FOXBOROUGH – A day after safety Patrick Chung came off the Patriots’ injury list, he was back on it.
Yesterday the Patriots released their final injury report before tonight’s AFC divisional-round game against the Broncos and listed Chung (knee) as questionable.
Chung, one of 13 players the team listed as questionable, had come off the injury report Thursday.
The third-year player was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a foot injury, which forced him to be inactive for eight games during the season, including seven in a row before his return for the regular-season finale vs. the Bills Jan. 1.
If Chung is unable to go, rookie Sterling Moore is likely to draw his fourth start of the season.
The other Patriots listed as questionable included: CB Kyle Arrington (foot), T Marcus Cannon (ankle), C Dan Connolly (groin), LB Dane Fletcher (thumb), S James Ihedigbo (shoulder), G Logan Mankins (knee), LB Rob Ninkovich (hip), WR Matthew Slater (shoulder), LB Brandon Spikes (knee), T Sebastian Vollmer (back/foot), WR Wes Welker (knee), and LB Tracy White (abdomen).
Lovely idea
Kyle Love will have no shortage of motivation tonight.
The second-year defensive tackle from Mississippi State said it is his mission to not only help the Patriots snap their three-game losing streak in postseason play but to help deliver those veterans who have experienced little playoff success a Super Bowl ring.
“Me being a young guy, I want to win for the older guys, the guys who don’t have rings,’’ Love said.
Asked to whom he was referring, Love said, “Guys like Chad Ochocinco and Gerard Warren.’’
An 11-year veteran wide receiver, Ochocinco has made just two playoff appearances in his career, both with the Bengals. Both games resulted in losses, to the Steelers in 2005 and the Jets in 2009.
Defensive tackle Warren, also an 11-year veteran, has made three playoff appearances, going 1-2. Warren experienced the only playoff victory of his career in 2005 when he was with the Broncos. Denver defeated the Patriots, 27-13, in the divisional round and advanced to the AFC Championship, where it bowed out to the Steelers.
Neither player has come close to hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“I asked Chad the other day, ‘You got a ring?’ and he said, ‘No,’ ’’ Love said. “I told him, ‘I want to get you one. I want to get all you guys one. I’m going to play as hard as I can to get you one.’ ’’
Inside job?
Denver edge-rushers Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil have combined for 21 sacks. But Patriots right guard Brian Waters pointed out the Broncos’ interior defensive linemen were not to be overlooked.
“Their interior guys work as hard as anybody you’ll see in the NFL,’’ Waters said. “They’ve got a three- or four-man rotation that they work with. You’ve got [Brodrick] Bunkley and [Marcus] Thomas, who has been there for a while. Those guys, they work really hard.
“[Ryan] McBean is a different type of athlete. Sometimes they add [Robert] Ayers in there, who is a really good edge guy, but he really adds some difficulties for the interior guys because of his athletic abilities.
“They throw different guys at you in different situations,’’ Waters added. “So you have to be prepared, understanding that each guy is giving you something different to work with.’’
Hernandez believes
While some doubt Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow’s ability to throw the ball accurately, count Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, a teammate of Tebow’s at the University of Florida, as a believer in Tebow’s passing ability.
“He’s a great player and he always will be,’’ Hernandez said.
As for the unrelenting dissection of Tebow’s game and lefthanded delivery, Hernandez seemed to offer his college QB some advice.
“There’s always going to be people who talk good about you, and there’s always going to be critics,’’ he said. “It’s about how you played that past week. Because he’s not the pro-style quarterback that’s showcased in this league, that’s why I’m assuming they [criticize him].’’
Solder solution
Right tackle Nate Solder, of Buena Vista, Colo., and the Patriots’ No. 1 draft pick out of the University of Colorado, said he is excited to play against his hometown Broncos in his first playoff appearance. If there was one drawback, however, it was that he was not able to satisfy all the ticket requests from family and friends. “I’m going to get one for my mom and my dad, and everybody else that wants to come, that’s going to be on them,’’ Solder said . . . With low temperatures predicted in the teens, Love was not expecting to don any cold-weather gear. “I’ll be out there sleeveless,’’ he said. “Defensive linemen don’t wear sleeves.’’
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