True grit

The Patriots have officially hit their season's quota for injuries. Tory Holt. Ty Warren. Leigh Bodden. Brandon McGowan. And now the biggest of all. Kevin Faulk.

The team named four captains this year. Tom Brady. Vince Wilfork. Jerod Mayo. And Faulk. The other three are all important parts of the team. No doubt. But there really is only one captain. Faulk.

FAULK: Broken clutch.

News that the veteran running back/jack-of-all-trades will miss the rest of the season with a torn knee ligament caps off an all around lousy second week for the Pats. But Laurence Maroney's trade, the collapse against the Jets, and Brady's dissing of the home crowd combined don't add up to the loss of the team's true leader.

I heard DA say on the Sports Blab 98.5 (he's the only guy on that station I can really stand to listen to) that the Pats need some guys with "snot." So true. For a team devoid of snot, the loss of Kevin Faulk is a big one. No one played with more snot than he did in so many different roles.

I have Faulk rated ninth on my list of the top 15 Pats of the Super Bowl decade. If you've been watching the team during their championship run (and before) then you, like me, can't count the many clutch plays that Faulk made. Whether returning kicks, catching a big third down pass, or picking up a blitzer, #33 almost always came through when it really counted. You could count on it. And he's done it with class. (Excluding that minor marijuana incident a few years back, but hey, it's the NFL).

The Pats will be able to replace Faulk's on-the-field duties in time. Julian Edelman can take the role of out of the backfield pass catcher and there are lots of candidates to return kicks. Sammy Morris will also be asked to do more, filling the role of blocker and receiver. But there are no candidates to fill the leadership void. Maybe this will spur the team to solve the puzzling Logan Mankins contract standoff. Mankins would help with protecting Brady and bring some snot back to the offense.

There was much speculation that, at age 34, this is the end of Faulk's career. If it is, he goes out with an amazing list of accomplishments in his 12 years with the team. He is the franchise's leader in all-purpose yards with an astounding 12,247. He also holds the team record for kickoff return yards (4,098). He's fifth in team history in rushing yards (3,550), fourth in catches (424), and tenth in pass receiving yards (3,667).

Those are the numbers. His true value has always been in his grit and determination. He's one of the team's all-time leaders in those categories too, and always will be.