Ladies and Gentlemen...

I give you the Red Sox third baseman for 2008 - 2010. Coincidentally, the same year that Red Sox first base prospect Lars Anderson is expected to be ready for big-league action.

Welcome back, Mike.

Two last thoughts on the Pats this afternoon -

Of the fourteen offensive weapons that have either received a hand-off, run with the ball, or hauled in a pass (not including back-up quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Matt Gutierrez), thirteen have found the end zone. The lone exception - tight end Dave Thomas.

The breakdown -

Randy Moss 16
Wes Welker 7
Ben Watson 6
Sammy Morris 3
Dante Stallworth 3
Kyle Brady 2
Tom Brady 2
Kyle Eckel 2
Heath Evans 1
Kevin Faulk 1
Jabar Gaffney 1
Laurence Maroney 1

And for the final thought - last night Kevin Faulk left the game with a head injury after what looked like a vicious shot from a Bills defender. He did not return. Not much of Maroney was seen after a strong start.

If the two are injured and could miss time, then what are the Pats' options? Sign a veteran who's been sitting on his butt? Someone like Corey Dillon? I doubt it, otherwise they would have done it already - and their issue isn't with the bruisers right now. It's with the small, shifty change of pace guy who catches passes on third down.

This is a shot in the dark here, but don't be surprised if (assuming Kevin Faulk can't go for a few weeks) the Pats release rookie defensive end Kareem Brown (resign him to the practice squad) and activate Troy Brown with the intention of using him as the third-down back a la Faulk. He's a good blocker, already knows the system, and is a player in which Brady has a high level of confidence.

I could be completely off the mark with this, but it's what occurred to me while watching Faulk sit on the bench after that hit.