As we ring in the new, we all silently wish for good health. For ourselves, our family, our friends … and our teams.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the knee injury suffered by Patriots receiver Wes Welker in the finale of the 2009 season. It was a meaningless game, a ho-hum loss to the Texans, but the Pats’ playoff hopes took a serious blow when he went down in a heap on the turf at Reliant Stadium.

One cut on an innocent route and Welker’s season was over. It was a reminder of how quickly things can change for a team when an impact player goes down.

We saw it again last Wednesday night, when Celtics center Kevin Garnett threw down an impressive dunk in a loss to the Pistons.

Garnett grimaced in pain, was helped off the floor, and hasn’t played since. The team says he’ll only miss two weeks, as if two weeks with KG is a good thing.

Great teams have to survive the loss of players, even great players. Few teams can win it all without their best player in uniform.

Two seasons ago, the Celtics survived losing Garnett for 25 games, going 18-7 and making it to the second round of the NBA playoffs. But Garnett looked old as he hobbled through the postseason, and the KG-less C’s were KO’d by a younger Orlando team.

That’s why the debate over which Patriots should be on the field for Sunday’s game against Miami was so intense. Didn’t we learn anything from the Welker injury a year ago? Why would we risk losing another key player in a meaningless game?

Of course, those questions were asked before the game, back when we thought the Dolphins would actually put up some sort of fight.

But, sure enough, we saw Danny Woodhead sitting dazed on the sideline and missing the rest of the game with a concussion. Like all injured Foxborough soldiers, Woodhead declined to comment after the game, and has two weeks to recover. He’ll most likely be back for the home playoff game on the 16th.

Sunday turned out to be a stat-building afternoon for Tom Brady and Co. The biggest stat of all is that just about everyone made it through the game.

Brady hung in there long enough to throw two more touchdowns, finishing the season with 36 TDs and only four interceptions. He finished the regular season by throwing 335 consecutive passes without an interception. The streak is an NFL record, and was built with completions to guys like Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, and Taylor Price.

the time Brady takes the field for the AFC semifinal in two weeks, it will have been nearly two months since he’s thrown in interception. Anyone thinking Brady is not the league’s MVP had better think again.

Can you imagine the Pats without Brady? It’s certainly hard to imagine them going anywhere without the franchise. He is the one truly indispensable player on the roster.

If you’re a Pats fan, wish him good luck when he next takes the field and tries to start a playoff run that will take New England to its fourth Super Bowl victory. But, most importantly, wish him good health. Without it – without Brady – the Pats aren’t going anywhere.

Tom Caron is the studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on the New England Sports Network. His column appears in the Press Herald on Tuesdays.