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FOXBORO - All things considered, Year One of the Wes Welker Experience has to be considered a rousing success.

Just ask the man who experienced it first-hand.

"It's been great," the Patriots' diminutive but super-productive wide receiver said last week. "Any time you can come into a new team like this and be able to get the confidence of your teammates and go out there and make plays week in and week out, it's been great."

Welker will take his incredible productivity as a slot receiver to a Super Bowl for the first time next Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium when the undefeated Patriots take on the New York Giants for supremacy of the football universe (6:18 p.m.; Ch. 25, 64). This year also marked the first time in Welker's four-year NFL career that he experienced the playoffs in greater detail than from the perspective of a TV viewer, and he thinks the experience gained in the Patriots' wins over Jacksonville and San Diego has served him well.

"I feel like even towards the stretch of trying to keep on winning games here towards the homestretch, they were all pretty intense games," the former Charger and Dolphin said. "We did have a lot of teams for whom it was kind of their Super Bowl, and we were making sure that we had to bring it each week. "It's no different in the playoffs, and it's definitely stepped up some," he said. "You can see guys flying around and putting the extra effort in out there on the field."

No one put in more effort on the field this year than Welker, who finally had the chance to make the most of his athletic ability.

Developing outstanding chemistry with Tom Brady even before training camp began, Welker caught 112 passes for 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns in the regular season - numbers that would normally be an automatic ticket to a Pro Bowl berth, if not for the presence of Randy Moss on the same roster.

Welker isn't complaining, though.

"I feel like the offense really suits me, and having Tom Brady back there doesn't hurt, either," he said.

Indeed, when teams have decided that their only chance for victory over the Patriots is through taking Moss away from them, Welker has always been there to pick up the slack and keep the stakes moving. Only the Baltimore Ravens seemed to figure out Welker's importance to the Patriots' attack, limiting him to three catches for 18 yards in the two teams' meeting at the beginning of December, and it still didn't result in a Patriot loss.

Welker believes the Giants won't make the same mistake as others have, believing that Moss is the be-all and end-all of the Patriots' attack.

"I think they know it's a one-game season at this point, and they've played up to it," he said. "They're playing physical out there and their special teams have been excellent, their defense is playing really well and their offense kind of speaks for itself. It's definitely going to be a great matchup for us.

"Obviously, (Corey) Webster has stepped up for them and has been a great player, especially going into the playoffs," he said. "Sam Madison looks like he's going to be healthy, so he's definitely a veteran player - he's been around for along time - who can definitely make some plays. Then, Aaron Ross is no longer a rookie any more, and we're going to end up having our hands full with those guys."

Sometimes, Welker has to marvel at how far he's come since being drafted by the Chargers, making it into their lineup as a kick returner, then being jettisoned in the rookie year and winding up in Miami, where he fulfilled the same role for two more seasons. He said he clearly wasn't ready for more as a rookie with the Chargers.

"I don't think so," he said. "I was in my first year in my career in the NFL returning kicks and punts. That was it, so I didn't even have a playbook or anything like that. It was get back there, return kicks and punts.

"I thought I'd do that for the rest of my career," he added, "and then I just worked hard and tried to develop the rest of my receiving skills, and it's kind of come to this."

Welker is listed as 5-foot-9, and that may be generous. But he said he had never had an inferiority complex about his height.

"Nothing really bothers me," he said. "I know my capabilities and I think the coaches know. We try to play to those strengths, and from there I just go out there and execute my plays.

"I don't really worry about the size, the speed, anything else," he said. "It's a matter of me going out there and executing, and making sure I'm doing my job."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com