Tom Brady Out for the Season

[Toine43]

With a completely healthy Seymour playing a role in the best front 7 in the NFL, we can still win games in a grind-it-out manner. It's just going to take a better game-in, game-out effort from all players and coaches. For the first time in a long time, the Pats won't be able to get away with a victory if they don't give a complete effort. I might just be a huge homer, but with the easy schedule and division we have, making the playoffs is still a possibility, if not a probability. Keep in mind, we also have going for us Randy Moss, Wes Welker, an offensive line filled with pro bowlers, solid depth at running back, and as I said a fantastic front 7. But that being said, this win means nothing, because the Chiefs are absolute garbage. Against some actual offenses, our secondary might be exposed in the future. The same can be said about our o-line, which hopefully will remain solid despite its injury problems.

[crownsy]

Sorry guys this is all my fault. In Jeff's FFL thread where he asked what to do with the 1st and 3rd picks in the draft I advised against picking Brady and/or Manning so high in a keeper league because sooner or later their extremely unnatural consecutive games streak would come to an end big time with injuries.

Of course I was told you can't draft thinking someone is going to be injured and that person was right. But still, QBs just don't play as many consecutive games as Manning, Brady and Favre without sooner or later going down for an extended period of time. They are in the most vulnerable position to get hit with a serious injury considering how their bodies are trying to perform one act that is about as polar an opposite to bracing for a serious hit to prevent injury as a football player can be.(Punters aren't football players)

[dang] it. I put the whammy on the whole freaking season. Sorry guys. My bad.

i thought about that today when i heard, you and me were debating if a QB or RB was more risky injury wise.

this sucks 

[MattG12]

id take michael bishop, rohan davey, vinny testaverde, doug flutie... just please not matt cassel.

[jimmyt]

id take michael bishop, rohan davey, vinny testaverde, doug flutie... just please not matt cassel.

Cassell deserves a chance to be the QB. Hes been on the team long enough where he obviously knows the system and the team and playbook. Yeah hes no brady, but with moss, welker, and others, he has the weapons to get by. Might be seeing a lot more of Maroney too.

Sucks that Brady is out, but if we look at the schedule we can still go like 11-5..

[Champzilla]

I was the first poster to say season over, and everyone thought I was crazy (2nd post)

[nickagneta]

here's the simple facts. Yes, the regular season is salvageable. Our chances at returning to the Superbowl and winning it are not. Good thing the Celtics training camp is just around the corner and the Red Sox look like their primed for a repeat. This football season has just lost a lot of its luster.

[Celtic]

Worst part of all this is that the rest of the team is still so [dang] good that they will compete and make the playoffs, but once they play a top team like the Colts or the Cowboys, they will get picked apart and wont have Brady to pick the other teams apart. I will still hope for the best for the Pats this year, but since we are so used to success here, and winning the superbowl is the only measure of success, I feel like thinking they are a real contender is being delusional.

I live in NY and I said last night, it's only a matter of time before local sports TV and radio starts talking about the Jets increased chances of winning the division and going deep in the playoffs, like clockwork the predictable, horrid, delusional NY sports media has already started with it as of last night.

[NicaraguanFan]

I was the first poster to say season over, and everyone thought I was crazy (2nd post)

We just wanted to keep some faith and hope Champ...

[Finkelskyhook]

I loved Belichick rolling the dice and throwing the bomb out of the end zone.  Then I loved how he had Cassel throwing short high percentage passes to boost his confidence.  Brilliant coaching.

The best thing about Cassel is that nobody knows anything about him.  He has no college history.  What are they going to scout?  His high school play?    It'll take 5-6 games for opponents scouting to get any kind of real beat on him.  By then he'll have confidence and it won't matter as much.  They'll also have Faulk, the best safety valve in the game, back next week.  If Cassel stays healthy, the Pats should still have a great season. 

I'm not calling Brady a product of the system.  But I do believe Belichick has groomed Cassel all of this time because he knows something we don't.  It'll be alright.  It will be interesting to see what vet gets brought on board.  I would hardly call Rattay or Simms a vet so I think somebody else is going to be signed.

[JSD]

This team has veteran leadership and coaching that will lead to 12 or more wins:

- Bill Belicheck and Josh McDaniel will tweak and simplify the offensive playbook.

- Randy Moss has not missed a step.(The pathetic fumble during the shear misery of Brady going down aside)

- Cassell has been here for 4 years, he knows the system and has weapons.

- Morris is back, looking great and probably would have been the # 2 story of the game behind "Brady hasn't missed a beat...Preseason is irrelevant." because of yesterdays performance. The guy is a powerhouse and a great situational change up from Maroney.

Brady replacing Bledsoe and going on to do what he's done is especially unique and happens once a lifetime. But you could never reference the 2001 season without acknowledging the system in which Brady stayed within to have success.

In conclusion, the system is the most important thing that the Patriots have going for them and it has proven to be effective in the past and will be going forward.

[Chris]

I loved Belichick rolling the dice and throwing the bomb out of the end zone.  Then I loved how he had Cassel throwing short high percentage passes to boost his confidence.  Brilliant coaching.

Supposedly that wasn't Belichick, it was a read by Cassel and Moss.  It was supposed to be a shorter pass, but they both saw the defense jumping it, so he broke off the pattern, and went deep, and luckily they were both on the same page.  That story more than any made me feel more confident in Cassel, because the two real questions with him are 1. can he stand in the pocket and make the throw (this is still yet to be determined), and 2. can he make the right reads.

When you look at the preseason, a few of the ugliest plays came from backup recievers (cough::Jackson::cough) looking like they were running the wrong routes.  If Cassel is on the same page as the recievers, then I think this team will be a step closer to being OK without Brady.

[Finkelskyhook]

I loved Belichick rolling the dice and throwing the bomb out of the end zone.  Then I loved how he had Cassel throwing short high percentage passes to boost his confidence.  Brilliant coaching.

Supposedly that wasn't Belichick, it was a read by Cassel and Moss.  It was supposed to be a shorter pass, but they both saw the defense jumping it, so he broke off the pattern, and went deep, and luckily they were both on the same page.  That story more than any made me feel more confident in Cassel, because the two real questions with him are 1. can he stand in the pocket and make the throw (this is still yet to be determined), and 2. can he make the right reads.

When you look at the preseason, a few of the ugliest plays came from backup recievers (cough::Jackson::cough) looking like they were running the wrong routes.  If Cassel is on the same page as the recievers, then I think this team will be a step closer to being OK without Brady.

The fact that coaching would give Cassel, playing in his first series, under that kind of pressure by the goal line, the option to audible to that, speaks to the confidence they must have in Cassel.  Amazing.  Cassel did some good things against a tough defense.

[jmen788]

Everyone keeps referencing how the Patriots system will make it easier on Cassel as it did with brady... BUT the system has been made so much more complex and harder due to the big time acquisitions of Moss and Welker... this was a high octane offense and I am afraid to know how Moss feels about less bombs and more YAC yards... lets hope Belichek can pull this rabbit out of his hat again..

[crownsy]

Everyone keeps referencing how the Patriots system will make it easier on Cassel as it did with brady... BUT the system has been made so much more complex and harder due to the big time acquisitions of Moss and Welker... this was a high octane offense and I am afraid to know how Moss feels about less bombs and more YAC yards... lets hope Belichek can pull this rabbit out of his hat again..

why would moss see less bombs? did you see yesterday?

scouting reports say cassel has a better arm than brady, distance wise.

Im not sure he'll complete near as many long bombs to moss as tom terrific will, but trust me, cassel will throw them. Arm strength is not a weakness for him. Making the correct reads, accuracy, and timing are things im worried about, the ability to throw the ball 50+ yards in the air is not.

[Chris]

I loved Belichick rolling the dice and throwing the bomb out of the end zone.  Then I loved how he had Cassel throwing short high percentage passes to boost his confidence.  Brilliant coaching.

Supposedly that wasn't Belichick, it was a read by Cassel and Moss.  It was supposed to be a shorter pass, but they both saw the defense jumping it, so he broke off the pattern, and went deep, and luckily they were both on the same page.  That story more than any made me feel more confident in Cassel, because the two real questions with him are 1. can he stand in the pocket and make the throw (this is still yet to be determined), and 2. can he make the right reads.

When you look at the preseason, a few of the ugliest plays came from backup recievers (cough::Jackson::cough) looking like they were running the wrong routes.  If Cassel is on the same page as the recievers, then I think this team will be a step closer to being OK without Brady.

The fact that coaching would give Cassel, playing in his first series, under that kind of pressure by the goal line, the option to audible to that, speaks to the confidence they must have in Cassel.  Amazing.  Cassel did some good things against a tough defense.

Although I agree, I don't think it is a matter of giving Cassel the option.  It is a requirement of any QB and reciever in the Pats system to be able to make the correct reads.  It was not an audible, it was a read during the play.  These happen during every passing play run by the patriots.  They have set reads, based on what the defense does, and it is important that both the reciever and QB make the same read.  It is not something that they point out before the play and make an audible, it is something that they have to trust that the other person will see, because it is their job.

On a side note, I have a feeling the inability to do this is a big reason why Jackson got cut.