I Stand Behind Belichick

So, yesterday the Patriots took to the field with almost nothing to play for. They were pretty much locked into the number four seed of the AFC playoff bracket, though they could have won, Cincinnati could have lost and thus the Patriots would have jumped to number three. Either way they would still get a home game, have to go on the road the following week should they win and either way they would have a tough opponent waiting for them. Not really worth losing sleep over. Because of the lack of any real bonus for winning or losing, most people expected the starters to play a half, perhaps even less and then get the hell out of Houston. After all, preserving the overall team health was the most important thing.

Well, that didn't happen because Wes Welker, the team's leading receiver and Tom Brady's favorite target, tried to cut early in the game and went down clutching his knee. He wasn't even hit on the play, but was seen shortly after with his face buried in a towel. Not good. Later that night reports started surfacing that he had torn not only his ACL, but his MCL as well. Now everyone is talking about how screwed the Patriots are, how the team won't recover from this and, oh, by the way, what the hell was Belichick doing playing the starters to begin with? Just like after the Indianapolis game, people are coming out of the woodwork to open question Belichick.

I'm actually on board with playing the starters in the last game of the season. I think it creates the wrong mindset within a team to not play the front-line guys and give away a win. I also think that it's a worst idea to tell a team when you will be pulling those starters, because that leads to guys treating the game like a preseason game. That's all well and good if both teams are on board with that plan, but Houston had a lot to play for. If the Patriots sent guys out there who were only playing half-speed while the Texans were going for blood then a lot more guys would have gotten hurt.

The other thing to keep in mind here is, and I'm not trying to diminish what Welker has meant to the team this season, if you were going to lose one of the wideouts, he could be the easiest to replace. The team already has Julian Edelman ready to go, and he is essentially Welker's doppelganger. That's the motto of every football team on Earth: "Next man up." Yes, he's fighting an injury of his own and he is not the caliber of Welker even when he's completely healthy. But, he's a lot closer to Welker than anyone else on the roster is to Moss. So, of the two, the Patriots were actually fortunate to escape the game with Moss still upright. I am bummed for Wes, though, because with two torn ligaments, there is almost no way he is back by the start of next season. I'd be shocked if he was even back the first six weeks.

I kind of feel about the Welker injury the same way I felt last June when the Celtics lost Kevin Garnett. I thought they could have still beaten the Bulls, would not have been shocked if they beat the Magic, but feel like there was no way they could have gotten past Cleveland. Now, even with Wes out I wouldn't be shocked if the Patriots beat the Ravens, though I think getting past the Chargers would be a long-shot. Still, with this much time to get Edelman ready and maybe call up a guy from the practice squad, I'll say the Patriots can still beat the Ravens, 34-24.