Brady goes down; out for season

The worst case scenario happened for the Patriots this Sunday. Their superstar quarterback limped off the field with a knee injury after a low hit by S Bernard Pollard in Sunday's game. It didn't look good then, and the news that would come was even worse. They would come to find out that Tom Brady is done for the year. In a game against the potentially cellar dwelling Kansas City Chiefs, a far inferior team, the Patriots narrowly won the battle but lost the war in all likelihood. Now this opens the door and makes the AFC a lot more wide open than it was.

Matt Cassel, who has been a backup QB behind great QBs at every level will now step in and try to keep the ship afloat for New England who plays the Jets at the Meadowlands this week. Cassel backed up Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer in college and has backed up Tom Brady in the pros. Literally speaking, Cassel hasn't started a game since high school, which is incredible if you think about it. Cassel came in on Sunday against a team that didn't have a chance to gameplan for him, and a team with a glaring lack of talent offensively and looked merely decent. Decent won't be enough to do much on this team, unless the defense turns back the clock. With Belichick as the coach that is entirely possible but given the amount of old guys on the defense it isn't likely.

This loss obviously hurts the Patriots. Losing a top two quarterback in this league, one who threw 50 TD passes, and won the MVP is a blow of epic proportions. I don't think it leaves a mortal wound though. I still feel this Patriot team is a good one, with a great coaching staff, and a few good offensive players. I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots surprised people this season. Belichick will have those guys ready to play, especially this week where they will play like a wounded animal. They will be desperate and hungry. I think they will win the game this week and go on to a respectable 10-11 wins, and win the division.