Posts tagged MattCassel at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

After Tom Brady's implosion against the Giants in the Super Bowl, the Patriots apparently have more holes to fill than just at linebacker and in the secondary. Bill Belichick hasn't been able to talk Doug Flutie out of retirement, even with the promise of a chance to win a starting job. Sure, Matt Cassel's on the team, but let's be honest, he was a career college backup for a reason: he's not very good.

Which is why the Patriots will look for their next franchise quarterback via the draft. It's no secret that Belichick is unhappy with all of Brady's off-field exploits* and is looking to phase him out of the offense. So who are potential options? Well, New England has the seventh-overall pick and if Matt Ryan's still on the board he has to be a possibility. More likely, though, Ryan will be long gone and the Pats will look for a quarterback in Round 2. And that explains this:

The Patriots recently sent a high-ranking member of their coaching staff to meet with [University of San Diego's Josh] Johnson for a private workout. Scouts often say that Division I-AA players must dominate if they are to receive serious NFL consideration, and Johnson did that [in college].

Quarterback Tom Brady was sacked just twice during the Patriots' AFC Championship victory over the Chargers. Although he seemed lethargic and out of sorts all afternoon, he never showed any signs that he might be injured. (I just figured he was drunk.)

Apparently, though, Brady didn't make it out of Sunday's game unscathed: Tommy Tremendous was seen sporting a walking cast while crossing a New York City street. (I'll let you guess where he was going ... and, yeah, those are flowers.)

According to wire reports, Brady didn't deny that he got nicked up against the Chargers, but he also didn't seem too worried about it:

"Ah, you know, there's always bumps and bruises. I'll be ready for the Super Bowl," Brady said, according to the Boston Herald. "I'm not worried about that. I'm not missing this one. I'd have to be on a stretcher to miss this one. There will be treatment this week. In games like this, you get a little nicked up. It's nothing serious."

Given that the Super Bowl is in two weeks, I can't imagine this will be an issue. In fact, he seemed to be moving well enough that if the game was this weekend, I'm guessing he'd play.

Jeebus, New England didn't even have to play today to win the AFC East. All they had to do was sit back, and let the Bills beat themselves. And that's exactly what happened this afternoon against the Jags.

No matter what happens against the Eagles tonight, the Pats are in the '08 playoffs. Of course, that was pretty clear about a month ago, but now it's official. Currently, New England has a five-game lead on the second-place Bills, followed by the hapless Jets (2-9) and Dolphins (0-10), teams that have been out of contention since, oh, Week 1 or so.

Now the question becomes: does New England go for the perfect season and continue to blow out opponents like it's a Globetrotters-Generals matchup, or, once homefield advantage is established, does Bill Belichick rest starters in anticipation of a deep postseason run?

I think we all know the answer to this one. First, anybody who's seen Matt Cassel under center knows that he's great at running the scout team and not much else. Second, what reason would Belichick have for taking it easy so late in the season, given that he's shown no signs of letting up thus far? That's right: there isn't one.

So expect the Patriots to keep doing what they've done through the first 12 weeks. And if you're not a fan of beatdowns at the hands of accused cheaters, I suggest you find other ways to occupy yourself the next few months. Because I have a feeling it's going to get worse before it gets better.

"Win any way as long as you can get away with it. Nice guys finish last."
- Leo Durocher

In the wake of The Beatdown, some NFL folks are kinda curious about why, exactly, the Patriots needed to score two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Redskins when they were already leading by 38 points. My guess: Matt Cassel needed the confidence boost.

On this afternoon's Outside the Lines, ESPN's Michael Smith discussed the Patriots' preferred method of victory (bludgeoning), and the reaction around the league.



I got a feeling it's going to get worse before it gets better for Patriots' opponents. Unless...

There's not really much to complain about in Patriot Land. What with milk and honey flowing freely, and the team sitting at 7-0, clearly on their way to a perfect season. But if one was to voice a concern, it might be depth at quarterback.

In the fourth quarter of Sunday's beatdown of the Dolphins, Bill Belichick gave Tom Brady a break and replaced him with Matt Cassel. Cassel managed only two attempts, including a pick-six, before Belichick went back to Brady. But the head coach threw a little support behind the second-stringer at his weekly press conference:

"Look, every player has bad plays and every coach has bad calls," said Belichick yesterday. "We all have it. That's part of the game. We have good ones and we have bad ones, so everybody is in the same boat there."

To be fair, that was the first action Cassel had seen all year, and it's not like the guy is brimming with experience -- he backed up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC before doing the same for Tommy Terrific. Cassel also has a Bradyfan:

"That was unfortunate because Matt works awfully hard," Brady said. "I think they disguised the pressure, and Jason Taylor being the defensive player of the year last year that he is, came over and made a great play."

I wrote about this last week, but it's worth reiterating here: the Pats are deep at virtually every position on the roster, but if Brady goes down, Sayonara perfect season, Super Bowl, postseason, winning record. Especially now that Vinny Testaverde is with the Panthers.

It would be easy to say the Patriots will finally be tested this week. Not so much because they're playing the minor league Miami Dolphins -- a team that has given New England trouble over the years -- but because the injuries are starting to pile up.

Running back Sammy Morris left the Dallas game with a chest injury, and he won't play tomorrow. And it looks like tight end Benjamin Watson won't suit up either. Morris filled in nicely for Laurence Maroney, who missed the previous three games with a groin thingy.

Maroney's questionable for tomorrow. Watson is one of the fastest tight ends in the NFL (just ask Champ Bailey), and he's grown into the position. If he can't go, glorified offensive tackle Kyle Brady and Marcellus Rivers could see more time.

But here's the thing: the Pats have been without All Pro defensive end Richard Seymour all season, and steroid-crazed Rodney Harrison just returned to the team last week.

The point: Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick have done an amazing job of building depth on this team. If one guy -- or, hell, five guys go down -- someone always steps up. The only position where that doesn't hold is quarterback. You can talk up Matt Cassel all you want, if Tom Brady goes down, the Pats go with him.