Week 5 Injury Report: Patriots vs. Bengals on Sunday Night Football

Without question for as long as I can remember, there hasn't been a week nearly as tumultuous as this one has been for the Pats at least when it comes to poor results on the field. After taking a 41-14 beating in Kansas City (2-2) on Monday Night Football, New England (2-2) turns around for another primetime matchup: vs. unbeaten Cincinnati (3-0) on Sunday Night Football (8:30, NBC) at Gillette Stadium.

About the only good thing to come out of all their terrible play this season is that most Patriots fans are finally learning to be a bit more objective with their favorite team which isn't a bad thing. There are so many issues for New England to address at the moment that you can't help but question many of their core beliefs: 1) not spending too much (leaving plenty of open cap space), 2) skipping over the top talents in the draft and 3) letting the offensive line become a revolving door of nobodies.

A staple of the Patriots when they were good is that they never lost back-to-back games and when people started to question them (like this week or the whole season so far), they rally around and pull off a resounding response that ends in a victory. It's not an original thought since everyone has said it but this game vs. Cincinnati truly represents a crossroads for head coach Bill Belichick, quarterback Tom Brady and the rest of the team/front office. If they win, some semblance of hope will return. If not, yikes this will only get uglier.

Today's injury report lists safety Nate Ebner (finger) and offensive lineman Cameron Fleming (finger) as both out for Sunday, no big loss there since they are two of the bottom players on the 53-man roster. Jamie Collins (thigh), Alfonzo Dennard (shoulder)-who has missed the past three games-defensive lineman Dominique Easley (knee), Dont'a Hightower (knee) and Chandler Jones (shoulder) are all questionable for New England.

For the Bengals, something called Brandon Thompson (knee)-a defensive tackle-is out. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict (concussion), wide receiver Marvin Jones (ankle) and guard Kevin Zeitler (calf) are all doubtful. Defensive end Margus Hunt (shoulder) is the lone guy on Cincinnati that is questionable.

Enjoy the afternoon games on Sunday and get ready for what should be a fascinating contest on Sunday night. I'll update this before kickoff in Foxborough with the incomparable Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Think those good thoughts!

UPDATE 10/5: Bengals inactives are Jones, Burfict, Zeitler, Thompson, RB Rex Burkhead, DL Will Clarke and DB Chris Lewis-Harris. For the Patriots: Ebner, Fleming, Hightower, OL Josh Kline, RB James White, DL Zach Moore and CB Malcolm Butler.

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Patriots Sign Their Newest Cult Hero-Nate Ebner

If you were a college star in some manly sport other than football, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick already likes you. Who could forget that Stephen Neal, a champion collegiate wrestler, didn't even play NCAA football but he became a solid offensive lineman with New England before retiring last year.

Now, Belichick will try to work his magic with the team's 2012 sixth-round pick (197th overall), defensive back Nate Ebner from Ohio State. A legendary rugby player for the Buckeyes (look him up on YouTube), Ebner walked on to the football team and was named Ohio State's outstanding special teams player in 2011 after appearing in 12 games.

Today, he became the fourth Patriots draft pick from the 2012 class to sign, joining new teammates Tavon Wilson (defensive back), Jeremy Ebert (wide receiver) and Alfonzo Dennard (cornerback). This leaves first-round picks Chandler Jones (defensive end) and Dont'a Hightower (linebacker) along with third-round selection Jake Bequette (defensive end) as the three rookies that have yet to sign with New England.

Once the preseason starts in August, assuming he's still on the team, it should be fun to see Ebner flying around on special teams and in the secondary. You know Belichick would like nothing more than to mold him into a role player that coaches, fans and other players on his team love.

It's a thankless job but everyone enjoys a guy that can supply some big hits on kickoffs and punt returns that get his team and the lame Gillette Stadium crowd fired up.

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The 2012 NFL Draft Is Over: Mel Kiper Can Go Back Into His Cave Now

By the time the third and final day of the NFL Draft rolls around, who besides the paid professionals can muster enthusiasm anymore?

The New England Patriots made their final three selections today and as you'll see by their random resumes, they will be all long shots to make the 53-man roster in the regular season let alone do anything memorable. The Pats only had one pick, that is before they flipped it (5th round, 163 overall) to the Packers for three later picks.

Without further ado, say hello to Ohio State safety Nate Ebner (6th round, 197 overall), Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (7th round, 224 overall) and Northwestern wide receiver Jeremy Ebert (7th round, 235 overall).

I'll sum up those three guys in a few sentences. Ebner was a former rugby player and walk-on for the Buckeyes that potentially could make it based on special teams. Dennard is pretty talented but he got arrested (assaulting an officer and resisting arrest) last week and also was ejected from a Bowl game in 2011 for fighting South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey. Clearly, he's a bozo but Bill Belichick must think he's worth the risk (not that a seventh-round pick is much of a risk). Finally, Ebert was the leading receiver for the Wildcats the last two seasons and he's a white slot receiver that converted from quarterback in high school. In other words, he's Julian Edelman 2.0.

All seven members of the Patriots' Draft Class of 2012 are on Twitter so do yourselves a favor and give them a follow, that is if you're on Twitter yourself. Chandler Jones-@chanjones99; Dont'a Hightower-@zeus30hightower; Tavon Wilson-@TavonWilson3; Jake Bequette-@JakeBequette91; Nate Ebner-@Natebner34; Jeremy Ebert-@Jebes11.

It is dorky but definitely one of the best aspects of when the Celtics/Patriots/Red Sox/Bruins acquire a new player is to see if they are on Twitter. Most of these days, a majority from the NFL and NBA are on it. MLB is getting there but sadly NHL is still in the dark ages (only 1 Bruin-Tyler Seguin). It's the best way to connect to guys on your favorite teams.

UPDATE 4/29: The Patriots also signed rookie free agent Brad Herman, a tight end out of Iowa. The only shot he has to make the team is on the practice squad since New England has Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Daniel Fells all way ahead of him on the depth chart.

UPDATE 4/30: Kentucky wide receiver Matt Roark will join the Pats. He is yet another converted quarterback who also plays special teams and blocked seven kicks for the Wildcats (6 extra points, 1 field goal). I guarantee this scrub won't make it out of mini-camps or August. No chance.

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