Pick 6 Topics From ShutdownCorner.com

1. Tom Brady Injured The NFL has not suffered an injury like this since 1999 when reigning NFL MVP Terrell Davis went down for the season. That moment against the Jets began the downward spiral of a great career. Will Tom Brady suffer the same fate? I hope not, and think not. Brady is a resilient man will undoubtedly work his heart out to come back. He has a full year to recover from the injury, and many quarterbacks (Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb) have been back by Opening Day the next season after an ACL injury. Have faith, New England. 2. Who replaces him? New England is going to start Matt Cassel next week. That is the right choice. The team has been grooming him since 2005. He has an arm. He knows the system. Who, I ask, would be able to come in this week or even next week and be able to lead this offense? Chris Simms? No. Daunte Culpepper? No. Tim Rattay? Not even. Cassel gives this team the best chance. 3. What is the one thing Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick can’t do? Acquire and/or mold a backup quarterback. The team has had veteran backups like Damon Huard and Doug Flutie, and drafted Rohan Davey, Kliff Kingsbury, the aforementioned Cassel, and this years 3rd round pick Kevin O’Connell. Davey went nine picks behind David Garrard and over 2 rounds ahead J.T. O’Sullivan.  Both of those men were starting in the NFL the past week, while Davey toils in the AFL. Sure, the team can replace Deion Branch and David Givens with Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell. Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy depart, and Asante Samuel and James Sanders go from virtual nobodies to suitable if not spectacular replacements. But developing the backup and contingency plan quarterback for the super durable Brady has all been a lot of jokes. “Remember Rohan Davey?” and friend would say. Or Chris Berman can laugh about New England have a 43 year old man as their backup. And only that wild Belichick would draft a quarterback with zero college starts. But now, Bill and company are faced with their biggest flaw. It hit that smack dab in the face. Or should I say, in the knee. 4. Was the hit dirty? As soon as I saw the hit, I thought of the hit Rodney Harrison made on Trent Green in the 1999 preseason. I do not view either of those hits as dirty. Kansas City is a young team filled with youth trying to prove themselves. Bernard Pollard is a bigger safety who likes to stop the run and blitz. Diving in at all costs and risking his body for the sack is something Pollard believes in. I am sure Pollard didn’t intend on diving into Brady’s knee. It’s just the way it ended up being. Don’t blame him. 5. The Beginning of the end for Vince Young? This surely is a far cry from standing in the confetti at Pasadena. Being booed by his home fans. A potentially serious knee injury. Rumors of Young trying to pull himself from the game unexplained. Sure, Vince brought Titans fans to their feet his rookie year with his own feet. Many fans assumed the passing aspect of the game would come to Vince at some point in his second season. When he did, watch out! That moment has yet to come. Reminds me of a certain someone else. Mike Vick’s career took a similar pattern, and even before his dog fighting scandal, he was still on the hot seat in Atlanta. So the precedent has been set. Mobile quarterbacks that “win” games will only be tolerated for so long. Will Vince ever turn the corner that Vick just never could? It is looking less and less likely. 6. Does Favre still have the magic? He sure did yesterday. While Favre only had an above average game by most standards, the team clearly fed off him. He seemingly could be the final piece of one big push here by the Jets for the Super Bowl. So don’t start printing the playoff tickets in New York yet, but at least get the paper ready.