Cursed To First - Sox and Pats forever.

Franchise Cassel? Shouldn't we have more faith than that?

One of the biggest questions facing the Patriots going in to what is sure to be a wild and woolly off-season is the question of what to do about backup quarterback Matt Cassel.

To say Cassel was impressive this season would be an understatement. As I've mentioned here before, as Patriots fans, we had no right to expect or take for granted what our "high school quarterback" contributed to the team this year, especially given the continued injuries that constantly reshuffled the personnel around him. He showed incredible maturity and leadership in addition to improving pass accuracy, and any team would surely be happy to have him.

This leads to the dilemma now facing the Patriots. Cassel will undoubtedly command a princely contract from someone in the NFL. If the Patriots hope to keep their proven backup at the ready while Tom Brady makes his return next year, their only choice will be to franchise Cassel, to prevent other teams from being able to make him offers.

Pushing this talk of franchising Cassel are reports published about two weeks ago alleging that Tom Brady is behind in his recovery from knee surgery. Even if he's not behind, he obviously will face obstacles to coming back, and there's a chance the Patriots could need to call on Cassel at least earlier in the season.

But the team as well as sources close to Brady have refuted that report about the timing of Brady's recovery. And is it really worth franchising Cassel--meaning his salary would have to be the average for his position in the league (currently a cool $14 million), as an insurance policy?

To me, for the team to do that would amount to a virtual confirmation that Brady is actually behind in his recovery, which would contradict their current statement. If we find the team more credible than anonymously-sourced reports, and Brady is on track with his recovery, I believe keeping Cassel in limbo for a year, signed to a gloriously rich contract to sit on the bench, would not materially help the team.

What it comes down to, hokey as it may sound, is having faith in the 2007 MVP and the best quarterback in the league, one with a history of overcoming odds, doubts and naysayers. His is not an unprecedented injury, and knee surgery with infection is something a comparable QB, Peyton Manning, was able to recuperate from relatively quickly this year. Since his injury occurred so early in the season, Brady will have had a long time to come back--it will be at least 10 months between the time his injury occurred and when he's expected to report for training camp next summer, and a full year by the time the 2009 season starts. Are we really saying that Brady, famed for his work ethic, won't be able to perform better than Matt Cassel by then?

It would also only fuel a ridiculous quarterback controversy that began as soon as Cassel started to develop a feel for the field and perform well this season. By the end of the year, there were short-memoried callers to talk radio in the Boston area actually suggesting we get rid of Brady altogether and just keep Cassel as the starter.

Look. Cassel has peformed beyond all expectations--but as a substitute. He would make a decent, solid NFL starting quarterback. But he is not an NFL MVP. He is not a three-time Super Bowl winner. He is not, aside from one injury, the record holder in the league for consecutive starts.

Brady is tough, determined, hardworking, resilient, and possessed of a mind that's more valuable than all the 100% healthy knees on the team put together. More importantly, this is his team, and this is absolutely his job to lose. Franchising Cassel would just cast unnecessary doubt about Brady's ability to return, something I would hate to see happen.

Another, I suppose, faith-based reason I'm opposed to franchising Cassel: if this year was, as speculated, a moratorium on Belichick's coaching abilities, he passed with flying colors. It amazes me that after a backup so inexperienced as a starter performed so well within the offensive scheme, that scheme itself wasn't given more credit. Is it possible that Cassel is not a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck, but the beneficiary of his coaching staff's abilities? Is it so impossible to believe, after what we've seen during the Belichick era, that another Cassel could be created if necessary, for far less than $14 million?

Finally, a more concrete reason not to take out the pricey insurance policy: this team has far more problems than a potentially disappointing return for its star quarterback--other positions, particularly on defense, for which a perennial Pro Bowler is not already slated to step in next year. (And which the coaching staff also managed to bring to an 11-5 record this year using a combination of intelligence, bailing wire, chewing gum and twine.)

After all, football, more than any other sport, is a team game. Should the Patriots--who have never shown this tendency before--really break the bank for a potentially unnecessary sense of security at one position?

But what do I know. The scuttlebutt currently is that the Pats are likely to do this anyway...so stay tuned tomorrow for Jamie's "Yes" counterpoint to the question of franchising Cassel.

Patriots call in reserves, edge 2-10 Seahawks, 24-21

Depending on whether you're a glass-half-full or half-empty person, the return of itinerant linebackers Rosie Colvin and Junior Seau either looked like the arrival of reinforcements, or like throwing in the towel.

My father took the latter view. "That's not fair to him," he said as Seau lunged and fell on his face trying to block a touchdown pass."He's 40 years old."

For him, bringing back Seau and Colvin is "the sign of surrender. They're just hoping to get through this season and start over."

He added, "If you've gotta dive to try to catch a guy on a 5-yard route, you're a step or two too slow."

Patriots stage rainy day disaster against the Steelers

More than 24 hours later, I'm still not quite sure what to write about that game.

At first it seemed like it would be another New England-Pittsburgh heavyweight battle on defense, with the score tied 10-10 after a first half that saw thrills and spills in the driving Foxboro downpour. The highlight of the game for me at that point was Mike Vrabel's interception early in the first quarter, deep in Steelers territory, which led directly to a touchdown for the Patriots moments later.

The Steelers were then held to a field goal, and another New England field goal made it 10-3, Patriots, just in time for me to start thinking about how before my very eyes they were returning to an older form, one that paired wily defense and adequate, determined offense with a smart, balanced game plan tailored to each opponent from week to week. In particular that interception from Vrabel felt like a tantalizing taste of the dynasty heyday.

In the second quarter, a scintillating 41-yard run by Kevin Faulk against the top rushing defense in the league and another 14 yard gain by Morris put the Patriots in the red zone.

And that's about when things started to go terribly wrong.

Randy Moss, he of the flypaper hands, dropped the ball in the end zone not once, not twice, but thrice, once when it would've been a deflected near-pick through the hands of a Steelers receiver that fell directly into his lap, and he couldn't hang on.

Reduced to a field goal, the Patriots lined up to collect their three points, and that's when the kicker that's had us saying 'Adam who?' missed the crucial kick, wide right.

Then the second half happened.

What had been a few blunders, maybe mental errors or the slipperiness of the ball in the rain at the end of the first half gave way to a 30-minute period of football that is undoubtedly the worst display from the Patriots at least since their 2005 loss to the Broncos in the playoffs (the last time they had 5 turnovers), and maybe, before that, since the 31-0 opening-day loss to Buffalo in 2004.

"Ugly" doesn't do it justice. By the end of this game, the Patriots offense had converted a grand total of ONE third down. There have been other games, even lost by as wide a margin as this, where you could point to one or the other formation or play by the opponent that bolloxed up the Patriots' game plan, or a few key moments where the breaks didn't go the Pats' way. This kind of analysis might apply to the first half, but the second? Was simply not the Patriots football I've been watching for the last five years--or even most of the last five months.

Mental mistakes. The Patriots fell behind, then played like they were behind. Attempts to force success only led to more turnovers, and the collective implosion snowballed on itself. My kingdom for a pep talk from a cool No 12 at that moment.

But it can't be that simple, can it? Brady wasn't the only leader on the team. Of course, the team is missing other leaders on both sides of the ball, too, guys like Rodney Harrison, Adalius Thomas and Ty Warren. Yet they were missing those guys when they beat Miami and played a barn-burner against the Jets. Were the Steelers just the level of opponent that finally brought out those absences in glaring relief?

Even then, there's a psychological element to this implosion (that's the only word I can think of that really describe it) that is not something I expected to see even on the worst day from a Belichick team, especially not this Belichick team, one that had showed resilience this year despite injuries and some tough losses.

And surely--SURELY--you can't expect me, a New England Patriots fan, to factor in the weather. Especially since the other guys were playing in the rain, too, and managed not to run around like a bunch of headless chickens.

When the Pats lost to San Diego and the Colts, I allowed the thought that while they've beeen able to overcome the holes in the lineup and cover up the inexperience against fair-to-middling opponents, it may be time to admit we are seeing a pattern emerging where the 2008 Patriots can't hang with the top echelons of the AFC anymore, can't step up to those matchups we used to relish, with the likes of Pittsburgh and Indy. But it seems like whenever I've come to that point of writing them off, the Patriots have surprised me by bouncing back for the next game.

So now it's time to wait and see. I hope it was just a really bad day. I hope that nagging 'can't hang' sense turns out to be wrong.

Patriots score crucial victory over Dolphins in the AFC East

If you'd told me in Week 1 that by Week 10 I'd be saying things like, "It's not that I don't want Brady to come back, it's just that I wish there was some way we could keep Matt Cassel," I'd have checked your forehead and asked if you felt all right.

But that's exactly what I found myself saying today as the Patriots scored 20 unanswered points against Miami and took a key victory to stay alive in the division. They remain behind the 3-1 Jets, (who knocked off Tennessee today--ouch!) but kept their record positive at 3-2.

Photos from Patriots-Jets Game

Included: photos of Troy Brown Night at the stadium.

Beast of the East: Patriots thwart Buffalo Bills, 20-10

The Patriots used a combination of a solid defensive front and methodical offense to change deuling partners for the lead in the AFC East today, leaving behind the Buffalo Bills to tie at 6-3 with the New York Jets, who come to Gillette this Thursday. 

If this season is a test of Bill Belichick's effectiveness without Tom Brady, there's been a consistent response to it so far from the hooded one. The Patriots have been more mortal than last year, but have yet to lose back-to-back games and remain atop a division that has been much more competitive in 2008.

You especially have to give credit to the Patriots offense under Josh McDaniels. They are far from a repeat of last year's high-flying fireworks show, but have also come light years from their disastrous preseason, getting there by inching along, step by step, through all the injuries and adjustments.

Long bombs didn't work out for Cassel this week, and his passing yards have slid since two weeks ago against the St. Louis Rams. But the third-down efficiency is creeping up, from 50% vs. St. Louis to 60% last week against Indianapolis as well as today against the Bills.

Cassel was able to improve his mid-depth accuracy, sprinkling in double-digit completions to Wes Welker and Randy Moss almost at will. The Bills tried to play zone defense against Pats receivers but didn't put effective pressure on Cassel, and the Patriots stung the Bills with short passes and screens to Welker and Kevin Faulk.

The QB's passing yardage also took a hit from a highly effective running game this week. New England seems to have struck gold with "Law Firm", BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who contributed a 105 yard rushing performance to a highly balanced offense. He hit the holes opened up for him like a bat out of hell, and was even more effective with some long gains when he bounded out to the left side. Cassel found success with more mobility and better protection in the pocket, especially when he rolled right and hit receivers upfield. Both things point to huge improvement up front, across the board.

These drawn-out, symphonic offensive drives made a high number of points earned with field goals mean more. Even if the complex series didn't result in a touchdown, they mercilessly chewed up the clock while the New England machine rumbled methodically downfield, squeezing the life out of the Bills like a boa constrictor.

On the defensive side of the ball, some of the DBs weren't wrapping up, and each side's running backs and receivers were able to evade numerous tackles today. But New England's defense has its own newcomer laying down the law in Jerrod Mayo. Which turned out to be key, because this week it was Adalius Thomas's turn to pay what has become a customary toll for New England DBs after a solid performance in the first half: an injury that kept him out the rest of the game. 

But Ellis Hobbs also had two interceptions, while Deltha O'Neal picked up another one, and the Bills got nothing going on the ground, leaving their passing game vulnerable to the veteran presence of Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour. The Pats D also kept a turnover from turning into points for the Bills late in the game after a fumble by Cassel.

In the end it was the offense that put the seal on this all-important, multifaceted division win, with a 9-minute, 91-yard, 18-play touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that ended in the first NFL rushing touchdown for "Benny" (another name for "Law Firm"). It was a fitting bookend for Matt Cassel's own first rushing touchdown in the NFL, which was the first of the game.

The Bills came back with an astonishingly quick 15-second touchdown drive, but it was their last gasp. Cassel kneeled on the ball on the next possession, the final score 20-10...and it really hadn't even been that close.

Patriots vs. Colts: close but no cigar

Should I be upset that the Patriots put on such a farcical performance against the Colts in the fourth quarter when they had a chance to come back, or should I be psyched that even with a beat-up secondary, Peyton Manning and Co. only won by three points?

This matchup was tough to judge leading up to the game. The Patriots are without Brady, but we've seen how they've shown steady improvement in the absence of their marquee player. Peyton Manning is still hobbled from an infection in his knee (or at least that's the speculation), but he's still Peyton Manning, and our secondary is still decimated. In the past, watching these teams play was like watching two heavyweights go toe-to-toe; this time around it was more like those heavyweights each had an arm tied behind their back.

In the aftermath, there's the sense--as there often is after Colts-Patriots showdown, however banged up the personnel involved--of just-missed opportunity. Maybe there's an irony to this razor-thin margin of error given the demolition derby these teams have been through leading up to it, but it turned out to be the same as it ever was: a tense contest, and full of turning points it was all too easy to imagine having gone the other way.

Photos from Patriots-Rams game

Tom Brady knee news is not good

...progressing to awful:

After published reports said Brady needed two more operations to clean out an infection in his knee, ESPN.com, citing a source it did not identify, reported that "the Patriots, as an organization, are upset with the situation because they were clear that they wanted Brady's surgery done under the direction of doctors of their choosing in Boston."

Later Thursday, the Patriots issued a statement affirming their support for the quarterback...

...with the potential for OH MY GOD.

Moreover, while the patella tendon used the first time was from the same (left) knee, according to the source, Ramappa indicated that when a second reconstruction is required, the patella tendon would either come from the patient's other knee or a cadaver.

The general preference is to use the other knee, Ramappa said. So technically, if the decision was made to use the tendon from Brady's right knee, the MVP quarterback would be recovering from surgery on both knees.

Herald article also quotes an expert saying the decision to operate at the earliest possible time doctors would allow probably led to the surgical complications.

When we see Brady off the field these days, he's behind a thick gloss of superstardom, airbrushed Stetson ads and perfectly cliched press conferences and a pleasant demeanor with interviwers. But on the field there are times we've caught glimpses of the hypercompetitive Brady, the Brady that celebrates Super Bowl first downs and once trash-talked in the face of the Steelers secondary. The Brady that sometimes gets picked off and run back to the opposite goal line by Champ Bailey because he was trying to force a ball into the end zone.

Pretty easy for that Herald expert to Monday-morning quarterback these as yet unconfirmed reports on medical decisions. But also impossible to dismiss the idea that Brady might have tried to force a comeback too quickly.

Elsewhere, the sense of finality about Rodney Harrison being carted off the field on Monday Night was confirmed. Sammy Morris missing multiple practices. Oy vey.

Sackapalooza: Patriots take messy slugfest from Broncos on Monday Night Football

I'd rather be lucky than good any day.

Or so the saying goes.

Yesterday there were a number of places where that was an expression befitting the Patriots. First among them the fact that Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler injured his index finger on his throwing hand on his very first pass attempt of the game and wasn't the same after that. From the very beginning of the game, this neutralized what had been an intimidating matchup of a deep thrower against a Patriots secondary that had not exactly showered itself in glory against the Chargers.

There were many aspects of this game in which the Broncos simply beat themselves. They committed 8 penalties for a total of 87 yards, and in devastating places--toward the end of the second quarter, for example, the Broncos defense had Cassel backed up almost to his own end zone, facing a 3^rd and 17, which he failed to convert. But the Broncs were called for a facemask penalty on that play, 15 yards and an automatic first down. An unnecessary roughness penalty not even a clock-minute later brought the Patriots to the 50. This was a series that led to a Patriots touchdown.

It was encouraging to see Cassel with a 136.3 passer rating, but this was against one of the worst-ranked defenses--especially against the pass--in the league. It was wonderful to see Randy Moss with two touchdowns, but this was only after Champ Bailey pulled up of his own accord with a groin injury. Before that, Bailey had been a beast, shutting down Moss all night.

So we have our grains (or shakers) of salt. But there were also some genuinely encouraging signs for the Patriots.