Patriots CB Aqib Talib says extra effort helped secondary overcome injuries
By Mike Dyce
The New England Patriots are cruising near the top of the AFC with a 10-3 record despite injuries on both sides of ball. Defensively they’ve been without Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly and Jerod Mayo for most of the season.
Heading into Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins the Patriots secondary had four players on the injury report: Kyle Arrington (groin) and Alfonzo Dennard (knee, shoulder) as questionable, and Steve Gregory (thumb) and Aqib Talib (hip) as probable.
“The preparation makes up for a lot of stuff,” Talib said, via The Sun Chronicle. “You lose those bodies, man, it just makes you have to work harder in the classroom, more guys have to step in and learn their stuff at a fast rate. They have to just hop right in and learn it and count on the guys around them to help them out, and if they’re wrong, you’ve got to make them right.”
The Patriots have a chance to clinch the AFC East title on Sunday if they can beat the Dolphins on the road.