The New England Patriots have suffered repeated bites from the injury bug in the past few weeks, but Sunday's lopsided win over the Chicago Bears showed that a couple of new guys that have been brought in to fill recently vacated positions have the potential to help the team in their quest for a fourth super bowl title.

The first move New England made a couple weeks ago was to add practice squad running back Jonas Gray to the active roster, to fill the void created by Stevan Ridley's departure from the line up. In Gray's first action, last week against the New York Jets, he carried the ball just three times for 12 yards, but did a good job in pass protection, which impressed offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

He was given more of an impact role as a rusher this week, thanks to his hard work in practice and preparation, and made the most of his opportunity by rushing for 86 yards on 17 carries. Production like that, if sustained, could go a long way in helping the Patriots succeed this season.

If New England can develop a strong running game with Gray, it will allow quarterback Tom Brady to take advantage of defenses that will be pinching in and loading the box to defend against the rush.

Another newcomer that stood out in a limited role on Sunday was Akeem Ayers. The outside linebacker, who was acquired earlier in the week in a deal with the Tennessee Titans and will likely be used to plug holes both in the team's linebacking corps and along the defensive line, played mainly as a pass rusher, against the Bears.

Ayers made his presence felt though, totaling five tackles including a sack in the rout. His workload is sure to increase in future weeks as he gets more time with the team and becomes more familiar with the defensive scheme.

While all the issues might not be solved just yet, these two players have stepped in nicely in the early going and have left a lot of nervous Pats' fans breathing a bit easy after a couple of weeks without some key players they've come to count on.

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