Laurence Maroney, LaMont Jordan and Sammy Morris are the three top running backs on the Patriots’ roster and none of them will be playing tomorrow putting a lot of pressure on Matt Cassel in the passing game.  Maroney is out for the season with a shoulder injury proving that he just can’t be counted on in the future by the Patriots as he is proving to be very injury prone.  He has carried the football 28 times for 93 yards (3.3 ypc) this season.  Sammy Morris will miss the next 2-3 weeks with a knee injury.  He has carried the ball 69 times for 307 yards (4.4 ypc) with 4 TD runs and he also has caught 12 passes for 90 yards (7.5 avg).  The Patriots will miss Morris’ toughness between the tackles.  LaMont Jordan has a calf injury that will likely cause him to miss tomorrow’s football game.  He has carried the ball 24 times for 106 yards (4.4 ypc) so far this season.  What this all means is that Kevin Faulk and Benjarvus Green-Ellis will have to carry the load in the running game for the Patriots.  Faulk has carried the ball 23 times for 152 yards (6.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has also caught 16 passes for 120 yards (7.5 avg).  He is getting up there in years so look for the Patriots to watch his workload tomorrow.  Benjarvus Green-Ellis has carried the ball 13 times for 65 yards (5.0 ypc) with a TD run and he has also caught 1 pass for 9 yards.  It will be interesting to see the play selection tomorrow for the Patriots who have been trying to protect Matt Cassel to this point.

The Patriots might have the guts to let Matt Cassel throw the ball against the Chargers who are allowing 265.6 yards passing per game (103.0 QB Rating).  But, the more likely scenario for the Patriots’ offense will likely be keeping the ball on the ground with Sammy Morris, LaMont Jordan, Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk against the Chargers who are allowing 113.4 yards rushing per game (4.4 ypc).  The Chargers have 12 sacks this season and the Patriots’ line hasn’t pass blocked well this year allowing 16 sacks so the Patriots will likely keep the passing game to the short stuff so look for Wes Welker to have a better game than Randy Moss this week.

The Chargers will likely try to punish the Patriots’ defense with the running game as LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles should find a lot of running room as the Patriots are allowing 124.8 yards rushing per game (4.9 ypc) this season.  Antonio Gates should also had a huge game working against the Patriots’ safeties who appear overmatched.  Philip Rivers has been excellent this season so look for him to also test the Patriots deep with Vincent Jackson and 2nd year man Craig Davis who will be starting in injured Chris Chambers (ankle) place.

PREDICTION:  SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 27, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 16

The Patriots planned all during the bye week to be physical and run the ball against the 49ers and the hard work paid off with a win.  The Patriots rushed for 144 yards on 43 carries (3.3 ypc) but no one back had more than 63 yards rushing for them.  Kevin Faulk was a big thorn in the side of the 49ers as he carried the ball 7 times for 32 yards (4.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 4 passes for 29 yards.  Matt Cassel was sacked 5 times in this game but he kept getting up and he completed 22 of 32 passes for 259 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  WRs Wes Welker (8 rec, 73 yards) and Randy Moss (5 rec, 111 yards, TD) both had solid games to lead the way in the passing game for the Patriots.  The Patriots had possession of the football for 39:52 of this game and that really helped keep the defense fresh.  The Patriots held the 49ers to 199 yards of offense last Sunday.  The Patriots are now a very impressive 3-1 on the season.

The Patriots and 49ers are both coming off losses and need this football game so we will see what happens on Sunday.  The Patriots will likely shift gears on offense and come out running the football against the Niners.  Sammy Morris, LaMont Jordan and Laurence Maroney will likely split carries against a Niners’ D that is allowing 124.5 yards rushing per game and 4.0 ypc.  The Patriots must protect Cassel better if he is to have any success throwing the ball against the Niners who have solid corners as Patriots’ QBs have been sacked 10 times in three games this season.  It appears as if Cassel prefers to throw to Wes Welker over Randy Moss.

The Patriots are allowing a stunning 140.7 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry so look for Frank Gore to be the focal point of the offense for the Niners.  Make no mistake though, the Niners will put the ball in the air some with J.T. O’Sullivan spreading the ball around to WRs Arnaz Battle, Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson.  The Niners’ O-Line must protect O’Sullivan better as they have allowed 19 sacks already this season and that has led to big mistakes.

PREDICTION:  SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 21, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 17