« Troy Brown activated; Colvin to IR | Main | Wednesday practice peek »

November 27, 2007

JIM DONALDSON: Colvin's loss costly

It's not good news that, on the heels of a disappointing defensive effort against the Eagles -- who, with backup QB A.J. Feeley starting for the first time since 2004, put together four long scoring drives Sunday night -- the Patriots have put outside linebacker Rosevelt Colvin on the Injured Reserve list for the remainder of the season.

A highly-effective speed rusher, Colvin led the team in quarterback sacks the past two years (he had 8.5 last season, 7 in 2005). He had four this season, along with an interception, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

His absence will be a blow to New England's highly-effective, but elderly, linebacking corps. Mike Vrabel is 32, Adalius Thomas is 30, Tedy Bruschi is 34, and Junior Seau will be 39 in January. With Colvin out, those four older players now will have to spend more time on the field, further wearing them down and increasing their own chance of injury.

There isn't much behind them on the depth chart. The backup at outside linebacker is Pierre Woods. Inside, it's Eric Alexander. To replace Colvin, the Pats today signed 36-year-old Chad Brown.

The Patriots have been fortunate, compared to many other teams, in having had relatively few significant injuries this season.

But this one hurts, no pun intended.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 7:04 PM to Rosevelt Colvin | Permalink