For all those out there that were calling for Matt Cassel's head on a platter, hopefully last night's performance bought him at least another week or two before you give him the axe for Daunte Culpepper.
Was Cassel perfect? Definitely not.
He took six sacks (though there appeared to be miscues by the line and missed assignments by the running backs on more than a couple of them), was knocked down 11 times, and still looked indecisive at times in the pocket.
But you can't argue with the numbers.
Three touchdowns. Zero interceptions. Passer rating of 136.3 (which ranks in the top 10 all time in Patriots history).
Most importantly, the Patriots are now 4-2.
Oh, and last night's win was the most impressive so far in the NFL of 2008.
Look, there's still a long way to go, and it looks like the Pats will be without Rodney Harrison and Laurence Maroney.
But as we saw last night, games are won in the trenches, and when the Patriots offensive and defensive lines come to play, they can beat anyone.
Cassel's maturation has closely followed that of Tom Brady in 2001. He might not be Tom Brady, but the Patriots certainly are a better team with Cassel at the helm than they would be with any free agent, journeyman veteran.
If Cassel continues to develop the Patriots could make some noise in January.
Other Quick Thoughts
I expect John Lynch to be re-signed any second now. He can fill the linebacker/safety role that Rodney played. You can't help but feel bad for Harrison, one of the true warriors to ever play this game. It was a nice moment when Tedy Bruschi walked out and spoke with him just before he was carted off.
Rodney will surely be missed, but in the wake of seeing Tom Brady go down, no injury seems quite as insurmountable.
I am almost more worried about the Sammy Morris injury. After last night's first half, was anyone particularly concerned about losing Laurence Maroney to season-ending IR? If Morris is out for any length of time, LaMont Jordan better get healthy quickly. Benjarvus Green-Ellis looked good, but show me a running back who hasn't against Denver.
For those Pats detractors who use the "Pats D is old and slow" adage, you're looking even more sorely uninformed now. At times last night, there were three rookies on the field for the Pats, along with second-year player and emerging star Brandon Meriweather. Take Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas out of the equation and the entire D is under 30.
As much of an ass-pounding as last night was, I can't help but wonder how different it would've been if Cutler hadn't banged his hand on the first play of the game. The Broncos were moving the ball early. And the Pats were still bringing knives to a gunfight (a.k.a. kicking field goals).
Seems like the football gods just wanted the Pats to have this one. As has often been a signature of the Pats' dynasty, they allowed the Broncos to kill themselves with turnovers and didn't have any of their own.
Is it possible that second-round pick Terrence Wheatley has been passed by Jonathan Wilhite AND Mike Richardson? Wheatley was inactive last night, while Wilhite took over starting RCB duties for an injured Ellis Hobbs. Richardson, just called up from the practice squad Monday, got a lot of snaps at nickel.
Gary Guyton continues to impress, with an athletic fumble recovery.
Big game versus a revitalized St. Louis Rams squad this weekend. 5-2 would be a mighty nice start.
Mike Dussault is the Patriots Community Leader at Bleacher Report, and also a contributor at BostonSportz.com. His Patriots blog can be viewed here and he can be contacted at PatriotsPropaganda@gmail.com.
5 comments Last one added 8 months ago — Leave a Comment
Ryan Burns 8 months ago
mike
nice article. im a little concerned about sammy morris myself, but hopefully he should be ready to go against the rams. were going to need him for buffalo, thats for sure. as far as cassel goes, it looks like he keeps getting better. now its time for him to have two good games in a row and be a little more consistent. and 5-2 would be a nice start
Ryan
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Mike Dussault 8 months ago
Thanks Ryan, totally agree on Sammy. His health is really key to the Pats going forward. If he's okay and Jordan comes back things should be looking alright. Early thought on the Rams - if they can shut down Stephen Jackson, something i think they are well capable of, they should be able to get it done.
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William Berry 8 months ago
I wrote a story on "the Patriots defense is old" crap.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/71435-the-patriots-defense-is-old-the-truth-behind-the-espn-analyst-crap
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Mike Dussault 8 months ago
Apparently Bruschi, Vrabel and Rodney (RIP) are the only people who play defense for the Pats.
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Zachary Hueras 8 months ago
Sammy Morris' injury does not appear to be severe, but that's based on one report that he was walking around after the game without a limp. So it's up in the air, but hopefully that quells some of your fears.
Regarding Wheatley - I don't think he's been passed by. A journalist made a note that Wheatley typically plays outside corner, where Ellis Hobbs and Deltha O'Neal are starting. I can't speak for Mike Richardson, but Wilhite plays as a slot corner. I think Richardson was active more for his special teams role, but when Sanders and Harrison went down is number got called. Well, that and standard rotation.
Lynch will definitely be signed, but it will be interesting to see how the depth chart looks afterwards. Personally I'd like to see Meriweather starting at FS, while switching James Sanders to the SS spot (which is where he technically plays anyway).
I also have to agree that so far Cassel's season has been eerily similar to Brady's first season: 182 YPG versus 189 for Brady, 25 sacks through 6 versus 41 through 15 for Brady (and note how Cassel was sacked once in the second half and had two throwaways forced by pressure). We're even playing the same NFC division we played in 2001!
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