33 Goes Down; Who Plays on Third Down?

As if losing to the Jets wasn’t bad enough, the insult to injury – or in this case injury to insult – came two days later. Kevin Faulk, the do-it-all swiss army knife of a third-down back has a torn ACL in his right knee.

Faulk was knocked out of Sunday’s game at the New Meadowlands against the Jets in the fourth quarter after an 8-yard run, and members of the team’s training and medical staff were looking at the area around his right knee. Faulk was later seen being helped off the field with his eyes bloodshot from the pain.

The Pats' "swiss army knife" goes down.

“They’re still working on it. I think part of it is how things come around in the next day or so,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday, when asked about Faulk’s injury. “We’ll see how things go in the next day or so and based on how that is, then make a decision at that point.”

A 12-year veteran, the 34-year-old Faulk is one of the Pats’ four captains and is the longest-tenured player on the team. He is third in New England history in yards from scrimmage (7,217; 99-10), behind only Sam Cunningham (7,359; 73-82) and Stanley Morgan (10,479; 77-89). Faulk was also the second-leading rusher in SEC history when he was drafted by the Pats.

The Patriots should be used to ACL tears as Tom Brady’s season was ended in the first quarter of the first game of 2008 and Wes Welker needed seven months of rehab to return from his ACL tear, which occurred in last year’s season finale.

The biggest question is not when will Faulk will return, but how do the Patriots replace him. Obviously it will not be one player that will take over the third down role that Faulk has occupied so long and with the departure of Laurence Maroney, it makes the situation that much more convoluted.

Fred Taylor will remain in the feature back role (at least until he gets hurt) and BenJarvis Green-Ellis will presumably see his role in the offense expand. Sammy Morris will also need to contribute from the backfield but neither player can fill the void on their own.

The biggest responsibility may fall on the shoulders of Tom Brady. He loses his safety valve on third downs and passing formations and will now have to form stronger bonds with new, young tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Hernandez looked great against the Jets and Gronk is proving to have a nose for the endzone. Another factor may be Julian Edelman. He had just six yards receiving at New York but as he gets healthier he could find his way into more of the offensive scheme and perhaps fill Faulk’s shoes better than anyone else could.

It will be an adjustment period without Faulk, but luckily week one sans Kev, comes against the Bills.

Relax, It Could be a Hell of a lot Worse

BREAKING NEWS: Breaking news out of the NTCF headquarters today suggests that the world will implode within the next 24 hours!  It is widely suspected that the cause of this  devastating occurrence is…A BAD GAME BY TOM BRADY!

Grow up.  I’m sick of hearing all of this crap.  It’s Tuesday and I’ve already heard enough bitching to last the entire season.  Yea, on Sunday Brady played probably the worst game that I have seen him play since his tenure began in New England.  Thank God that in our quarterback’s worst game he throws for 250 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 picks, posting a passer rating of 72.5.  I think the Jets would be ecstatic if Mark Sanchez gave them a rating of 72.5 on a weekly basis.  I’m pretty damn sure that almost half of the teams in the NFL would take that consistently on a weekly basis.  But LUCKILY, the quarterback of the team that we root for is one of the greatest of all time.  Luckily, the quarterback on our team has won the New England organization three Super Bowls.  Luckily, the quarterback on our team had the greatest statistical season for a quarterback in NFL history.  Luckily, the quarterback on our team has the faith of an entire region behind him, allowing him to avoid controversy and focus on football.

To tell you the truth, I have no idea whether Brady has manufactured a comeback win since 2007.  But guess what, I don’t give a damn.  I know that no matter what the situation, I have faith in Tom Brady.  I wouldn’t take any other quarterback (maybe aside from Peyton Manning) to lead me down the field with two minutes remaining and the game on the line.  I wouldn’t take any other quarterback to lead my team into a playoff game.  I wouldn’t want any other player being the face of my franchise.

I guess the argument can be made that I am basing all of my faith in Tom Brady on the past.  That presently, he may not be the same quarterback as he once was.  First of all, the past shapes the future.  Secondly, I think that the Tom Brady of today is the best Tom Brady that we have ever seen.  We fail to realize that in 2001, 2003, and even in 2004 the New England offense was completely different.  The run was used to set up the pass.  Antoine Smith and Corey Dillon were offensive forces.  All Tom had to do was manage the game, avoid mistakes, and make the occasional big play.  I guess I should apologize to all of you who are looking to get back to those days, but they are no more.  The NFL is a passing league.  The Patriots offense uses the pass game to set up more passes, with running being an after thought.  Tom Brady is expected to fling the ball all around the field, connecting with 6, 7, or even more players throughout the course of the game.  To expect him not to have occasional issues when throwing the ball forty times a game, in a notoriously loud and hostile environment, against arguably the league’s best defense is beyond ridiculous.

Tom Brady attempted to connect with Randy Moss ten times throughout Sunday’s game, completing only two of them.  Let me ask you this question, when a great defense has eliminated all other throwing options, do you think you would try to throw it up to arguably the greatest downfield receiver of all time?  Yea, I thought that would be your answer…