Good health to you, Pats</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> <span class="articleBegin">I</span>t figures.</p> The Patriots built arguably the deepest team they’ve ever had under Bill Belichick last offseason. They didn’t just load up on top-end talent, they strengthened the middle class, and the result coming out of training camp was a team constructed to survive the injury bug that always seemed to hit them harder than most.</p> But as it turns out, the 2007 Patriots are as healthy as they’ve ever been under Belichick. Feel free to knock on wood.</p> Reserve defensive lineman Mike Wright was put on injured reserve yesterday, but that doesn’t change the fact the Pats have largely relied on their front-line players from start to end this season. There have been no emergency fill-ins, no fire drills. The Pats haven’t pulled a single guy off the street and inserted him in the lineup since the year began.</p> Troy Brown has not had to play defense, he hasn’t been needed to play at all. First-round pick Brandon Meriweather has been a spare part. Practice squad players like Bam Childress, Antwain Spann and Santonio Thomas haven’t budged off the taxi unit. When arguably your most damaging injury is to your backup running back (Sammy Morris), you know things are going well.</p> Including the Wright injury, the Pats have just seven players on injured reserve. Last year, they finished with 13. In 2003, 2004 and 2005, they had 11 on IR.</p> Currently, only Pittsburgh and San Diego, with four apiece, have fewer players on IR in the AFC.Dallas has the fewest in the league with two, which helps explain their 12-1 mark.</p> The Pats are not only the best team in the AFC East by far. They’re also the healthiest by far. Buffalo has 14 players on injured reserve, Miami 12 and the Jets eight. The archrival Colts have 10, including key defensive starters like Dwight Freeney, Anthony McFarland and Rob Morris. That number does not include All-Pro receiver Marvin Harrison, who has missed most of the season but apparently has a chance to play in the postseason.</p> Also consider that the Pats have used 34 different starters in 2007, which is also well below the norm for them. In the title years of 2003 and ’04, they used 42 and 40, respectively. In 2005, they used a whopping 45. Last year, the number was 39.</p> It’s not just the sparseness of the Pats injured reserve list that bodes well. It’s the fact that only one player who went into the year as a sure-fire starter is on it, linebacker Rosevelt Colvin.</p> </div></p>
Unlike the phins who have been a wlaking Mash unit. Though, I doubt Hawkeye & Trapper could helped.</p> Though, if we treat the Football game on the 23rd like the one end ofthe Mash movie w/ the phins being the4077th then I won't mind. </p>
