Patriots middle linebacker Jerod Mayo went down with an MCL sprain in his left knee on Sunday in Oakland and it's been reported that he'll miss six weeks.
For a defense that is already one of the NFL's worst, losing it's signal-caller, in addition to its top tackler from the last three seasons (No. 1 in the NFL last season too) is very bad news.
I've heard some experts say in the last few days that it's not big of a loss since the Patriots defense is so bad in the first place but my question is have they seen Gary Guyton and Dane Fletcher-the two players that will most likely replace Mayo's minutes?
Mayo wears the green dot on his helmet (meaning the coaches are in his ears literally) for a reason. Along with Vince Wilfork and Devin McCourty, ironically the other first-round picks of past New England drafts, those three are far and away the most consistent and reliable defenders. I love the Guytons, Fletchers, Rob Ninkovichs and Mike Wrights of the world but let's not kid ourselves, there's a reason they were all undrafted.
If Mayo misses the next six weeks (Jets, Cowboys, bye, at Steelers, at Giants and at Jets), he'll really be missed since all of those teams are playoff contenders, no layups in that group. Mayo has been a captain since 2009 and he hurt the MCL in his right knee two years ago and recovered quicker than expected so let's cross our fingers that the same thing transpires this time too.
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