Patriots Blog: Where Are Morris, Edelman?
FOXBORO (CBS) - With the Patriots offense evolving, there are some pieces that seem to have disappeared.
Sammy Morris was supposed to be part of the starting lineup.
People thought his role would even increase when Kevin Faulk went down. The opposite has happened though.
Morris did not play an offensive snap against the Vikings but he was awarded a game ball by Bill Belichick for his work on special teams.
He was a member of the "Big 4" - kickoff coverage, punt coverage, kickoff return and punt return.
He had a solo tackle on punt coverage while also playing well on the kickoff coverage team.
Morris said Thursday that he hasn't played this much special teams since 2006 with the Dolphins.
Also missing from this offense is Julian Edelman.
Edelman looked great in the preseason and he was on his way to being a big factor in this offense.
Then he hurt his foot and his production went south.
Right now Julian is 4th on the depth chart. He's getting snaps and helping out on the punt return.
TAYLOR, PAGE, BANTA-CAIN MISSING
The Patriots had their final practice as they get ready to take on the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Missing from the field Friday was Fred Taylor (toe). He hasn't practiced since week 3 and Jarrad Page (calf). He's been out for the last couple of weeks.
Linebacker Tully Banta-Cain was also missing from the practice field.
There was no immediate word of why Tully was not at practice. His case is becoming an interesting one. After leading the Patriots in sacks last season, he has since seen his playing time dwindle this year.
He's getting the reps but he also sharing that time with Jermaine Cunningham and Brandon Spikes. Tully has not seemed crossed in his attitude but I am sure he thought coming into this season that he would play a bigger role.
WILL MANKINS PLAY?
Patriots pro bowl guard Logan Mankins returned to the team this week. He passed his conditioning drill and he was back on the practice field on Tuesday. Today there was word that he may play this weekend against the Browns.
"Looks like he's in pretty good condition," Belichick said. "Logan's a smart guy, he works hard so [conditioning] shouldn't be an issue. He just has to get back to doing things he hasn't done in a while . . . We'll take it day-to-day here. He had a good day yesterday in terms of contact. We'll see how things are today and take a look at it tomorrow. A lot of times it's a day after, two days after, with players who are coming back [or] with players who had injuries or, in his case, weren't there.
"To bring him on the roster we'd have to make a move, so that's a decision we'd have to make, too," Belichick added. "I think you take that as long as you can and then make the move if you want to make the right one and not make a mistake on it."
What Bill is talking about is, the Patriots have a 2-game roster exemption for Mankins.That means he can practice but, once the team decides to activate him, a player will have to be released to keep the squad at 53.
WELKER'S YARDS AFTER THE CATCH
As we watch Patriots receiver Wes Welker come back and play after sustaining a nasty knee injury, his production on catches is fine, but his yards after the catch are down. Welker leads the team with 40 grabs but only has 178 yards after the catch and that ranks 28th in the NFL.
Since joining the Patriots in 2007, Welker leads the NFL in yards after the catch, with 2,320. That easily outdistances Brandon Marshall (1,670), who is second on the YAC charts.
He is starting to stretch it out though, and hopefully in the upcoming game, we will be able to see Wes round into that "yards after the catch" threat.
