The Cassel-Brady Debate

This was bound to happen.

For the second week in a row, QB Matt Cassel threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns. This from a guy that looked so bad against San Diego that practically all fans were calling for his head. Now Cassel is at the head of the class as every Pats fans' favorite player. It's at the point that now people think New England should re-sign Cassel and trade Tom Brady.

The old saying, "everyone's favorite player is the back-up quarterback," never fails.

Cassel has played his way from clipboard holder for the stars (stuck behind Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and taking notes for Brady) to the man stealing the show as none of the three he stood in the shadows of for so long have barely played this season. Everyone knows Cassel will start next season. The question is where.

Matt will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and up to one third of the league will want his services. One thing teams know is he's not a flash in the pan like Rob Johnson was back in 1997. After one outstanding start for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Buffalo Bills traded for the Californian and made him the franchise QB. In short, Johnson bombed.

Teams have become a lot more careful when evaluating passers. They put more value on the body of work instead of stray moments. Teams will aggressively go after Cassel with the peace of mind of watching him develop over the course of the 2008 season.

That's a big reason why I scratch my head over why people are willing to make the switch from Brady to Cassel. Yes Matt has been outstanding of late. He's arguably playing as well as Brady would and Matt's a better athlete. I'd even say he's ahead of where Brady was when Tom Terrific unexpectedly became the starter in 2001.

But I haven't forgotten that Brady won three Super Bowls and earned two Super Bowl MVP awards. Besides the fact that Cassel is yet to win one, I'm not switching my allegiance to the sexy pick.

Then there's the hypothetical question: What if Cassel wins Super Bowl XLIII? OK, I'll play along. even if Cassel wins an improbable ring with this year's team, I still don't say goodbye to Brady because it's not like Brady was playing poorly when he was injured. Tom just completed a 50-touchdown season for goodness sake! This isn't like when head coach Bill Belichick traded Drew Bledsoe to clear the path for Brady. Tom clearly out-played Bledsoe. I don't have any doubts in my mind that if Brady wasn't hurt against Kansas City the Patriots would have a better record than today's 7-4. It's possible the Patriots would be undefeated with a healthy Brady.

"Wait a minute!" contrarians would say. "What about Brady's injury? What if he doesn't come back 100 percent?" Fair point, fair point. There's a possibility Brady won't be the same next year after surgery to repair a torn ACL. It's possible he won't be fully healthy by the beginning of the 2009 season. Or even the knee injury keeps Tom from regaining the form that made him the league MVP last year.

If that is the case, then the team doctors would would be the first know and alert Belichick. Brady is going through rehabilitation with the Patriots training staff and they will note track progress every step of the way. If something is wrong during the course of rehab, they will find out and do whatever they can to prevent any setbacks from becoming a serious problem. If they reach the conclusion that Brady won't make a complete recovery, then there's a good chance the Brady era is over and the team belongs to Cassel, if he wants it.

And therein lies the biggest problem win the Cassel-Brady argument. It's not up to the Patriots to decide Cassel's fate. Matt is a free agent with the freedom to sign with any team. Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli could match the best offer Cassel receives, or even beat it. Cassel just might want to start his own legacy elsewhere. He could not want to play in the shadow of Brady. Matt might want to move closer to home. Or maybe he never liked the Patriots colors. He might have a pet peeve of wanting to be the only "Matt" on a team. Whatever the reason, it's up to Cassel to decide.

So the Patriots could promise Matt that they would trade Brady and make him the highest paid passer in the league. They could stroke Cassel's ego by saying they love that he's more mobile than Brady. New England could want Cassel because he's five years younger than Brady. They could say whatever they want to Cassel. If the former Trojan just wants to drive a different chariot, then it's his perogative.

I want to go back to Buffalo's trade for Johnson. That trade followed the signing of Doug Flutie out of the Canadian Football League. Despite the decorated career amassed by Flutie across the border (three Grey Cup Championships, six-time league MVP), the Bills hitched their wagon onto Johnson. As said before, Rob Johnson flopped, while Doug Flutie flourished.

I don't doubt that Cassel will play great elsewhere. But I would take seven years of Brady's proven excellence over anyone's one outstanding season.