The same bump with a shoulder that is legal during most of the game becomes a cheap shot when outside the rules of the game. I would hope we can agree on that.
Had the defender been expecting a block, Welker’s block was completely legal. If a punt returner is waiting for the ball to land in his arms, that same shoulder-bump is illegal, a penalty, and yes, a cheap shot. If a dback is chasing a receiver, what would have been a completely legal hit in less than a second is illegal.
I doubt Welker gets fined for the illegal hit. Edelmans hit was completely legal. Welkers was completely illegal. That to me is a significant distinction. Completely taken out of context, both hits were similar, and Edelmans was the harder hit. Taken in context, Edelmans hit remains completely legal, and Welkers - an illegal pick.
Edelman’s block is no more relevant than any other legal block on any other play. During that same play, Denver had a handful of lineman blocking. Blocking is a big part of the game of football, and we have rules around blocking. Very seldom do players go out to injure others...but it still happens. When it happens outside the rules (illegal, some may say ‘cheap’), people tend to get upset about it.
The NFL says officially the play was legal
Play the video and you’ll see the NFL’s rules reviewer Dean Blandino explain why the Welker hit was not a foul.
Now we’ll see if you do, indeed, learn from your mistakes. ;-)