What Next for the Patriots?
I suspect much of the Boston area, along with numerous fantasy-football enthusiasts, are suffering a combination of shock, disbelief, and mourning following the injury suffered Sunday by quarterback Tom Brady. If you haven't heard already, Brady was hit in the knee when Kansas City Chiefs defender Bernard Pollard was blocked into him, and most reports indicate he is probably done for the year with a suspected ACL tear.
Obviously this is a huge, huge blow for the New England Patriots and their hopes of avenging a painfully embarrassing loss in Super Bowl XLII after putting together an undefeated 2007 regular season. The Pats are still a solid, well-coached team. But with Brady they were special. Without him they become just another team.
The Patriots, most probably assumed, were immune to the Super Bowl jinx that has struck all but one Super Bowl loser since the turn of the century. But whether you believe this injury stems from the jinx or perhaps Karma biting back after the Spygate scandal and running up the score on numerous opponents in 2007, or maybe just coincidence, things just don't look nearly as bright for the Patriots in 2008.
I'm not a particularly big believer in karma or jinxes, but there might be something valid in mentioning the number of times Brady was allowed to stay in games that were well in hand last year. I'm not suggesting the added playing time had anything to do with this injury. Rather, instead of piling up the points, it might have been beneficial in the long run to give backup Matt Cassel a lot more real-game experience, which might have come in handy right about now.
There have already been multiple reports that the Patriots will take a look at Chris Simms, who was released prior to the season, sometime this week. A better option, perhaps, might be to reunite veteran Daunte Culpepper with wide receiver Randy Moss -- whose fantasy owners were probably groaning nearly as loud as the Brady owners when Brady went down -- if they can lure him out of retirement. He certainly would be worth a look-see considering the connection he shared with Moss while both were with the Minnesota Vikings.
To his credit, Cassel wasn't completely inept against the Chiefs in Brady's relief. He did hit on 13-of-18 passes for 151 yards. But this is a team that is use to posting 400 yards of offense on a regular basis. They did produce 338 yards on Sunday, but only put 17 points on the board. Against the Chiefs.
It would be wise to bring in someone with a little more experience as insurance. Vinny Testeverde is probably sitting by the phone right now waiting for a call.
Photo: Elsa / Getty Images
Comments
Brady blows out a knee and you start talking about Karma… typical…
BTW I disagree with your statement about Culpepper.
Daunte Culpepper was a running quarterback who relied on his mobility and a cannon arm to get by. He was hard to defend because if teams played him deep, he’d kill them with his legs. He blew out his knee. Now he’s an immobile quarterback with below-average Football intelligence and accuracy. He is not a good fit for the Patriots offense.
The diehard fan in me thinks (or rather hopes) the Patriots can be the 2002 Buccaneers or the 2000 Ravens, but I know better.
This is a team that should struggle a great deal. They won’t go 1-15 because of the schedule, but 7-9 isn’t out of the question.
This is going to be a transitional year for a lot of young players. Laurence Maroney will have to step up on offense, and a lot of the younger guys, (Mayo, Wheatley, Meriweather) on defense are gonna have to learn fast on defense.
Can the Patriots scrape together a 10-6 wildcard birth?
I think we’ll see next week when the Patriots play the Jets…
but I won’t put my money on it.
Meh – it simply doesn’t matter. The rest of the nation was over Brady and the Patriots anyway. They lost that special place they had as the fighting underdogs when they actively spied on other teams even after a memo came down, specifically aimed at them, telling them to stop. That cast into doubt all of Bellicheat’s supposed greatness. Then their losing to the Giants last year killed it. It’s simply time for another team to come to the forefront – and it’s certainly not the Pats.
Just a suggestion. In your shoes, Shawne Merriman would be my next blog topic. I don’t know about you but i’m glad to see he’s having surgery instead of risking his carreer.
Pollock was NOT “blocked into” Brady. He had been blocked onto the ground at Brady’s feet, then, from a dead stop, raised up, lurched forward, and put his helmet into Brady’s knee. The momentum of the hit was provided by Pollock, not the block. Open your eyes.
If you remember me from last year, I disagreed with you often. I often asked you how and where you got your power rankings . You are starting this year where you left off last year, a true opinionated buffoon!!
I think Coach B knows a little (much more)more about football than you, and has kept Cassel around for a reason. Do you think that this teams has shown it stands well in the face of adversity?
Talking about karma and running the score last year makes you sound like one of those little sissy fans from NY Jets that cheer when their QB got injured.
NE 35 Jets 17, or I’ll eat my shorts.
BTW, you said “Cassel wasn’t completely inept”, that implies that he was somewhat inept. What an unprofessional and obviously biased comment. Why don’t you just tell us who you are rooting for, because you obviously have it in for the Pats.