The Patriots have lost WR/KR/PR Julian Edelman indefinately with a broken arm.  This is a big loss to the Patriots as Edelman has done everything they have asked…..and he has done it well.  Edelman has 1 carry for 5 yards this season and he has also caught 21 passes for 188 yards (9.0 avg).  Edelman has helped out on special teams big time this season.  He has returned 7 kickoffs for 157 yards (22.4 avg) and 6 punts for 63 yards (10.5 avg) this season.  Edelman was a excellent pick by the Patriots in the 7th round last April as he was a QB in college for the Kent State Golden Flashes.

The Patriots will be without starting running back Fred Taylor indefinately due to ankle surgery.  Taylor has carried the ball 45 times for 201 yards (4.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  Taylor was by far the best running back on the roster right now but at least the Patriots are deep at this position.  Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk will likely split carries until Taylor is ready to return.  Maroney is the youngest of this bunch so he might be able to shoulder more of the load.  He has carried the ball 27 times for 78 yards (2.9 ypc) this season and he has caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  Sammy Morris is best at running hard between the tackles.  He has carried the ball 13 times for 41 yards (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 9 passes for 95 yards (10.6 avg).  Kevin Faulk is the best third down type back on the roster so he will get a lot of work.  He has carried the ball 16 times for 62 yards (3.9 ypc) and he has also caught 11 passes for 72 yards (6.5 avg) this season.  Maroney, Morris and Faulk should do a decent job for the Patriots while Taylor is out of action.

The Patriots will be without standout middle linebacker Jerod Mayo for likely at least the next six weeks due to a MCL sprain of his right knee.  Mayo only made 1 tackle against the Bills before he was injured.  Mayo was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in the NFL last season.  He played in all 16 games for the Patriots last season and he had 128 tackles, defensed 4 passes and he forced 1 fumble.  The Patriots will miss Mayo big time as he was the QB of the defense.  He will be replaced by 23-year old linebacker Gary Guyton.  Guyton had 4 tackles in the season opener against the Bills.  He played in 15 games as a rookie last season for the Patriots in which he made 34 tackles and defensed 3 passes.  Look for Guyton to do a good job for the Patriots while Mayo is out of action.

Pats quarterback Tom Brady left Friday night’s exhibition game against the Washington Redskins with a sore right shoulder.  Brady was hit by defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth while following through on a third down pass, landing awkwardly on his right shoulder.

The three-time Super Bowl winner went to the bench after the play, rotating his throwing arm and flexing his shoulder as the first half came to a close.  Brady returned to the sidelines for the first drive of the second half, but then left for the locker room soon after.  The Patriots announced his injury as a sore shoulder in the fourth.

Despite the scare for New England players and coaches, Brady seems to be back to his old ways after missing 15 games last season with a torn ACL.  Before Haynesworth’s hit, he was 12 of 19, throwing for 150 yards and two scores.

Rookie linebacker Tyrone McKenzie has torn his ACL at the Patriots’ first minicamp of the off-season.  He will be placed on the Injured Reserve List which will cause him to miss his rookie season.  The Patriots were hoping that McKenzie would push veteran Tedy Bruschi for his starting job in training camp but that won’t happen now.

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.