The Blog Returns........Are the Patriots Done After Week One?

As we rode the shuttle bus back to the parking lot this past Saturday, following BC's disappointing loss to Georgia Tech, the mood wasn't particularly upbeat. After all, the new quarterback, Chris Crane, had played terribly in the ACC opener, the first game of the post-Matt Ryan era.

"If this is how the quarterback play is going to be this year," I said, "we're going to be in for a long season."

It isn't that we expected Crane to be another Matt Ryan. We just were hoping he could be competent enough that the running game and excellent defense could win some games in what, at least early on, looks like a weak year for ACC football. Following his first ACC start, however, pessimism became the overriding theme on that bus ride.

But our spirits changed a bit when we remembered how we would cope with a BC home loss a few years ago, before we expected them to win every home game.

”At least we have the Patriots.”

Flash forward to Sunday, 7:27 left in the first quarter of the first game of the Patriots’ season. Following a completed pass to Randy Moss, Bernard Pollard of the Chiefs hit reigning league MVP Tom Brady low. Brady remained down on the field, clearly in a lot of pain. The replays showed the left knee bend in a way that a knee is not supposed to bend.

Brady did not return to the game. Following the conclusion of the game and into the night, various sources reported that Brady has a torn ACL and will not play another game this season. The Super Bowl favorites lost their leader as the team’s fans lost much optimism for this season.

The injury had almost a devastating effect on fans like me, fans who couldn’t wait for the new season to begin after the unmatched unbeaten run in 2007 ended with the devastating loss in the Super Bowl. This first game, against the lowly Chiefs, was supposed to provide some healing from that loss. It was supposed to show the fans that last year was last year, but there will be no hangover from that loss; the Patriots are back and a team to be reckoned with. But instead, midway through the first quarter of the first game, the best player in the game was knocked out for the year.

Suddenly, instead of being freed from the Super Bowl loss, the fans are pulled back into it. That devastating feeling of having your optimism crushed came back. Except this time, instead of losing the Super Bowl in Week 21 like they did last year, the Patriots may have lost it in Week 1. This was supposed to be their redemption year. Now it may end up a forgotten year.

So where do the Patriots turn now? Their starting quarterback for the remainder of the season (barring injury of course) is Matt Cassel. The same Matt Cassel who admitted following the game that the last time he played that much in a non-exhibition was in high school. The same Matt Cassel who played so poorly in preseason that most people didn’t expect him to even make the team, and many fans were downright confused when he did. The same Matt Cassel who has made a career out of being a backup to the best, whether at USC behind Carson Palmer and then Matt Leinart or with the Patriots behind Brady. Now it is that Matt Cassel’s turn to step into the spotlight and hope it doesn’t burn him.

Cassel has always joked that as the backup to two Heisman Trophy winners and now the reigning NFL MVP, it was possible that he was actually the second best quarterback in the country. Now would be a nice time to show that, but he doesn’t have to be another Brady. Just like Crane taking over for Ryan, you don’t expect him to be the best. You just hope he can be competent enough that the running game and defense can win some games in a weak AFC East.

The best case scenario for the Patriots this year is a Super Bowl title. Even without Tom Brady, they have enough talent to win and a coaching staff that can figure out how to get it done. They won’t dominate like they did last year but as the Giants showed, you don’t have to dominate the whole season, you just have to get to the Super Bowl and play a great game once you get there. Without Brady, the team also now has a cause to rally behind, that they can win it without him, which from a motivational standpoint is always good.

Realistically, even if they don’t win the Super Bowl, with a weak schedule, the Patriots should at least make the playoffs. They will change the offense to rely more on the run, and Cassel won’t have to do nearly as much as Brady did. Although when he needs to throw the ball, it will be nice to have Randy Moss to throw it up to.

Although I initially was devastated by the Brady injury, I now feel a bit of optimism about this season. Maybe not quite as much as I did on Saturday, but I still think this Patriots team is going to be very good. And if not?

“At least we have the Red Sox.”