Patriots' Potential Loss of Bryan Stork Diminished by Matchup vs. Indianapolis

Injuries are rarely a good thing for a football team. Sometimes, however, serendipitous timing helps alleviate some of the pain involved in losing a key player. If he was bound to get injured, the timing of Bryan Stork's malady couldn't have been better for the New England Patriots.

During New England's thrilling 35-31 playoff victory over the Baltimore Ravens, Stork came up lame. Erik Scalavino from Patriots.com has the details on the injury:

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The Patriots’ offensive line surrendered just two sacks of QB Tom Brady on the night, on consecutive plays midway through the second quarter. The second takedown was the one that felled Stork. It occurred when Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs came flying in from behind Brady and landed on the side of Stork’s right leg.

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The Patriots obviously survived without Stork against Baltimore, but the shuffling of Ryan Wendell to center and Josh Kline to guard has proven less than ideal during the season. Stork seems to be the mortar that keeps the interior line together, allowing Wendell and Dan Connolly to play in more natural positions. Bill Belichick—via Mike Reiss from ESPNBoston.com—had some praise for the rookie pivot.

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I think Bryan has done a good job for us. We finished the game without him last week, and if he wasn't available, we'd be in a similar situation this week. Whether it would be the same [personnel] or different, I don't really want to get into that. But he's obviously done a good job for us and he's grown along the way.

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Against the Ravens, the Patriots were facing one of the toughest defensive lines in the league. Haloti Ngata and Brandon Williams are two stout individuals. Having Stork available for even part of the game was certainly helpful. 

The Denver Broncos would have been another difficult matchup for a revamped offensive line. Terrance Knighton, Derek Wolfe, Sylvester Williams, Mitch Unrein and company are a bear for any offensive line to handle, let alone one that has to be shuffled around.

The Indianapolis Colts, however, present a much softer cushion to fall into. Zach Kerr, Montori Hughes, Josh Chapman and Arthur Jones don't possess the quick-twich ability that some of the other matchups present. They have some power but don't collapse the pocket with a lot of frequency.

Kline is a smart lineman. When matched against too much power or athleticism, his technique breaks down and will give up some splash plays. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels should be able to hide him in the game plan, as the Colts just don't have a ton of frightening players in their front seven.

It remains unclear whether Stork will necessarily miss the AFC Championship Game against the Colts. The Patriots will release their first injury report of the week later on Wednesday.

Whether Stork is available or not, look for the offensive line to deliver.