As Las Vegas oddsmakers rushed to shuffle the deck in the AFC after the knee injury to New England quarterback Tom Brady, so, too, have players and coaches around the league contemplated what it meant in their world.

Steelers defensive captain James Farrior was no different when he expressed his opinion yesterday that the Patriots might come back to the rest of the pack because of it.

"Probably so," Farrior said. "I mean, he's the best quarterback in the league. He made that team go and they were pretty much the best team in the league.

"Everyone wanted to keep up with those guys.

"But now, it's a different dynamic without him in there and it will be interesting to see what those guys do. It changes things."

Farrior, however, advised those who believe the Patriots are dead in the water without Brady to think otherwise.

"Who knows, man. Bill Belichick is one of the best coaches.

"When those guys get hurt, they know how to plug people in. But that's a big plug to fill, so I don't know how it's going to work out."