A Very Brady Quarterback Problem

After all these years, I had Boston pegged as a baseball town. Even during the current dynasty, the Patriots are usually good for page 3 of the sports section. Then Tom Brady got hurt, and al of that changed.

Every single conversation I have had this week, whether it be with a man, a woman, or a child has begun with some form of the question: “What do you think about Brady?” The second question, asked by those who really know me is always: “You’re happy about it, aren’t you?”

After careful consultation with my advisors, my official answer is this: No, I am not happy that the Brady is hurt, even if the Pats had it coming to them with the Spygate thing, and the running up the score every week thing. (Also I want to avoid that very same karmic retribution that felled Brady in the first place.) So I will take the high road, even though I wasn’t getting a whole hell of a lot of sympathy when Donovan McNabb was struggling with injuries over the past two seasons. Who could forget the hilarious halftime phone calls, or all of those truly thoughtful text messages at the worst possible times. Of course, the best part was that never-ending line of people at my desk the week before last years Pats / Eagles game, all of them wondering how I could ever possibly expect the Eagles not to get annihilated with AJ Feeley as their quarterback, as though it was my decision for McNabb to get hurt in the first place. So yes, I will continue to take the high road - I didn’t even send out the “How’s your undefeated season now, you motherf-----rs?” text message that I had prepared for just such an occasion. No bitterness here at all.

What I don’t understand is the utterly foolish way that the Patriots are handling the aftermath of Brady’s injury. Let me get this straight, Tom Brady goes down with a knee injury in game 1, so you’re going to go with Matt Cassell for the rest of the way? Are you serious? You’re not even going to sign a 3rd quarterback to the roster to replace him?!? Trust me, I have spent a lot of time in this position. As football goes a week between games, it gives fans a long time to talk themselves into certain delusions, like for instance, “Matt Cassell might not be that bad.” I know that because I have spent weeks of my life deluding myself into thinking the same thing about the AJ Feeley’s, and Mike McMahon‘s of the world. I have drank from the same cauldron of Kool-Aid that you are forcing down right now. I assure you that this brand of Kool-Aid will make you sick.

The Patriots have managed to assemble a collection of talent that went 16-0 last year - this is truly a team for the ages. There were very minor changes from last year, but for the most part, the team is intact. If ever a team was built to win RIGHT NOW, it’s this one. The right quarterback can keep this dynasty going, but Matt Cassell is not the right quarterback.

I have two theories about why the Patriots are taking this approach: an optimistic theory, and a pessimistic theory. The optimistic theory is that the team wants to protect Brady for next season. Let’s say the Patriots do bring in a half decent veteran quarterback to take his place (let’s call this hypothetical fellow “Veteran X“). There is a good chance that, with the weapons that at his disposal, Veteran X will have a solid season, probably leading the team to the playoffs, and perhaps even the Super Bowl. Brady, meanwhile, will need significant recovery time, and will probably not be fully healed until one full year has passed since the injury, meaning that the effects of the injury will linger into the 2009-10 season. Now, come next July, the team has a difficult decision - who do you name as the starting quarterback going into training camp? Brady, who will still be recovering? Or Veteran X, who will have presumably won over at least some of the fan base (and perhaps even some teammates). Even if he gets his starting job back, Brady will likely struggle at first, leading at least some of the fans and local media to call for Veteran X to play in his stead. All of a sudden, the team has a divisive quarterback controversy. Brady will ultimately win, but at what cost? The easiest way to avoid this mess is simply to prevent the addition of Veteran X. Again, if this is the Patriots rationale for not bringing in a veteran, it is a reasoned, far-seeing approach. The problem is, nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, and the Patriots are wasting a year in the lives of one of the greatest teams ever assembled. Don’t Randy Moss and Wes Welker deserve another legitimate shot at a Super Bowl title?

The pessimistic theory is that the Patriots will not pursue a quarterback because of Belichick’s ego. Much of the credit for the Patriot dynasty rightfully goes to Tom Brady; before Belichick crossed paths with Brady, his coaching record was 41-57. Before Brady crossed paths with Belichick, Brady won a National Championship at Michigan. If lightning can strike twice, if Belichick can turn Cassell into the next Brady, then he can show the world that he is an equal partner in the Patriot dynasty. The problem is that the odds are stacked firmly against him, and it’s a hell of a gamble for a team of this caliber to be taking.

The smart thing for the Patriots to do would be for them to work out a trade to get Jeff Garcia from the Bucs. Today. And even if Garcia does have a great year, he will also be 38 at the start of next season; it won’t be that hard to toss him out on his ass like every other NFL team has. If that doesn’t work, bring Daunte Culpepper in for a tryout, he still has talent, and you don‘t have to trade anything for him.) If that doesn’t work, they need to dangle a second round pick to the rest of the league and see who bites.

As Peter King mentioned last week, Brett Farve must be kicking himself right now. If he had just kept quiet and behaved himself last summer instead of intentionally trying to destroy the Packers from the inside, he would probably be the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots tomorrow.
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Of course, I can’t let an entry pass without talking about my Eagles. Last Sunday’s game against the Rams was one of the most stress free Eagles games that I have watched in years. The team played a near perfect game against a bad team, happily rendering much of my last blog entry irrelevant. I’ll break the game down very briefly:

The Good:

The coaching staff: They blended runs with passes, saw what was working on offense and took advantage of it, and took the starters out when the game was firmly in hand, thus avoiding any further inuries.

Desean Jackson (mostly): He had one of the best first games ever by a rookie receiver, contributing to both the offense and special teams. While he won’t catch anyone else by surprise, teams will have to account for him, hopefully taking some of the pressure off of Westbrook and McNabb.

The other rookies: Trevor Laws was able to put some serious pressure on Marc Bulger, Quentin Demps was nearly perfect on punt coverage, downing two punts within the Ram 5 yard line

The Bad:

Desean Jackson: He took too many big hits, and misplayed some punts. While he will be a vast improvement over Reno Mahe, he will make some punt-fielding mistakes that will end up costing this team. Also, unless he learns to do a better job of avoiding contact, he won’t make it past the halfway point of the season.

The Rams: They didn’t put up much of an effort. What came easily against the Rams will be far more difficult against the Cowboys.

Next week: The Cowboys. They dismantled the Browns on the road, and 15 of their 22 starters have gone to the Pro Bowl at one point in their career. Also, Jessica Simpson has it on good authority that the Cowboys will kick the Eagles butt’s.