Peyton Manning, Broncos Offense Will Exploit Banged Up Patriots Secondary

The biggest game of Week 12 takes place Sunday night in New England, and while the big story around this week's matchup between the Patriots and Denver Broncos will no doubt center on Peyton Manning and Tom Brady the game is going to be won or lost on defense.

That doesn't bode well for the Patriots, as the injuries that have decimated their front seven have now spread to the defensive backfield.

A dinged up secondary is bad juju heading into a matchup with the NFL's best cadre of receiving talent.

	Rec.	Yds.	Avg.	TD
Demaryius Thomas	60	914	15.2	9
Eric Decker	54	792	14.7	3
Wes Welker	51	648	10.6	9
Julius Thomas	45	590	13.1	10

Trying to decide whether Manning is posting record-setting numbers because of his deep and talented group of pass-catchers or if his deep and talented group of pass-catchers are thriving because of Manning is arguing chickens and eggs.

The answer is yes.

Wide receivers Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and Wes Welker, combined with emergent tight end Julius Thomas, are enough to give the best and healthiest of defenses fits.

Ask the Kansas City Chiefs.

For the Patriots, it could be Mission: Impossible.

As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports, the Patriots will almost certainly be without starting cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, who had a minor procedure performed on his meniscus last week, against Denver.

Strong safety Steve Gregory (thumb), who missed last week's loss to Carolina with a broken thumb, is no sure bet to play. Cornerback Aqib Talib appeared to aggravate his nagging hip injury against the carolina Panthers. Fellow corner Kyle Arrington hurt his leg.

Shall I continue?

Mike Reiss of ESPN tweeted that all three cornerbacks were listed as "limited" Wednesday:

That's Belispeak for "questionable and we're not telling," where their availability for Sunday is concerned, but you can rest assured there's going to be plenty of pressure on all those players to suit up against the Broncos.

If they don't, the Pats may well be cooked.

When they're at full strength, the Patriots have a good, but not great, secondary. The team ranks 12th in the NFL against the pass, at 229.2 yards per game. With the possible exception of Talib, there aren't any really big "names." The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Now, with that secondary potentially missing one (or more) of those parts, matchup problems are quickly magnified. With Dennard out, Decker was already going to be a problem, Now, with Talib possibly at least limited, Demaryius Thomas will be as well.

With former Patriots star Wes Welker undergoing concussion protocol after getting hurt against the Chiefs, it's possible New England could catch a break of sorts. If Welker sits, the Patriots could elect to shift Arrington outside on Decker.

If Arrington plays, of course.

However, if Welker plays (and it's reasonable to assume he'll make every effort to given the opponent), either Decker or Welker is going to be covered by reserve cornerback Logan Ryan.

If you want to know how that's likely to work out, take a lot at the stats from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) last week for Kansas City cornerback Marcus Cooper, whom Manning sniffed out like a lion sniffs out the weakest gazelle in a herd.

Thrown At	Yards Allowed	YPC	YAC	Grade
13	128	9.8	73	-5.7

And that's the biggest problem. It's not enough that Manning is a future Hall of Famer. There are so many weapons at his disposal that on any given Sunday there's going to be a defensive back in over his head.

Manning will gladly put his foot on it.

Try to get that defensive back some help, say from free safety Devin McCourty, and tight end Julius Thomas will roam free.

Pick your poison. Choose your own method of execution. The last thing the Patriots need added to this Sisyphean matchup is a bunch of injuries.

Yet in this year where that's all that has happened to New England's defense (the Patriots are also without both starting defensive tackles and their best linebacker), that's exactly what they got.

Given how aggressive the Broncos have been on offense this year, they're a good bet to come out attacking a patchwork defense.

That doesn't sound like something that's going to work out well for the Patriots.

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