The Patriots might have to put starting outside linebacker Adalius Thomas on Injured Reserve as he has suffered a broken forearm.  This is a huge blow to the Patriots’ defense as Thomas is the best pass rusher on the team.  He has 34 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and he has defensed 4 passes.  This was a player that the Patriots just can’t replace.

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 have lost possibly the best QB in NFL history for the rest of the season due to a torn left ACL.  He completed 7 of 11 passes (63.6%) for 76 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 interceptions (83.9 QB Rating) last Sunday and that’s what his season numbers will look like at the end of the year.  So the big question is…….are the Patriots also done for the season?  I’m taking the wait and see approach to figure that question out.  After all, Matt Cassel hasn’t starting a football game since 1999…..when he was in HIGH SCHOOL!  Cassell backed up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and he never started a game there but he was still drafted by the Patriots.  Did they know something that no one else did about Cassel?  Only time will tell but the Patriots’ offense is loaded at the skill positions so Cassel might surprise some people.  Cassel completed 13 of 18 passes (72.2%) for 152 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions (116.0 QB Rating) against the Chiefs last Sunday.  Cassel has appeared in 15 games (0 starts) in his NFL career now and he has completed 35 of 57 passes (61.4%) for 405 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 interceptions (85.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 16 times for 41 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  I think the Patriots might try to run the ball a little bit more than they have in the past to help protect Cassel and that would be a smart move.

The Patriots will be without OT Ryan O’Callaghan for the entire 2008 season after he was placed on the Injured Reserve List with a serious shoulder injury.  Starting right guard Stephen Neal will miss at least the first six weeks of the season after he was placed on the PUP List.  Neal has shoulder and knee issues that could hamper him all season long and that will hurt the Patriots’ offense.  Now you know why the Patriots have been collecting offensive linemen during training camp.

The Patriots have lost offensive tackle Barry Stokes for the remainder of the season due to a back injury.  This won’t hurt the Patriots too much as they just signed Stokes for depth reasons.  Stokes will be essentially replaced on the active roster by John Lynch.