What will Hernandez add to Pats' attack today?

Share

By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com Patriots InsiderFollow @tomecurran
FOXBORO - One-eighth of the way into this season, Aaron Hernandez was headed for the Pro Bowl. The Patriots' "flex" tight end had 14 catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns in the Patriots' wins over Miami and Buffalo. According to ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss, Hernandez played 43 plays in the first game, 66 in the second. His absence in the past two games has, in part, led to an absurdly big workload for Wes Welker (36 targets in Weeks 3 and 4 combined; 43 times in the last nine quarters going back to the Hernandez injury). The presence of Hernandez will command attention of safeties, corners and outside linebackers. Even if he is not 100 percent -- and there's little chance of that -- being out there running routes will take heat off of Welker and, to a lesser extent, Rob Gronkowski. So even if Hernandez isn't able to do what he normally can, he will occupy the Jets secondary. To which one might say this.

Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Tom on Twitter at http:twitter.comtomecurran

Contact Us