re: Kevin Faulk Appreciation Thread

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Kevin Faulk is the most important recruit of LSU's modern football history.

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Talk about having impossible shoes to fill. The Pats might opt to go with recently signed Danny Woodhead, or even experiment with Julian Edelman, who they’d like to utilize more. But with all due respect, they may only check off one or two elements of what Faulk brought to the table. They aren’t the complete package. You just can’t replace what Faulk provides.

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Third-down backs just don’t get the same kind of credit as the franchise quarterback and his star receivers. But make no mistake, this loss is significant. Faulk will be sorely missed on so many levels. Players with his skill set don’t just come along every year. They are incredibly rare.

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You might plug someone in there, but that player might only be able to do a decent job catching the football out of the backfield. Can he block as well as Faulk? Can he read and pick up blitzes as well as No. 33? Can he run the football as well as Faulk?

Can he make plays when the offense desperately needs one, like Faulk has done so many times during the past dozen seasons? Can he squeeze out those first downs?

Can he do all of the above at the same level as Faulk?

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“Kev always comes up with big plays when we need them most whether he’s running a screen or trying to head down hill in the sub-run package, or whatever it is he’s out there doing,” left tackle Matt Light [stats] said prior to taking part in the Boston Stars for One Family Golf Tournament yesterday at Willowbend Country Club. “He obviously gains positive yardage for us. Always has. It’ll be tough going out there without No. 33.”

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“He’s such a great match up for us against teams and not only that, he’s a great leader and a great guy,” [b]Welker said. “Whenever you put him in the game, (opponents) don’t know if we’re going to go empty and throw the ball around . . . he’s almost like a receiver out there and the great thing about him is that he can play running back too. It creates a problem for them of what personnel they want to put in the game.”

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That just may have been Faulk’s greatest trait, the element of mystery every time he stepped on the field.

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Whatever the job, Faulk was incredibly good at it. But now, he will no longer be the one performing the role. And that doesn’t bode well for the Patriots.

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