Mayo has been very quiet of late...

[BradyManny]

I hope/expect that to end tonite. Not that he's been playing poorly, he's played OK, but doesn't seem 100% yet. Tonite would be a good day to make a big play, a big tackle, or just generally take over a game like he did that Jets night game last season.

 

[JackBauer]

I would suspect that he's not 100 percent healthy yet. I haven't seen him be a liability, but he's not exactly making many impact plays, either.

 

[wilfork is beastin']

Well he did sack Manning in the Colts game and has put up good tackle numbers since coming back. But I have a feeling he has a huge game tonight

 

[JFK]

He'll be fine. I don't see him being an Elite LB though. He didn't make impact plays last year but he was still solid.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I think Mayo is somewhat playing hurt but he is out there for the best of the team,I bet if this team had better depth at ILB,Mayo probably would have sat out a bit longer than he did.

 

[BelichickFan]

You'll see him a lot more tonight with the Saints' run game. The Colts don't run that much and when they do it's outside a lot. In the Jets' game Jones did end up with 21 carries but we had a big lead - put it this way, New Orleans averages 32.4 runs per game, the last 2 games we've faced an average of 21.

 

[BradyManny]

He'll be fine. I don't see him being an Elite LB though. He didn't make impact plays last year but he was still solid.

I think that's really selling his rookie year short, he was solid all season and steadily improved, and was the clear DROY. The Jets game I referenced, for one, shows he will be an elite LB in this league. He was an absolute beast in that game. I'd love to see that again, imminently. Say against the Saints on MNF...

 

[BradyManny]

You'll see him a lot more tonight with the Saints' run game. The Colts don't run that much and when they do it's outside a lot. In the Jets' game Jones did end up with 21 carries but we had a big lead - put it this way, New Orleans averages 32.4 runs per game, the last 2 games we've faced an average of 21.

Good point there -

 

[JFK]

I think that's really selling his rookie year short, he was solid all season and steadily improved, and was the clear DROY. The Jets game I referenced, for one, shows he will be an elite LB in this league. He was an absolute beast in that game. I'd love to see that again, imminently. Say against the Saints on MNF...

I hope he becomes elite.

 

[Sicilian]

He's probably been playing a little hurt, and he still would likely be leading the team in tackles at his current pace if he didn't miss 4 games (was it 4? or 3?).

Tonight he'll have to be huge. Both Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush are pretty good catching the ball out of the backfield. I'm sure he'll draw coverage duties on them at times, and have to roam sideline to sideline on screens and dumpoffs.

 

[wilfork is beastin']

Another thing I've noticed is that he's a lot better in coverage than he was last year

 

[RobertWeathers]

I hope he becomes elite.

I agree. Mayo is not an elite LB- yet. He needs to show up more in making timely impact plays. Hes been solid and I'm glad he is here but he needs to raise his level of play.

Same goes for Gary Guyton. Solid player but needs to make some impact plays.

 

[dalero]

He'll be fine. I don't see him being an Elite LB though. He didn't make impact plays last year but he was still solid.

I remember reading that he was playing while pretty banged up for most of the second half of last year. He was still very solid.

 

[yopats]

Mayo has been solid.. big Sack on Manning during the Colts game too..

Mayo will play a big role facing this balance attack of the Saints..

 

[TheComeback]

I remember reading that he was playing while pretty banged up for most of the second half of last year. He was still very solid.

Yeah, he had some kind of pretty bad shoulder injury.

He's been good against the run but he really hasn't made any major impact plays. The sack on Manning was great, but if you go back and watch the game again you'll see that it was more of a miscommunication between the olinemen than Mayo's blazing speed.

He's been better in coverage this year, but hasn't made any pass deflections or INT's. Guyton hasn't done much in that regard, either--something like 2 PD's. I'd like to see these two make some plays for a change.

 

[Sicilian]

Yeah, he had some kind of pretty bad shoulder injury.

He's been good against the run but he really hasn't made any major impact plays. The sack on Manning was great, but if you go back and watch the game again you'll see that it was more of a miscommunication between the olinemen than Mayo's blazing speed.

He's been better in coverage this year, but hasn't made any pass deflections or INT's. Guyton hasn't done much in that regard, either--something like 2 PD's. I'd like to see these two make some plays for a change.

That's why Crable's injuries have been kinda frustrating. I know it was only preseason and he likely wouldn't have done nearly as much in real action, but that first year he showed the kind of playmaking instincts we hadn't seen in a while. Also, we should be getting more of that out of Thomas, who occasionally flashes that kind of playmaking (interception return against SD, big sack of Favre, etc), but not as often as I'd like.