Tom Brady is hurt, still.
Despite having no fewer than four operations on what's left of his left knee, Brady might need another.
The infections that attacked his surgically repaired knee have left scar tissue. The buildup of scar tissue might require yet another operation to correct and if that happens...
Well, we might not see much of Tom Brady in 2009 either.
This now puts the New England Patriots in a very interesting situation where the expense of keeping Matt Cassel might prove harmful to the salary cap, but his release could result in Cassel signing with a division rival like the Jets, leaving the Patriots with crippled Tom Brady.
What do they do?
That all depends on how well Tom Brady manages to heal between now and September.
If I were running things in New England, I'd release Cassel and either sign or draft a potentially good quarterback to fill the void.
New England fans have yet to realize that the positive production they have seen out of both Tom Brady and Matt Cassel these past two years have been a big result of having a brilliant system in place that benefits from the exploits of Randy Moss and the coverage he takes away from other receivers.
They'd love to believe that their past two starting quarterbacks are the main factor in New England's production. If you place a decent quarterback into their system in 2009, you'll get a similar result, much like you've seen out of Matt Cassel this year.
Then again, that all depends on Randy Moss. He isn't getting any younger and when his abilities begin to decline, so too will the fortunes of the Patriots. Without a healthy Moss to produce touchdowns and the threat he posses taking away passing coverage, whoever the quarterback might be will struggle.
It's a sticky situation, but the Patriots won't be very busy this January so they will have plenty of time to figure it out.
12 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Greg Howe 6 months ago
I think you franchise Cassel and if Brady is healthy then you can trade Cassel for a high draft pick if they feel it is necessary. I don't see the Pats letting Cassel walk especially if Brady's health is up in the air.
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Peter Coach 6 months ago
lol @ this ridiculous article....Brady had 2 surgeries. 1 for the initial repair and the other to get rid of inflammation. He may have a third one to remove scar tissue which will speed up his rehab aand help him move his knee better.
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Sky Dog 6 months ago
honestly, this guy is ridiculous
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jack calt 6 months ago
Great job
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patrick bohn 6 months ago
Ryan,
This is another article that really makes no sense. You talk about how Brady and Cassell are products of the system and of Randy Moss, but
1) Moss has only played in NE for two seasons. The Patriots won three Super Bowls without him. So to claim Moss as the reason for the success isn't logical because Brady was successful before Moss arrived
2) You build a system around players. Not the other way around. Tom Brady allows the Patriots to run the system they do
3) Cassell's success does not mean "any decent QB" can be good in NE. The Patriots scored 177 points less with Cassell at the helm this season, a season with scoring at it's highest in years. There was a significant dropoff in offense with this group of players and the biggest main difference is Cassell. Additionaly, most of their high scoring games came against bad defenses.
Oakland (24th) 49 points
Arizona (28th) 47 points
Denver (30th) 41 points
San Fransisco (23rd) 30 points
They did score 48 on Miami once, but were held to 13 the other time. They were held to 15 against Indy, a Top 10 defense, and 10 against Pittsburgh, the best defense in the league.
They played 4 games against top 10 defenses this season and were held to 15 or less three times
4) Why aren't you discussing a one-year franschise then trade option?
You really need to start fleshing out these articles more and going a little more in depth to back up claims you make
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Ryan Michael 6 months ago
I realize that Moss has only played in NE for 2 years but before his arrival, Brady's statistics were not nearly as productive, not even close with his career high in TD passes being 26.
They won 3 super bowls because they had the best teams in those seasons, not because Brady was the best QB. They no longer have the great team they once had, thus they are far more reliant on Moss' production than they would have been in prior years.
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Jon Myslivy 6 months ago
Its obvious that you don't know jack about either Brady's physical status, nor the Patriots as a whole.. go back to kneeling in front of Peyton Manning...
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Ryan Michael 6 months ago
What's so obvious about this alleged "lack of knowledge"?
As far as kneeling in front of Peyton Manning, I don't believe in the worship of athletes...even the greatest quarterback in NFL history, but I will say that I will spend plent of time watching Peyton Manning throw touchdowns.
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Jon Myslivy 6 months ago
lack of knowledge like this: "Despite having no fewer than four operations on what's left of his left knee, Brady might need another."
He has had 2 surgeries, the main one, and a small surgery to wash out some infection"
and this:
"New England fans have yet to realize that the positive production they have seen out of both Tom Brady and Matt Cassel these past two years have been a big result of having a brilliant system in place that benefits from the exploits of Randy Moss and the coverage he takes away from other receivers."
You obviously do not know anything about the Patriots Offensive scheme. It is a ball control, screen filled, short pass over the middle type offense. Its not Randy Moss that brought the stats, but Moss, Welker, and Gaffney that ran the defenses ragged. Without either Welker and Gaffney, Moss would not have had half the production he had, it would have been spread out among all the receivers as is the case with the patriots system - focusing on the open man, not an individual.
and this: "They'd love to believe that their past two starting quarterbacks are the main factor in New England's production. If you place a decent quarterback into their system in 2009, you'll get a similar result, much like you've seen out of Matt Cassel this year."
Again you are talking out your ass. The games that Cassel lit up the stats were against 4 of the worst defenses in the entire NFL. The games he played a decent defense, they LOST.
and this gem: "Then again, that all depends on Randy Moss. He isn't getting any younger and when his abilities begin to decline, so too will the fortunes of the Patriots. Without a healthy Moss to produce touchdowns and the threat he posses taking away passing coverage, whoever the quarterback might be will struggle." - So I guess the 3 Super Bowls that The Patriots won WITHOUT Moss, in fact without a pro bowl caliber offensive player BESIDES Brady do not count?
Let me ask you this - with the 2 HOF receivers, a HOF running back, and other Pro Bowl players to his credit - what is the reasoning that Manning only made it to ONE SB?... ::waiting on the standard the defense lost the games for us bullcrap Indy Colt's fan mantra::
manning is the greatest QB in history? ROFL... you son, don't know JACK about football do you..
Manning probably will not even hit the top 5.. under Unitas, Baugh, Montana, Elway and Brady just to name a few..
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Gary Wolff 6 months ago
Although the system might be superior (we can discuss in length elsewhere), the physical ability of Brady and Cassel, the accuracy of their throws, their ability to recognize what defenses are trying to do, etc, has nothing to do with the system or Moss' presence.
It does have a lot to do with the coaching, but without the talent, mind-set, and work ethic of these guys all else would be meaningless.
As for the future or stop-gap that doesn't include Brady and Cassel, O'Connell appears to be an excellent option, and he's got a years experience and is already under contract. Now that is a credit to the system.
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Sean Vogel 6 months ago
You gotta remember Cassel has been in the system for years now. You can't just plug in some quarterback no matter how good the system or QB is and expect a result. Cassel was able to learn from Brady during his years as back-up and that is why he is having success now.
If Tom Brady is in serious jeopardy of missing more time than expected...then the Pats gotta franchise him for at least a year. If Tom Brady is 100% back, you could always trade Cassel. But I doubt the Patriots want to see Cassel playing for the Jets next year, so i would suspect they keep him.
Plus it was Cassel's first year starting since high school. One can only assume he is going to improve next year. He still has a lot to develop. A consistent deep ball, taking less sacks...etc. But all things considered, Cassel played extremely well. Its amazing the Patriots made it to where did considering all the injuries to star players.
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Kent Nguyen 6 months ago
Defense wins championships. Not Qbs.
Terry Bradshaw won 4 superbowls. He had one more touchdown than intercept in his entire career.
the 2001, 2003,2004 patriots were far better than the 2007 patriots.
01,03,04 had top 5 defenses. 07 defense sucked.
Still. You gotta keep Brady. No matter what. He instills belief and leadership unparalleled by any other player in the Patriots locker room.
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patsin09 6 months ago
it is a ball control, screen filled, short pass over the middle type offense. Its not Randy Moss that brought the stats, but Moss, Welker, and Gaffney that ran the defenses ragged. Without either Welker and Gaffney, Moss would not have had half the production he had, it would have been spread out among all the receivers as is the case with the patriots system - focusing on the open man, not an individual.
Ryan, jon is right
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tom collins 6 months ago
no, one knows if brady will be able to play next year . he can walk ffine he is still getting paid for doing not one thing he could be ready thats why you hear all different stories like hes fine hes not fine right now he can do anything sit in his house all day and get 1o mill for it he will be back next year sometime next year and if not the pats will be screwed
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