Leave No Doubt

"The Pats will need to readjust and will have to change what they are doing on offense, because no matter who is the new quarterback they won’t be a good team playing the Brady style without Brady. If I am the Pats, I go out and find some blocking tight ends and use Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan in a more conventional approach. I would find a way to win games with less passes, but still have the big pass play element. Their offensive line is not the same, and the more they leave the edges open and expose their quarterback, the more they will make mistakes. The Pats have one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL. They will know what they have and work a game plan that best utilizes their skill players. Don’t count the Patriots out just yet. They have talent and how they use it will determine their future. One thing is certain, though, they must readjust their offensive thinking."

http://www.boston.com/sports/footbal.../reiss_pieces/

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upstater1

I have no doubt that they will.

Although I don't expect that to mean the spread is out the window. Cassel has been practicing that forever.

SVN

iam not too confident about our o line with cassell behind them...this will be bigger challenge than cassell completing passes.

captain stone

Also in Reiss' blog, however, Cassel seems to contradict Lombardi's analysis:

'Cassel told the Dennis and Callahan show that there won't be a lightened playbook with him under center. In Sunday's win, he said the team ran the same plays it would have had Brady not been hurt. "It's not like there's a different play sheet from Matt Cassel to Tom Brady," he said.

Now, it appears he is moving from clipboard-holder to a load-bearing pillar in the New England season. "There were a number of times here where I thought, what the heck am I doing here?" he said. "But it comes down to perseverance, and working hard, and believing that time will eventually come. Yesterday was a great illustration of [that]. You never know when that time is going to come. I woke up yesterday morning thinking, Oh gosh, I hope I get in late in the game, I hope we're beating them by a lot of points. Little did I know, I'd be in there in the first quarter."

Cassel said he was ready to fill in for Brady next week against the New York Jets -- and longer, if necessary.

"I'm not trying to be Tom Brady. I'm just trying to be Matt Cassel," he said. "I don't know where that's going to take us."'

The OC (& HC) do indeed need to "readjust their offensive thinking." There will be too many pass attempts this season during which Cassel will not have enough time to complete the same progressions that Brady could complete. Cassel needs to follow, or shorten, those progressions more quickly and spend less time staring down his Plan A target. To avoid going a very possible 2-6 on the road, it is imperative that the offense avoid as many negative plays and TOs as possible. It is time to re-emphasize the Dink & Dunk and the even older 3 Yards & a Cloud of Dust. Then, when the defense has crept too close to the LOS, run play-action and send Moss, Welker & Ventrone on slants that will out-run the over-persuing safeties.

And it annoys Captain Stone when people refer to themselves in the third person.

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emoney_33

I don't exactly agree. This isn't like 2001 where Brady was in his 2nd year, it's Cassel's 4th year, he knows the offense. Sure he won't be as successful running it and sure there should be some tweaks and in-game adjustments that will be different for Cassel's more-mobile style. But overall it won't and shouldn't be a huge readjustment or complete overhaul.

captain stone

I'm not asking the offense to shave its head and wear a wig. I am just asking for a trim, short on the edges, and a re-comb.

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