Matt Cassel--system or great?

[Ibanez]

Hi guys, Matt Cassel is really burning it up in New England this year after the horrible injury to Brady.

Some guys on the local sports talk radio had some interesting thoughts:

1. If Matt Cassel takes the Pats deep into the playoffs, or even wins the superbowl (TM. Don't come after me NFL) then they could legitimately say that the Pats success is mainly built upon the system (the spread offense in particular that they use), and not quite as much on the quarterback as people thought.

2. If the Pats win the superbowl or get deep in the playoffs, do they CUT Brady and keep Cassel seeing as how well he is performing?

Time will tell on these things, but to my eyes it sure does seem that it is a system for success in New England rather than having a superior quarterback. Or maybe the system brings the best out of the players?

 

[celticdb15]

Cassell will be on the 49'ers or some other lowly team next year guarantee it

 

[pistol pete]

He's going to Oaktown baby!

Jamarcus Russell needs a good backup! lol

 

[backrow]

Patriots have their own forum bud

Cassell is lucky to have Wes Welker, Moss and good receiving backs like Faulk on his team, plus o-line is very solid. he is no Brady, although he is by far a competent starter in this league.

 

[Bart]

Time will tell on these things, but to my eyes it sure does seem that it is a system for success in New England rather than having a superior quarterback. Or maybe the system brings the best out of the players?

Well, it helps having BB as head coach. He always seems to have the team prepared despite injuries. Matt is playing well and what I like about him is that he recognizes the value of Welker.


However, let's put things in perspective. Matt had a nice game today against Oakland throwing 4 TD's and 1INT.Before thathe had 14 TD's - 10 INT's. Now he is 18-11 giving him 7 more TD's than INT's.Pretty good, but at the samepointlast year Brady had 46 TD's and only had 6 INT's. In other words28 more TD's and5 fewer INT's. He finished the year with 42 more TD's than INT's. Staggering stats.


Also, he ended up up with over 4800 Yd's,QB Rtg. of 117.2, 68.9 Comp.%, and was sacked 21 times.


Cassel has thrown for 3200 plus Yd's thus far, has a Rtg. of 85.3, Comp. % of 64, and has been sacked 44 times already.


Yes, I would think Cassel's stock has gone up, but I doubt Tom Bradywill be in jeopardy of losing his job.Edited by: Bart

 

[Thrashen]

If Belichick would actually have the nerve to trade Tom Brady in favor of Cassel, he might be the biggest backstabber coach in NFL histroy.

Belichick was NOTHING until Drew Bledsoe was cheaply hit out-of-bounds by the Jets fatso LB, Brian Cox. Brady stepped into that game, and Belichick is now going to the NFL HOF. Brady WR's, up until last season, have been average, at best. Troy Brown, David Givens, David Patten, Deon Branch (along with fat, unathletic TEs like Jermaine Wiggins and Daniel Grahm).

It's not the system, Brady was breathtaking last season, and in years past. Although I love Cassel and hope he wins the SB this season, I'd just as soon see him go to Detroit and get a big payday.

The NFL needs Brady, BB needs Brady, and we here at CF need Brady. He's the handsome, young, SB winning, ice-in-his veins, NFL QB. Honestly, he is one of the best 3 QB's the NFL has ever known.

He'll regain his spot, Cassell will be let go (or franchised). Period.

 

[dwid]

the system does help him and also having welker, moss, and the backs like someone said, but he is a good qb in his own right, he is definetly not anything near a brady level. Do you think russel, campbell, young or jackson could come in and run this system and have the same win loss record?Edited by: dwid

 

[GiovaniMarcon]

Cassell is a good quarterback, but Brady is HOF material.

To say Brady isn't the final arbiter of Patriot success or failure when he's the man behind center is like when runninbacks thank no one but themselves for their gains, but then find themselves flat on their backs more often than not if the offensive line decides they don't want to block for him anymore.

A lot of black quarterbacks and the media would LOVE to discredit Brady because his greatness -- if false -- makes their obvious mediocrity less pathetic.

 

[Thrashen]

Congrats to Cassell for playing (and winning) less than a week after the death of his father. I really hope this young gunslinger becomes a very rich man this offseason.

Watching him play this season really makes you think about how Tom Brady started his career...but Cassell was even more of a long shot to "make it" in the caste NFL. I'm not really sure how anyone could root against this guy, but then again, I don't know how people do alot of the things they do.

He seems like a really nice person, and he's married to former USC volleyball champion Lauren Killian.

I think Bellichick really likes him as well. He even gave him a hug after the game. If Cassell could some how, some way, get the Pats into the superbowl this season...it would honestly be one of the greatest sports stories ever. Mostly because it would truely be a nightmare for the reptiles in the media to explain. Edited by: Thrashen

 

[Don Wassall]

From a fantasy football site today:
Matt Cassel (NE) - He was superb again, and in the nasty weather, throwing for 345 yards on 20-of-36 passing, with 3 TD and 0 INTs for a 116.1 passer rating. It may sound like sacrilege, but <?:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1LACE w:st="on">Cassel</ST1LACE>'s play this season would seem to indicate that maybe Tom Brady isn't as great as we thought. Oh, he's great and all. But if you consider <ST1LACE w:st="on">Cassel</ST1LACE> didn't start in college and is playing almost as well as Brady (other than 2007), it's a clear indication of how effective great coaching can be for a player.
A white player can't be complimented without also being denigrated, and in this case Brady is dissed too. Instead of stating the obvious -- that Cassel is yet another unexpected (white) talent at quarterback (much as Brady himself "came out of nowhere"), his great play is merelythe result of "great coaching." So presumably this clown thinks that Bill Belichick can take Tarvaris Jackson, Seneca Wallace, Jason Campbell, Jamarcus Russelland any other quarterback and within half a season make him "great." Ha ha ha, and the moon is made of green cheese.Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

And the writer was afraid to mention that Cassel's receivers also help make him great because he would then have to compliment Welker as well. Complimenting two white football players in the same article is a big caste no-no! He instead throws it all on coaching.

 

[Cassiodorus]

I'm sick of this "he's good because of the system" crap. If there's some magic formula that allows teams to succeed, why haven't the Raiders or Vikings applied it to DuhMarcuss Russell or Lavoris Jackson?

 

[backrow]

because they don't have the same o-line and receiving corps?

 

[Cassiodorus]

because they don't have the same o-line and receiving corps?

Sure, but that makes the actual talent of actual players the basis of success (good o-line and receivers) and not a particular "system." Besides, the same "system" notion is used often to explain why the receivers, especially Welker, are successful.

 

[dwid]

yeah saying players on the Patriots are a product of the system is basically saying they wouldn't be good on any other team or without Bellicheck. Most people believe this about the Patriots with the exception of Randy Moss and a few other black players.

The term system is usually only used for college players though, like ones from Texas Tech. Every team has a system though.

and ive gotten with arguments about Welker with people who claim he is no good an only a product of the system. They say he was a product of the system at Texas Tech and now a product of Bellicheck's system. Claiming just like they have system qb's they have system receivers.Edited by: dwid

 

[Bart]

Cassell will be on the 49'ers or some other lowly team next year guarantee it

I doubt it. The Pats may need him.


[url]http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=txpatriotsbrady&amp;pr ov=st&amp;type=lgns[/url]


Report: Patriots QB Brady well behind in recovery


NEW YORK (TICKER) â€â€￾New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's recovery from knee surgery is well behind schedule - to the point it may endanger his 2009 season, according to a report on NBCSports.com.


Brady suffered a torn ACL and MCL in Week One against the Kansas City Chiefs, and his recovery has been hindered by an infection that set in following his initial surgery on October 6, according to the web site.


Citing a league source, NBCSports.com reported that Brady underwent six weeks of antibiotics and a second surgical procedure to clear the infection, but said the ACL and MCL remain "loose."


Brady, the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player, also has had scar tissue build up in his knee, which does not allow the knee to have full mobility and prevents him from full-scale rehabilitation.


The source told the web site that Brady will need to get the scar tissue removed to build up strength in his quadriceps muscle, but even at that, the looseness in the ligament will not disappear without another surgery.
<DIV =skinny>


That could jeopardize the 2009 season for Brady, since doctors would not be able to perform another surgery so soon after the first operation, especially given the current condition of the knee.


Brady's condition could have a major impact on the team's dealings with backup quarterback Matt Cassel, who has performed admirably in his first season as a starter and is expected to command major dollars as a free agent in the offseason.


A two-time Super Bowl MVP, Brady threw for a single-season record 50 touchdowns in 2007.