Matt Cassel...

[pamtar]

...is blowing up.

Which leads to this question: has Tom Brady been a product of circumstance? He came out of nowhere and has been the top QB in the league since.

However, if Cassel keeps this up the NE front office is gonna have some tough decisions to make.

Thoughts?

[YmoBeThere]

We'll have to see what Cassel does come playoff time. And how healthy Tom Brady is next year.

[sue71, esq]

Groundhog Day. Again.

[YmoBeThere]

And where is G-vagueass? Near K-vegas?

[Bostondevil]

Speaking of Matt Cassel, where is UVAambassador? He owes me lunch. He needs to acknowledge that fact.

[YmoBeThere]

Perhaps a thread of that title would work best?

[dukegirlinsc]

I remember watching Matt Cassell on some reality tv show that aired on HBO a while back. It was about high school students or something along those lines.

Crazy that he's doing so well, especially since he didn't even start in college. Good for him though, hopefully he'll find a permanent home whenever Brady becomes healthy again. I think he deserves it.

I wonder what will happen to Tyler Thigpen?

[YmoBeThere]

Speaking of Matt Cassel, where is UVAambassador? He owes me lunch. He needs to acknowledge that fact.

He's over on the PPB as I type...

[Bostondevil]

Perhaps a thread of that title would work best?

I tried that, he ignored it.

[YmoBeThere]

Ahhh...he must have gotten some sour grapes.

[rthomas]

Next Sunday @4:15 will be the test for Cassell.

[pamtar]

And where is G-vagueass? Near K-vegas?

Its about fifteen miles west of the the Washington, NC metro area.

[Bostondevil]

Next Sunday @4:15 will be the test for Cassell.

You Steeler fans are so cute.

[JasonEvans]

...is blowing up.

Which leads to this question: has Tom Brady been a product of circumstance? He came out of nowhere and has been the top QB in the league since.

However, if Cassel keeps this up the NE front office is gonna have some tough decisions to make.

Thoughts?

Ummm, what tough decision are you talking about? They would never, ever, ever consider dropping Brady to keep Cassel. No way.

Cassel is gonna get big money in free agency this off-season (Brady's injury could not have come at a better time for him!) but no way do they pick him over Brady. It is not like Brady is an old man. He is just 31 years old. Sure, the Pats will likely need to get a new QB in 3 or 4 years but they are not going to pick Cassel over Brady right now.

The only sticking point here is Brady's injury. I know he got an infection in his knee after the operation and has had follow up operations to clear that up, but that can be a long-term serious complication. If he is still stiff and may never be himself again then that certainly impacts things for NE.

We'll see, but I really cannot imagine there being any decision for NE here so long as Brady has somewhat recovered.

--Jason "Cassel is gonna make a mint in free agency though" Evans

[pamtar]

Ummm, what tough decision are you talking about? They would never, ever, ever consider dropping Brady to keep Cassel. No way.

Cassel is gonna get big money in free agency this off-season (Brady's injury could not have come at a better time for him!) but no way do they pick him over Brady. It is not like Brady is an old man. He is just 31 years old. Sure, the Pats will likely need to get a new QB in 3 or 4 years but they are not going to pick Cassel over Brady right now.

The only sticking point here is Brady's injury. I know he got an infection in his knee after the operation and has had follow up operations to clear that up, but that can be a long-term serious complication. If he is still stiff and may never be himself again then that certainly impacts things for NE.

We'll see, but I really cannot imagine there being any decision for NE here so long as Brady has somewhat recovered.

--Jason "Cassel is gonna make a mint in free agency though" Evans

I agree with you that as of right now NE will keep Brady over Cassel. However, if there are injury questions with Brady and Cassel puts up a couple more 400 yd games, then its possible they may re-think that decision. Especially if they go deep in the playoffs. I wouldn't put it past Belichick to vouch for his man, whomever that might be.

The real question of my post was whether or not Brady a naturally good QB or has he been surrounded by so much talent and good coaching that he merely appears to be the best ever. Would he look that good starting for Detroit?

[rthomas]

You Steeler fans are so cute.

We are.

[DukieInKansas]

I remember watching Matt Cassell on some reality tv show that aired on HBO a while back. It was about high school students or something along those lines.

Crazy that he's doing so well, especially since he didn't even start in college. Good for him though, hopefully he'll find a permanent home whenever Brady becomes healthy again. I think he deserves it.

I wonder what will happen to Tyler Thigpen?

If the offensive line doesn't let him (Tyler Thigpen) get killed, it sounds like he may be our QB for a while. That assumes that yesterday's game was a fluke - he had been looking pretty good before that. If we could clean out the front office - King Carl must go, we should be ready for a turn around. I look like a genius for giving up our season tickets after 29 years.

eta - I'm Antonio Lang

[2535Miles]

Everyone is saying "when Brady is healthy again" but this doesn't really capture the essence of the problem. Tom will be healthy, heck he's healthy right now, but he has a lot of rehabbing to do and practically has a lot to relearn. Tom has a great mind for the game. The question is if his body and mind will be on the same page during and after rehab.

I am very skeptical about Tom Brady's return to dominance in the NFL.

Where is greybeard when I need him?

[Acymetric]

I agree with you that as of right now NE will keep Brady over Cassel. However, if there are injury questions with Brady and Cassel puts up a couple more 400 yd games, then its possible they may re-think that decision. Especially if they go deep in the playoffs. I wouldn't put it past Belichick to vouch for his man, whomever that might be.

The real question of my post was whether or not Brady a naturally good QB or has he been surrounded by so much talent and good coaching that he merely appears to be the best ever. Would he look that good starting for Detroit?

He's certainly natrually a good QB, but I'm not sure if he's as good as he's been made out to be in recent years. Its really hard to say anything like this for sure, its all just speculation, but were he on a less talented team he would not have done as well. I would suggest that you could put any of top 16 starting QBs in Brady (or Cassel's) place and get them to put up similar numbers, and in for some of the top QBs I would expect probably even better numbers. No doubt Brady is a good QB with a great football mind, but I never bought into the huge Brady hype that got passed around.

[Bostondevil]

Brady has quaterbacked his team to 4 Super Bowls and 3 wins. What more do you need? Manning 1/1, Manning 1/1, Favre 2/1, anybody else belong in the discussion? Romo 0/0, Rothel oh heck, Ben 1/1, McNabb 1/0. I'm not going back to the Montana or Elway years, different era really. For the 21st Century (so far) Brady is the man. Yes, he's had good teams, very good teams, but the whole has always been greater than the sum of the parts with the Patriots IMHO.

Can he come back? Yes. Will he be as good? Perhaps not, but I'm betting 90% of Brady still trumps 100% of almost every other quarterback currently in the league.

I still love Matt Cassel. Don't think the Pats will get to keep him though. I wish him well, wherever he goes next year, just hope it's not in the AFC East, unless he stays with the Pats. I don't think it's a given that Brady will be back by next season.