There is no way in tarnation the Pats are going to let Cassel slip away especially if there is the slightest possibility they may have to DL Brady again (then his pay is meaningless as it is not cap money). The only money that matters in Foxboro is money that falls under their salary cap so if they have to pay one of the two to just sit out the season on the physically unable to play list it has zero effect on the cap which means it's chump change to Bob Kraft..
In the event that they are both healthy then that puts the Pats in the drivers seat next summer when they will be able to get a pair of #1's for Cassel easily (ask the Vikings if they wouldn't have loved to have him yesterday).
The key player on every team in the NFL by a country mile is it's QB and having two all star quality signal callers on the same team is a situation every team in the league would love to have.
Let Eli, Donavon, Philip Rivers, Big Ben, Jake Delhomme, Kurt Warner and even Joe Flacco, or Kerry Collins break a leg in practice this week and watch their team's pointspread nosedive.
Taging Cassell as their franchise player was a no brainer. Cassell did a superb job as Brady’s replacement—better than expected—by throwing for 3,693 yards with 21 touchdown passes and only 11 interceptions. Of the five games the Patriots lost, at least four can be pinned primarily on the defense’s inability to make key stops at opportune times.
The Patriots allowed 38 points in a home loss to Miami, 30 in a loss at San Diego, 34 at home to the Jets and 33 against the Steelers. Though they allowed only 19.3 points per game, the Patriots had problems in the secondary from the start of the season. They never truly replaced cornerback Asante Samuel, and the problem got worse when others—specifically Rodney Harrison—suffered season-ending injuries.
This Pats team lost to Indy (squeaker), Pittsburgh (Rout) and San Diego (Rout) so missing the playoffs this year most likely saved them a first or second round loss anyway.
The other free agents in competition for the franchise tag are Rodney Harrison, Chris Hanson, Lonie Paxton, James Sanders, Mike Wright, Rosevelt Colvin, Deltha O’Neal, Larry Izzo, LaMont Jordan, H. Evans and Jabar Gaffney. Pierre Woods is restricted, and Mike Richardson and Ray Ventrone are exclusive-rights free agents. Harrison might retire when it’s all said and done, while Jordan might be apt to move on for a bigger role elsewhere with Mulrooney back and healthy among other running backs in competition for the job of his back up.
You tell me which one of the above is even close to being as valuable as Cassel, cap or no cap.
wil.
In the event that they are both healthy then that puts the Pats in the drivers seat next summer when they will be able to get a pair of #1's for Cassel easily (ask the Vikings if they wouldn't have loved to have him yesterday).
The key player on every team in the NFL by a country mile is it's QB and having two all star quality signal callers on the same team is a situation every team in the league would love to have.
Let Eli, Donavon, Philip Rivers, Big Ben, Jake Delhomme, Kurt Warner and even Joe Flacco, or Kerry Collins break a leg in practice this week and watch their team's pointspread nosedive.
Taging Cassell as their franchise player was a no brainer. Cassell did a superb job as Brady’s replacement—better than expected—by throwing for 3,693 yards with 21 touchdown passes and only 11 interceptions. Of the five games the Patriots lost, at least four can be pinned primarily on the defense’s inability to make key stops at opportune times.
The Patriots allowed 38 points in a home loss to Miami, 30 in a loss at San Diego, 34 at home to the Jets and 33 against the Steelers. Though they allowed only 19.3 points per game, the Patriots had problems in the secondary from the start of the season. They never truly replaced cornerback Asante Samuel, and the problem got worse when others—specifically Rodney Harrison—suffered season-ending injuries.
This Pats team lost to Indy (squeaker), Pittsburgh (Rout) and San Diego (Rout) so missing the playoffs this year most likely saved them a first or second round loss anyway.
The other free agents in competition for the franchise tag are Rodney Harrison, Chris Hanson, Lonie Paxton, James Sanders, Mike Wright, Rosevelt Colvin, Deltha O’Neal, Larry Izzo, LaMont Jordan, H. Evans and Jabar Gaffney. Pierre Woods is restricted, and Mike Richardson and Ray Ventrone are exclusive-rights free agents. Harrison might retire when it’s all said and done, while Jordan might be apt to move on for a bigger role elsewhere with Mulrooney back and healthy among other running backs in competition for the job of his back up.
You tell me which one of the above is even close to being as valuable as Cassel, cap or no cap.
wil.
