The NFL season is always a battle of attrition and I avoid making excuses due to injuries. As the Patriots proved when they were winning Super Bowls you must have a strong 53-man team with guys ready to step up when their number is called.
With that said there is no doubt the Patriots stand to improve if/when they get back some of their injured guys. My top five:
1. Patrick Chung – Not just because he’s my favorite player he’s the only veteran safety we have and brings the type of fiery leadership that the rest of the secondary can feed off of. I think Chung should be able to tough it out against the Raiders although he’ll probably have a sizable cast on his right wrist/hand. Just his experience alone should help settle the secondary a bit. I hope. Because it can’t get much worse.
2. Mike Wright – I was going to put Haynesworth here but the interior pass rush Wright can bring makes him slightly more valuable, at least at this point of the season. Of course as we saw last year, who knows if or when Wright will be back. Concussions are weird like that, especially when you have significant ones so close to eachother. But the Patriots are dying for someone to push the pocket. Haynesworth could be that guy down the road once he’s in shape enough to stay on the field. Am I high for thinking that’s realistic?
3. Albert Haynesworth – I am hoping his recent absence is more about maintenance and keeping Albert healthy than actual injuries but who knows. If Haynesworth can get back on the field he should cause some real disruption along the line, something that has been missing for the last two weeks. He didn’t look himself vs. the Chargers, hopefully a week off was just what he needed.
4. Aaron Hernandez – Obviously giving Tom Brady one more uncoverable target always helps, but right now its the defense that needs the most help.
5. Ras-I Dowling – Ras-I was a game time decision this week so signs look positive that he should be able to go this weekend. However it’s looking more and more like Ras-I is fairly injury prone. I feel like he’s had three injuries already going back to training camp. But he has good size and was showing some real positive signs the first two games of the season.
Just missed: Taylor Price – I’m not saying it’s time to pull the plug on Ochocinco but it would be nice to see Price get a chance to show what he can do. He had a great training camp before this nagging hamstring injury. He could really add an physical/speed element to the receiver corps that they lack right now.