"I didn't have this many people at my birthday party, man," Faulk chuckled.
But Faulk is familiar with this drill.
One of the longest-tenured players on the team, a second-round draft choice in 1999, Faulk has consistently answered questions about the health of his fellow running backs - from Terry Allen in '99, to Antowain Smith in '03, to Corey Dillon in '05, to this season with Laurence Maroney, LaMont Jordan, and now Morris.
His response hasn't changed.
"We're all competitors," Faulk said yesterday. "Once a guy goes down, you know your workload is going to increase a little bit more, so you have to take that pride in what you do and lift it up."
Faulk and Co. obviously hope that Morris, who is coming off a career-high, 138-yard performance and is being counted on to help fill the void with Maroney being placed on injured reserve, isn't down for long.
In one respect, Morris's absence from yesterday's walkthrough is an ominous sign because walkthroughs are non-padded practices at half speed. It is common for injured players to take part in walkthroughs, as was the case yesterday with Jordan, who was seen hopping and skipping up and down the sideline during a kickoff return drill as he gets closer to a return from a right calf injury.
But in another respect, it's possible Morris was simply undergoing tests for the knee that could provide more information on what sidelined him. He didn't appear to hurt himself on his final carry against the Broncos, an impressive 29-yard jaunt off the left side, but might have absorbed a hit on one of his other 15 carries and played through it.
If Morris isn't ready for action Sunday against the Rams, and Jordan misses his third straight game, that would leave the Patriots with Faulk, Evans, and rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis at running back.
The situation, and questions about the Patriots' ability to overcome such shorthanded dilemmas in the past, had Evans reflecting on his initial days in New England in 2005.
