Game Prediction: NE 17, WAS 20

Update: David Patten has a sprained knee and is questionable to play. I am removing him from the projections though there is a small chance he can go. Tom Brady also injured his elbow but is expected to play with no effects.

The Patriots come off a much needed win over the division rival Jets, 23-16, in a game that saw only more misfortune befall the New England injury list. The defense already has lost ILB Ted Johnson (broken foot), OLB Roosevelt Colvin (broken hip) and now NT Ted Washington has a broken leg. The trainers should hand out calcium supplements to the remaining healthy players. OLB Mike Vrabel also has an injured arm. Even Tom Brady has a bad elbow. The impressive feat is that the defense has played well even in spite of the injuries since the disastrous week one fiasco. Then again, the Jets and Eagles have not been an offensive force this season either.

The good news out of the win was that Kevin Faulk came within three yards of his best career rushing effort though the bad news is that he only ran for 79 yards. Combined with Antowain Smith (13-55), the Patriots produced their best rushing effort of the season but there is little hope that either Smith or Faulk will become a featured runner.

Christian Fauria (3-49) continues to be the safety net for Brady but Daniel Graham (2-37) finally had one nice 31-yard reception which tied his career longest. In this complex passing offense, the team still hopes Graham will develop into the tight end of the future but Fauria will still remain one of the most reliable targets in the endzone.

The changes to the offensive line due to injuries shows in the pass protection. Tom Brady only threw for 181 yards last week and was sacked five times though he did rush in one score. After the big game in week two for Deion Branch, he returned to mediocrity with only two catches for 25 yards. He should receive more playing time if the injury to David Patten keeps him out this week. In fantasy terms, this offense produces no reliable wide receivers since only Branch has had more than three catches in a game and he only did that once. Until further word, I am assuming that Patten is able to play but it will be updated later if needed. This is not an attractive offense for fantasy football and even Tom Brady has fallen off thanks to a bad elbow and poor pass blocking.

The Redskins are making a habit of falling behind at halftime with bad game stats and then coming on strong in the second half. Last week they ran out of luck and lost to the Giants in overtime after scoring 11 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Washington trailed 21-3 at halftime.

Falling behind has been good for Patrick Ramsey since he currently leads the NFL in passing yardage. Last week Ramsey started out slowly and by the end of the game had his second 300 yard game of the season. After enjoying the Jets, Falcons and Giants, Ramsey will find a bigger challenge maintaining those lofty numbers as he faces secondaries of New England, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Buffalo next.

Lavernues Coles is breaking the rules about receivers in their first year with a new team. Coles currently leads the NFL with 391 yards receiving and last week (7-105) he notched his third 100 yard effort in as many games. Rod Gardner (3-25, 1 TD) is up and down in production compared to Coles while #3 receiver Darnerian McCants (4-67, 1 TD) had more looks last week than the first two games.

The Redskins abandoned the running game in light of the big deficit on the scoreboard and Trung Canidate (15-89) and Ladell Betts (8-39) had nice yards per carry with the defense concerned more with the pass, but the 23 carries were not enough from the duo to make either a a difference in the game though their total yardage looked more impressive than it should.

CB Fred Smoot was blasted unconscious in practice last week but managed to play. Evidently his mild concussion was not entirely gone since he gave up seven catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns to Ike Hilliard as the Giants picked on Smoot the entire game.

The Redskins host the Patriots and the defensive injuries to the linebacking corps should be more apparent this week. Look for the Redskins to use the run more often as the Patriots come off a three game stretch against the Bills, Eagles and Jets that have not presented much trouble to any other team either. The difference in this game will be the Redskin ability to defend the run versus the Patriots inability to keep defenders out of the backfield on passing plays. Both offenses feature multiple receiver sets and while that decreases the effect of great cornerbacks, the Redskins will be playing aggressively on pass defense and going after Brady.

With CB Ty Law and Tyrone Poole dedicated to stopping Coles and Gardner, the interior of the Patriots defense will miss Ted Washington which will open up the inside/outside game of Betts/Canidate.