I see no reason to lower expectations, even with the injuries. Losing Wilfork and probably Mayo for the year sucks, and yes it hurts the versatility of the defense, to lose the player who was basically the anchor the entire defense revolved around (Wilfork), and the one who was the brain of the operation (Mayo). But the NFL is funny. Devastating injuries occur, but teams that really have it together find ways to keep rolling. That's how I feel about this Patriots defense. Now, if Talib was out for the year, then I'd be freaking out a little. But still, I recall a quote from Manning after the '04-'05 divisional loss, where he noted how with most opponents you get excited when they lost key players. But not the Patriots.
Honestly, I feel better about this year's team than last season's. That's not just cause the record is obviously better. There was just something funky about that team all last year, it was probably the ultimate stereotypical post-07 Pats team: could rack up a lot of points in runaway games, but could have a glass jaw in crunch time. We already know this team isn't that.
