Last modified: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 12:47 AM EDT FARINELLA: Patriots lost more than a star player Only a few days ago, I suggested in this space that there might be a lack of leadership dogging the New England Patriots, particularly on defense. Well, during the first few minutes of Sunday's game in Pittsburgh, it appeared that Rodney Harrison was preparing to fill that gap by hoisting his teammates onto his back and leading them to the Promised Land. In the early going of the Patriots' 23-20 victory over the Steelers, Harrison was running all over the field to make tackles and big hits -- even more so than usual, if you can believe it, despite his track record of being at the top of the Patriots' tackle statistics since he joined the team. Harrison has always been a tone-setter for the Patriots. The 12th-year veteran safety always seemed to know when to ratchet up the contact level and make the big hit. But I hadn't considered him the same sort of on-field leader as Tedy Bruschi because there was always the danger that he might elevate his aggression too much -- as he did in the loss to Carolina, when he ripped the helmet off the head of running back Stephen Davis and drew a damaging 15-yard penalty in the process. He also drew a $5,000 fine for that indiscretion, just another in a litany of fines he's been levied since he came into the league. As anyone will tell you, that's Rodney Harrison -- the perfect example of a player you love to hate when he plays for someone else, but you gleefully embrace when he plays for you. So you should. He's a heck of a football player. But at the start at Sunday's game, Harrison seemed doubly determined to make the big plays as well as the big hits -- which makes his season-ending (and possibly career-ending) knee injury so heartbreaking. Even in placing Harrison on the injured-reserve list Tuesday, the Patriots have stubbornly refused to officially reveal the severity of his injury. However, sensing that his client is no longer beholding to the dictatorial rule of Bill Belichick, agent Steve Feldman revealed to the Boston media that the injury to Harrison's left knee was ``severe'' -- a torn anterior cruciate ligament (as feared Sunday), plus tears in the medial collateral ligament and posterior cruciate ligament. ``He's done,'' said Feldman. ``His season is over.'' Harrison was hurt when Pittsburgh receiver Cedrick Wilson rolled into his leg midway through the first quarter, during a gang-tackle of running back Willie Parker. CBS and Boston's Channel 4 did its viewers the disservice of replaying the sequence time and time again to illustrate just how far Harrison's knee bent in the wrong direction -- leaving little doubt in the minds of wincing viewers that his season had just ended. Harrison, who will be 33 in December, is expected to undergo surgery in four to six weeks, to give the swelling time to disappear and the damage time to stabilize. Published reports likened it to the same sort of injury suffered by Buffalo running back Willis McGahee when he was in college, and that took almost two full years to heal enough to get him back on the field. Harrison may not want to spend that much time in the rehabilitation process to regain an uncertain twilight of his career, and no one would begrudge him if he didn't. He has two Super Bowl rings, and has more than repaid the Patriots and their fans for the investment they made in him. But again, a gap in leadership and intensity has been created where one didn't exist before. The Patriots showed great courage and gumption to overtake the Steelers and win that game -- and it looked as if Richard Seymour was stepping up his presence to fill the gap -- but, taken in tandem with left offensive tackle Matt Light's broken leg and likely absence for a significant portion of the season, one wonders where they will find the talent and leadership to sustain them for the long haul ahead. Already, the roster is being tweaked to make room for potential replacements. The team waived little-used linebacker and special-teamer Wesly Mallard on Tuesday, leaving two empty roster spots. Maybe both will be ticketed for the defensive backfield, given the already significant toll that injuries have taken there. Or maybe the Patriots will find what they need in the safety corps from Guss Scott (who played most of Sunday's game), converted linebacker Don Davis (who made an impressive blitzing hit Sunday on Ben Roethlisberger) or rookie James Sanders (once he recovers from a preseason injury). Along the offensive line, rookies Nick Kaczur and Logan Mankins may be entrusted with the all-important job of protecting Tom Brady's blind side, or some effort might be made to find help from among the ranks of the unemployed. In any event, the lessons of 2001 should not be lost at this juncture. At the start of that season, the Patriots were struck with a fearful injury toll. At one point, at least 11 of the 22 offensive and defensive starters were either out or nursing debilitating wounds. To combat those odds, 53 players stepped up and led equally over more than two-thirds of the season. The Patriots of three of the last four seasons have endured injuries, persevered and prevailed because of their belief in the ``team'' concept and the notion that the 53rd player on the roster had to be prepared to replace the first if called upon. At no time will that philosophy be more severely tested than over the next 14 weeks. MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com