Five Reasons To Believe in the New England Patriots

Step off the bridge. Take the razor away from your wrist. Open the garage door and let the carbon monoxide out. Even though the New England Patriots have lost Tom Brady for the season, they will be fine.

Sure, No. 12 is the reigning MVP. He did torch the league for a record 50 touchdowns last year. He did come ohsoclose to donning a fourth Super Bowl ring, but it's not the end of the world, even though for 24 hours, it may have felt like it.

Having said all that, here are five reasons to still believe in the Patriots this year.

1 - It's not unprecedented for a team to lose their starting QB and still have a great season.

In 1999, the St. Louis Rams had starter Trent Green get injured in the preseason and had to insert NFL Europe alum Kurt Warner into the lineup. Warner won the NFL and Super Bowl MVP that season by leading the Rams to a Super Bowl win.

Brady himself was a backup to Drew Bledsoe and needed a Mo-Lewis hit in order to get his shot in 2001. Is Matt Cassel the next Warner or Brady? Who knows, but isn't that the point?

We have no idea what Cassel is capable of, but rather assumptions based on preseason games. Before fans condemn him to a 1-15 season, shouldn't we do the same we did with Brady and give him the benefit of the doubt?

Side note: I find it ironic that Cassel is now starting, while the guy he was stuck behind—former USC first-stringer Matt Leinart—is stuck behind (ironically) Warner in Arizona. Life is strange.

2 - This team is loaded with smart players, both offensively and defensively.

There is a reason why NFL teams have a 53-man roster, and this is one of them. Lest people forget, Cassel has All-World receiver Randy Moss to throw to. He has Wes Welker working the short game to throw to.

He has not one, not two, not three, but four strong running backs in Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, LaMont Jordan, and Kevin Faulk to hand off to.

He has Pro Bowl linemen in front of him and...Oh yeah...This is just on the offensive side of the ball! Do you think Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Vince Wilfork, and Rodney Harrison feel a bit slighted that the media is calling their season over?

As long there is a guy named Belichick roaming the sideline, this team will always be defensive-minded. If there's any reason to believe, it's the word "defense."

3 - They play in the AFC East. This isn't the AFC South, with Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston. It's the still-rebuilding East, featuring luminaries like Miami, Buffalo. and the New York Bretts...sorry, Jets.

Brady or not, the Patriots have enough talent to win the East, but probably not in mid-October like they seemingly did last year. If this was next season, I'd be a lot more worried than I am right now.

If Chad Pennington and Trent Edwards send chills down your spine, football might not be the right sport for you.

4 - Another chip on their shoulder isn't a good thing for the league.

Didn't we hear the Patriots were playing with a chip on their shoulder for all of last season due to Spygate, hence the blowout scores? Haven't we heard the team would probably be on a mission this year due to the Super Bowl loss?

This team responds to adversity and uses it better than most, so having Brady out and everyone leaving them for dead will probably help stoke that disrespect fire again, don't you think?

5 - Management.

In times of crisis, we often forget about the people that gave us a reason to care in the first place. Bob and Jonathan Kraft are still owners. Scott Pioli still heads up one of the best player-development staffs in the league. Bill Belichick is still the head coach.

There is a reason Cassel has been a backup for the past three seasons, and I think we're about to see why he's stuck around. Even though a team not led by Brady was a mental impossibility for us just a week ago, it's a reality that this brain trust has probably discussed ad nauseam for years because, well, they simply had to.

Their legacy won't be harmed by what we're about to see this season, but it can be brought to a whole new level if this team exceeds expectations.

The Patriots head into the Meadowlands this Sunday and instead of a Brady vs. Favre matchup, we're going to get something much more important: the first start of Matt Cassel's NFL career.

He might be more Boylston than Broadway, but with Boston sports heroes now being created with every change of the season, we might be ready for the most improbable induction into that level yet.

Josh Nason started Small White Ball in 2007 and is the main contributor of content for the site. A long-time writer, his work can also be read at sites like RopesRingandCage.com, EmailMarketingGuy.com and others. He also does radio appearances and was on TV once, albeit for a lame public television game show. He can be reached at [e-mail].