My Two Cents: The Lose of Tom Brady

Losing the face of the franchise barely seven minutes into the start of the 2008 season is a tough and bitter pill to swallow. But I am reminded of a saying “that which does not kill us, only makes us stronger.” Life as a New England Patriot just got a bit harder with Brady’s absence but it does not mean the season’s over. Take a look at the three top things to expect with Matt Cassel under center.

Do not expect Matt Cassel to be Tom Brady

Matt Cassel is Matt Cassel. He is not Tom Brady. Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay put it best after he was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Red Sox in the Manny Ramirez deal. “They’re not asking me to step in and play above and beyond everyone’s expectations. They’re asking me to be me.” So Pats fans don’t put added pressure on the 26-year-old QB.

Belichick and Veterans Need to Step It Up

To supplement the loss of Brady, the Pats defensive front seven need to step up their game. Cassel is not a bail bondsman, he can not bail the team out like Brady did last year at against the Ravens and it starts with Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas, Tedy Bruschi and the young Jerod Mayo.

During his seven years in Minnesota, Randy Moss made quarterback Daunte Culpepper look like one of the elite QB’s in the league. So in this time of crisis, Moss must become a leader on this Patriots team. Just as he did in the first week of the season, Cassel can throw the ball up in Moss’s direction and because of the wide out’s height and athleticism, Moss will come down with the ball the majority percent of the time.

But it is not just limited to the players. How can you expect the players to step up their own game if the coach does not do the same? Bill Belichick has to let the players know they are going to “stay the course.”

The “Fatal Flaw”

With the biggest flaw on this team now being the quarter back position, many teams such as the Colts, Steelers and Chargers will try to take the ball out of Laurence Maroney’s hands and put them in Cassel’s. They will want to make Cassel beat them.

After watching Boston College Eagles in their first two games of the season, I have come to the conclusion that the Patriots 2008 campaign is going to be similar. Although Cassel played very well against the Kansas City Chiefs, they are the professional equivalent of Kent State. Unlike Georgia Tech last week in the Eagles home opener, Kent State was unable to exploit the fatal flaws in the Eagles game.

If Cassel is able to “minimize the damage” and with one of the easier schedules in the NFL, I could possibly see the Patriots going 10-6, maybe 11-5.