The Patriots have lost Pro Bowl WR Wes Welker for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee that he injured against the Texans yesterday.  Welker played in 14 games this season for the Patriots and he caught 123 passes for 1,348 yards (11.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 36 yards (7.2 ypc) this year.  Rookie Julian Edelman will likely have to step up for the Patriots in Welker’s role of the tough guy over the middle.  Edelman has played in 11 games this season for the Patriots and he has caught 37 passes for 359 yards (9.7 avg) with a TD grab.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 5 yards (2.5 ypc) this season.  This is a huge blow to the Patriots’ offense as Welker is Tom Brady’s security blanket in the passing game.

The Patriots are 3-1 which is remarkable when you consider that franchise QB Tom Brady still looks rusty.  His 83.7 QB Rating is not bad for most QBs in the NFL but it is terrible for him.  He has completed 108 of 174 passes (62.1%) for 1,129 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Brady can’t blame the offensive line for not giving him enough time as he has only been sacked 4 times this season.  Randy Moss is only averaging 11.4 yards per catch so far this season and that’s not a good thing for the Patriots as Brady needs to start attacking defenses down the field.  He’s better than he has played this season and the Patriots will need him to have a big game in order to beat the Broncos on the road this week.