2 AB

Today is day two After Brady, and the wounds haven’t completely healed. I must say, I’ve taken the news of Brady’s injury slightly better than expected. Maybe it’s because I knew he could get hurt (although it was his foot, not his knee that scared everyone), maybe it’s because the Red Sox are surging and the Celtics will be starting soon. But before we all totally give up on the Pats, let’s look at some possible scenarios for 2008.

The good
Glass half full people, at least in this part of the entry (see the bad and the ugly later).

1. Matt Cassel pulls a Tom Brady circa 2001, where he didn’t do anything special during the season, but he also didn’t lose any games. The defense took over and Brady managed the game well enough to win 11 times in the regular season.

2. The depth at running back fills part of the hole that Brady left, giving the Patriots a weapon to control the clock and let Cassel stay out of trouble.

3. Randy Moss saves Cassel on several deep chucks (see Culpepper to Moss) and makes him look better than he really is.

The bad
More likely scenarios in here. Patriots apologists beware, you may not like this part.

1. Offensive linemen like Matt Light are exposed for the frauds they are. Without Brady’s pocket presence and ability to get rid of the ball quickly, the line gives up more sacks than it has in years.

2. The running game is snuffed out because teams are able to stack eight in the box and dare Cassel to beat them. Cassel can’t do this and the offense is shut down (see Baltimore Ravens every year).

3. The old defense gets worn down because the offense can never sustain a drive. Even with talented players on that side of the ball, they cannot continue to play 70 percent of the snaps and be efficient at this age.

The ugly
Worst-case scenarios, but possible

1. Randy Moss shows his true colors. Angry Craig mentioned this the other day, and it could certainly happen. The first time Cassel misses a wide open Moss in the endzone, all hell could break loose and he could shut it down again. Brady kept him in check; let’s see if Cassel can do the same.

2. Matt Cassel gets hurt from the constant pounding the O-line allows him to take. Who’s next to step up? Rookie Kevin O’Connel? Matt Gutierrez? Doug Flutie? Me?

3. Belichick packs it in for the year. Knowing his team cannot make the playoffs, Bill throws in the towel and starts blowing games. He did it to set up playoff position in 2005 (the last time Cassel saw significant time before Sunday), he could do it again. That would suck to watch, but it may turn out to be a shrewd move for draft picks.