New England Patriots Preseason Week 2 Recap: The End of Matt Cassel

It’s only preseason—thank God.

Here are a few quick observations from preseason game No. 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Matt Cassel

Dear Matt,

It’s been nice working with you. You did a great job holding the clipboard. Good luck in your post-football career.

Sincerely yours,

Tom Brady

P.S. There’s always the CFL!

The Defense

I’m actually not worried about the defense. Call me crazy, but I’m just not.

They’re not generating pressure on the opposing quarterback, which is something I’m certain they’ll do in the regular season.

The secondary never really looks out of position, but it's not making plays. It could be an issue throughout the year, but its job becomes much, much easier once the defensive line starts pressuring the opposing quarterback.

Marshall Faulk

I was unaware that he took so many hits to the head during his NFL career.

He’s still clearly upset the Patriots upset his Rams in 2002. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an analyst as anti-anyone as he is anti-Patriots.

Of course, this is the same moron who forgot who played offensive line for the Bills during the offseason and predicted the Patriots would lose every week until he was finally right, then took credit for being one of the few to predict the upset.

He has absolutely no business being on TV. Just because you were a great running back once upon a time doesn’t mean you know anything about current NFL players.

Please take him off my TV. Forever.

Chad Jackson

I’m still waiting for this guy to show something, but I’m not sure you can accurately judge a wide receiver in an offense that’s being run by Matt Cassel.

Remember Scott Zolak? He was Drew Bledsoe’s backup for years, and we all just assumed he was good. After all, he kept making the team.

Then Bledsoe got hurt and he had to play. Good God, he was awful.

Well, Brady’s hurt and Cassel has had to play with the first team. And good God, he’s awful.

Anyway, point is, I don’t think you can cut Chad Jackson until we see him on the field with Tom Brady.

Tom Brady

Anyone else getting worried?

OK, I’m not worried yet. But I will be if he doesn’t play next week.

Wes Welker

OK, there was some good.

Randy Moss is the best receiver on the team, but Wes Welker might be the most exciting, once the ball gets into his hands.

He looks in mid-season form, which is just about the only good thing I was able to take out of this game.

It’s Only Preseason

I’ve long contended that preseason is only important if you’re not a good team. If you’re a borderline team, you need the preseason to build confidence. If you’re a good team, just stay healthy.

So, I’m not concerned.

As long as Brady comes back healthy. If he’s not healthy, based on what I’ve seen from his backups, the Pats might be playing for a draft pick this season.

Sean Crowe is a Senior Writer and an NFL Community Leader at Bleacher Report. You can email him at [e-mail]. His archive can be found here. You can find everything he writes, including articles for other publications, here.