Can New England Do Anything to Save the 2008 Season?

By John Gray , Correspondent
Sep 8, 2008

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Can New England Do Anything to Save the 2008 Season?

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The 2008 season is officially over in New England. Keep out your golf clubs and/or your fishing tackle. The Patriots are now the Packers w/ four year backups taken over franchise QBs after great success last year.

Without Brady the Pats get to return to the pre-Bledsoe QB days of Tommy Hodson, Hugh Millen, Marc Wilson, and Rich Gannon (when he was young and unproven). When you watched the Patriots because you had nothing better to do was like watching the Celtics before last year.

The Patriots naively did not bring in a veteran QB to backup Brady in case the Titanic did actually get hit by an iceberg. The Patriots are bringing in Chris Simms and Tim Rattay, but any QB new to the system won't be ready for several weeks.

The choices are:

QB's that know the system that can step in quickly:

Testaverde, Bledsoe, Flutie, Guiterrez (recently cut and young)

QB that don't know the system which will take several weeks:

Chris Simms, Culpepper and other lessor stiffs

It would be worth calling Bledsoe, since he knows the system unlike Culpepper or any other outsider. Though he had one year off. Brady will have a year off when he returns next year.

Couldn't the injury have waited till halfway in the season or later? It is remnant of the 1999 Jets when they lost Vinny Testaverde in game one against the same Pats. The Jets were perhaps championship bound, but with Vinny getting injured; Keyshawn Johnson stormed off the press stage in tears and the Jets went on to 1-15 for the year with Parsells as coach.

I see the Patriots Over/ Under in 2008 to six games under Cassell. A very good year without Brady is 8-8. This will be a great test to Belichick to see how good he is or will he return to his lack of success w/o Brady like his Cleveland Browns days.

Regardless, Patriotland will have to wait 12 long months for Brady's return in 2009. A very small consolation prize will be another top 10 draft pick next April.