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Newsletter>
Tom Brady
September 9, 2008
FOXBORO, Mass. - In typical Bill Belichick fashion, the New
England Patriots coach refused to divulge the specifics
regarding Tom Brady's knee injury that will keep him on the
sidelines and on his couch for all but seven minutes,
thirty-three seconds of the season.
It doesn't really matter whether it was a torn ACL, MCL or
PCL.
The bottom line is that the New England Patriots, the same
team that has a trio of Super Bowl crowns to its credit
since Brady took over in 2001, are moving on without their
MVP quarterback.
"We lost our starting quarterback and that's tough on
everybody, but this isn't something to dwell on," Patriots
starting offensive lineman Matt Light said.
"It's not a life-or-death situation," added New England
defensive lineman Richard Seymour.
It is if you listen to anyone outside of the Patriots'
locker room.
Now it's up to Matt Cassel, the same guy who hasn't started
a game since back in his days at Chatsworth High. The guy
who backed up Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer at USC and has
been Brady's understudy for the past three years.
Why can't Cassel be as competent as Trent Dilfer, who was
at the controls for the Baltimore Ravens when they won the
Super Bowl eight years ago? Or Eli Manning, whose future in
New York was questioned until he helped the Giants beat the
Patriots in last year's Super Bowl?
There's got to be a reason why Belichick kept Cassel around
for the last few years, and this one in particular after he
had a dreadful preseason in which he barely hung onto his
job over fellow unproven youngster Matt Gutierrez.
Cassel was far from spectacular, but he was 13-of-18 for
152 yards and one touchdown pass in relief of Brady this
past Sunday against Kansas City.
"We have a lot of confidence in Matt," Belichick said.
"He's grown up in this system."
Belichick denied that he had already auditioned cast-offs
Chris Simms and Tim Rattay as of 3 p.m. on Monday
afternoon, but wasn't exactly forthcoming when asked
whether they — or anyone else — would be brought in
sometime this week.
"I'm not saying it couldn't happen," Belichick said.
Cassel may not have to do what Brady did in 2001 when he
made everyone quickly forget about Drew Bledsoe. He just
has to utilize his weapons, Randy Moss and Wes Welker, and
both the running game and defense need to step up.
"You look at the first couple of years here," Seymour
recalled. "Tom managed the game for us and we did a lot on
defense."
At least Matt Cassel still has Randy Moss as a target.
(Elsa / Getty Images)
"We're a lot more mature team now than we were in 2001,"
added linebacker Mike Vrabel. "We had a lot of new players.
We're a better team now than we were in 2001."
Seymour will need to return to the form that made him one
of the most feared linemen in the game just two years ago.
The linebacking corps will have to hide its age and the
secondary will have to show it's not quite as flawed as
many suspect.
Seymour and Light didn't have much to say about the hit
that Kansas City safety Bernard Pollard delivered to Brady
midway through the first quarter, but their teammate, Vince
Wilfork, more than made up for it.
"The NFL can do what they want to do, but it's a problem,"
Wilfork said. "They need to be consistent with the call.
I'm pissed off about it because I've been through this."
Wilfork was given an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty and
later fined $12,500 last season for a hit on Buffalo
quarterback J.P. Losman.
"He hit the quarterback below the waist and I hit a
quarterback below the waist," Wilfork said. "Fair should be
fair. They got me point-blank."
What is clear is that Brady will be relegated to
cheerleader status for the rest of the season. What isn't
clear is how much Cassel has learned from watching for the
past eight years.
"You can't have a better mentor than Tom Brady," Light
said. "That experience is invaluable."
Now we'll find out. 
  
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