The Patriots are not the only team in the AFC that have suffered catastrophic injury problems in the first couple of the weeks of the season. Shawn Merriman, Jeff Saturday, Vince Young, Bob Sanders, the Jacksonville Offensive Line and potentially Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates are all going to miss significant time from last year’s playoff teams. The results of these injuries mean two things: then NFC might be the better conference this year and Pittsburgh is on paper the best team in the AFC.

The result of this is that the Conference will be much more wide open than it has been for the past couple of years. No longer will New England and Indianapolis dominate everyone else while teams like Denver and Buffalo have the opportunity to make a run (lets be honest the Jets still aren’t going anywhere.)

Based on the injuries and some of the early lackluster performances (see: Indianapolis v. Minnesota, Indianapolis v. Chicago, Pittsburgh v. Cleveland, San Diego v. Carolina and Jacksonville v. Buffalo) the outcome of the AFC is an open book. Who knows, even Matt Cassel may have a Super Bowl run in him.

Share/Save

Despite the opinion of some in the media that the Patriots would struggle to rebound from their Super Bowl letdown, before Sunday they were the odds on favorite to win the Vince Lombardi trophy, again. This standing at the top of the league was shattered half way into the fist quarter of yesterday’s game. The Patriots have yet to disclose Tom Brady’s injury other than to note that he will have season ending surgery on his left knee (Don’t expect a full explanation ever).

My initial reaction was to send a text to my brother saying “season’s over” but the more I think about it the more I like the Patriots chances to compete this year. That’s not to say that they will be as good as they would have with Tom Brady, but I think Matt Cassel has the potential to hold his own as an NFL quarterback based upon his time in the system, his obvious talent (Belichick never would have kept him around if he was completely useless), and the plethora of weapons surrounding him. As a Pats fan I’m devastated that we are going to miss a year of the greatest quarterback of all time’s prime, but I want to be on record as not having given up on this season.

Unless Cassel is completely lost on the field, even without Brady the Patriots are the best team in the AFC East. One reason for this is that they have genuine talent from top to bottom on their roster, another is that the other three teams in the division are not really that good, and finally their schedule is absurdly easy. Buffalo may take a step forward this year, but they do not have the depth to survive the inevitable injuries that come with a 16 game season. The Dolphins are rebuilding, and the Jets are grossly overrated, even St. Brett will not be able to overcome their mediocrity. While its an imperfect measure, if you take the top-10 players in The AFC East, sans Brady, six are still on the Patriots.

1. Randy Moss
2. Vince Wilfork
3. Richard Seymour
4. Adalius Thomsa
5. Kerry Rhodes
6. Logan Mankins
7. Marshaun Lynch
8. Jason Peters
9. Ty Warren
10. Brett Favre (funny irrelevant stat of the week: career QB rating for Brett Favre: 85.7/ career QB rating for Matt Cassel: 85.8)

Honorable Mention: Alan Faneca, Dan Koppen, Wes Welker, Lee Evans, Thomas Jones

In terms of the Super Bowl, I think the Brady injury catapults Dallas to favorites, with San Diego, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh close behind. Obviously the result of the Patriots’ season will be in large part decided by Matt Cassel’ level of competence, but the team is so talented as long as he can perform at a Chad Pennington/JP Losman level, they may be able to exploit some of the Colts or Chargers’ deficiencies in the playoffs.

The silver lining for this season is that it has the potential to be a supremely enjoyable team to cheer for. The problem with supporting an all time great team is that you expect the team to win every week, and by the end of each game all you are able to feel is relief (don’t worry I wont ask for your pity). My hope is that this team can start playing the no-respect / underdog card again while upsetting some teams and some expectations along the way.

My prediction: 10-6 AFC East Champs.

Share/Save