Doubting (Adalius) Thomas? Injured LB's Value Gives New England Dilemma

The New England Patriots walked away from their comprehensive victory over Buffalo thinking they had answered  a lot of questions on defense. Instead, it appears they merely added another to the list.

Whether to add Adalius Thomas to an injured reserve list that already contains reigning MVP Tom Brady, running back Laurence Maroney, and safety Rodney Harrison is the dilemma they face after the linebacker suffered a broken arm on Sunday

Thomas, who's tied for the team lead in sacks this year with five is one of the most vital cogs in a Patriots defense that has at times flashed championship calibre in recent weeks having appeared like lame ducks earlier in the season when San Diego's lumberjack receiving duo of Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson caught deep ball after deep ball regardless of which Patriot midget (read cornerback) was covering  them.

The Patriots improved immediately with a five turnover game in a Monday-night victory against Denver, only to lose Harrison in the fourth quarter. Many thought Harrison's loss to IR would spell disaster, but after some coverage busts early against St Louis, things have gradually improved to the point where the run defense could be considered staunch having given up less then 100 yards in each of their last six games after giving up three straight tons to start to start.

Meanwhile, the patchwork secondary which has seen every defensive back, bar James Sanders, who started  the year on the active roster, miss time with injuries have looked less of a liability in recent weeks. No one is likely to confuse them with the 2004 version, but they managed to shut Buffalo's pass attack down for 58 minutes, and are serviceable provided that the front seven gets pressure.

This is where Thomas loss is key. Not only is he New England's most effective pass rusher in a highly inconsistent front seven pressure wise, but he is their most active defender snap wise playing around 99 percent of the time and also wears the green dot on his helmet singling him out as the defensive play caller.

Regardless of whether he goes on IR this situation will require adjustment as he will likely miss the rest of the regular season, but can the Pats realistically walk into the post season without him?

History of plugging people in is on their side, but remember the backup is Pierre Woods. The same Pierre Woods who had a fumble recovery wrestled from his grasp by Ahmad Bradshaw in last year's Super Bowl.

Granted, he has looked better in his limited snaps, and might be serviceable against the likes of Seattle, Oakland and the awful looking Bills, add to that a revenge win against the Dolphins for the Wildcat Fiasco, and maybe even another hate fuelled win over the Mangini and Favre circus.

When it comes to crunch time, and Tennessee has a third down in the AFC Championship Game, really it's Thomas you want rushing Kerry Collins and you certainly don't want anyone running off tackle at Pierre Woods.

You would only be bringing up a Vince Redd anyway if you put Thomas on IR, unless the Patriots brought back Seau the surfer or Rosevelt Colvin, who was cut by the woeful Texans, so there seams to be little to gain if theirs the possibility he can still contribute down.

Either way the Patriots without Thomas will struggle to win in the playoff's if they make it.This could be a case of one injury too many.

Then again, maybe Troy Brown plays linebacker as well?