As with most of us, it took me a little while to get going this morning. After taking the last 18 hours to enjoy the win, I took another quick look at the replay this morning.
Some of the reality has started to sink in and while I’m generally a positive Patriots pundit, it’s hard not to be a little concerned about a lot of what happened yesterday.
Were there positives and progress? Sure.
But let’s try to keep things even keel with some of the bad stuff that again showed up.
How does the defense give up a touchdown on a 3rd-and-20 to lose the lead late in the fourth quarter. Yes, they played well the last two possessions, due in part to the Saints mailing it in, thinking the game was already won. Still, that was a gross breakdown to give up that touchdown.
To me it looks like a separated shoulder for Jerod Mayo, given the way he fell on it. I had the same injury and it would cost Mayo at least a couple weeks depending on the severity. This is purely my speculation. I would be curious to see how Dane Fletcher does filling in for Mayo, though he might only get in on true passing downs with the Pats preferring Hightower and Spikes most of the time.
Looks like Talib’s hip issue has resurfaced. I remember Greg Bedard saying the Pats should lock Talib in hot yoga all offseason to loosen that hip and it looks like he was right. I don’t think it means he misses much time, but it will likely be something that has to be managed the rest of the season. I think initially we’re looking at at least a game or two that he’s out.
I’m guessing Amendola is out at least until the bye.
I just don’t know how the Pats can keep escaping with wins with all these injuries piling up. Now they have back-to-back divisional games that will likely decide if this is a race down to the wire or if the Pats will walk away with it.
At this point I’ve kind of given up on the injuries. How many more impact guys can you lose?
But to end on a positive note, here’s some good stuff:
– Ridley provided a huge boost, both in explosive plays and short yardage.
– The rookies WRs are still up and down, but that was a good step forward for both of them yesterday.
– The Pats just keep winning and that’s a sign of a good team. They’re not the ‘10-’12 Patriots, but they have their own personality and fight to them that can be frustrating but is starting to grow on me.