Yes, the injuries are extreme

[RobAllan]

 

[BB4PRez]

If the team can succeed now with the rookies they will be much stonger later in the year - in 03 the pats had a many more injuries than this and in the end they were much stronger because the players that stepped in, played well. Green Bay did the same thing a few years ago with there SB win.

I am optomistic that we will see improvement from both KT out wide and Boyce in the slot. If they don't then heck the team took a shot.

 

[mgteich]

If that is true, then we were never a Super Bowl team to begin with, not close.

The reality is that we are playing in the process of playing three really awful teams. We have won one. And now we are down our top receiver and TE from one of the very best passing offense in the NFL, and we are down our backup RB.

If you want to consider "porked" look at PITT or even the Giants and their running back situation.

Belichick has the team he wanted. Missing two receivers CANNOT have the effect your suggest against the horrible teams we are facing. If Gronk and DA were out for 6 games, we'd still be favored to win the division and go deep into the playoffs.

Yeah, basically we're porked until Gronk and DA return.

Porked.

 

[chasa]

Oh noooooooooooooo we are not going to score 600 points this season, how will we ever survive.

 

[primetime]

Brady has won with less than this in the past I trust he can again.

This was true last week but is clearly not true this week. With Amendola, Vereen, and Gronk out, this is Brady's least proven supporting cast of any game in his career. Ridley is a stud running back despite the benching and Edelman is a good enough second or third receiving option, but other than that these guys have a ton of talent and promise to spare, but for right now - week 2 of the 2013 season - they're a piss poor set of options.

This game has me really nervous. Short week, hated divisional rival so the emotions will be up on both sides, good defensive coach on the other side, mobile rookie QB, and a potential disaster on offense. It has all the makings of an embarrassing upset against one of the league's worst teams on paper. I hope I'm proven wrong, but I don't feel great about it. And I really hate Thursday games.

 

[Harrisoned!]

How about we win with defense for once? Do you guys realize that we have first or second round picks (not necessarily NE picks) at the following positions:

DE - Jones
DT - Wilfork
LB - Mayo, Hightower, Spikes
CB - Talib
S - McCourty

Seven of our 11 starters on defense are top 60 picks. There is ample talent in that defense to win a game where they are playing a team with a rookie QB, limited talent at RB and WR, and a shaky OL.

 

[DaBruinz]

After this first game and all these injuries issues, they've got to call Lloyd and maybe other veterans.

How old is Randy Moss?

Rumor has it that Lloyd won't be playing football again..

 

[mgteich]

After this first game and all these injuries issues, they've got to call Lloyd and maybe other veterans.

How old is Randy Moss?

I suspect that Jenkins and Hawkins are on speed dial. Last year, we added wide receivers several times in the first month. Some of us would have kept an additional WR on the 53; but, speed dial works.

For now, we have Edelman, Thompkins, Boyce and Dobson, with Amendola back soon.

 

[SVN]

Welker being here and active for this game without a non-contact injury would have improved the situation for this upcoming game tremendously. Fact.

Yeah yeah , its fact for this game. But how does it improve depth of this team ?. Welker with our current receiver core would have almost the same problems as DA. Even a healthy DA is useless for us in the long run without other WRs stepping up. Blame the team for not building WRs around brady over the years. But I dont get how keeping welker instead of DA wouldve improved depth. He wouldve been doubled and tripled and our offense wouldve stagnated just like every playoff game in the last few yrs. And lets not say non contact injury. Welker blew his knee on a non contact injury.

 

[TruthSeeker]

We are in trouble, and I dont think there's really any other way to put it. We are lucky we are playing the Jets and not the Falcons/Saints/Broncos etc. THat said, the Jets are not going to be easy. They are certainly going to test us and our young WR's.

Their defense is going to give our offense trouble. Expect a very low scoring game. Our OL and (hopefully) Ridley are going to have to play well...as well as our defense.

I agree 100%, just too many KEY injuries to overcome. I'm gonna be thrilled IF the Pats beat the Jets. IF they beat the Jets, I could still see the Pats being 3-3 after 6 games (might be able to beat Tampa with this lineup).

 

[Gronkowski123]

Should open it up and throw bombs to Slater!

 

[supafly]

I'm gonna be thrilled IF the Pats beat the Jets. IF they beat the Jets, I could still see the Pats being 3-3 after 6 games (might be able to beat Tampa with this lineup).

If the Pats start off 2-0 with a win tomorrow night, they very well should be able to go 2-2 in the next four games considering that we're getting both Amendola and Gronk back and one of the two wins would be against Tampa Bay.

4-2 would certainly be acceptable under the circumstances in my opinion.

I can't see how we'd suddenly go 1-3 over the next four games to be honest with you.