After years of hope it has finally happened, Tom Brady in all likelihood will miss the remainder of the 2008 football season. And well as horrible as it probably is to say this, as a football fan of a rival team it feels good. Sometimes in this world if you can't beat them fairly you just need to beat them unfairly and thanks to the good graces of of Hero Bernard Pollard the rest of the AFC and AFC East has a chance.
Scriptin Week 1
If you are a Jet or Steeler fan it would be almost impossible to have scripted a better week 1. Both teams got off to a good start with their first victory. And both teams watched as some of the AFC preseason favorites spit the bit. The Colts and Bolts choked and Brady goes down. The AFC is officially wide open after week 1 and the Steelers just might be the favorites.
Opportunity Lurks
If you're a Jet fan you probably looked at the opening three weeks and figure 1-2. A win against the Dolphins and a loss against the Bolts and Pats. Well, with Matt Cassel at the helm of the defending AFC champs coming to the Meadowlands in week 2 you have to hope to take the division lead. This is your opportunity, to take a lead on the Patriots to put them in their first hole in years, to give them their first regular season loss in years. They are vulnerable and they need to be pounced on.
November 1999
So what were you doing in November of 1999? I was a junior in high school. Since 1999 I've gotten my High School degree, a bachelors degree and finished up 2/3 of my MBA. Well 1999 is the last time Matt Cassel could ever call himself a starting quarterback until next sunday. That's almost an entire decade and the kid is only 26. I repeat the last time he was a starting quarterback ever was when he was 17 years old. It's not as if he was backing up bad players, Carson Palmer won the Heisman when he was his backup, Matt Leinart is arguably the most successful college QB of all time, and Tom Brady is Tom Brady, so not being a starter in those circumstances isn't too embarrassing. It's just 9 years is 9 years and that's a lot of rust and nerves to chip through. Perhaps the Pats once again will catch lightning in a bottle with a low round draft pick, but no Pats fan can be anything but queezy today.
Pats Reworked Projections
Everywhere today you will see projections for the Brady-less Pats. To which everyone should respond with, um how in the world could you have any idea. Sure, the Pats have a solid supporting cast and an easy schedule, but they have a quarterback that hasn't taken a meaningful snap as a starter ever. You have no idea what may happen in the next few months and nobody does. Could Cassel be so awful in the first few weeks that he is replaced? Sure. Could he as easily lead the incredibly talented Pats to the postseason? Sure. No one has any clue how the kid will perform and I bet that includes the players and coaching staff of the New England Patriots. So let us all enjoy the show and hope that Brady's injury does lead to the sinking of an aging dynasty.
Comments
Tough loss for Patriots fans this early. I'm up in the air wether or not the hit was dirty... I said last year that Wilfork's hit was dirty, and I'm having a hard time finding a difference. Same situation, same low hit on a QB in a vulnerable position.
Same exact situation: both had a blocker on their back and were lunging forward on the ground.
Everyone knows you don't hit the QB below the knees or above the shoulder pads; its a guaranteed penalty.
Wilfork on the other hand was stumbling but standing up and drove his elbow straight into the dudes knee.
If you really believe the ref's have never screwed a call then you shouldn't be writing about sports. Pollard wasn't fined after the game, because a fine by the NFL would be admitting that their ref's blew the call on the field.
What I'm saying is that you should not put your helment into a quarter back's knee. Just like you shouldn't drill the punter after he's kicked the ball.
So whats the difference between hitting a guy in the knee with a helmet or hitting a guy in the knee with your elbow? Seems shitty to me either way.
B) The rule in the NFL specifically says you can't go after the players legs unless you are on the ground. Pollard was clearly blocked to the ground and there was no possible for Pollard to hit Brady anywhere other than in the legs. He dove in attempt to wrap up his legs and Brady stepped into his head. It sucks but its not dirty, nor illegal by the current NFL rules, hence why most people say its not dirty (except biased Pats fans) and why he was neither flagged nor fined by the NFL.
Meanwhile if you rewatch the Wilfork play he could have easily hit him the QB at the torso or at the very least attempted to wrap up the legs. He did neither he intentionally drove his elbow at the quarterbacks legs.
If you want parties to blame for Brady's injury, start nominating Sammy Morris.
I can only hope some day you end up with a crippling, painful injury.