We’re still ten days away from the New England Patriots playoff game but there are some injured players whose potential absence could have an impact.
The players who were absent today from practice were: Jermaine Cunningham, Eric Moore, Mike Wright, Aaron Hernandez and Sebastian Vollmer. Let’s go player by player and see what the Pats would have to do without each of them.
Mike Wright: Wright was concussed against the Colts and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. According to Ron Borges it’s still so bad that Wright can’t even watch TV. I’ve kind of lost hope of seeing him again this season. Concussions can be tough to project, so you can’t rule out a sudden return but there hasn’t been any news that inspires any hope other than the fact he hasn’t been put on IR. Luckily Myron Pryor is back and should help provide some of the interior pass rush that was Wright’s forte.
Jermaine Cunningham: Cunningham missed the Bills game, but was then back and played just four snaps against the Dolphins. So it seems like this is one of those nagging injuries that seems to get better then gets worse again. We can hope that they’re just being overly cautious with him this week and that he’ll be back next week. Having Cunningham would be key for the first playoff game as the Pats are assured of facing a strong running team and Cunningham has been a staple of the 3-4 run stopping defense. If he can’t go the Pats will be forced to go with Tully Banta-Cain which is a downgrade.
Eric Moore: Moore’s absence is kind of a buzz kill because he had been playing so well since joining the Patriots (2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles in four games). He finished the Dolphins game so this one is a bit of mystery. The loss of Moore and Cunningham would really leave a big hole at nickel pass rusher for the Patriots. Praying for at least one of them back next week. Hopefully both.
Aaron Hernandez: I clearly recall Hernando taking a pretty hard hit directly on his hip against the Packers, and was surprised when he didn’t seem fazed by it. But when he ended up missing the last two weeks of practice and games it was clear that he must’ve just continued on adrenaline. I am worried that he could miss the first playoff game unless we see him back at practice next week. The Pats can overcome his loss but the offense is far more diverse with him in the game.
Sebastian Vollmer: Vollmer was at practice yesterday, so let’s just hope it’s the flu.
In good news on the injury front it looks like Dan Connolly and Danny Woodhead are back to work and will be a full go for next weekend. Ten days to get everyone else healthy…
Eric Moore has been a great addition for the Patriots, let’s hope his injury is nothing serious.
