Tom Brady Talks About Losing Dion Lewis, Injuries On Offensive Line
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots were dealt a big blow on the injury front Monday, losing running back Dion Lewis to a torn ACL.
Signed in the offseason to compete for a spot in training camp, Lewis not only emerged as New England's top running back but a key part of their offensive success. In seven games, he rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns on 49 carries and caught 36 passes for 388 yards and two more touchdowns, becoming one of Tom Brady's most reliable weapons in one of the NFL's best offenses.
For Brady and the rest of the New England offense, watching Lewis go down in Sunday's win over the Redskins was a tough sight to see.
"He was such a dynamic player for us and he was having such a great season. It's tough to replace someone of that caliber," Brady told Jim Gray prior to Monday Night Football. "We have some other quality guys on the team that are going to have to step in and fill the void. This is when you see the depth of the team really get tested. We've lost some key players this year and it's tough to see Dion go down, but hopefully we can keep fighting on."
Lewis was out of football the last two seasons, but in New England he did what many thought was impossible: replace the contributions the Patriots lost when Shane Vereen signed with the New York Giants in the offseason.
"He exceeded everyone's expectations and was such a great surprise in how he accepted his role and the things he did to continue to gain confidence of teammates and coaches," Brady said of Lewis. "Nobody can do it as well as he was doing it and the way that he did it. You have to find ways to produce; they may be different than the ways we did were producing when Dion was in there. When you say other guys have to step up, it just means the production has to come from another area.
"We're going to put some guys up to the test and see what we can achieve," he said.
READ: Life Without Lewis: Who Steps Up?
Lewis isn't the only member of the Patriots to get a bite from the injury bug. Half of Brady's offensive line is hurt, with Sebastian Vollmer (who slid over to left tackle to replace the injured Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon) appearing to suffer a concussion on Sunday.
That led to more musical chairs among Brady's protectors, as second-year center Bryan Stork played right tackle on Sunday, a position he hadn't played before.
"Just a lot of adjustments, and that's part of football," said Brady. "You hope it doesn't come to that, where you lose so many players, but we're at that point. We have to figure out a way going forward; I don't know how it will shape out this week. Hopefully we get some guys back, because we're really thin on the offensive line right now."
The Patriots look to improve to 9-0 on the season Sunday afternoon when they visit the New York Giants.
Tune in to Patriots-Giants on WBZ-TV and 98.5 The Sports Hub -- the flagship stations of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins on WBZ-TV with Patriots GameDay at 11:30am, and on 98.5 The Sports Hub at 1:30pm. Kickoff is set for 4:25pm and after the game stay tuned for three hours of postgame coverage on the Hub, and switch over to myTV38 for Patriots 5th Quarter!
