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I'm always nervous talking about injuries - don't want to jinx things. The Pats have done pretty well this year, certainly compared to last year. Jerod Mayo and Stevan Ridley have been the major players lost for the season, and the Pats have adjusted well to those with the additions of Ayers, Casillas, Blount and Gray (from the PS). They've weathered long inactive stretches from Chandler Jones and Sealver Siliga, and won 2 games with Dont'a Hightower out against good teams (8-6 Buffalo and San Diego).
All NFL teams are banged up at this time of year, and it's the time when many teams are shutting down players to let them heal up for next year. For the Pats, there are a lot of banged up guys who they might want to think about getting back to healthy for the playoffs. Mike Reiss mentioned 2 today when he suggested that resting CB Kyle Arrington and OL Dan Connolly might be a good idea:
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-...-kyle-arrington-dealing-with-hamstring-injury
If the Pats can't stop the Jets' passing game (or lack of one) with Revis, Browner, Ryan, Dennard and Butler then they're in trouble. Connolly is a stabilizing force on the OL, but they need him healthy for the playoffs more than they need him against the Jets and Bills.
There are a bunch of other guys who have missed time with injuries who could also potentially help the Pats come playoff time:
- Dominique Easley. Has 7 pressures and 2 QB hits in limited time, and was playing well in Chandler Jones' absence before aggravating his knee. May be shut down for the year, but the Pats haven't put him on IR. An effective Easley could be a valuable weapon for a playoff run.
- Cameron Fleming. Was very valuable in a 6th OL/TE role in jumbo packages, which would be a staple for the playoffs.
- Shane Vereen. Popped up on the injury report November 26 (ankle), and was still listed as "questionable" last week going into the Miami game. He hasn't been running very effectively, and has only 24 yards rushing in the past 4 games since hurting his ankle against Detroit (1.2 YPC, after averaging 4.7 YPC through the first 10 games). It would make sense if he can't cut or generate mush power on a bad ankle. Vereen hasn't produced more than 32 yards combined rushing/receiving in any of the past 3 games, after averaging 62 combined yards over the first 11 games. Maybe it's time to see what James White can actually do for a game or two, and let Vereen get healthy.
Getting a bye and hopefully HFA is important. But I think being healthy for the playoffs is more important, and I'm fairly confident the Pats can win at least one and probably both of their remaining games without these guys.
All NFL teams are banged up at this time of year, and it's the time when many teams are shutting down players to let them heal up for next year. For the Pats, there are a lot of banged up guys who they might want to think about getting back to healthy for the playoffs. Mike Reiss mentioned 2 today when he suggested that resting CB Kyle Arrington and OL Dan Connolly might be a good idea:
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-...-kyle-arrington-dealing-with-hamstring-injury
If the Pats can't stop the Jets' passing game (or lack of one) with Revis, Browner, Ryan, Dennard and Butler then they're in trouble. Connolly is a stabilizing force on the OL, but they need him healthy for the playoffs more than they need him against the Jets and Bills.
There are a bunch of other guys who have missed time with injuries who could also potentially help the Pats come playoff time:
- Dominique Easley. Has 7 pressures and 2 QB hits in limited time, and was playing well in Chandler Jones' absence before aggravating his knee. May be shut down for the year, but the Pats haven't put him on IR. An effective Easley could be a valuable weapon for a playoff run.
- Cameron Fleming. Was very valuable in a 6th OL/TE role in jumbo packages, which would be a staple for the playoffs.
- Shane Vereen. Popped up on the injury report November 26 (ankle), and was still listed as "questionable" last week going into the Miami game. He hasn't been running very effectively, and has only 24 yards rushing in the past 4 games since hurting his ankle against Detroit (1.2 YPC, after averaging 4.7 YPC through the first 10 games). It would make sense if he can't cut or generate mush power on a bad ankle. Vereen hasn't produced more than 32 yards combined rushing/receiving in any of the past 3 games, after averaging 62 combined yards over the first 11 games. Maybe it's time to see what James White can actually do for a game or two, and let Vereen get healthy.
Getting a bye and hopefully HFA is important. But I think being healthy for the playoffs is more important, and I'm fairly confident the Pats can win at least one and probably both of their remaining games without these guys.