, too. Without Welker, who knows if the Patriots would've made it to the Super Bowl in 2012 and the AFCCG in 2013. 
Better off without him? Umm, this is hard to say considering I still love Welks despite him being a traitor and his most recent issues, being suspended for violating the league's substance policy. But, I'm gonna have to say that the Patriots are better without him. Why? Over the past 2 seasons, Brady has been forced to throw to other receivers more often. I think that in a way, Welker's time in New England really had just run out. Even if he had stayed in NE, I'm not convinced that he would've continued to be as productive as we were used to. It is hard to say, though. 

Talib
After acquiring Talib from Tampa Bay in the middle of the 2012-2013 season, he had a breakout game against the Colts and Pats fans immediately started declaring that Talib was comparable to (some even said better than) Revis. We started seeing "#TalibIsland" every game day. Talib was a nice boost to our secondary and really overall defense, but his health issues were always a concern. He always seemed to be hurt on the biggest stages. He was injured in back to back AFC Championship Games. He wasn't necesarilly the shutdown corner I thought he was going to be in his 2nd and final season as a Patriot. He couldn't shut down AJ Green like Revis did for us this past season. 
Better off without him? Yup. But I would be lying if I said that I didn't freak out and have a slight mental breakdown when I first saw Schefter's tweet late Monday night announcing that Talib had agreed to terms with the Broncos. Because let's face it: The Patriots defense with Talib wasn't awesome, so I definitely didn't want to go back to a Patriots defense without Talib. And then, the Patriots went out and got Revis and I was all good again. Due to his injuries, and his nagging hip issue, I think that the Broncos overpaid Talib. And if that's the money he was after, then I'm definitely just as glad the Patriots didn't go all out to sign him back.