fgssand

The what if scenario is really scary:

Right now - the top four are solid: TBC & Rosie OL and Vrable & Tedy IL with back ups Alexandar, Woods, Mays, Davis & Izzo.

One more injury of any kind to any of the starters results in a huge drop off.

Is anybody out there to pick up? Phifer, Sharper, Boulware??

Not good.

SORRY - did not see similar post below - please merge

italian pat patriot

if i have to be honest i'm a little bit worried

the nice victory against CHI was partially ruined by the fact that we lost for the season Junior Seau that imho performed much more then expected.

now we are really thin and after Vrabel, TBC, Tedy and Colvin we have only question marks

let's see what SP and BB will do or are allready doing...

Brady-To-Branch

That's not solid. That's cause for concern. Moreover, it makes me want to see this team use a 4-3 base defense.

Outside of some flashes, TBC has done nothing to prove himself. Vrabel and Bruschi don't make many plays these days and are in the back 9 (more like the final 3 holes) of their careers. In fact, I think Seau was outplaying both of them this year. Colvin is the only truly good LB on this team right now. The rest are unproven and/or mediocre.

As for the backups, they are all special teamers.

As I posted earlier in another thread, the Pats will miss Seau more than Harrison in 2006.

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PonyExpress

Examining some worst case scenarios:

1) If Vrabel gets injured, Bruschi switches to strong side ILB and Eric Alexander/Don Davis starts on the weak side.

2) If Bruschi gets injured, Alexander/Davis replaces him

3) If Colvin gets injured, Vrabel moves back to elephant OLB, Bruschi moves to SSide ILB, Alexander/Davis moves to weak side ILB. Pierre Woods becomes the 3rd OLB.

4) if Banta Cain gets injured, Vrabel moves back to elephant, Colvin to weak side OLB, Alexander/Davis to ILB.

5) If Bruschi and Vrabel get injured, the starting LB corps would be: Banta Cain, Colvin, Alexander/Davis, Mays, Davis.

Conclusion: The Defense could be two LBer injuries away from becoming a sieve. With 5 games remaining before the playoffs, and 3+ potential playoff games, that possibility is not far-fetched. Maybe newcomers could surprise and pick up the slack; most likely not. Therefore, the Patriots' offense and passing game must develop quickly over the last 5 weeks to compensate for the potential decline on the other side of the ball. Recommendations:
(1) more carries for Maroney. Dillon is becoming unreliable and losing steam down the stretch.
(2) more receiving opportunities for Maroney. He is a dangerous weapon in the open field.
(3) more passes to Chad Jackson. There's still time for major improvement in his game this season: 8 possible games, a full half season for the rookie. Note: Jacksom missed practicing with Brady from July 27 to Sept 18, 53 days. He has now been practicing since Sept 18, 71 days. If he had been practicing healthy since the beginning of training camp, 71 days would take him to the 1st week of October, just ending the 1st uarter of his rookie regular season. So the impatience some fans have with him is unjustified, and I feel he will improve dramatically over these last few weeks.
(4) More opportunities in the passing game for Dave Thomas, to help take some of the offensive burden off Watson. Thomas has more reliable hand than Watson as an underneath 3rd down outlet option.

JoeSixPat

First of all - I wonder if everyone can weigh in on the contention that Vrabel and Brucshi have suddenly become mediocre players.

Is that really the case? If it is I hadn't really noticed. I know Seau was tearing up the field with tackles - likely "taking some away" from the others - but didn't take that to mean that Bruschi and Vrabel had lost it - making Colvin the "only good LB" on the team.

TBC - yup - it's his time to step up and show what he's got, that's for sure... but I suspect that you will see more of the 4-3 just like you did last year now that the injury bug is hitting. And that's not necessarilly a bad thing as there will still be plenty of 3-4 lineups too.

Of course all the backups ARE backups - but many of the guys who start were also once backups - so its just an opportunity for them to show what they've got as well - nothing I want to bank on though - that's for sure.

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Pat the Pats Fan

Looking at stats, Bruschi leads the team with 72 tackles, Seau is next with 69 and Vrabel is third with 67. Bruschi and Vrabel both have a pick, Seau does not. Bruschi has 1 forced fumble, Vrabel has two, Seau again does not. Looks to me like they are all contributing fairly equally on tackles.

DarrylS

Was it just me or did anyone notice the difference in the run D after Seau left on Sunday??

His loss is significant, as Vrabel moves in side, Colvin switches and TBC moves to Colvins old slot. Overall, we are not as strong as before, not sure if there is someone out there who can step in or if Mays, Woods or Izzo can help at all, but I hope these guys stay healthy.

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patsfan13

I am amazed at the lack of respect for the play of Vrabel and Tedy, a little perspective here, this D is ranked @2 in the NFL for Pts allowed! Thisis a good D, especially in view of the injuries!

Clearly depth is a goncern, nore injuries will make it tough, IMO though, some of the backups can do an adequate job. Remember BB will modify responsibilities of the players to maximize their chances of success.

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"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

patsfan13

You have to take into account that Vrabel probably didn't take any reps at ILB in practice last week. Since he will be practicing at ILB this week you can expect his plsy to improve at ILB this week.

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"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

5 Rings for Brady!!

The only guy I need to see more out of to form an opinion is TBC. I'm not worried about Vrabel moving inside. Seau was great but Vrabel will be fine. Perhaps TBC can come through as the next solid outside linebacker for us and replace Vrabel's production and even bring a little more speed and fresh legs. I don't know at this point.

Another injury and we can start to panic a bit.