Tom Brady is attended to after suffering a season-ending injury Sunday on a hit by Bernard Pollard that the NFL ruled as legal.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

There has been a lot said about Bernard Pollard’s hit on Tom Brady’s left knee, which ended his season.

The NFL said that it was a legal hit. Some of the Patriots said it was a dirty hit.

An ESPN analyst said that Brady would still be playing if Kevin Faulk had been in the game because Faulk would have met blitzing safety Pollard at the line of scrimmage instead of a few yards in the backfield, like Sammy Morris did.

Morris spoke about the incident yesterday, saying that Pollard undercut him and he tried to do everything he could to keep Pollard away from Brady.

While it was painful to watch, Morris said that he did see the replay and there wasn’t anything he could have done differently.

“You can take any play out there and say that something could have been done but again, it’s the heat of the moment and it’s hard to kind of go back and second-guess every play out there,” Morris said.

Now with Matt Cassel leading the way, the Patriots are one injury away from putting a rookie starting quarterback into the game in Kevin O’Connell, which makes pass-protection that much more important this week against the Jets.

New York sacked Miami quarterback Chad Pennington four times.

“The pass protection is always [important] every week,” Morris said. “If the quarterback has guys in his face, that’s never good, so like I said there is always an emphasis to protect the quarterback.”

Jets’ Gholston still learning

While Patriots rookie inside linebacker Jerod Mayo has impressed the coaching staff — he was the only defensive player to play all 63 snaps against the Chiefs — the Jets thus far haven’t gotten the same from their first-round pick, Vernon Gholston.

Gholston, the Ohio State standout whom some tabbed as being a potential fit for New England, is listed as a backup outside linebacker. He did not have any tackles against Miami in Week One.

Because of NCAA rules, and since Ohio State has a quarter (not semester) system, Gholston could not join the Jets until his class graduated, meaning he missed a good chunk of the team’s offseason program. He also missed some time at the start of training camp as his contract was worked out.

But he is making up for lost time, coach Eric Mangini said this week.

“I think that is why (rookie tight end) Dustin Keller is further ahead than he is, because of reps and experience,” Mangini said. “The one thing I like about Vernon is that he is building. Each week I see some real progress. It takes time with any rookie, especially when you are making a position change from having your hand in the dirt to standing up.”

Gholston had a school record 14½ sacks for the Buckeyes last fall as a defensive end, breaking the mark of 13 set by Mike Vrabel in 1995.

Injuries slow Moss, Gaffney

Receivers Randy Moss and Jabar Gaffney, whom Cassel will need in order to be successful, were once again limited in practice yesterday.

According to New England’s injury/participation report, Moss is dealing with a back injury, while Gaffney is being slowed by a knee injury.

Yesterday, both players were present for the media-access portion of practice, which included stretching and a few position drills. Neither was on the field during Wednesday’s media access.

There were three new additions to New England’s report yesterday, all listed as limited participation: CB Ellis Hobbs (shoulder), CB Lewis Sanders (head) and LB Eric Alexander (calf).

Receiver Sam Aiken (knee) and tight end Benjamin Watson (knee) once again did not take part in practice.

For the Jets, top receiver Laveranues Coles has been limited by a thigh injury, while defensive end Shaun Ellis has had limited participation due to a hand injury.

smanza@projo.com